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Numbness follows from nerve pressure which results from tension. With muscle tension in certain areas, pressure is put on nerves resulting in a numbing or "going dead." Numbness is often accompanied by cold, since the tension may also be interfering with blood flow.
When a "deadened" area (cold and/or numb) begins to come back to life, there may be prickly feelings, tingling, or a creeping on the skin. These paresthesias are a note of optimism, in a sense. They indicate that the immediate crisis with the toxic introject is passed.
Reich used the term "streamings" to describe the deep current-like sensations which run up and down the body shortly before orgasm. To a lesser degree streamings may be experienced by relatively unarmored persons during very deep breathing. Streamings, then, can be taken as an indication that the body armor has largely dissolved and that the orgone (energy produced and expanded in homeostatic cycles) has begun flowing freely.
Before streaming of orgone is possible, there must be an increasing of the vibratory state of the body. As Lowen and Lowen (1977) have written, vibration is the key to aliveness. The healthy body is in a constant state of vibration, due to the energetic charge in the musculature. A lack of vibration can be taken to mean that the bioenergetic charge is greatly reduced or even absent. The quality of vibration gives some indication of the degree of musculature armoring.
Inviting clients to spend time, look inside, and note happenings in his or her body, is a step toward ending client's body alienation according to Smith. In offering the invitation of awareness, Smith advises that the therapist take his or her time in order to find appropriate pace and phrasing for the client. It is very important not to rush the client in this process.
Smith also uses the exaggeration of a body action in order to facilitate body awareness, and points out that clients frequently make mini-movements or partial movements which suggests the action that follows from a present emotion. When Smith calls attention to the diminished movement, it is his experience that clients tend to report they are either unaware of the action or unclear about its meaning. It is Smith's opinion that in these situations, this "slip of the body" is an extended expression of the prohibited or repressed emotion. Smith contends that in inviting the client to repeat the diminished action in exaggerated form, the meaning often becomes obvious.
The information obtained via body awareness exercises is thought by Smith to be valuable to the therapist by identifying access points for therapeutic interventions, as well as to the client by contributing to his or her self-awareness.
Smith describes techniques of psychotherapeutic body interventions that are gentle and allow experiences to happen rather than being forceful as "soft" techniques.
One such very gentle technique involves inviting the client to assume a particular body posture which is paradigmatic of a particular emotion. By assuming this posture, the client may be able to recognize a blocked emotion. Postures generally stem from the therapist's intuition and vary from one client and emotion to another. However, there are certain common postures that Smith frequently uses, including: (1) The fetal posture, (2) the reaching posture, and (3) the spread eagle posture.
The fetal posture involves having the client lie down or sit and assume a fetal position. This posture is often associated with feeling safe and alone. The reaching posture requires that the individual lie down on his or her back with arms extended up, reaching out towards someone. This posture, says Smith, may induce a feeling of neediness; if held for a time, a feeling of abandonment or of a hopelessness may result. When utilizing the spread eagle posture, the client is asked to lie down with legs and arms spread out. This posture typically evokes feelings of vulnerability and insecurity and can be particularly effective with individuals who feel vulnerable and threatened and who may become aware of these feelings when in this posture.
If Smith observes that a client is holding a body part in a particular way, he sometimes rearranges the holding pattern and asks the client what the new position feels like. To facilitate this awareness, Smith may request that the client go back and forth between the two postures in order to more readily compare the two. An example of the use of this method in my own practice comes to mind. In working with a young woman who had a very difficult time talking about her abuse, I noticed that she frequently kept her arms close to her chest and fingers closed as if she were holding on very tightly to something. I asked her to open her hands and extend her arms out and away from her body. I then asked her to go back and forth between these two postures and compare the two. The client was able to talk about the feelings associated with both postures more fully.
Another "soft" technique utilized by Smith involves utilizing postures to evoke desired ego states. Smith believes that the desired ego state can be supported and facilitated by the posture assumed. For instance, Smith correlates the standing position with the parent ego state, the sitting position with the adult, and lying down with the child ego state. From time to time Smith has suggested a particular posture to a client who may be having difficulty staying in or entering a particular ego state.
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