During my myofascial release training I was taught about detachment. Detachment is when someone checks out of their body during a traumatic event so they do not feel the physical or emotional pain that is being caused. Daydreaming is a form of detachment. Maybe you are sitting through a lecture that is not inspiring you so you begin thinking about your to-do list or a conversation that you want to have. Have you ever been talking on the phone with someone and you can’t remember what they just said or asked someone a question and have no idea what their answer was? Have you driven down a stretch of road and not remembered passing by familiar places? Have you eaten so fast or done a job so fast that you can’t remember what you just did? You detached for a brief moment. No harm was done, but being present with all that you do will most definitely enrich your experiences. Having difficulty with your memory? Become present and you will remember far more. This also means either stop doing what you don’t like or find the value and richness in all that you are doing.
When we have surgery, we are put to sleep and cut into. Our soul may not be able to take this and you may detach yourself from that experience. When I get a shot or have blood drawn, I don’t want to watch so I detach myself from that place and then it doesn’t hurt as much. These are brief moments of detachment for self-preservation. There are horrible events in people’s lives in which the pain is so great that they detach from their bodies so their soul cannot hurt. There are cumulative traumas in which people are in abusive relationships where they detach or make excuses to keep themselves safe. This is part of survival, but the longer you are in survival mode, the more your body will shut down because it is being held in this protective holding pattern of self-preservation. You are bringing the past into the present. The more you can be present at this moment in all the events of your life and feel what is happening to a certain extent or even just acknowledge what is happening and find some form of gratitude in it, the better off you will be.
Why? When we acknowledge what is and be present, then we can move forward. Otherwise, our soul and our nervous system will get stuck in the fight, flight or freeze mode. We will be in perpetual fear that will associate with other events or circumstances in our lives until we are consumed with fear. This fear will hold us back robbing us of sleep, wellness, and passion in our lives.
I was recently working on a client and I felt a heaviness in her body with a strong stillness. I recalled in my MFR training that these were signs of detachment or that she had left her body. During unwinding in which you allow your body to freely move as a form of healing when you feel a point where there is no movement, you are very heavy, very tired, etc. these are indications of a time you may have detached in order to survive. Some people feel this every day and are diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. They have detached in order to survive and do not know how to get back. We can detach from interactions with people trying to avoid getting hurt. We detach from people who have hurt us, but once again, this is bringing the past to the present. What has happened has happened.
So, how do you get back? Know that you have survived and you are now safe to come back into the present moment. Grounding meditations that are full of gratitude for everything will bring you back to the present moment. Let the main focus be on getting yourself present not thinking of the future or the past.
“The past has no power over the present moment.”
~ Eckhart Tolle
The Voyage to HEAL is a process of bringing you back to peace in this present moment. If you have online access, review meditations 1, 2, and 3 to ground yourself, feel safe, and let go of fear. You may also purchase the meditation downloads here. Click Here for the Inner Peace Meditations
Weekly Voyage to HEAL Focus:
Stretch: Unwind! Put some music on that you like, reach your arms out to the side and imagine that you are being pulled or pushing out, take a deep breath and imagine that your body is a rubber band being pulling at the head and foot. One end is released and let your body freely move wherever it wants to go. Feel from still points and breath here saying I survived and I am now safe. Click here to purchase the Unwinding and Rebounding chapter
Exercise: Reach your arms out to the side, turn your core on and rotate left and right stopping yourself 10 times turning the lateral oblique muscles on.
Postural Correction: Slouch! I know I just told you to slouch. Sometimes when people sit up too straight and pull their shoulders back, there is so much tension that the head protrudes forward and the lower back tightens up. It’s ok to slouch every so often. You don’t always have to be on alert sitting or standing at attention.
Perspective Enlightenment: You are totally and completely safe at this moment and forever more. When stress and anxiety arise, remind yourself that God is always with you and your soul can never be broken. If you are still here, you have survived the past. The past is not the present and the present is not the future. You are safe.
God Speed on your Voyage to HEAL
Love, Jocelyn
