HOW TO LIVE YOUR BODY?

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Author: Valeria Timoshchuk Source:

PRINCIPLES AND BASES OF THERAPY THERAPY

The body is the fundamental value of a person, since it is the original given of being in the material Universe. The body is the basis of personality and consciousness, and is perceived as "I".

The bodily sensory experience is the foundation of mental development, self-knowledge and knowledge of the surrounding world.

Every child has tremendous opportunities to feel and sense the various manifestations of life. Further, in the process of development, the body is formed as a universal common human language that conveys feelings, emotions and attitudes to other beings.

However, social censorship often provokes suppression of natural feelings. These are the costs of an authoritarian society, upbringing in authoritarian families, difficulties in communication during growing up, experienced stress and much more, leading to the suppression of feelings and sensations in the body, to a loss of depth of experience, to the impoverishment of an initially wide range of emotions or to uncontrollable chaos and destructive intensity of emotions. …

Wilhem Reich defined psychological problems and neurotic states as a consequence of stagnation in the body of biological or sexual energy

Chronic psychological stress is the basis for stagnation, which leads to the appearance of corresponding energy blocks in the muscles of various segments of the body.

This tension, becoming chronic, prevents the free flow of energy flows. Sooner or later, it leads to the formation of a "muscle carapace" or "armor", which creates a fertile ground for the development of a neurotic character. The consequence is the suppression of the natural emotional, physiological and sensory activity of a person.

The body imprints masks and roles chosen as a way to protect against traumatic or unpleasant experiences. These masks seem to "grow into the memory of the body." The result is a "muscle carapace" - nodes and zones of chronic tension and clamps.

A person is shackled by that load of unreacted emotions and psychological defenses, which have become "armor" for all occasions. The "armor" of character is manifested at all levels of human behavior: in speech, gestures, postures, bodily habits, facial expressions, behavioral stereotypes, methods of communication, etc. The resources of vitality and mobility of the body are limited, the quality of communication with the world and the integrity of the personality itself are limited, manifestations of creativity and potential abilities.

"Armor" blocks anxiety and energy that did not come out, the price of this is impoverishment of the individual, loss of natural sensitivity and emotionality, inability to enjoy life and work …"

Wilhelm Reich

Over time, a person gets used to and becomes identified with a state of chronic stress and ceases to notice his stiffness and lifelessness, loses a keen interest in life. Personal manifestations are almost completely controlled by a logical mind and a set of stereotypical behavior patterns.

Life becomes poor due to the lack of spontaneity in the perception of the world

Attempts to keep the release of energy (be it anger or desire for something) occur in connection with our conditioning both from early childhood and in connection with imposed social stereotypes in adulthood. After all, each individual has a need to adapt to the surrounding reality and not be an outcast in this environment.

A person who grows up in a family where the direct expression of feelings or emotions (anger, aggression, noisy joy or grief, etc.) is not tolerated, learns not to express his emotions

The child quickly realizes that if he wants the love and affection of his parents, he must find a way not to show an “unwanted” emotion or feeling. Hide everything inside. As a result, the person becomes stiff, tense and unnatural.

Suppressing feeling, a person gives rise to internal conflicts - emotions are "cut off" from external response and perception, actions performed - from real desires and feelings, understanding and thinking - from behavior.

By blocking feelings, restraining vitality, energy, bubbling, and emotions, the child gradually becomes an energetic and emotional cripple

In families where the parents have a conflict, no matter intrapersonal or interpersonal, leads to the emergence in the child of the connection of emotions "fear-guilt", which can exist all life. This person will involuntarily be in anxiety or fear most of the time. Fear creates intense stress, both psychological and physiological. There is a need to find ways to block intense experiences and regular stress in order to ensure survival and maintain a relatively healthy psyche.

Thus, we learn from childhood to block and supplant unwanted experiences, and by a more or less mature age, many of us are already fluent in this technology.

Wilhelm Reich was able to combine the psyche and the somatic, using the concept of energy for this. He realized that conflict arises simultaneously on two levels: mental and somatic (bodily) … He approached the psyche and somatics as two aspects - mental and physical - of one indivisible process.

A suitable metaphor is the reverse and obverse of a coin, because whatever we do with a coin, this applies to both sides of it.

