Body-oriented psychotherapy: work with the body for mental comfort. Body Oriented Psychotherapy

Body psychology. Body therapy exercises

Even in ancient times, a person began to look for sources of strength and energy that determine his health, success and well-being, the ability to achieve his goals and find a way out of difficult situations. A person began to look for ways to control his strength, his condition, his energy. This led to the emergence of traditional systems of self-regulation, such as yoga, Taoist alchemy, tai chi chuan, shamanic practices. Initially, this knowledge developed within the framework of their cultures and was ignored by European science, but since the beginning of the 20th century, Europeans in their scientific searches have begun to reach out to them more and more. As a result, body-oriented psychotherapy appeared, based both on classical psychological principles and on ancient practices of body and energy management.

Body psychology allows you to track the clamps that accumulate in the body, and body therapy exercises initially sharpened for the quick removal of bodily clamps and blocks.

The origins of body psychology

However, for the sake of science, we must start from another point. Body psychology arose at the beginning of the 20th century, within the framework, paradoxically, of psychoanalysis. Almost immediately, it separated from it and formed its own, diametrically opposite direction. A student of Sigmund Freud, Wilhelm Reich, noticed that, while lying on the couch during a psychotherapy session, the client always accompanies emotions with certain bodily manifestations. Therefore, the patient's body can often tell much more about his problems than words. The body captures all our experiences and feelings, significant events and life experiences. The body can even say what the mind does not yet guess.

Today, body-oriented psychotherapy is one of the main directions of modern psychological practice. This is a way to heal the soul through work with the body, to work with the experiences and problems of a person imprinted in the body. By the way, it was within the framework of the body-oriented approach that the scientific world "remembered" the ancient energy practices and systems of self-regulation. Everything that happens in a person's soul leaves an imprint in his body, everything that happens in the psyche affects the energy. Healthy energy determines physical health, physical health creates conditions for mental well-being, which, in turn, provides healthy energy.

A. Lowen, the founder of bioenergy analysis and one of the classics of body-oriented therapy, introduced the concept of bioenergy into scientific circulation, showing that the management of energy potential activates the internal resources of the individual, which contributes to self-knowledge, self-expression, self-realization. This gave impetus to the development of all kinds of energy schools and directions, many of which went beyond the scope of not only body-oriented therapy, but also any kind of science in general.

Body Psychology: General Principles

The postulate of bodily psychology is extremely simple: by working with consciousness, we can influence the body, and by acting on the body, we can work with consciousness. This echoes one of the basic postulates of NLP: mind and body are elements of one system. Where is the unconscious here? - you ask. Elementary - the impact on the consciousness through the body is carried out bypassing the consciousness itself. That is, the resources of the unconscious.

Therefore, the methods of working with a problem in body-oriented therapy, as a rule, practically do not concern the problem itself. Work goes with the bodily manifestation of this problem. For example, with fear or irritability, certain muscle groups are overstrained, which leads to clamps. Through the relaxation of these clamps, the problem that caused them is worked out. Leaving aside issues of identifying underlying problems and methods for solving them as more suitable for training courses for practicing bodybuilders, let's focus on how it can be used by an ordinary person in everyday life.

Based on the fact that any unconscious tension is a manifestation of some kind of problem or mental imbalance, we will adopt a simple setup: the more relaxed the body, the more harmonious the person is, and the more resources are available to him for solving everyday tasks. And the healthier the body becomes due to the study of the psychosomatic causes of diseases. From this it follows that you need to relax everything that can be relaxed.

Someone will object: but muscle tension provides a certain security and is associated with safety! And this will be one of the very common misconceptions. Muscle tension can only create a feeling ... not even security, but a kind of readiness for danger. That is, tension in anticipation of a threat. As you know, prolonged exposure to stress inevitably leads to stress and disruption of the nervous system, as well as "burnout" of the body. Is this the result we expected? On the contrary, a relaxed muscle is always faster than a tense one, therefore, in many hand-to-hand combat systems, they learn not so much to strain, but to properly relax the muscles. By the way, this also helps to increase the range of motion, optimize the expenditure of forces and energy, and minimize bodily injuries. A simple example: what will suffer more from an ax blow - a wooden board or a cloth thrown into the air? And most importantly, a relaxed body indicates that a person can afford to be relaxed (and therefore confident in his abilities), which provides a deep sense of security.

Someone will say that he is always relaxed. This is also a common misconception - there are always enough clamps in the human body, and total relaxation can be equated with total enlightenment. It is quite natural that in a “normal” state a person does not perceive his tension and, often, does not imagine how it could be otherwise. Moreover, there is such a thing as a "social body" - a set of bodily clamps that we must "dress" while in society, which form our adequacy, controllability and compliance with role stereotypes in certain situations. Therefore, relaxation is an art, which is mastered gradually. And the more they master, the more clamps they notice in themselves.

