‘I talk to my ovaries — reconnecting with your body helps you heal’ #title#
Do you ever feel wired, but tired? Does your head never stop whirring, thinking, and worrying?
Eve Menezes Cunningham is a trauma therapist, specializing in somatic therapy. This body-centric approach treats mental disorders with physical methods.
Somatic practices can take many forms – breathing exercises, dance, martial arts, sensory awareness, or massage.
‘It sometimes feels like we’ve been conditioned all our lives to disconnect from our bodies,’ says Eve, also known as the author of “365 ways to feel better: self-care ideas for embodied wellbeing.” ‘Somatic therapy invites you to reconnect and listen to it, instead of just ignoring it.’
Somatic therapy is based on the belief that emotional trauma can cause physical instability. This therapy encourages you to tune into your body and understand its messages. By doing so, you can heal and live a happier, healthier life.
Here, Eve talks to Metro.co.uk about how to feel better every day.
How do you start connecting with your body?
The best thing to do when you feel nausea, tightness, or tension is to sit with it. Put the palms of your hands together and place them over the part of your body that is hurting or experiencing tightness, such as your chest or belly.
Then, get curious about what this physical manifestation is trying to tell you. Stop overriding and ignoring your body’s signals and listen instead.
You say that somatic therapy can effectively deal with past traumas that may still be affecting you. How does that work?
Any exposure to trauma, especially in childhood, creates a hyperactive alarm system in the body. We can get stuck in fight, flight, or freeze responses, even when we’re no longer in traumatic situations.
Recent advances in neuroscience have shown that our brain and bodies struggle to regulate our emotions. This continuous flooding of stress hormones wreaks havoc on the immune system and bodily functions, leading to depression and burnout.
Books like “The Body Keeps The Score,” by researcher Bessel van der Kolk, have revolutionized trauma therapy. They help trauma survivors understand and reconnect with their bodies, leading to lasting healing.
How can we do that?
Find a way to build a relationship with your own body and self again. It’s like working metaphorically with any kind of pain, illness, or injury.
For example, Eve suffered from endometriosis, and when a therapist suggested she talk to her ovaries, she thought it was insane. But it really helped. When she started to listen and communicate with her body, her symptoms started to ease.
When you start hearing what your body is trying to say, then what do you do?
It’s about listening to your body, identifying how you feel, and then taking action. For example, if you’re feeling anxious, engage in strong movement to ground yourself. This burns off excess stress hormones and works with the body’s fight/flight impulse. Instead of dwelling on anxious thoughts, go for a run or a walk, anything that connects you with the earth.
What if you’re constantly feeling tired and anxious and don’t want to go for a run or a walk?
Many of us have learned to push through our exhaustion until we’re burnt out. It’s advisable to learn tools that help you transition from feeling stressed to feeling calm.
You can use breath practices to lift and lower the nervous system. Yoga Nidra, a relaxing yoga process where the body sleeps while the mind stays awake, is also beneficial. Some say that just 30 minutes of practice is equivalent to 2 hours of sleep.
Before starting the relaxation process, set an intention and then do a gentle body scan, tuning in to different parts of your body. This process calms the fight or flight responses and activates the parasympathetic system, which helps with immunity, digestion, and stress management. It can also help induce sleep by potentially activating the pineal gland.
Remember, it’s not just about the body; we need to address our thoughts as well.
In what way?
Modern neuroscience shows that listening to our inner critic triggers a stress response. The self-loathing loop keeps us in stress response mode, inhibiting our resourcefulness and trapping us in a vicious cycle.
But by learning to catch ourselves in these moments, we enable ourselves to regulate and feel better. Conscious breathing, like the Ujjayi breath, is great for self-regulation. It activates the parasympathetic nervous system and helps tone the vagus nerve, which plays a crucial role in how we feel.
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