Approximately 20 years ago I was introduced to the concept of cell memory and I was very intrigued. Somehow I knew this all to be true, but the experience was so convincing that it has influenced how I work with patients and the extraordinary results I get while working with them – no one else seems to get the same outcomes. I want to share this with you so you can expand the view of your body and better understand how it can fully heal, allowing you to live a vibrant life.
I first learned about cell memory from Dr. John Upledger at the Upledger Institute. I was studying CranioSacral Therapy (CST) and SomatoEmotional Release (SSER). I had experienced a bad car accident when I was 16 – I rolled my car three times, landed upside down, took a slight hit to my head – thankfully I was mostly unharmed except for some permanent hearing loss. I had a point in my back that felt annoyingly tingly ever since that accident. I also began to have TMJ issues. During a 4 day SomatoEmotional release class, I had the profound experience of my body reliving that car accident. My mind was quiet, mostly content-free, no real emotions or thoughts were arising. Other than recalling the memory of the accident and feeling the familiarity of my body moving through the incident again, but without my having to do anything or focus on any one body part. I had three practitioners working with me – this is called “multiple hands-on” in this level of workshop. They were following the CranioSacral Rhythm (a palpable rhythm in the body, separate from your heart beat and respirations), which was guiding them through my tissue memory and my body was literally “unwinding” from the accident. They came to a very specific point, my body was crumpled up, and I remember feeling the roof of the car press me down into a human ball. They held me, following my inner guidance system – there was a tiny movement and then something in me released, and the tears began to flow but without an emotion. The annoying pain in my back left for good! I felt a weight lift off of me, and I was filled with a new sense of freedom. My tissues had been holding the trauma of that accident for many years and when given the opportunity it was ready to release it for good – and it did just that.
I’ve experienced many more of these kinds of tissue memory releases in myself and in almost every patient I’ve ever touched. The tissue of your body is like a written record of your life’s history. Sometimes there are things buried very deep and old, with traumas that are not fully resolved. It’s culturally acceptable to go to a therapist and receive counseling about a traumatic event but those talk therapists aren’t trained to deal with how that traumatic memory is stored in your cells. Advanced CranioSacral Therapy and SomatoEmotional Release are incredible modalities that allow for the body to prioritize what and how it wishes to release something. Sometimes you may experience an emotion and other times it may be “content-free.” Often you don’t need to know what it’s releasing and other times you will undoubtedly remember the trauma. It can be as old as a birth trauma, or as current as a recent car accident. People who have done talk therapy regarding a traumatic event are often surprised to feel the trauma still inside their bodies as it’s leaving, because they cognitively dealt with it. However, their body is now being allowed to catch up with their mind and completely resolve the trauma once and for all.
Next week we will discuss why it’s important to deal with this level of cell memory – especially if it’s old and buried.
Blessings of Vibrant Health,
Kristin Grayce