I have always known that I hold issues in my tissues. I believe I hold unreleased emotion in my body. Think about when you are stressed. Do you resort to shallow breathing? I know, at times, I find myself not breathing fully when I am focused intently on something, such as writing this article. I remind myself to breathe deeply, even to stand and stretch when I am feeling tension in my arms or neck or find myself not enjoying deep full breaths.
Denise La Barre has written an amazing book addressing these issues. I think that your life and your health can be improved if you take the time to listen to your body. For those of us with no training, La Barre’s book, Issues In Your Tissues, is easy to read, packed with great exercises and anecdotes of her experience in thirty years of bodywork.
La Barre said, “The trick is recognizing your symptoms as an indication that there may be something non-physical to heal and then letting your body guide you to a solution.”
Cute cartoons illustrate the difference between chest breathing and belly breathing, which for some reason helped me; I think because it was fun and entertaining.
Also I love this chapter of her book entitled “The Gift of Breakdown” where La Barre writes, “The human blueprint says we’re born whole with our minds and bodies in fully open communication. Over time with the input of information, social mores, parental expectation and peer pressure, our mind started to run the show. Even though mind and body still ‘talk’ to each other the physical voice becomes like background noise and as adults we ignore it until the body cranks up the volume to get our attention with pain or other symptoms.”
Boy can I relate. I just worked way too much this past month, until my body rebelled and shut down with a fever and sore throat until I rested.
I realize now I don’t have to get sick to rest. Now I am more conscious about truly resting my body when I work more than usual.
I have been affected by the economic stresses over the last year and I have realized that by working more I wasn’t really helping myself or my business. I am reintegrating regular cardio exercise as a stress buster and the fun stuff like surfing. I need them both. Cardio here I come!
If you are looking to understand your body better in an easy to read book, I recommend Denise La Barre’s Issues In Your Tissues. You won’t be disappointed.
Published by Healing Catalyst Press. For more information visit www.healingcatalyst.com or e-mail pr@healingcatalyst.com. — SLM