Life, from the individual cell all the way to the full-bodied organism, will do all that it can to self-heal, self-regulate and in the ideal environment, life will thrive.
When we look right down to single-cell organisms, they will recoil from anything that which is life-hindering or life-threatening (and move towards that which is life-enhancing). Here we see a fundamental binary response at the basis of all life on Earth.
If you have some kind of distress somewhere in your body, you will unconsciously cater for it, first and foremost. You will physically guard for it. When you consider the above, this is a very reasonable response and it is protective. What this means for you is that attempts to move your body in an optimal fashion and allow full physical expression, may be hindered and sacrificed to protect other underlying distress in the body. ie. your muscles can be inhibited from working by your nervous system to protect a more important function.
Eg.
When we look right down to single-cell organisms, they will recoil from anything that which is life-hindering or life-threatening (and move towards that which is life-enhancing). Here we see a fundamental binary response at the basis of all life on Earth.
If you have some kind of distress somewhere in your body, you will unconsciously cater for it, first and foremost. You will physically guard for it. When you consider the above, this is a very reasonable response and it is protective. What this means for you is that attempts to move your body in an optimal fashion and allow full physical expression, may be hindered and sacrificed to protect other underlying distress in the body. ie. your muscles can be inhibited from working by your nervous system to protect a more important function.
Eg.
- One’s core/abdominal muscles are unlikely contract around an irritated digestive system. The same applies to conditions such as period pain and endometriosis.
- The muscles around a compressed and irritated knee or hip joint (from a current or past injury) may not turn on and contract as they normally should or may be locked on to avoid further irritation, forcing us to use different muscles and move in a different way.
- You might drop through your arches/over-pronate to reduce the shock absorbing load on an irritated and compressed lower back.
- One may have constant neck and jaw tension or may suffer from teeth-grinding in an attempt to keep their airways as open as possible if they may otherwise be narrowed.
- A full breath may be impeded upon when guarding yourself from grief and emotional distress.
~~ This is where I, as a holistic body-worker, can play a role for you. In helping you to identify these underlying distresses and providing a safe space (an ideal physical and physiological environment) in which they can resolve ~~
This is the basis of Osteopathy. Removing obstructions to health. Looking to that which is impeding upon the body’s ability to restore, heal and maintain optimal function, allowing us as both individuals and as part of the life around us, to thrive.
So what are these underlying stressors in the body? Well, these can be wide and varied..
When Osteopathy was developed in 1800’s Mid-West America, the air and water was clean, the soil was full of life, the food was nutrient and enzymatically rich, free of chemical toxins and there was an absence of non-native electromagnetic interference. And people were active!
At the time, distress in the body largely came from physical traumas and the resulting neurological and vascular reactions to said traumas. Again, the body’s response to such an event is to lock-down and protect the area, which is ideal in the short-term but the consequence of this is that, in the long-run, this tension not only impedes on our ability to move freely and with fluidity but it also impedes on the body’s ability to deliver fresh nutrient/oxygen-rich blood and to remove the waste of cellular activity and repair. This resultant chronic stagnation will not only result in gradual degradation of the physical body in this region, but the stagnation of fluid will also provide the perfect breeding ground for opportunistic bacteria and other micro-organisms. This was Osteopathy of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Yes, treating physical ailments, however, for a large part, osteopathic hospitals were managing acute illness. Or better put, assisting to remove physical obstructions to the immune system so that it could function optimally.
Whilst there has certainly been a reduction in acute infections and illnesses over the last century, today we are now seeing an epidemic in chronic health conditions. The result of a never-ending bombardment of stress on our bodies, largely through the degradation of our food systems and an overwhelming amount of increasing toxicity.
Stressors impeding on the body’s ability to heal can be and is often a combination of
So what are these underlying stressors in the body? Well, these can be wide and varied..
When Osteopathy was developed in 1800’s Mid-West America, the air and water was clean, the soil was full of life, the food was nutrient and enzymatically rich, free of chemical toxins and there was an absence of non-native electromagnetic interference. And people were active!
At the time, distress in the body largely came from physical traumas and the resulting neurological and vascular reactions to said traumas. Again, the body’s response to such an event is to lock-down and protect the area, which is ideal in the short-term but the consequence of this is that, in the long-run, this tension not only impedes on our ability to move freely and with fluidity but it also impedes on the body’s ability to deliver fresh nutrient/oxygen-rich blood and to remove the waste of cellular activity and repair. This resultant chronic stagnation will not only result in gradual degradation of the physical body in this region, but the stagnation of fluid will also provide the perfect breeding ground for opportunistic bacteria and other micro-organisms. This was Osteopathy of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Yes, treating physical ailments, however, for a large part, osteopathic hospitals were managing acute illness. Or better put, assisting to remove physical obstructions to the immune system so that it could function optimally.
Whilst there has certainly been a reduction in acute infections and illnesses over the last century, today we are now seeing an epidemic in chronic health conditions. The result of a never-ending bombardment of stress on our bodies, largely through the degradation of our food systems and an overwhelming amount of increasing toxicity.
Stressors impeding on the body’s ability to heal can be and is often a combination of
- past traumas (physical and other), injuries and psycho-emotional distress (link)
- past infections, surgeries and scarring, illnesses and diseases
- dietary insufficiencies and microbiome imbalances (link) - Click for High Quality Digestive Enzymes
- environmental toxicity in our air, food and water systems, chemicals, blue-light toxicity and non-native electromagnetic interference (link)
- poor sleep and breathing patterns (link)
- past dental work (link with sleep/breathing)
- resultant chemical, hormonal and electrical imbalances
- a chronic lack of physical movement and expression.