Suffering = Pain x Resistance
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The Freeze Response, Holding Patterns, Resistance and Suffering
When we are faced with trauma or drama we have three choices. The first two most people are familiar with, they are fight or flight. When we are overstimulated, threatened or pushed over our threshold we can run away; the danger is gone and we can move on. When we fight, we face our fears or our conflicts and someone wins or loses and the event is over. We are all familiar with these two reactions. The third reaction that we don’t think about is to freeze. It is referred to as the “freeze response”. When we freeze, energy from this event is stored in our connective tissue until we are able to deal with it fully. But we know tomorrow never comes. Layer upon layer we freeze, brace, or RESIST whatever is going on. We all have a threshold for what we can handle before we start to resist. When we are pushed over our threshold and resist, this creates a holding pattern in the body. Over time these layers become a phenomen known as “body memory”. Body memory is bioelectric energy from past events that is stored in our connective tissue. How does one get body memory? Accidents, injuries, negative emotional states, holding the same position for long periods of time are all examples of ways the body creates body memory. It’s a knee-jerk reaction that the body uses to try to protect us from harm. Even when the danger has passed, the holding pattern remains because the viscosity of the connective tissue has become more rigid. It changes from something like a gel to more like a glue or cement. The resistance has created this change. The fascial restrictions that occur create adhesions, fascial restrictions and fascial binding. This creates suffering. When resistance stops, the suffering goes away. Anytime you are feeling pain or discomfort in the body, this means that you have resisted something or someone being the way that they are. All discomfort comes from resistance, either consciously or unconsciously. There are no exceptions. Sometimes we have control over things that happen to us. Sometimes we do not. When the resistance stops, the suffering goes away. The first step to letting go of body memory is the realize that we are resisting. We’ll address more later in another posting. Stay tuned.
WHAT IS CONNECTIVE TISSUE?
Connective Tissue is the largest tissue system of the body. It wraps around our muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, our visceral organs like our heart and lungs, our cardiovascular system is lined with it and it is one continuous web. It is made out of elastin, collagen and extrastitial fluid. It compartementalizes us and gives us our shape. It has a certain viscosity and in its natural state it is like a gel. When we are faced with trauma or drama, that viscosity changes into something more rigid like a glue or a cement. It creates fascial restrictions (fibrous connective tissue separating or binding together muscles and organs etc) that can lead to all sorts of problems such as trigger points, diminished range of motion, impinged nerves and blood vessels and pain. When the fascial system is compromised, the body is out of balance.
Stay tuned for more in the next blog post.
