This is the first summer since the pandemic where it feels like NYC is back to normal (if that’s even a thing). It seems like people are really taking a much needed break to find their balance. I’ve found myself procrastinating on adulting things because I know my life is gonna to shift big time with the start of September and grad school.
I’ve been studying a new way to treat the body, using the nervous system as a guide. See, the body will protect whatever needs attention. I think of it like the layers of an onion. We need to address whatever’s most superficial or the most in need of attention, so that the body can release its protection pattern. Once that part of the body is addressed, it’ll reveal the next deeper protection pattern and so on and so on.
What I’ve seen in the 14 years I’ve been a bodyworker, is that the body will brace to support any area that needs a little TLC. This is what I mean when I talk about protection patterns. The body will always move away from pain to allow us to function and survive. To restore optimal function, we need to unstick the tension/bracing so there’s smooth flow and glide. We want all our parts to engage in the community of our system.
We want communication to be open and flowing. In this way, we get clearer signals earlier, when any part is not functioning well. When we listen to these signals and get the support we need, we build trust with our body, our intuition gets stronger, and we feel safer in the relationship with ourselves.
The great thing about this new way of treating is, it’s more specific than what I’ve been doing for so many years. Your body guides us instead of my intuition. I can feel a lot, but I’m not in your body. Between the two of us, you have more insight into your experience.
So now, we can meet the body together where it’s at. It feels seen and heard and therefore safe, so it lets go of its’ protection patterns easier. It’s like a scavenger hunt where the prize is ease and freedom of movement. And because the treatment’s more specific, it’s also more efficient.
Since we’re all getting back to adulting this month, I thought it would be great to share the simplest of ways to ease tension in the head. In the skull we have meninges that hold the brain in place. They’re connective tissue that protect the brain and central nervous system from injury.
The falx cerebri which separates the right and left hemispheres (occipital lobes) of the brain and the tentorium cerebelli which is more of a shelf and separates the cerebellum from those occipital lobes. The cerebellum is just above our spinal cord and coordinates our voluntary movements like balance and posture among other things.
When these meninges or supports get tight, they can pull on the bones of the skull and offset the delicate balance, restricting blood, lymph and cerebral spinal fluid. There are two nerves that come together (anastomose) just behind the crown of the head. By stretching the connective tissue of the scalp (which seems intense and weird but actually feels heavenly), we can restore balance and ease tension.
This is something you could do with a toddler, so no special skills are required (other than 2 minutes of attention). You can do this before bed to help lull you to sleep, when you take a break from looking at any screen, or when you’re feeling stressed from overwhelm or over-thinking. I’ve used this on clients recovering from concussions with really amazing responses of calm and ease of tension. Save this video in your notes app under the heading stress release so you have easy access to quick calm in your system.