Bodywork on myself

[Mr Phucking NR]

I'd just like to ask if you have any book to advise for doing bodywork on myself to release deeply held traumas.

 

[sk8erboy]

What you could do is to take MFR I and Unwinding, learn how to unwind yourself. Visit the MFR section of MassagePlanet for additional information.

 

[E D]

Well, I don't know if it qualifies as "bodywork" but look up EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) online. It's a method of 'tapping' on certain key meridiens and it's something that you can do on yourself. There's a how-to manual online they make available to the public for free, which I thought was really neat. (There's lots methods or techniques that claim to have amazing results that you, too, can experience IF you learn the secrets for $39.99! Blech!) Since you mentioned trauma, EFT addresses the emotional things that manifest in the physical body.
I can't vouch for the effectiveness personally even though I've read a lot about it. While it's something you can do on yourself, I'm the kind of person who wants/needs a person to walk me through it, make sure I'm doing it right, and encourage me to stick with it.
Good luck, and happy healing!

 

[...confused...]

I'd just like to ask if you have any book to advise for doing bodywork on myself to release deeply held traumas.

I'd like to know more about your motivation here... are there particular reasons you want to do the work by yourself? How much experience do you have working on yourself, both physically and emotionally?

I do a lot of my own self-work these days, but that's after years of work and learning with some excellent practitioners. And even still, I make appointments with various types of practitioners, if only because I can't always hold space for myself AND do the work at the same time.

Even if all the other person does is hold space for you while you do the work, that can make a huge difference.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Even if all the other person does is hold space for you while you do the work, that can make a huge difference.

Josh, I hate to ask... but could you explain exactly what this phrase, "hold space" entails or involves? Is it a phrase unique to a particular type of energy or body work? What does it mean exactly... and how does one "hold space" for another?

I'm sure I am not the only one who doesn't know...

 

[gotnoplans]

No worries! It's a term that was thrown around a lot at my school, and I had only the vaguest clue of what it might mean when I first got there.

Here's an article that will probably do a better job than I could here:

http://www.massagetherapy.com/articles/index.php/article_id/53

Oh but after skimming it, I want to expand

Holding space isn't just for grief work, though. And more than just a way of paying attention to a person, it can be a way of holding the possibility for things to be different. I like to hold a very large space for all my work, including relaxation massage, because it allows more possibility for healing, whatever that looks like, in ways that can surprise both the therapist and the client.

It's also not just something you do with a person when you're with them. You can hold space for a sick relative to get well as you go about your daily life, or for the US domestic policy to turn around, etc.

The article talks about holding space somatically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally, and touches on energetically. Only mentions the 4th & 6th chakra though... I prefer full-body holding of space that includes strong connections in the 1st & 7th... i.e. alignment between the earth and the divine.

Another energetic aspect of holding space includes "sealing" the physical space energetically. Wiccans who've ever "cast a circle" have experience in this. Others do it with Reiki, or angelic work.

And a less woo-woo aspect of holding space comes in to play when teaching or leading a workshop: how well do you hold the space in which your participants learn? Do you start and end things on time? Do you create a safe atmosphere at the beginning with group agreements, confidentiality, whatever is appropriate for your work? Do you hold deep enough space for your participants and activities to go deep, or do things stay on a lighter level?

So I suppose holding space can mean different things, from simply being present & non-judgmental to a full on form of energy work in its own right. It's for anyone, whether they add the energetic component or not; can be completely "Western/rational"... or... not.