Hope: in Your Body
Hope. Is it in you?
One of the most powerful tools for healing, hope can nudge a recalcitrant immune system into its natural porch-swing-rhythm of self-regulation. My goal as a bodyworker is not to instill hope in my clients but to elicit hope. And further, to bring to awareness a felt sense of hope----- one that arises organically, from inside each of us.
For anybody who's suffering, hope can seem like just a distant dream, an idea far disconnected from our current reality. Why be mindful of this moment? If my body isn't functioning well, I can't think straight. Tomorrow promises no sparkle, no smile when I don't feel like myself. My body seeks safety, and speedy relief. Be here now? Let's fight, or switch. Reach out and touch? Isolate.
So whether you're seeking pain relief or help with overwhelm, I realize that even phoning to get information may take extra energy. Take it easy on your physiology by going at your own pace. By doing just a little at a time, your body can get you there. I'd like to tell you about a client who has walked this path, despairing, but bravely sought help. And then one day, she came to feel hope. Remarkably, over time, with encouragement and gentle physical support, hope helped boost her system back into balance.
"Julie", who was referred to me by her psychotherapist, struggled with emotional issues since childhood. When I met her, she was receiving IV feedings because her digestive system was effectively "starving" her, not accepting food. Unable to work full-time, she had survived on disability for years. In collaboration with her psychotherapist, who she continued seeing regularly, I worked gently to stabilize her viscera and her nervous system. Over months, her system became less reactive. After several memorable sessions, the shift came unexpectedly one day in my office. With tears in her eyes, she said, "I get it." What she had experienced was not only her felt sense of the body's potential to heal, but a paradigm shift toward empowerment. She didn't need to continue searching, demanding for healers to "fix" her. She sensed within her embodied potential -- hope.
Far from the end of Julie's healing journey, this marked a point from which her strength, balance, and empowerment continued to grow. Previously rail-thin, she gained weight as her digestive system re-regulated itself. With increased physical stamina, she was able to manage household tasks and add exercise. Her visits to see me became less frequent. She eventually found paid employment and moved to another city.
From these moments where we notice a shift --- when Hope becomes embodied --- my practice is inspired.
TRY IT
What might Hope feel like --- as a physical sensation in the body?
Is it like a sparkle, making your eye glisten? A flame of compassion burning in your heart, that you're yearning to share? Firm connection with the ground? It will feel differently for everybody; there is no one way. And tomorrow, it might feel differently from today.