What promotes relaxation? The simplest meditative techniques that contribute to the inhibition of the psyche, which leads to a general relaxation of the body. Contributes, no matter how trite, the general appeasement, conflict-free behavior, goodwill, the ability to maintain a positive emotional mood. By the way, all these skills are well trained and developed. Such folk methods of relaxation as massage and bath are effective, especially in combination with an optimal psychological mood. Of great importance is bodily contact with another person, on which many bodily therapy exercises are built. And most importantly, you need to feel your body and track the changes that occur in it.

Body therapy exercises

Active muscle relaxation

The idea is very simple: in order to relax the muscle as much as possible, you need to strain it as much as possible. And in order to evenly relax the whole body, you need to give it a uniform load. To do this, we sequentially strain all parts of the body: face, neck, shoulders, arms, abs, hips, shins and feet. For each part of the body, we try to create maximum tension and hold it for 10-20 seconds, and then fix our attention on relaxation.

Resetting clamps

To begin with, pay attention to the processes that occur in the body. On those centers of tension that it has. And ... try to find the position that will be most comfortable. To do this, it is enough to listen to your body: what position would it like to take? And then you can allow yourself to relax. Even deeper. And, covering the whole body with an inner gaze, one can notice how the centers of tension gradually melt away, and the inner space becomes more and more relaxed and light.

figurative breathing

This practice allows you to combine the effect of meditative trance and directed work with the body. First, close your eyes and focus on your breathing. You will notice how you can feel a slight coolness as you inhale and a slight warmth as you exhale. And let there be nothing in the world but inhalations and exhalations. Then you can imagine that you are breathing through the middle of your chest, continuing to feel the coolness of the inhalation and the warmth of the exhalation. Then we breathe through the solar plexus, lower abdomen, palms and feet (you can add the crown, but be careful - do not get carried away), and then through the surface of the whole body. For each part of the body we do 10-15 breaths and exhalations.

Development of body awareness

• For 5 minutes, without a break, say (out loud!) Everything that happens in your body .

• Allow yourself for a few minutes have no goals. Let the body do whatever it is really wants do and let me him to do it. Just be an observer and allow body to find the way of self-manifestation that is relevant Here and now.

• And then, while remaining in that state, let the body find the position in which it will be truly comfortable at this moment in time.

• And, remaining in this position, go through the whole body with your inner gaze: pay attention to the tone in which each part of the body is, what is happening in your inner space. Track the clamps you have in your body and let me them to relax.

Alexey Nedozrelov

Body-Oriented Psychotherapy is a way of soul therapy that has existed for as long as humanity has lived. Its techniques developed in parallel in the eastern and western directions, since for centuries in the eastern currents there was a different culture of the body and corporality in general. Now, different approaches are found in modern psychological body-oriented practice. The methods of this direction are easily superimposed on other methods of psychological work. Moreover, very often, using the body-oriented approach, we can raise from the unconscious those deep contents that are blocked when working with other methods.

Finally, it has become more common in our culture to pay attention to the experiences of one's own body, and not only when it is sick. They began to treat the body more respectfully, but still the dominant is often shifted towards the head, the body is left with less attention. This is clearly seen in the statistics of the drawing test, when it is proposed to draw a person, and many do not have enough space for the body on the sheet. This is why throat problems are so common, because the throat connects the head to the body.

In the European tradition, the history of the body approach is difficult to trace; in psychology, it is customary to begin with Wilhelm Reich. Despite his frequent criticism, he introduced all the concepts that body-oriented therapists use to this day. Modern European body psychotherapy has grown under strong influence, therefore it can be considered as a method of working with the same problem, but through a different entrance.

The body direction allows the psychologist to work with a client who is difficult to understand and verbalize his problem. He would be ready to explain why he feels bad, but he literally lacks words. The other extreme is when the client is overly talkative and even uses language to get away from the problem. Body-oriented psychotherapy will allow him to deprive him of his usual protection, covering up a psychological problem.

Methods of body-oriented psychotherapy

The body does not lie, revealing the very essence of spiritual experiences. It is also difficult to hide your resistance in the body - it can even be fixed. You can deny your anxiety, but you cannot hide the trembling in your hands or the stiffness of your whole body. And since working with resistance in solving a psychological problem often takes up most of the time, an objective, materialistic body approach is very effective.

Absolutely all human experiences are encoded in the body. And those that we cannot decode through speech, perhaps reveal through the body. The amount of non-verbal information that signals the state of a person is simply huge, and you just need to learn how to work with it. Problems of overcontrol appear in the head, difficulties in contacts with people appear in the hands, shoulders, intimate problems are reflected in the pelvis, while the legs carry us information about the difficulties of supporting a person, his confidence and movement through life.

Body-Oriented Therapy is built on an attempt to address the animal body of a person, to what is natural in us, natural and contains a lot of useful information. However, our social body often comes into conflict with instinctive aspirations, taboos them and gives rise to many psychological problems. We often do not hear our body well and do not know how to establish interaction with it.