In the same way, mind and body are two different functions, interdependent and mutually influencing each other.

Reich formulated his concept as the principle of psychosomatic unity and opposition. Community exists at the deepest energetic level of the organism, while at the level of observed phenomena there is an opposite.

WHAT IS THE SAME NATURE OF ENERGY PROCESSES?

W. Reich presented this process as a ripple. Like excitement and relaxation, which can be felt in the form of energy flows in the body.

Pulsation is one of the causes of the emergence of living organisms. The principle of energetic excitement and relaxation (release) is that energetic "pump" that allows life to re-create itself again and again. The natural phenomenon of bioelectric or bioenergetic pulsation can be observed at all levels of biological organization, both in cells, body systems and organs, and throughout the body as a whole, using the example of sexual and emotional reactions.

The fundamental property of the acting forces of the material and energetic worlds is polarity or duality, which consists of two poles - positive and negative. Ripple is movement between these poles. This oscillation from one pole to another and vice versa, cyclical and rhythmic movements. The simplest pulsation in the inorganic world can be seen in the rotation of the planets around the Sun and satellites around the planets. As a reflection of this planetary movement, we can observe annually repeating cycles of the change of seasons, the change of day and night, as well as the rhythmic ebb and flow of the world's oceans.

In the organic world, pulsation is the fundamental phenomenon that is the foundation for the physical and energetic functioning of living organisms. Each of the microscopic cells pulsates as it sucks in food from the outside and throws waste out. Single-celled microorganisms contract and expand in a constant rhythm, and the plasma or liquid content of the cell flows, pulsating, inside the cell. Our heartbeat, which directs blood through our veins, is also a life-sustaining pulsation that we can feel at any moment.

Breathing, one of the strongest and most conscious rhythmic pulsations in our body, is the basis of the pulsation of life force in the body

It is breathing that is the link between the physical body, energy and the emotional body, which is why deep breathing stimulates both bodily sensations and emotions, and is able to induce an energy release, expressed both physically and emotionally.

Curiously, despite all the complexity, the chemistry of metabolism is similar to the process where fuel becomes energy, according to the general formula:

P (fuel or food) + Q2 (oxygen or air) = E (energy)

Living organisms are distinguished from inanimate nature by the fact that in organisms this process takes place inside the cell membrane.

It is thanks to this that the energy produced by the body is not lost outside - the environment, but is used by the body inside the system to perform its vital functions.

One of the main functions is to obtain from the environment the necessary elements for the production of life-supporting energy. The membrane must be permeable to food and oxygen, and to remove decomposition products. When considering more complex systems (organisms) than bacteria and simple unicellular organisms, this process is combined with an active search for the necessary elements (products). From which the logical conclusion follows - the body's movements cannot be random! They are driven by some form of environmental sensitivity.

As one of the leading researchers of the functioning of protoplasm noted, "Protoplasm may not have intelligence, but what it does is intelligent." It is reasonable to strive for food, love and pleasant contacts, as well as retreat in the face of danger or pain.

This is far from a mechanical process, since each organism (regardless of the complexity of the organization of the system) constantly studies its environment in order to find the most optimal conditions for survival. This exploration - approach and retreat - part pulsating activity.

Inside the body, it includes:

• heartbeat,
• breath,
• intestinal peristalsis,
• other life support systems.

It is the result of the stimulation of every cell and every organ in the body. Thus, we can say that life is a state of controlled inner excitement; arousal produces the energy needed to maintain internal functions, as well as to perform external actions that support or increase the body's arousal.

We are born with tremendous potential for sensitivity to stimuli, but this sensitivity decreases with age.

This loss of sensitivity can be explained by the fact that with age the body becomes more structured, stereotyped and enslaved, a person is so rooted in his stereotyped skills that he is practically unable to spontaneously move, feel and explore the world around him.

Do you often meet mature people who are able to rejoice and react directly, like children do?

The process of building connection and communication with the outside world is an energetic process

To imagine how the process of building an energy connection between two people takes place, imagine two tuning forks tuned to the same frequency. When they are close, hitting one of them vibrates the other. This explains the strong energetic and sensual connection between two deeply in love people.

The image of two hearts beating as one is much more than just a metaphor

Close people quite often have the ability to feel the feelings of each other and their children.

