Because you are close to me and always available,
My confidence will never be shaken.
For I experience your wraparound presence every moment.
My heart and soul explode with joy.
Even my body will rest confident and secure.
For you bring me a continual revelation of resurrection life,
The path to the bliss that brings me face to face with you.
Psalm 16 8-11 Joy and grief can and do coexist.
A true grieving process is often so foreign to us.
Our culture doesn't really allow for the pause needed to work through our sadness and pain.
We downplay our emotions,
Apologize for our withdrawing and assure ourselves that we don't have it as hard as someone else.
But our bodies don't see it that way.
Pent-up grief can manifest in many ways.
It can look like feeling lazy or unproductive,
Fatigue,
Irritability,
Anger,
Anxiety,
Loss of creativity,
Restlessness,
Loneliness.
The list is endless.
Usually our body will alert us even if our mind tries to ignore it.
Processing emotions can and does look different in each person's case.
Grieving can consist of giving praise and thanksgiving through the pain.
Carving out quiet time to rest,
Giving your body adequate nutrients,
And hydrating physically and emotionally.
Cutting out as much excess in your life as you can and filling the space with movement and comfort of the body.
Our bodies need to work through grief.
When we experience constant stress or trauma and grief falls under stress,
We begin to learn how to shut off the sensations in our own bodies.
This limits our time feeling physically present.
The body needs to move in order to protect itself or the trauma we have experienced gets frozen in the nervous system,
Causing all kinds of detrimental issues.
Trauma is caused when the body is unable to move as hormones are surging.
Trauma then becomes trapped when we are not in movement.
Our bodies go through a period of grieving after a traumatic experience of any kind and an important part of the grieving process occurs through movement.
Somatic healing is a holistic way to work through trauma and emotions that have not been fully resolved.
Movement is also a physical representation through which we can track our healing.
It allows a person to listen,
Respond,
And engage with their own body and in turn learn and heal.
Know that your body and mind might just require rest and relaxation to process first.
You are allowed to feel all things all at once.
Going through the grieving process does not guarantee that life will magically work out in your favor.
What it does do is release static emotions providing the necessary clarity and healing to move forward and thrive.
David Kessler,
A leading grief expert,
Says emotions need motion.
How do we begin to safeguard our conscience and remain discerning when our bodies and minds seem to turn on us or act out due to residual trauma?
We worship.
Giving praise to our Creator is one of the greatest acts of healing.
It calls us into humility,
Infuses us with courage,
And interrupts a path forwards towards confusion.
It takes us out of self-reliance and it illuminates self-worth.
We are reminded of who we are and why we were created.
So what does worship look like?
It's an expression of gratitude to our Creator.
It can be released in written form,
The spoken word,
Singing,
Dancing,
Movement,
Or other creative outlets.
Worship is a holistic act that travels the course through our minds and bodies and is lifted up to the one who knew our name and history before we even came to be.
Our grieving processes will each look different and I encourage you to lean into yours.
Oftentimes when PTSD is the aftermath of a traumatic incident,
One can become numb and disassociative.
It can be difficult to truly engage in the present or break out of the fight or flight cycle.
Grief processing through movement helps reconnect the mind and body.
The autonomic nervous system,
While designed to be self-regulated,
Becomes dysregulated when the body gets into a self-protecting loop created by trauma.
Our fight or flight mode gets frozen in the on position.
It is critical that there is a recognition and release of this physical tension.
The parasympathetic nervous system needs to be engaged to give our bodies a break from this cycle.
This is where somatic healing comes into play.
Somatic simply means the living body.
It is the experience and sense of the body from the first person perspective.
Somatic healing is a holistic way to work through trauma and emotions that have not been fully resolved.
Using movement to release static energy reintegrates the body and mind.
This allows for a more complete healing and for energy to naturally flow through the body once again.
Movement is also a physical representation through which we can track our own healing.
It allows a person to listen,
Respond,
And engage with their own body and in turn learn and heal.
A lot of times we are told what we must do to heal in a one-size-fits-all type way,
But each body and mind and trauma experience are vastly different.
It adds a level of healing when we implement healing techniques that are specific to our unique needs.
We are then able to chart our progress by listening and learning from our bodies.
It is an aspect of healing that allows you to become your own healer.
Not only is somatic healing so beneficial to our relationship with our bodies,
But it can even be a more enjoyable way to start the healing process.
The best thing about somatic healing is that it guides us into a more loving relationship with our bodies.
The great divide between our minds and our bodies must be reconnected for healing to be complete.
It is also a good gauge on where we are in the healing process.
If we are critical of our bodies and feel uncomfortable or disconnected from them,
There's still work to be done.
I encourage you to make it a point to find five minutes where you can take time to speak life-giving words over your body.
The goal is to come from a place of gratitude.
Appreciation of our bodies,
No matter how they function or how unhappy we are with them,
Is all a part of healing fully.
Speaking words of love over our bodies combined with movement has a profound effect on our souls.
A few somatic modalities include dancing to break up stagnant thoughts and orient the body to joy,
Stretching when difficult memories arise to dissolve the tension that comes to the surface and brings a sense of relief to the weight of what we are mentally carrying,
Deep breathing to bring the body into a state of relaxation and calm,
Crying to release emotions and trauma by releasing oxytocin and endorphins,
Both of which soothe physical and emotional wounds,
Salt baths to relax the mind and body,
And laughter to soothe and lighten the soul.
I encourage you to lean into your healing journey.
You deserve to heal fully and completely.
Because you are close to me and always available,
My confidence will never be shaken,
For I experience your wraparound presence every moment.
My heart and soul explode with joy.
Even my body will rest confident and secure,
For you bring me a continual revelation of resurrection life,
The path to the bliss that brings me face to face with you.
