Invisible to ourselves
As children and adolescents, many of us grew up not being invited by our parents to pay attention to, or even have, our own feelings and responses. For me, when I did become aware of my feelings, there was seldom an adult available to talk to quietly about my feelings and thoughts and validate them. A friend recently called it a feeling of low self-esteem. Without knowing her own feelings, she learned to react the same way her parent treated her, or to stuff the feelings deep enough so they weren't a problem.
Long term storage
It is pretty common to store away overwhelming feelings and stress in the tissues of your body for years, without naming or processing your own feelings. Likely you didn't have the resources at the time of the hurt because you were young and didn't have the names for these feelings, or it was too overwhelming. Maybe there wasn't an opportunity to process the events at the time, and so you did the expedient thing and stuffed them away in your body's tissues.
Draining away your energy
As a result, there remains a background noise that's always running. You probably are not aware of it, unless it's a fleeting thought that you seem more tired these days, chalking it up to not being as young as you used to be. When you go away on holidays, do you often get sick? For you, after those first sessions of craniosacral treatment, you may feel very fatigued or even nauseous. This will pass. Maybe your body is finally doing what it needs to get to a higher level of wellness.
Feel that pain away!
Over time, the places in your body that have served as storage areas may become painful. Craniosacral therapy invites you to notice those places in your body. Wait. What? There's value in paying attention to my pain? Won't it hurt more? You will begin to see that pain shifts and changes. Tune in, right now, to your body. Notice if you feel a pain or a discomfort somewhere - maybe in your back or your foot or your belly. I invite you to describe its shape and colour and texture, perhaps comparing it to a fruit or vegetable. One of my clients described the pain in her upper back as a carrot; another as stretched-out pink bubble gum; another as a black rope. A child told me the discomfort in her belly was as big as a watermelon. With the perspective of a curious observer, clients soon notice their pain morphing into a different colour or size, until it shrinks and dissolves away. Isn't that intriguing?
Loving yourself
With compassion, the way you would treat your best friend, gently and without judgement, tune in to the hurts in your body. if it seems too overwhelming, seek out the help of a craniosacral therapist. We can help you to let go of the pain and stress. We can help your nervous system find peace at last.