So, our hearts and bodies are pulsating systems that emit waves of an electromagnetic and bioenergetic nature and which can affect other hearts and bodies

Perhaps you have also noticed that while feeling irritated and angry, but without showing it outwardly, you nevertheless receive an adequate reaction from the outside in the form of aggression directed at you.

The same thing happens in the case of insecurity or sexual depression. No matter how good you look and show external qualities, sooner or later you get an adequate reaction to your inner state from the outside.

those who have developed their sensitivity, subtly feel the movement and quality of energy, and are able to overcome the rigid structures of their ego, are able, like a tuning fork, to tune in to almost any person or living being. Perceive and feel his feelings and other states without as if.

A sense of oneness with the universe can be achieved by losing or transcending the boundaries of your ego

The ego - a way of adapting to the external world - creates a border that preserves individual consciousness. Within this boundary is a self-sustaining energy system, the main feature of which is a state of excitement.

Without the existence of a boundary, individual consciousness and personal ego could not exist. It is about overcoming this border and achieving the state of nirvana and atman that is said in cosmogonic philosophical and religious teachings - Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.

FACTORS LEADING TO REDUCED ENERGY IN THE BODY

So, let's look at some of the factors that lead to a decrease in energy levels in the body and contribute to the formation of "armor" or "muscle carapace".

The body needs a balance between energy use and storage. The balance between energy storage and release is controlled by demand.

The main desire for a newly born child is to restore that close connection with the mother that he had when he was in the mother's womb. Once born, the child tries again to feel the warmth and depth of this contact in the arms of the mother. Having retained the totality of closeness and unity in memory and sensations, a person all his life seeks to satisfy his basic desire for love - a deep sense of sacredness and depth of unity, total bodily and spiritual closeness.

If the child does not receive the deep connection he needs, he regards it as a loss of love. That at the physiological level is manifested by shortness of breath and chest cramps. The availability of oxygen to the body is reduced, which leads to chronic stress and delayed energy production.

One of the striking factors of low energy levels is increased activity, which, in turn, arises from trying to find love. Most children who have experienced a loss of love believe that this loss was due to the fact that they could not deserve this love. Often in the child, a feeling of guilt is fixed due to the displeasure of the parents and reproaches that they (the children) demand too much, are too egocentric, energetic, obstinate. The child soon realizes that if he wants to receive even a little love, he must adapt to the requirements of the mother.

This prejudice that love must be earned usually persists into adulthood. And it often manifests itself in the desire for achievements, for success.

This behavior is typical for people who are characterized by an exaggerated desire to confirm their value along with suppression of anger, and also manifests itself in frequent irritability. This behavior is the main factor leading a person to depression of varying intensity and heart disease. Also, this kind of behavior is the cause of chronic fatigue.

Unfortunately, most people do not know how to slow down the pace of their lives so much as to feel that they are tired, being under the pressure of stereotypes and misconceptions, as well as the belief in the need to live in this way further, as they lived before. Because they are confident, based on the behavioral model learned in childhood, that their survival depends on it. The feeling of chronic fatigue and dissatisfaction awakens anxiety in them, giving rise to neurosis. Many people cannot say to themselves: "I am very tired", "I cannot."

When they were children, they were taught that to say, "I cannot" is tantamount to admitting defeat, which means that they do not deserve love, which means they are not worthy of love.

Consider the physical reason why external activity increases with a decrease in overall energy levels

It is impossible to relax if the energy level is too low, since it is energy that is needed to relieve muscle tension. This fact can be easily explained.

When muscles tighten, they do work that uses energy. In a state of tension, they cannot do any more work. For muscles to relax and be able to do the work, it is necessary for the muscle cells to produce the energy necessary for this. This process, in turn, requires oxygen supply and lactic acid removal.

Consider a muscle that is stretched, that is, relaxed like a stretched spring. In this state, she is filled with energy. When a muscle contracts to do some work, it becomes shorter and harder. The spring loses energy as it is used. Further, after completing the work, the muscle regenerates and relaxes, increasing its energy potential, which is similar to stretching a spring so that it can do further work.

When a person is overworked and their energy levels are low, they can easily fall into a state of contraction when the muscles are chronically in a state of contraction. Therefore, they cannot regenerate, replenish and increase their energy potential.

