Energy Cysts are post it notes for the body-mind
When I worked in academics, I would often find myself “multi-tasking” between projects, and coming up with ideas and tasks that I couldn’t deal with in the moment. Since the invention of post-it notes in the 1970s, they were a favorite way for keeping track of these future projects. I would just stick them to the wall above my desk. One day I noticed that the entire wall was covered in yellow notes, and realized that I wasn’t keeping up with the demands on my time and energy. My whole system was getting bogged down, and something needed to change. That realization was the first step in my big career change, that eventually led me down the road to CranioSacral Therapy.
Our bodies have a similar system for storing hurts, memories, and emotions that we are unable to deal with fully at the time they arise. This can be because the injury is too big or traumatic to spend energy comprehending until we have dealt with the immediate survival means, like a broken bone, traumatic head injury, or major surgery. It can also be due to the emotional context of a particular event – loss of a parent (actual or perceived), extreme guilt, shame, or fear. The part of our brain that processes messages from the body says “oops, that’s important, but can’t deal with it now…gotta run and deal with staying alive” or whatever. So, it puts the mental equivalent of a post it note on or in the area of the body that is feeling the impact of whatever is happening.
This system works well for a period of time, sometimes a lifetime, if there aren’t too many post its. For the rest of us, it’s like my experience in my academic office. One day, you add one more little stressor, and the whole system breaks down. Maybe it’s the activation of chronic pain somewhere along the spine. Maybe it’s the shut down of an essential organ, such as the gallbladder (one of our body’s favorite place to store unprocessed toxins). Or, maybe it’s a serious new medical diagnosis, such as cancer, heart disease, or multiple sclerosis. In this Energy Cyst model, the site of the breakdown may vary according to the individual, but the underlying cause of the problem is the accumulation of a lifetime of unprocessed trauma, injury, and tension.
Because of this, the way we approach healing as CranioSacral Therapists differs from the type of treatment administered by the standard Western medical system. Instead of trying to “fix” the broken link in the chain, we ask your Inner Physician “Where should we begin today, in order to bring the greatest healing to your overall body/mind/spirit? The answer is often surprising, not only to us as therapists, but sometimes to clients as well. It’s like you walk into your office one day, look at the mass of yellow notes on the wall, and suddenly see the ONE THING that needs to be taken care of in order to make everything else work better. Then, the overwhelm of sticky notes begins to come down, and all the systems begin to flow. And THAT is why we do what we do in terms of CranioSacral Therapy and SomatoEmotional Release!
