come home to yourself
With the pace of modern life, it is easy to lose track of how our brains offload a lot of stress onto our bodies. Considering that our nervous system is ultimately in charge of all the things our body does when we aren't paying very close attention, we can experience a lot of mental tension through tension in our bodies, and through no fault of our own. Chronic shoulder, neck, and hip/low back pain is very often due to years of postural compensation for what is happening cognitively like anxiety-related bracing. But, when we treat our bodies with care through massage and other ways to relax, we send the message to our brain that it's safe to relax; on the other side of relaxing some of that tension potentially lies some emotional clearing. Science has long lauded the benefits of bodywork in tandem with psychotherapy, and my invitation to you is to work with me or your counselor to find what degree of touch works for you in your path.