Weekly musings, 6/25/17: on feeling

Weekly musings, 6/25/17: on feeling
I was chatting with a client of mine recently. She is a therapist that specializes in trauma and PTSD. 

One of her patients came in last week and was telling her about leg sensations he has had for years. He couldn’t quite articulate what he experienced with his legs, other than the fact they didn’t feel like they belonged to him. 

After asking a few questions, his therapist had him come into a wall sit position. This is a position I have been using with her to improve proprioceptive awareness of the pelvis in relation to the mid back. 

Once he finished a few breaths, he sat down. “How do you feel?” she asked.

“Aware of my legs,” he replied.

“Is this a good thing or a bad thing?”

“It’s amazing. I feel like they belong to me; I have a sense of control that I didn’t have before.”

One of the great values of exercise is it puts you in touch with your body. The sensations that arise during exercise remind of us that different areas support us. Tapping into these sensations and different areas can have a deeper impact than just on a person’s physical well-being.

*If you are interested in exploring the mind/body connection as it relates to trauma, this article touches upon the topic: https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/06/20/the-body-keeps-the-score-van-der-kolk/