If you’ve worked with me, you most likely know that I believe that including emotional healing while working on the body can be extremely helpful in the healing process. You may have even heard me say, “Your issues are in your tissues” from time to time. As fun and pithy as the saying sounds, quantifiable evidence reflects how true it is.

When your body experiences homeostasis you are relaxed and stress-free. The energy in your body stays in the central area of your body to help you function more productively: Your brain receives optimal oxygen and functions beautifully. You breathe fully, efficiently, and effectively. You also digest and eliminate efficiently. However, when you encounter stressful situations or traumatic experiences, your body can react in detrimental ways. I most often see clients who are in various stages of “Fight, flight, freeze, or fawn” mode when they come to see me.

So, what happens to your body when you become stressed and traumatized? The ancient part of your brain is your body’s alarm, designed to keep you safe. If you experience a trauma, the alarm goes off and you may remain on high alert if the trauma isn’t treated because that part of your brain perceives that you’re in life-threatening danger. You may develop brain fog and have difficulty recalling certain experiences because your brain is trying to protect you from the pain you feel. You may also have difficulty motivating yourself to get things done because you’re expending so much energy to keep going in spite of your emotional pain. You may also ruminate uncontrollably over the trauma you experienced in an effort to make sense of the situation. Your brain is powerful!

Your body has a wisdom as well. It can may hold an imprint of the trauma experience within its cells, which is why it’s not uncommon for people to get emotional on my table. When you sense danger, you may guard yourself, emotionally, by tightening up your body, especially your abdomen…the seat of your emotions. You may breathe shallowly, which can impact how fully you allow yourself to feel. Unfortunately, the challenge with shallow breathing is that lack of oxygen can increase your anxiety. If you live in a chronic hypervigilant state, over time, the stress can lead to illness and, in some cases, hasten death.

I’ve worked with clients who have endured physical and/or emotional trauma at different times in their lives. And although many of them thought they’d overcome their challenges, they were surprised to find that the traumas they thought were behind them still affected them in physical ways including breathing issues, headaches and migraines, insomnia, chronic digestive and back issues, infertility and other challenges related to their menstrual cycles, and other kinds of physical dysregulation.

The pairing Maya massage with shadow coaching is beneficial because coaching can help to identify the challenges that are holding you in your trauma pattern and the massage can help you to feel more deeply on myriad levels and release the pent up energy that has been stuck in your muscles at a cellular level. I’ve witnessed healing happen more rapidly and completely when the body was included in the emotional healing process because, in the immortal words of Bob Marley, “He who feels it knows it more.” There is nothing more gratifying than witnessing a client overcome his/her/their roadblocks and I feel such joy witnessing their evolution on their recovery journey. I’ve seen clients reverse extreme digestive and back issues. I’ve worked with clients who were able to get pregnant after years of fertility challenges and other types of uterine dysfunction. I’ve also helped clients who have dealt with additional challenges. The work can be challengeing but the freedom that’s available to you on the other side of the darkness is amazing.

Do you have a practice for how to face moments when you feel especially stressed or traumatized? Here are some ideas that have been helpful for me:

1. Breathe deeply. The breath is your body’s natural muscle relaxant and it can help you to be more alert. When you breathe shallowly, the short breaths may keep you in an anxious state.

2. Take a break. It is hard to get things done if you’re ruminating on a problem. Sometimes, stepping away and then returning to an issue is a good way to reboot.

3. Move your body. Sometimes exercise or some form of movement can help to alleviate the stress and ruminating and reboot your system.

4. Question your thoughts. It can help to take a step back and question if the thoughts you’re experiencing are true. Thoughts aren’t facts.

5. Practice self-care. What activities can you do to help ease your nervous system? Is it a soothing bath? Cooking a good meal? Taking time to read? Spending time with friends and opening up to a confidante?

6. Spend time in nature. Research shows that nature can help to

If you need additional support, come in for a body-centered shadow coaching session or a coaching + Maya abdominal massage. Both are stellar support modalities because I can support and help you reconnect with your body by helping you to recognize the physical cues that you’re in distress. I can also help you to stabilize your nervous system, face your trauma in a more supportive way, overcome your emotional blocks more effectively, and give you activities to practice on your own so you can become more proficient at recognizing your own body’s messages and attending to your own needs.