Peeling the Body’s Layers of Emotions like an onion
The work I do peels away the layers of trapped negative emotion that have been frozen in time and this can prompt the healing crisis to occur, for when we begin to strip away layers of armour through bodywork, it can be as significant and painful as the original trauma because the first stage of a healing crisis is to come out of numbness and bring back sensation and emotion to the body. If you have been numb for years it can be frightening when the sensations arise. Coming out of numbness into sensation is the first step in healing, but it can be a daunting process.
Imagine all the cells in your body are represented by a box filled with emotions. During a HEART-MINDful Tantra session, the lid on this box gets opened allowing the trapped negative emotions to escape. This release may take place during the session and after the session, indeed it is usual for this to continue for up to three days after treatment. During this period, the lid of the box is still open and it slowly shuts down to its original position. Three days after treatment you will be less negative and feel more positive and alive. The healing recovery process will depend on the number of blocks one has and the intensity of the treatment. Some clients have taken over 2-3 weeks to recover and there is no way of telling how long recovery will take. Release comes in many forms and these are displayed below:
- Feel sad (crying for days)
- Feel frustrated
- Feel angry and rage
- Feel shame
- Feel mistrust
- Feel guilty
- Feel dirty and disgust
- Feel doubt
- Feel abused
- Headaches
- Spots appearing on face
- Spots appearing on body
- An illness
- Tummy aches
- Severe body aches
- Seeing bad dreams
- Feeling depressed
- Body shaking
It is important to acknowledge the release and fully feel all the emotions, as and when they come as waves in the sea. Breathe into them and let go. Be in a positive and supporting environment, drink lots of water, keep a hot water bottle, if the yoni or tummy aches, eat and drink non-toxic food between the sessions. Keep away from smoking, alcohol, drugs (unless prescribed by a medical professional), pain killers etc. as they suppress and numb the evoked emotions and put it back into the body.
Unfortunately, most mainstream medical professionals and professional therapists are not trained in how to understand the healing crisis. It is a very important part of the healing process, but is often overlooked or misunderstood with a healing crisis being labelled as a symptom of a “breakdown or insane”, or of abuse or disease. When people turn to medical professionals for help with their healing crisis, they are often medicated in order to suppress the symptoms. Whilst some individuals going through a healing crisis might be tempted to turn to alcohol, tobacco or drugs to suppress their emotions, whilst all of these may help to lessen the intensity of the experience, it will only suppress the emotions and stop the healing process.
Many people, who have experienced traumatic events in their life, live their life without feeling and find solace in their numbness, then when physical and emotional symptoms manifest they seek help, but the road to recovery can be unpleasant and very painful in the beginning.
The symptoms of a healing crisis can include pain, pressure, and lack of coordination. Whilst other symptoms include frequent urination, heavy sweating, depression, explosive anger, extreme sadness and even vomiting or diarrhoea. The body during these times tends to enter into a state of chaos with extreme tiredness and fever symptoms being common.
A healing crisis is a profound experience where the body is able to expel stored emotions and begin to regain equilibrium. Donald Epstein writes in Healing Myths Healing Magic, “Once again, disease is not a mistake of a stupid body; it is the body’s attempt to reorganise its energy systems to allow for a greater exchange of information and energy and thus a greater expression of consciousness.”
The healing crisis should not be repressed, but embraced as our body is attempting to come back to balance and harmony. The healing crisis is not creating new problems for the body but releasing the issues that are lying dormant deep below the surface. As the body attempts to unblock that which is blocked and return us back to our natural flow, we can often feel at our lowest ebb, but it will pass and when it has, we will feel restored and nurtured.
Donald Epstein writes in Healing Myths Healing Magic, “Healing occurs the instant a physical or mechanical obstruction is removed, or the instant we express our inner wisdom. Healing occurs the instant that parts of our body begin to share their stories with one another. Healing occurs the moment we liberate blocked energy that is stored in different areas of our body, or when our breath becomes more easy and natural.”
When experiencing a healing crisis after treatment we should never attempt to block it, but trust in the experience and go with the healing flow. There are no rules about the symptoms that will be experienced or the time that it will take. Emma Bragdon writes on the question of how long it will take in ‘The Call of Spiritual Emergency,’ “There is no answer to this. It depends on what kind of patterns of spiritual emergence people are experiencing. If the experience is physically very intense, it will end when the body gets tired of the intensity. Likewise, if it is very emotional, the crisis will end up when the body tires of catharsis. All life pulsates, expands and contracts. A contraction cycle will inevitably follow an expansion. An expansion will inevitably follow a contraction.”
How to Handle a Healing Crisis?
Accept the way you feel during and after a HEART-MINDful Tantra session as a way of letting go of those stagnant negative emotions and trauma, rather than keeping them in your body which does more harm than good in every aspect in your life. What you feel during and after the session is all about triggering your past and very little to do with during the session. The walls you hit are very important as it gives an opportunity to walk through them during subsequent sessions, without running away from them which you have done all your life. Work as a team with the giver, be present. It’s important to come to the session with no expectations, knowing that you don’t have to remove all your life long blocks and emotions in one session. Communicate your needs and feelings to the giver in a non-blaming way and work as a team and let him / her be the catalyst for your healing process. Be patient and enjoy the HEART-MINDful Tantric journey.
- Seek a safe and supportive environment. Find support with loved ones or family and avoid negative individuals.
- Ask for help from positive supportive people who understand the healing process. It is almost impossible to take care of yourself in the same manner when experiencing a healing crisis.
- Keep a journal, sometimes writing down your thoughts and feelings is a good way of processing.
- Surrender to the experience. Do not fight the process or try to rationalise it, just go with it and allow yourself time and space to process your healing. Avoid toxins and stimulants. Try not to use food or other addictions to suppress these new feelings and sensations. Try to eat a natural, vegetarian diet and drink plenty of water.
- Get out into nature. HEART-MINDful walking offers an opportunity for sanctuary when you feel the need for inner peace and harmony which is helpful for the healing process.
- Take time to nurture yourself with HEART-MINDful Pauses and Meditation. Loving kindness and self-awareness helps prevent falling into depression. Depression takes hold when the energy of emotion does not flow out of us.
- Yoga, tai chi, gentle swimming and other positive meditations can be very helpful but avoid strenuous exercise.
- Above all be kind to yourself.
If all above are not helping you, please contact me. I’d be happy to listen to you and see how I can best serve you. I’m here to support you with love and help you complete your healing process.