Unlocking Body Thoughts
By Frank Bronson
His first words were "Oh my god! This is real"
My friend had just encountered his first experience of having his body thoughts read and released. It had taken him several years and much prompting for him to come to this session.
As an old business colleague, he never understood why I left a successful business career to practice and teach Body Harmony until I finally convinced him to try a session.
His experience was identical to the one which drew me into the field. I sent him to the friend who had originally "worked" on me. In the course of the session he had his body thoughts read and the practitioner told him things about himself that no one else in the world was supposed to know. In fact, no one could possibly know about these events in his life because he had never told anyone about them.
Having been "blown away" by a similar experience many years ago, I at first thought it was magic, this ability to read the thoughts and memories of the body.
Once I began to explore it, I discovered it was not only real, but readily accessible to everyone. It is not a psychic exercise available only to the clairvoyant. It is a practical physical process available to all. Reading the body is much like reading a book. You just have to understand the writing.
With practice it becomes extremely easy to see in the body the events that shape a person's life. In fact, once you start looking and opening yourself to receive information, it becomes extremely difficult not to see it. Bodies (especially the feet which are the gossips of the body) have been so neglected and overlooked that they respond with great enthusiasm when someone speaks directly to them. They cannot wait to tell their story, their entire story, and they have no withholding or secrets when they talk.
Being able to contact a person's body thoughts, including your own, offers benefits on many levels. By responding appropriately to body thoughts you can change lives. The body will tell you how to communicate effectively with a person, what words to use and actions to take. It will tell you how to reach that person and get your message through. It will tell you how to release unhealthy and restrictive thoughts from the body. It will tell you what action is appropriate in every circumstance for your own success and happiness. In short, it will tell you whatever you need to know.
Your body is the physical representative of your soul. Everything that has ever happened to you exists in your body. It is a storehouse for all your victories, successes and triumphs as well as your injuries, failures and traumas. All of these events are thoughts, which are stored in the body. By affecting our bodies, they affect our lives. Until released, incomplete traumas and memories from your body will be limiting factors in your life. Even some scientific circles are now acknowledging what bodyworkers have known for many years; memory resides in the connective tissues of the body. This is the magic that allows for contacting the body's thoughts and unlocking its restrictions.
Many traditional forms of medicine and psychotherapy now acknowledge the importance of bodywork or physical therapy in releasing the memory of traumatic experiences from the body. This is especially true in cases of abuse and incest. The mind may choose to forget or ignore traumatic events, but the body never does. Until memory is physically released from the body, a person is never truly free from the effects of such an event.
The tissues of the human body cannot tell a lie. It is not possible. The mind, however, is another story. So often when I work with people I get two answers to the questions I ask. One from their mind, via their mouth, and the other from their body. I trust the body's answer. The mind is able to devise an elaborate defense system of thoughts, rationalizations and avoidances. The body cannot. At worst bodies can honestly believe a lie the mind has told them over and over again. They cannot tell a lie. This is where physical problems arise in the body. Either the mind has overridden the body and convinced it to do something not in its best interest, or the body has decided to believe in a lie the mind has devised.
The cause always comes down to a thought and the effect is always seen in the body. This is why releasing body thoughts is such an effective process in the realms of healing and personal growth. The human body has an innate ability to heal itself, to live in the glory of the now and to reclaim its original birthright of unlimitedness. All it has to do is release the restrictions and limitations imposed on it by thoughts and belief systems.
The process is actually very simple. It only requires that the mind is diverted long enough for the body to take over a function as it was designed. Have you ever wondered why you do not have everything you want in life, whether it is on the physical, material, mental, emotional or physical level? If so, take a look at your belief systems and thoughts. All limitations start with a thought. If you have worked on the thought process for years, as many people have, then why does the limitation still exist? Because all limitations share a common process which exists in the physical body as well as the mental body. The belief of a limitation becomes ingrained in the body and will remain there until it is released.
Fortunately, the process of unwinding and releasing thoughts and limitations from the body is quite easy. For any given limitation or negative thought there is a corresponding physical restriction somewhere in the connective tissue of the human body. The body is usually only too happy to tell you where the spot is and direct you in how to release it. When these restrictions are released, people experience a state of freedom, a flowing moment to moment state of pure unlimited divineness where they can realize all their dreams.
