mind and body integration
Our brain is connected to the rest of our body through millions of neurons that send and receive information to the brain continuously. When our mind and body are integrated, information flows with ease through this system. This allows us to know ourselves more fully, regulate our emotions, connect on a deeper level with others, and experience a sense of well being. When our sense of safety is threatened, we cut off some of these connections, which is adaptive and instinctual. It helps us get through hard times.
signs of dis-integration
You may find yourself in a thought or behavioral loop as if a threat were still present and cant figure out how to “turn it off.” You may suspect that your current suffering has its roots in development trauma but don’t know where to start in addressing it. You may know exactly where all the grief is coming from but feel hijacked by our own nervous system when triggered. You may want deep connections with people in your life and yet not be able to tolerate intimacy, leaving you feel always dissatisfied and lonely.
how we address mind-body integration together
Vertical Integration The picture of the tree above is a great way to conceptualize our nervous system. We think of the brain as being in our head alone, but as is the case with a large tree, what you see above ground is only half of the organism. For a healthy tree to thrive we can’t nurture only the branches while cutting off access to the root system below ground. The tree wouldn’t get any nutrients and would quickly die.
The body has its own experience outside of the brain that is unfiltered, pure, and raw. The experience travels from the body into the brain where the brain creates thoughts and meaning around the sensory information. In therapy, we learn ways to pay attention to the body’s language. We reconnect to the body as a source of true information about ourselves while nourishing ourselves in the process. We work to make the body a safe, comfortable, and reliable resource for you when presented with life’s challenges.
Bilateral Integration The picture above shows two hemispheres of the brain, the left and the right. Most of us identify most closely with our thoughts (Left Brain). However the non-verbal, body-connected Right Brain is ten times faster at processing information than the Left Brain. This means that thought, what we think of as being “us,” is actually an interpretation of sensations that have been filtered through the emotional Right Brain. Thought, therefore, is highly subjective. Some of the tools I utilize in the therapy room help to balance the functioning of both sides of the brain and bring the two sides in greater communication with one another, creating a more potent sense of self-awareness and understanding.