Reich's body-oriented psychotherapy is based on the studied psychological defenses and their manifestation in the body - the so-called muscular shell. This concept was introduced by Reich to refer to tight muscles and tight breathing, which form like armor, a physical manifestation of the various psychological defenses considered by psychoanalysis. Reich's method consisted in modifying the state of the body, as well as influencing the clamped area. For each individual muscle group, he developed techniques to reduce tension and release trapped emotions. Techniques were aimed at breaking the muscle shell, for this, the client was touched by squeezing or pinching. Reich saw pleasure as a natural flow of energy from the center of the body outward, and anxiety as a shift of this movement to the person himself inside.

Alexander Lowen modified Reich's therapy and created his own direction - widely known by this name today. Lowen's Body-Oriented Psychotherapy sees the body as a bioelectric ocean with an ongoing chemical-energy exchange. The goal of therapy is also emotional release, emancipation of a person. Lowen used the Reichian breathing technique, and also introduced various tense body positions to energize blocked areas. In the postures he developed, the pressure on the muscles constantly and increases so much that the person is eventually forced to relax them, unable to cope with the exorbitant load anymore. In order to accept one's own body, the technique used to observe it naked in front of a mirror or in front of other participants in the training, who gave their comments afterwards. The description of the body made it possible to create an image of the muscular shell, characteristic of a particular person, and the problems coming from it.

The method of the next famous psychotherapist, Moshe Feldenkrais, deals with the conflict between the social mask and the natural sense of satisfaction, urges. If a person merges with his social mask, he seems to lose himself, while the Feldenkrais method allows you to form new, more harmonious habits that will smooth out this conflict tension and allow inner contents to manifest. Feldenkrais considered deformed patterns of muscular action, which, as they become stronger, become more and more stagnant and act outside. He paid great attention to freedom of movement in simple actions, the client was encouraged to independently find the best position for his body, according to his individual anatomy.

Matthias Alexander also explored bodily habits, postures, and posture in order to find more harmonious and natural postures. He considered the most correct maximum straightening, stretching the spine up. Alexander's therapy also uses pressure from the head down, which causes the client to relax more and more while trying to straighten up. The result is a feeling of release and lightness. This method is often used by public people, dancers, singers, since Alexander himself invented this technique, having lost his voice, and thanks to the solution found, he was able to return to the stage again. It is also effective for therapy in cases of injuries, injuries, a number of chronic diseases.

Body Oriented Psychotherapy - Exercises

For any work with the body, it is primarily important to feel it and ground yourself. Stand straight with your legs straight, stretching the top of your head and even slightly pushing your chest forward. Feel how all the energy goes up from the legs, this is a state of elation and even some suspension. Inhale, then, bending your knees, relaxing your pelvis, exhale. Imagine that you are now sitting in an easy chair, as if you are rooting into the ground. Look around, you will feel more present, as if you even begin to feel the air on your skin. This is the easiest exercise to ground yourself and begin to work deeper with anything, whether it's emotional experiences or further work with the body.

The next exercise is devoted to dissolving the clamp in the mouth area - the jaw clamp. We often clench our jaws at times of physical exertion or the need to be persistent, to get things done. Also, if we don’t like something, but there is no way to express it, we clench our jaw again. Sometimes the jaw is compressed so strongly that blood circulation in this area is disturbed. You can either sit or stand for this exercise. Place your palm under your chin with the back side up and now try to inhale, open your mouth, lower your jaw down, but your hand should prevent this movement. As you exhale, the jaw relaxes and closes again. After several such movements, you will feel the place where the jaws close, you can massage it, relaxing the muscles. As a result, you will feel warm, it will become easier for you to pronounce words and, perhaps, even breathe.

An example of a body block would be tucked up shoulders. If you strengthen this clamp a little more, it turns out that the neck literally hides in the shoulders, which, like a tortoise shell, protect it from a possible blow or push from behind. When a person has already got used to such a position of the shoulders, this means that in his life there were many stressful situations when he had to shrink internally. The simplest exercise here is to try to seem to throw something off your shoulder. To enhance the image, we can imagine how someone's hand is on the shoulder, and we do not want it to be there. Shake it off your shoulder and do it confidently.

Another exercise with the same goal of freeing the shoulders is repulsion. Put your hands forward, as if trying to push an unpleasant person away from you. A variation is also possible when you push back with your elbows. You can even help yourself to withdraw verbally by saying no contact.

In exercises with the presence of another person, which is practiced by both Reich's body-oriented psychotherapy and Lowen's body-oriented psychotherapy, he can, while lying on your back, being behind your head, massage your forehead, then the neck area behind your head. It is better if the action is performed by a professional therapist. Perform swaying of the body in time with massaging movements. Next - the transition to the muscles of the neck, massaging the tendons, the places where the muscles are attached to the skull, gently pulling the muscle. Again you need to pull the neck and even a little hair, if the length allows.