The process I use in contacting and unlocking body thoughts and restrictions is known around the world as Body Harmony. It is a simple, yet radical, profound and effective form of healing and living. The "secret" to the work, if there is one, is in the magic of touch. If you touch with awareness and sensitivity, with respect and openness, the body will talk to you. You must let your hand mold into the tissue of the person's body. Let it become a part of their body. Ask nothing from their body. Using your hands, simply be there for their body, asking it what you can do for it to support it and help it unwind. Most bodies have been neglected so long they are thrilled to have someone to speak to. And in such a simple thing as touch there is magic which borders on the miraculous. It is a touch that can set you free.
The human body knows how to heal itself. If you are willing to listen, truly listen, the body will direct you. It will tell you the exact physics required and how to apply them. If you follow its instructions, the body will release the thoughts and limitations it has laboured under all its life. In the process, both you and anyone you work with undertakes a journey into the magical realm of healing.
The information is there for anyone willing to listen and serve. It is present in your own body and with everyone you meet. All you have to do is listen. If you listen, the body will tell you its secrets. And having told them will be free to move on.
Floatation Therapy And Body Harmony
by Peta Jacobs
Imagine floating weightless, feeling warm, safe and deeply relaxed and receiving gentle, non-intrusive bodywork at the same time. This, my vision, is now a reality.
Wellspring combines the benefits of flotation therapy and Body Harmony. It is an experience which clients describe as exquisite", "profound", "extraordinary", "unlike anything I have experienced in my life".
FLOATATION THERAPY was discovered in the 1950s when space scientists were trying to simulate weightlessness when training astronauts.
The benefits of floating have been well documented. It is a quick, simple way of attaining very deep relaxation and it helps a wide variety of conditions. Blood pressure and heart rate drop and oxygen intake improves. It also helps to alleviate pain and stress, leaving you feeling renewed.
BODY HARMONY, the other part of the Wellspring equation, is a hands-on healing treatment influential on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels.
Working with the individual's uniqueness in that moment, it recognises the client as the expert on themselves. Observing and listening with every sense, the practitioner follows the body's guidance to release stories and imprinted traumas from the tissues, emancipating its historical limitations.
Don McFarland, the founder of Body Harmony, is certified in over 80 different bodywork systems across the world and has synthesised the elements he found most effective. He is continually adding to his repertoire so Body Harmony is perpetually evolving.
HOW WELLSPRING CAME ABOUT
I was an experienced 'floater' when I encountered Body Harmony and immediately saw the potential of giving Body Harmony in a flotation pool. Don McFarland's descriptions of group Body Harmony sessions in hot springs fuelled my desire to combine the benefits of both Body Harmony and floating. The supporting buoyancy of flotation would allow me to work in water one-to-one with my clients. The notion was enticing and insistent.
The results of experiments in local flotation tanks were exciting, inspiring and beyond my expectations. I knew I had to have my own pool and had one custom built.
The Wellspring float pool is larger than other floatation tanks and is not enclosed, being housed in its own tranquil room. We observe stringent water hygiene regulations. The strong solution of mineral salts means the water is sterile (like the Dead Sea). A small amount of disinfecting chemicals is added, the water is filtered thoroughly, and is treated with an energy balancer and cleanser after every session. The salts make the water extremely buoyant so even non-swimmers bob on the surface. They are also beneficial to the skin and prevent it from crinkling in the water.
Safely supported, your body has unrestricted opportunities to unwind through every plane. Our bodies remember everything which happens to us. Memories of trauma and difficult experiences can cause compression in the body tissues which leads to restricted function and mobility at many levels in our bodies and lives. The fluid working environment gives access to complete liberation and unwinding of compressed tissues. The conductivity of the water enhances the communication between the tissues and the practitioner. It enables effective work on fine and minute levels, the most subtle levels are the most profound. Gentle techniques, unique to this environment, have developed and by its nature it is a continually evolving form of work.
