|
Page 6 of 7
Touching can be a form of bodywork. For instance, the therapist might touch a client to indicate caring and support. A therapist may also deliberately place his or her hands on the part of the client's body where some feeling is being inhibited or blocked. Smith reports that he might touch a client where an unusual body phenomenon is occurring and then say something such as "Just let go and breathe. Just feel my touch and allow whatever needs to happen, happen. Just notice your body sensations." Smith finds that skin to skin contact tends to be much more effective, although he maintains a respect for individual comfort level with such contact. I think it is important to note that survivors of sexual abuse may find skin to skin contact highly threatening and I myself approach the touching of clients with extreme caution.
Light and immobile touch is also often utilized in bodywork. When using such touch, the client is often asked to lie down and the therapist gently places his or her hands on areas of the body which may be armored or blocked. Places on the body where such contact is often made by Smith include: (1) lower abdomen; (2) upper abdomen; (3) back of the neck; and (4) center of the chest. Such touch is held until some response occurs. Smith often touches more than one area simultaneously. I have found the throat to be an important body area to touch when working with repressed or "silenced" material.
Utilizing breathing is a common technique of bodywork. Smith points out that because breathing provides the source of oxygen for metabolism, inadequate or insufficient breathing reduces vitality leading to such complaints as exhaustion, fatigue, tension, irritability, coldness, depression and lethargy. If such a breathing style becomes chronic, then arterioles may become constricted and the red blood cell count can drop, cautions Smith.
It is the task of the therapist, states Smith in addressing a client's breathing pattern, to teach the client to breathe deeply and fully with their whole body. Normally, this begins with calling the client's attention to the times that he or she is holding his or her breath or has decreased the rate and depth of his or her breathing significantly. It is not uncommon for a client to need to be reminded to "breathe" repeatedly during a single session.
One method of instructing a client to breathe fully involves placing one hand upon the client's midchest and the other upon the client's upper abdomen. The client is then instructed to lift the therapist's hands while breathing and then let them fall, thus contracting and expanding both the chest and abdomen. I ask that the client use his or her own hands vs. placing mine on the client's abdomen. Once again, I feel it necessary to caution against violating the client’s personal boundaries.
According to Smith, stretching of tight places in the body helps to induce aliveness. While the client is stretching one body part and then the other, the therapist invites the client to share any memories or emotional reactions while stretching.
Smith defines "Hard" techniques as those interventions which are neither gentle nor subtle, but instead are uncomfortable, at times painful, and often dramatic. Smith cautions that these techniques require considerable judgment and care, otherwise they may induce highly traumatic experiences for the client.
Often, preliminary work engaged in before utilizing "hard" techniques involves grounding the client (developing the ability to be self-supported or self-contained). The use of such stress postures as the bow, the one-legged stance, lying with the legs in the air, and wall sitting can be useful first steps in facilitating grounding. The client shifts all his or her weight to one leg, bends the knee, and extends the other leg with the heel only slightly touching the floor when assuming the one legged stance. The straight leg is used only for balance in this stance. When the client experiences vibrations in the stressed leg, the client reverses the position. When engaged in the wall-sitting stance, the client takes a seated position with his or her back against the wall, with thighs parallel to the floor, without benefit of a chair. The client is instructed not to brace his or her arms against the thighs for support. The client remains in this stance until the vibrations in the legs can be felt. With all of the stress postures, deep breathing through the mouth and vocalized exhalations are encouraged. Each of these stances assists the client in experiencing him or herself in contact with the ground.
Using deep pressure on spastic muscles is a common technique used by many therapists who engage in bodywork. Typically, the therapist mobilizes the client's breathing and then works on the armored muscles by applying deep pressure or deep muscle massage.
Alexander Lowen, author of Pleasure: A Creative Approach to Life, describes the principles and practices of bioenergetic therapy as based on "...the functional identity of the mind and the body. This means that any real change in a person's thinking and, therefore, in his behavior and feeling, is conditioned upon a change in the functioning of his body."
RELEASING THE ENERGY OF THE BODY'S STORED PAIN
For centuries healers around the world have been aware of the human body's energy field. Because most of us are unable to see this energy field with our eyes, we have tended to ignore it. Yet each of us have experienced it. Whenever you have entered a room and sensed the tension between individuals who are in distress or who have been arguing, you have experienced their energy field. When you sense the presence of another before seeing them, you have tapped into his/her energy field. We are constantly emitting and receiving energy. Wayne Kristberg, author of The Invisible Wound: A New Approach To Healing Childhood Sexual Abuse, provides an example of how this energy field can be demonstrated. He suggests that an individual close his/her eyes and hold their hands over their ears; while a friend slowly begins to approach from approximately ten feet away. Typically, the individual will sense the energy of the friend before the friend is standing within a foot away. This is because the friend has entered the individual's energy field. The energy field extends not only outward from one's body, but also permeates the body completely; absorbed in each atom and cell. It is within the bodies' energy system, that the body holds the memories of one's past experiences, including the memory of sexual and physical abuse.
|