At any moment, if tension is present, you can again return to the forehead area, knead, tightly touching your head with your hands. Requires support and the absence of sudden movements. In the scalp, you also need to perform kneading movements, stretch the scalp. This can be done in different directions with any movements, fingers and knuckles. With each new push, you can change the location of the fingers. Having captured the crease of the superciliary arches, you can pull it to the sides and close it back.

After working with the frontal clamp, the transition to the facial muscles is carried out. Having symmetrically placed the fingers on the sides of the nose, they must be slowly spread apart to the ears. We move down along the nasolabial fold, pulling the muscle. We are working on the jaw muscles, paying special attention to places of tension. We release tension from the jaw bone, put our hands on the sides of the center of the chin and slowly spread them back to the ears. The slower the movement, the deeper it is. Working with facial muscles - we work with emotions stuck in them.

Further work is shifted to the neck and shoulders. If similar kneading techniques are used in the neck, then support and strong pressure are acceptable in the shoulders in order to straighten them. Pressing is performed by swaying movements, then passing to the hands. Taking the hand, which should be completely relaxed, you need to swing, take the wrist and pull, then release and repeat the cycle from swinging again. Then follows the kneading of the brush, which, like plasticine, you need to stretch out with the soft parts of the palms, and also walk with kneading movements along each finger, as if tightening the tension. You can also use twisting movements. You need to complete everything with a soothing sway.

Body Oriented Psychotherapy Techniques

The body, as our largest resource, contains all the information recorded in itself. Like rings on a tree, it stores the history of our life about those difficult and emotionally rich situations that remain like notches on it, manifesting itself in pain and uncomfortable muscle clamps. Working with the body makes it possible to get into the depth, the essence, into those nuclear experiences that can be preserved as a result of conflicts in relationships, at work, internal conflicts, fears, insomnia, emotional stress that cannot be contained, up to panic attacks.

In any situation, the body is turned on, because it takes on absolutely all the stresses that pass through a person's life. At the moment of tension, excitement, breathing changes, followed by changes in the composition of the blood, the hormonal background, which at the level of physiology prepares a person for action. If the gestalt is not closed, this state is then deposited in the muscles.

For the treatment of negative conditions in the body-oriented approach, various techniques are used, ranging from the already described grounding. Then centering is often used, when the client is lying down in a star position, and the therapist massages his head, arms and legs with tightening movements, relieving excess tension from each part. If the first technique can be performed independently and is suitable for use even outside of therapy, then the second requires the presence of a therapist.

Special attention should be paid to common breathing techniques, which in various versions are known from ancient spiritual practices. By tracking the natural way a person breathes, one can diagnose his psychological problems. Then, through a change in the rhythm and depth of breathing, a new state of consciousness is achieved. In a superficial form, this can be the usual relaxation or raising the tone, which is also applicable in everyday use, when a person himself wants to calm down or tune in, on the contrary, to work. In therapeutic work, breathing techniques can be used much more actively, even in some cases to put a person into a trance. Of course, this requires the guidance of a qualified therapist.

Work with the body is aimed at turning to internal resources, developing the feeling of this moment of life, the full presence and release of blocked, squeezed energy. All these are essential components of a full, joyful life.

Even Socrates said that it is impossible to treat eyes without a head, a head without a body, and a body without a soul. Any person has not only a physical body, but also an intense mental life, therefore, he also has physical and mental illnesses. Back in the early 50s of the last century, the founder of psychosomatic medicine, F. Alexander, identified a third class of diseases - psychosomatic, that is, such bodily diseases that are caused by psychological causes. And a little later, the famous Austrian psychotherapist, a student of Freud, Wilhelm Reich, laid the foundations for a new direction of psychotherapy, which later became known as body-oriented therapy (or BOT).

Later, exercises and techniques aimed at working with the body continued to be developed and improved by psychotherapists such as Ida Rolf (founder of Rolfing), Gerda Boyesen (founder of biodynamics), Marion Rosen (creator of the Rosen Method) and Alexander Lowen (founder of bioenergetic analysis). In Russia, body-oriented psychotherapy today is represented by many excellent psychotherapists. One of them is Vladimir Baskakov, who offered his own techniques and exercises as part of the innovative method "Thanatotherapy".

Characteristic

The main idea that body-oriented psychotherapy preaches is that all our experiences throughout life affect the characteristics of muscle dynamics and form chronic muscle clamps, by acting on which neuroses and various psychosomatic disorders can be treated. Sometimes, in addition to the name "body-oriented psychotherapy", you may hear the name "somatic psychology", which will also be true. In addition to purely psychotherapeutic purposes, body-oriented therapy is used to solve prenatal and perinatal problems of a person.