Traditionally, water is healing and is inherently relaxing, and we have evolutionary and gestational origins in water. Two-thirds of the human body is composed of fluids and naturally responds well in water.
STRESS
It is well documented that an individual's state of mind and life condition are key factors to his or her own inner healing abilities. Being over-stressed creates imbalances which can lead to a variety of conditions and can hamper the body's attempts to maintain homeostasis and good health. A major feature of the Wellspring therapy is profound and total relaxation. Sessions have a lasting impact on stress-related conditions and sense of well-being.
My Experience - ANNIE
I was very skeptical about the benefits of floating in a tank of water but my first experience in Peta's pool changed me - not only my viewpoint, but myself as well.
All my stresses and strains filtered away. The nerve ends of my skin felt the warm water in an acute sensation of all-over touch, like liquid velvet. My arms and legs stretched out in a star shape and slowly one arm freed itself and began to move of its own accord. Peta discovered a build-up of tissue under my collar bone (probably where it was broken before I could crawl). But it felt that this arm was symbolic of the right side of my body having other more obscure reasons to want to free itself.
When the session was over I felt as though I had been on holiday. In fact I was still on holiday, lasting well into the next day when I was supremely confident and successful at an important business meeting.
Each session is different, each having its own benefits. The most dramatic is connected to an intestinal problem I have been experiencing for some time but only recently took medical advice, when the doctor booked the earliest hospital (several months ahead). My body writhed and moved in the pool quite dramatically and it felt as though a loop of intestine was unwinding, releasing a constriction. Through the following week my symptoms went back to almost normal and now I no longer have any.
Also, a patch of eczema I have had on my neck for years has been eradicated.
My Experience - WILL
I approached the Wellspring therapy without any real idea of how I would react. I had already received Body Harmony for fatigue and asthma and thought the treatment, in the main, successful. Certainly, my tension was removed enough for me to enjoy several good night's sleep. I wanted to pursue release of tension and a general sense of panic within me so readily agreed to treatment in the pool.
No amount of explanation could have prepared me for my experience. I closed my eyes and, very quickly, all sense of time and space faded away and I felt, rather, that I was floating in space. I never knew where Peta was, though I always felt a reassuring contact.
My body began to move, and gentle hands moved with me, assisting rather than guiding. My body, especially neck and shoulders, was unwinding, unravelling tensions and traumas that seemed so old and hidden. I allowed this movement to continue, witnessing rather than initiating and, suddenly, a wave of grief passed over me and for a period, I don't know how long, I shuddered with that grief, as if weeping silently. Again, I could feel the contact of those reassuring hands. After a while, this unravelling receded like the tension in a clockwork motor and only stillness and calmness remained. I hung in space and a distant voice called me from deep within it - Peta was calling me back. I was unaware I had reached so far inside myself. I have never experienced such detachment before or since. I felt, quite literally, that a load had been lifted from my shoulders.
I have tried to make sense of my reaction to this treatment and can only conclude that my tension was a result of the various traumas in my life that had not been absorbed and released. In any event, my conclusion was that the "making sense" of a cure is not so important as enjoying the benefit of it.
My Experience - IAIN
I have had a stammer for as long as I can remember. During a brief consultation I talked about my stammer while Peta observed how my body responded to my words. She explained that she was noticing the places which would be most appropriate for her to start working. We adjourned to the flotation pool. The first session was very energetic. I found myself unwinding in ways I had never thought possible. I had a marvellous feeling of freedom and unrestricted expression. I became conscious how I had compressed and shortened myself trying to please and fit into other people's requirements of me. All of which was now being let go.
The results of this treatment were immediate. Although I still stammered it was not as often. I did not care as much about stammering and I did not have the same feelings of being rushed. Stammering no longer held a grip over me. I could now skip through it rather than plough through it.
The second treatment was very different. I wanted to commit myself to a deeper level of work to move forward with my issue. Once in the water I was a lot calmer. I wasn't unwinding physically nearly as much as before. Instead, I lost track of time and my surroundings and I knew intuitively that what I was 'dealing' with was on a much deeper level. At the end of the session I had a profound feeling of calmness and ease.
