THE BODY REMEMBERS
photo collage created by me. image of a body with exposed muscle tissue upon a surreal, outer space background with text “the body remembers”
“I believe that the body remembers everything that has ever happened to it.”
-John F. Barnes, The Search for Excellence Ch. 8
Connective tissue is technically the largest system in your body.
It weaves around and touches everything inside you. It is your most prevalent support system, taking the form of blood, bones, tendons and the web-like matrix called fascia, which stabilizes and protects all the muscles, organs, nerves and other tissues.
Fascia can become tight or twisted when you experience trauma, yet it doesn’t respond to stretching, pressure and kneading in the same way muscle tissue does.
The fascial system acts like a physical manifestation of your shadow side, holding secrets and subtle tension, carrying memories of impactful experiences - a subtle fibrous thread infused with emotions yet rarely acknowledged or thought about.
We know, through the studies of epigenetics and quantum physics, that your cells and DNA hold the reflection of unprocessed generational traumas that didn’t even happen to you personally, on top of our present-life stresses.
Think of it like an energetic blueprint. Your cells, no doubt, manifest this map into more tangible aspects of your physical body, such as the fascial and myofascial tissues. When the fascial system goes unaddressed for too long, it can contribute to torsion, chronic pain, digestive issues and feelings of stuckness in your body.
Reiki moves through the fascial system.
Most people twitch when receiving energy work; that twitching is caused by myofascial adhesions softening and unwinding as the energy heals and harmonizes. It’s a magical experience to feel your physical and energetic bodies unraveling in unison.
Even from a distance, Reiki can facilitate this release. Oftentimes, very stuck fascial tissue actually prefers to be released WITHOUT physical contact - the protocol in myofascial unwinding is totally opposite from massage therapy, in that it asks the practitioner to move their hands off the tissues and hover just above the body when encountering a particularly stubborn adhesion! That blew my mind when I first learned it in massage school, and was actually my first introduction to the idea that we can facilitate healing from a distance.
In my practice, I often incorporate myofascial release and craniosacral massage techniques into body work and energy work sessions.
Affecting the fascia generally requires an extremely gentle, patient touch. The unwinding usually begins to occur after the tissues have been cradled for some time. It seems as though the body needs to feel safe and grounded before letting that guard down. These techniques pair perfectly with Reiki healing, since all are considered “laying on of hands” type of modalites and activate the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the nervous system state in which you truly begin to heal.
If you feel stuck or wound up (physically or emotionally), your tissues are most likely presenting patterns caused by unprocessed physical or emotional trauma.
Your body is “remembering” something and needs assistance to spiral back into the present moment. When you consistently bring yourself to “Rest and Digest,” you create space and time for your cells to thoroughly rejuvenate, for your mind to clear and for emotional energy to be integrated and liberated. The more your body experiences this, it will begin to “remember” this mode of being, rather than one heavy with wounding and worries.
Receiving a healing intervention from a skilled practitioner creates the most profound transformations.
Your body will release most thoroughly when you feel supported and held by another. However, you are capable of giving this gift to yourself as well.
Here are a few ways that you can help your fascia unfurl:
restorative yoga
slow, deep, intentional breathing
epsom salt soaks
gentle touch
self-reiki (for those attuned to the first degree or higher)
There’s no ignoring that a Great Shift is occurring in humanity right now.
We are in the throws of a storm that we’ve seen forming on the horizon for a very long time. It’s here. Our bodies remember watching the storm form. Our bodies remember the times our ancestors were caught in storms before. Our bodies remember surviving and dying. Our bodies remember what we try to avoid and what we forget.
Creating space in your body is radical activism.
You open up room for new ways of thinking and being. Your body is a vessel for change. It is always changing. Your free-will allows you to participate or resist or wallow or ignore. And your body will remember which you choose.
I can help unravel what’s wound up in you.
1:1 healing sessions are open. Virtual or in-person. Click here to see more details about my offerings or here to book a session now.