"Soma" in Greek means "body". Somatic psychology is always focused on the study of the interaction of body and mind, the relationship of our physical matter and our energy, the interaction of our psychophysical structures with our thoughts and actions. The body exercises and techniques of this branch of psychotherapy are based on philosophy, medicine, physics, other branches of psychology, countless thousands of hours of observation of people and clinical experience. Body-Oriented Psychotherapy considers the human body and soul as an inseparable whole, creating opportunities for healing, growth and transformation of the human body. She seeks to shift the focus from cognitive/analytic processes to issues that relate to the physical condition of the person, as well as to the prenatal and perinatal sphere.

body orientation

Body-oriented psychotherapy, first of all, pays attention to physical conditions and symptoms, considering them a way of manifesting human existence. Before the advent of this direction of psychotherapy, the splitting of the body and mind, in which the body was considered the area of ​​\u200b\u200binfluence of doctors, and the mind and emotions were the prerogative
psychotherapists, was so strong that such an idea of ​​body/mind unity was at first perceived by the public as something strange and suspicious. It is only in the last twenty-five years that this concept of the interaction of physiological, psychological and spiritual processes has become very popular. Today, there are many different forms of body psychotherapy that offer a variety of techniques and exercises. All of these methods seek to bring to our attention that each person has an inalienable right to healthy and optimal functioning, using the direct physical experience of our body as a remedy. Body-Oriented Psychotherapy also promotes continuous human growth and transformation through the awareness of our integrative essence as it was intended.

Let's look at the basic concepts that body-oriented therapy operates with.

Influence on spiritual development

What do we know about human nature? What are our views on health and disease? How does early childhood experience and direct life experience affect our condition? How do people change? Can we change by using techniques and exercises to increase our awareness and understanding? What happens to us when we let go of old energy patterns? Do we change by changing our behavior and habitual movements?

Body-Oriented Psychotherapy claims that our health is directly dependent on how we manage this reality. Diseases of the body and soul arise when we are forced to go against our true nature. Such beliefs form the basis of bodily healing effects. All body-oriented psychotherapists work differently. Some of them work with groups, others focus on couples therapy, and still others are interested in individual psychotherapy. In addition, body-oriented therapy can be aimed at resolving conflicts, improving work efficiency and other community projects. Some exercises and techniques of this area of ​​psychology focus on creative self-expression. Sometimes body techniques focus on narrow healing, while other times such exercises allow the person to work on their spiritual growth and transformation.

Development of spirituality

Perhaps one of the most important contributions of somatic psychology is its influence on the development of the spirit and spirituality. We usually think of spirituality as a disembodied part of ourselves, free from the shackles of the flesh. Body-oriented psychotherapy claims that this understanding of spirituality is very far from the truth.
The word "spirit" among the Slavs was identical to the concept of "breath". It is through proper breathing that we can find ourselves and go beyond the usual boundaries of consciousness, many of which are fixed in the experience of intrauterine and infant development.

When we experience our bodies through breathing techniques and other bodily exercises, we are able to balance our thoughts, develop our imagination, and get rid of physical or emotional suffering. Somatic psychology views the human body as a temple, a sacred place. Unfortunately, many of us have heard that we must give up the pleasures of the flesh, for they will lead us into sin. Such a perverted idea of ​​one's body still causes great suffering for many people, so somatic practices seek to rid people of such prejudices, restoring the body as an integral part of the personality, which takes care of filling our body with energy. If we take care of our body, live in accordance with its laws, we are able to heal ourselves and the whole world.

Influence on the body of external events

Any event that occurs in outer life affects our entire being: physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual. Each event enters our body through sensory systems, reflecting on the state of our entire body, including the mind. Thus, any event changes the physical structure of the body, as well as emotions and thoughts. If we think positively, our muscles and organs also feel great. Any physical, emotional, cognitive and behavioral experience affects the entire human body. Therefore, the task of body-oriented therapy is to identify these influences and work them through special exercises.

Energy

Man is a unique energy system. Our energy determines the content and manifestation of our life. Energy is the driving force of our body, which can be increased or balanced using bodily techniques and exercises. Energy is a kind of fuel with which we progress through life. Energy is the divine spark through which we come to know ourselves as a person. We can feel our energy pulsating like a sine wave, or completely overwhelming us like an ocean wave. Our energy comes and goes, causing our emotions to wax and wane. Energy, matter and space are the three components of the universe.

Somatic psychology pays close attention to human energy. The forms and methods of our energy interaction with the outside world determine our idea of ​​who we are and how we should act. Will a person shrink under stress, or rather explode? What events can completely squeeze out your energy, and what events can cause it to surge? It is through energy patterns that we begin to realize what the world around us and ourselves are like. All life events are considered within body-oriented therapy as a way to stimulate our energy flow.