The people around me have also noticed that I stammer much less now and that when I do stammer I come out of it much more quickly. I have changed. I will continue to work on this with Wellspring.
My Experience - MICHELE
I had been a grateful receiver of Peta's Body Harmony work for some time when I became aware that I needed to go deeper into myself to truly heal before I could move my life forward. At this time Peta was developing Wellspring. First I had to overcome my deep fear of dying by drowning before I could bring myself to go in the water.
As my first session began, I realised my apprehension was actually because I was handing over my control to the unknown, not something I felt comfortable doing. Within minutes, it was like I had been transported to a place where calmness seemed to take over my body. The fact that I was in water was now irrelevant, my fear had vanished and I felt totally relaxed.
I was aware that even though I appeared not to be moving, deep within my body things were happening, muscles releasing something they had held on to for as long as I can remember. All the time Peta was there supporting me. I had never felt so safe and secure.
All of a sudden things became clear - I was not really able to live life fully because of my need to control everything. Wellspring opened the gate for me but the decision was mine whether to go through. I chose to go forward. Peta is now helping me to work through what is on the other side. The gate would have remained shut had it not been for Wellspring.
The Body Harmony® Experience
What Is Body Harmony?
by Lee Kuntz
Body Harmony is an open system, integrating both traditional and esoteric bodywork methods from around the world, with a singular focus: a gentle, sensitive, non-invasive touch and a personalized approach to each client and each client's issues. Body Harmony sees the client, not the practitioner, as the true source of healing, and sees the client's way rather than the practitioner's way as the path to that healing.
Our bodies are living, moving, and breathing storehouses of all of our life's experiences on all levels -- physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Positive, loving, joyous, and successful experiences expand our bodies and free our movements. Physical and mental traumas, judgments and limitations (both self-imposed and imposed by others), stress, and suppressed emotions compress our tissues and musculature, limiting our healing potential and the realization of our dreams. Our minds may choose not to remember past traumas, but our bodies never forget, and our bodies do not lie. Body Harmony honors and celebrates these truths of the body.
By listening to the body and following each person's own unique path to healing, Body Harmony allows the body to unwind, relax, and release past traumas, no matter what their origins or symptoms might be. When compressions and restrictions are removed from our bodies, so are the limitations that placed them there -- the "I cant's", the "you cant's", and the "who do you think you are's?" With these releases, the body comes into the present moment, and we experience more movement, freedom, vitality, and power -- the power to make real the dreams that our limitations had held from us.
Body Harmony imposes nothing and incorporates everything to empower the client on their path to life without limitations. By honoring the body as the ultimate truth-teller, Body Harmony is one of the most powerful tools available for empowerment and personal effectiveness in all areas of life.
The Benefits of Body Harmony Individual Sessions
Body Harmony sessions support each client's self-awareness and self-direction in healing, growth, and life effectiveness. A session typically begins with a discussion of the client's issues and goals, followed by an analysis of body posture, movement, and function relative to those issues and goals.
The client and practitioner then join together in an exploration of the best ways to allow the body to release the limitations standing in the way of resolving the client's issues and achieving their goals. The work is subtle yet powerful, simple yet profound.
Body Harmony sessions are for anyone wanting greater effectiveness and joy in their lives.
The Benefits of Body Harmony Courses
Introductory courses cover the elements of touch; the development of sensitivity and intuition; awareness of movement, posture, and presentation; working with the body's energy field and tissue layers; and basic techniques to remove compressions and restrictions. Courses are "hands-on", with students learning to both give and receive sessions.
Advanced courses cover specific topics such as working with joints, healing scars, and eliminating self-sabotage, and present additional hands-on, energetic, and intuitive techniques.
Body Harmony coursework is not a substitute or replacement for any techniques you may already know; you can use Body Harmony to enhance and empower whatever work you already do.
Body Harmony courses are for bodyworkers and breathworkers of all backgrounds, health care professionals of all sorts, healers and shamans, and anyone wanting to experience the joy of self-discovery and personal transformation. No previous background in bodywork is required.
Additional Note:
This sweet and gentle soul has graduated into another realm. We miss him but we see his fingerprints all throughout Body Harmony. The world is a better place for his visit.