A person with a high energy level rarely falls into a state of high arousal, since his body, thanks to relaxed muscles, can maintain a high level of tension. As a result, his movements are free, spontaneous and full of natural grace.

Sigmund Freud remarked: "Our ego is predominantly bodily."

Selected roles, masks, patterns of behavior, traumatic experiences and disappointments, accumulating and cementing in our body, entail the loss of connection between soul and body, discord between feelings, mind and body and loss of contact with the sensual reality of the world.

In this case, a person, having lost his inner integrity, also loses spiritual harmony and unconditioned perception. Immerses himself in suffering, the "evaluative experience of life" and the experience of the tragedy of existence.

Consciously or unconsciously, a person feels his incompleteness. Experiencing a state of loss of contact with himself, with his inner world, or he is not satisfied with the quality of this contact.

Psychologically, the loss of contact with oneself is identical to the loss of contact with the body

Loss of contact with the body is caused by:

• any kind of violence: physical, emotional or psychological;
• suppression of natural sexuality;
• early childhood illnesses, difficult childbirth, birth defects, physical trauma, accidents and surgery;
• poor early object relationships, where parental “mirroring,” so much needed for a child to develop a healthy sense of self, was inadequate;
• inadequate or violated boundaries in relations between family members - domestic violence and aggression;
• criticism and a sense of shame that parents project onto a child when they themselves are at odds with their bodies; these feelings can also be caused by a rejecting or overly controlling parent;
• situations when parents leave the child or ignore him;
• feeling that the body or personality of the child does not correspond to the cultural ideal or family style.
• suppression or accumulation of anger and resentment.

By acting directly on the body and bodily symptoms, it is possible to gain access to subconscious structures, to repressed experiences, to unconscious and blocked segments of the body - without the participation of consciousness. Body therapy techniques open access to the psychosomatic unconscious, which allows you to eliminate the identified blocks, respond to suppressed emotions, throw out emotional trash, respond to repressed aggression, anger and resentment, relax and discharge the accumulated tension (compression) in muscle structures, thereby restoring energy exchange.

To relax the bodily "armor" or "carapace of character", Wilhelm Reich developed a number of special techniquesincluding:

• direct body manipulation,
• work to imitate and provoke emotional states,
• performing special movements and physical exercises,
• breathing techniques,
• work with the release of emotional and physiological tension through the release of sound.

Body therapy methods are a powerful psychotherapeutic tool that can bring about radical changes in feelings and psyche. Make the symptoms of somatic manifestations, neurotic and pathological manifestations accessible to awareness, as well as correlate this material with individual ideas, spiritual meanings and human values.

The obtained material, with further analysis, makes it possible to more substantively clarify the leading motives and ineffective models of behavior leading to the loss of vitality

A. Lowen argues that an increase in the basic level of energy in a person can be achieved only through the revitalization of the body through the expression of feelings.

Lack of vital energy is always the result of holding back the senses

Body therapy meets all the requirements of a holistic approach, where a person is a single functioning whole, a unity of the material and spiritual, and changes in one area accompany changes in another.

In order for a person to be able to regain a sense of integrity and harmony, only intellectual understanding, interpretation and awareness of repressed information is not enough; it is also necessary to restore at the physical level the feeling of the unity of the body and psyche, the feeling of the whole organism as an integral system.

In an existential sense, the body is a microcosm that embodies the deepest wisdom of the universe

Human corporeality expresses the inner essence of human nature, embodies the way of his being in the present time, and also satisfies a person's need for awareness and development of his own nature.

However, people often regard nature as the greatest threat to security. Man's own nature and the surrounding play of the forces of nature are full of surprises. Of course, man does not succeed in completely conquering nature, and he is constantly fighting with it.

This struggle of Homo sapiens with nature is a reflection of the struggle in modern industrial communities, between the ego and the human body, its natural nature.

You need to love yourself. Its nature. This does not mean manifestation of narcissism or narcissism - to love through understanding and acceptance. Accepting with understanding all manifestations of ourselves, we get the opportunity to love all manifestations of life around, without judgment. To love the people around you without judgment, with an understanding of the difficulties and trials that a person has overcome, or may not have overcome.

Through the bodily integration of the personality, it is possible to open to understanding and feeling the spirituality of the body - to realize the manifestations of divinity in the material Universe.