Traffic

Movement is central to somatic psychology. It is movement that is a manifestation of life - this is the beating of the heart, and the breathing of the lungs, and the pulsation of brain neurons. The absence of movement is called death or the transition to an inanimate state. Any movement is considered as a certain type of vibration. Any pulsating process (expansion or contraction, inhalation or exhalation) is considered as the primary manifestation of life. One of the most important tasks of body-oriented therapy is the restoration of systemic motility and pulsation in the body.

Some body-oriented therapy exercises are classic and almost unchanged - this is the expression of oneself through breathing, vocals and movement. These methods effectively restore a healthy vibration of energy, and allow a person to realize its presence in himself. Most body-oriented psychotherapists believe that the body can be divided into several energy segments or zones. They argue that different segments have different forms and functions, as well as store different memories, emotions, problems and traumas. Thus, the analysis of body segments proposed by W. Reich can be correlated with the Eastern teaching about chakras (or energy centers in the human body). Energy blocks in different segments characteristically manifest themselves through mental affects, postures and movements, causing specific physical and mental ailments.

These are the areas, from top to bottom:

1. Ocular segment (clamps around the eyes) - reflects the problems associated with what we see.
2. The oral segment (mouth, jaws, throat) reflects a person's problems associated with the inability to be heard, as well as problems of nutrition and acceptance.
3. Thoracic segment (chest and diaphragm) - anger and sadness, rejection and longing.
4. Segment of the abdomen - fear, digestive problems.
5. Pelvic segment (reproductive and excretory organs) - sexuality, vitality, survival and support.

Some body-oriented psychotherapists also pay attention to the feet, as they are connected to the grounding of a person.

The body as a metaphor

Somatic psychology sees the body as the template, blueprint, or metaphor for all life experience. This idea is reflected in our speech. When we say that some person is sitting on our neck, this means that we are responsible for him. “I'm so tired that I can't feel my legs,” says a person who needs to be grounded.
Body-oriented therapists always pay attention to the person's words and ideas about their body in order to evaluate and organize their experience.

When we are under the influence of another person, our whole being is rebuilt. Our stance, stance and gestures are modified to match the representation of the significant person. The child learns to express his emotions in ways that suit the emotional climate of his family. Therefore, all the symbols, stories and archetypes of our childhood are fixed in our body, and we continue to use them even as adults. Body-centered therapy exercises allow these imposed patterns to be removed, allowing the person to experience their own energy and movement directly.

Energy flow and society

The flow of energy determines all our active actions. When someone praises us, blood rushes to our cheeks and makes them hot. When we are afraid, we feel empty in the stomach. If we are criticized, then this is reflected in spasms in the chest area. All this energy then manifests itself in the form of behavior, for example, expressed in the form of emotions. One of the important concepts of body-oriented therapy is that our energy cannot be bad. Most pathologies of the body arise as a punishment for the inability or impossibility of expressing energy. How many problems arise from being told that we are being too excited, too loud, too sexy, too active?

Wilhelm Reich called modern society the main overwhelming force that underlies all diseases. Modern body-oriented psychologists believe that the inability to control one's energy is potentially dangerous for society. Therefore, bodily exercises and practices are aimed not only at returning a person to a feeling of pulsing energy, but also tracking it, as well as testing sensory awareness. While early practitioners tended to use explosive and intense exercises (such as kicking and punching, screaming and groaning), other more social options are now being considered for releasing old inhibitions and inhibitions, such as limiting or reducing movement, speech, and other expressions. . Many therapists now prefer to use exercises that allow the person to become more aware of their inner experience.

Psychologists say that with age, a person's character is reflected in his face. For example, in people who are positive, the corners of the lips will be raised up, and in those who are often angry, there will be obvious folds between the eyebrows. In much the same way, experts in body-oriented psychotherapy (BOT) argue that mental disorders and problems of a psychological nature are reflected in our body. So, through work with the body, you can influence the psyche and emotions. Body psychotherapy is based on the principle of interdependence of body and soul.

The essence of this psychotherapeutic approach

Let us consider in more detail what is body-directed therapy? Freud's student W. Reich became the founder of the body-oriented approach in psychotherapy. Working with his patients, he drew attention to the fact that most emotions are reflected in certain bodily manifestations, namely in muscle clamps, tensions. The constant suppression of emotions and feelings leads to the fact that a person eventually creates the so-called muscle armor. Reich argued that in the process of psychotherapy, the study of bodily blocks allows you to relieve tension, release stagnant emotions and heal the patient's psyche.
He found empirically that the dominant characterological personality traits are manifested in postures, gestures, gait and facial expressions of a person. Based on numerous observations and analysis of the behavior of patients, a system for organizing the physical and mental component was derived. There are a number of methods of body-oriented therapy that, through the removal of muscle blocks, awareness of your body and emotional contact with yourself, allow you to treat mental disorders.

Targets and goals

How can a body therapist help his patient solve psychological problems? It is believed that all experiences, feelings, psychotraumas, key events are “recorded” in the body during a person’s life. The task of applying the body-oriented approach is to “read” all the problem areas in the body, to reveal what is hidden far in the subconscious, but negatively affects the psyche. The body therapist tries to work out blocks in the muscles through special techniques, to help the patient achieve a state of deep relaxation. During the session, it is important to monitor the emerging images and experiences in order to express and transform them. Body-oriented therapy allows you to influence self-perception, emotional sphere and relationships.

Thus, the main goal of the body-oriented approach in psychotherapy is to create conditions under which repressed unconscious feelings, as well as memories, come to the conscious level. This allows them to be re-experienced and expressed in a safe environment. As a result, a person gets rid of psychological blocks, emotional stress and restores a healthy state of mind.

Main directions

A key feature of body psychotherapy is the ability to reach out to the unconscious without talking to a doctor. This allows you to bypass the resistance and control of the intellect, so the maximum effectiveness of psychotherapy is achieved in a short time. Even if the patient's mind is protected, not allowed to experience inner experiences, the psychology of the body will open the way to the subconscious and problem solving. With the help of body-oriented techniques, one can find connections between the somatic sphere, emotions, emotional experiences and the mind.

Body therapy is the basis of many psychotherapeutic methods, here are some of them:

• Rolfing. The method consists in the use of deep massage, known since the 20s of the last century. Rolfing massage is a whole system of deep manual manipulations, working out muscles and ligaments, aimed at correcting the tone of soft tissues and teaching the body to move correctly.
• Biodynamics. It combines elements of analytical psychology, periodization of the development of the psyche according to Freud and vegetotherapy. Helps the patient to break through to the deepest essence of human nature, to find himself, to realize his self.
• Rosen method. It combines the study of chronically tense areas of the body and verbal contact with the patient. Excellent helps in the fight against chronic fatigue, arthritis, stress, insomnia, asthma, headaches.
• Bioenergy analysis. This method was developed by Reich's student, the American psychotherapist A. Lowen, in the middle of the last century. Based on the theory of movement in the body of vital energy. Today, bioenergy developments are used exclusively as a method of neuromuscular relaxation.
• Alexander Techniques. This is a set of exercises that teaches the patient the rational use of the muscles of the body, without excessive tension. The body therapist, working with this method, helps the patient to realize and correct his bodily habits (postures, gestures, posture), helps to learn to consciously control his body.
  The Feldenkrais Method. These are bodily practices developed on the basis of the ability of the nervous system to self-regulate. The emphasis in performing these exercises is on awareness of movements and changes in the body.
• Biosynthesis. This is the first of the methods of body therapy, which was recognized by the European Psychotherapeutic Association. The main idea of ​​this method is to harmonize the state of the main vital energy flows.
• Bodynamic Therapy. Based on a study of psychomotor development. Such a method of bodily psychotherapy as bodynamics is primarily aimed not at the destruction of pathological characterological patterns, but at awakening and mobilizing internal resources.

Areas of use

The scope of the body-oriented approach is very wide. A body therapist may be needed both for the treatment of complex neuroses, mental disorders, and for personal development, contact with one's subconscious in order to know oneself.

Various means and methods of muscle relaxation are used in the fight against depression, stress, panic attacks, anxiety disorders, chronic psychosomatic diseases, to overcome psycho-emotional trauma, and even just to improve performance.

Body practices will help not only relieve muscle tension, but also find the causes of psychological difficulties. However, there may be contraindications for somatic psychotherapy. For patients with psychosis, schizophrenia, mental retardation, many bodily techniques will not only be incomprehensible, but even dangerous. For example, imaginative body-oriented psychotherapy techniques that rely on the use of the imagination can intensify hallucinatory manifestations. Therefore, patients with complex mental and somatic diagnoses should definitely consult with their doctor.

Principles of Neuromuscular Relaxation

Based on the principles of a body-oriented approach, at the beginning of the last century, Dr. E. Jacobson developed a method of neuromuscular relaxation, which allows you to deeply relax all muscle groups. Why is this needed? The fact is that every person, by virtue of his profession or household duties, constantly experiences psychological and physical stress during the day. But it is impossible to fully relax even during a night's sleep. After all, the natural system of self-regulation of the human body simply can not cope with constant stress. In such a situation, a body-oriented psychotherapist can teach you to relax correctly and fully.

The technique of neuromuscular relaxation is based on simple muscle physiology. Strong tension is always followed by automatic relaxation. Therefore, if you alternately strongly strain the muscles, and focus on their subsequent relaxation, this will also help relieve mental stress. Regular performance of neuromuscular relaxation exercises can increase resistance to stress, improve concentration, cope with fear, anxiety, insomnia, and normalize the emotional state. Progressive muscle relaxation will also be useful for neurosis, depression, neurotic disorders. If the body therapist teaches you basic exercises, you can then use these techniques on your own to maintain a normal psychophysical state.

Exercises to help relieve stress

Of course, in difficult situations, with serious mental problems, only a psychotherapist should prescribe a course of body-oriented therapy, stress relief exercises or manual techniques. However, you can learn a simple neuromuscular relaxation routine and practice it regularly at home to manage tension, stress, and negative emotions.
You can train daily, and when you reach a good level of skill, it is enough to do the exercises 2 times a week or as needed. Choose a comfortable time of the day when no one bothers you to relax. Try to eliminate extraneous noise, put on comfortable clothes and take the most comfortable position for you (lying, half-sitting, lotus position).

Start breathing slowly through your nose. At this time, try to feel your body from the tips of your toes to the top of your head. Think only about breathing so that extraneous thoughts do not interfere with relaxation. After a few minutes, take three deep breaths with simultaneous tension of the whole body, slowly relax as you exhale.
Then alternately strain individual muscle groups. Start with both legs, then move on to the glutes, abs, chest, back, shoulders, arms, face. Tighten each muscle group strongly 3 times for a few seconds, slowly relaxing after each tension. At the moment of relaxation, try to feel how your muscles become soft, how energy spreads through the body.
After working out all the muscles, lie down for a few minutes, mentally running through the whole body. If you find tension somewhere, work that area again. Completing the set of exercises, take a deep breath, hold the breath for a few seconds, straining the whole body again, then slowly relax as you exhale. Lie down like this for several minutes, feeling how your body is filled with calmness, how warmth spreads through it. Feel how new forces come to you. Come out of the pose slowly, try to maintain a calm, relaxed state for some time.

Freedom, grace, beauty, healthy body, healthy mind. Or, pain, discomfort, stiffness, tension…

What does your body choose?

- First option! What questions can there be?

So why then, looking in the mirror, we exclaim like O. Mandelstam, - " Give me a body- what should I do with him, so single and so mine?"

Throughout life, our unspoken desires and pent-up emotions are blocked in the body. Feelings are suppressed.

That's how it's formed muscular armor". Having dropped it, a person leaves behind a feeling of guilt, prohibitions associated with life in this world, anxiety, - he leaves" beyond this world". The release of feelings enlivens, the heart opens like a flower bud, somewhere inside you feel warm - and you are told that it is light next to you. You have a new, hitherto unknown sense of inner well-being, despite the fact that external circumstances can remain the same.Emotional flexibility appears.The body becomes relaxed and strong at the same time.These changes are pleasantly surprising.You listen to him and you are good with your body.

Man does not exist apart from his body. The body expresses what it feels, how it relates to life.

Returning back to your body and enjoying it helps a person body-oriented therapy- a direction of psychotherapy, which includes techniques united by a common view of bodily (physiological) functions ( breathing, movement, body static tension etc.), as an integral part of a holistic personality. The body will always tell you where the discord is. Body Oriented Psychotherapy is a new way of perceiving problems.

Founder of body psychotherapy Wilhelm Reich emphasized full and deep breathing and the ability to surrender to spontaneous and involuntary movements of the body. Breath, movement, sensuality and self-expression these are important functions of our body.

"A person who does not breathe deeply reduces the life of his body. If he does not move freely, he limits the life of his body. If he does not feel full, he narrows the life of his body. And if his self-expression is reduced, he limits the life of his body", writes Alexander Lowen, representative of body-oriented therapy and founder of bioenergetic analysis. A person cherishes and cherishes his body, but at the same time, betrays him, and he does it every day, for months, for years. And all the difficulties of a person come from this betrayal of his body, says Lowen.

With active breathing energy flow increases. When a person is charged with energy, his voice becomes more sonorous, bright, his face shines, literally. Body psychotherapy works with sensations, feelings, processes, impulses. You will not be treated, only helped to get to know your bodily habits, help you see their root cause, limiting beliefs that a person holds unconsciously. And then, by changing the habitual movements, you can form new healthy ones.

In body-oriented psychotherapy, a special role is played by touch as the primary form of contact. The man remembers with his body how his mother held him in her arms and pressed him to her; body froze, there was a feeling of goodness, warmth. But, touch is important not only for the baby. As an adult, touch is also essential for emotional health. In body therapy, the physical contact between therapist and patient places a great deal of responsibility on the therapist. Respect for the therapeutic relationship is essential.

The body is a continuation of the psyche, and by working with the body, with the experiences contained in it, you can heal the soul, you can learn to enjoy what is happening in life. Exercises offered body therapist, help to relive the tension that caused the formation of muscle armor and release it.

"In the body - comfort, in the head - pure, light, in the heart - love for people ... It seems that it was born again", - this is one of the reviews of a person who has undergone body-oriented psychotherapy.

The body is a kind of book, and the person himself is the writer of his life.. Once you become aware of your bodily habits, wherever you are now, return to your body, become aware of your true desires and feelings, and begin to rewrite the chapters of your life.