Charming Growth
Julia was two months old when she first came into the office. She was fussy, cried a lot, and looked small for her age. Despite what I perceived to be a trying child, her mother Michelle was happy and positive. Michelle seemed to have an intuitive sense of hope for her young daughter. On intake, I found a child who woke up every 1 1/2 hours through the night, cried incessantly, and made sharp body movements as if she demanded some internal change. She had been on a laxative for the past three weeks. Constipation seemed to be the underlying issue, however the frequency of her stools had not changed since starting the laxatives. She would still only pass a stool once every 5 to 8 days, which had been ongoing since birth. The laxatives weren’t working.
Julia went through ten sessions of bodywork. The first four sessions seemed very uncomfortable for Julia. She would cry and squirm as if she did not like the bodywork and was trying to get away. I imagine it was painful for her. Her mother would sometimes have to hold her to calm her down. I would work with Julia in this manner, but she was still clearly uncomfortable. By the third session her stools moved consistently every three days. By session five she began to sleep through the night, and by the seventh session she seemed better rested from her daytime naps. Furthermore, throughout the sessions, Julia’s body appeared to lengthen. By the eighth session Julia actually welcomed the sessions. It was as if she knew my intention, and she knew that what I was doing was good for her. She came more into her body -it no longer looked like a cramped living space and she was no longer making sharp body movements. In fact, her body movements became smooth and free. From that session on, she looked much happier and came in with a glowing presence. I felt as if living in her body was a lot easier now.
Julia’s infrequent bowel movements were not the cause of her problems - they were a symptom of some internal disorganization. On a surface level I could see and feel deep tense holding patterns. In school we were taught that movement patterns and the tone of soft tissue are clues as to what is going on at deeper levels in the body. For instance, one thing that was quite noticeable early in the sessions was how Julia would constantly carry tension in her back. There was quite a bit of tension in and around her neck and shoulders and her mid-lower back. As the tension eased, her stools normalized. Chronic tension can affect anything and everything from organs, bones, muscles, nerves, fluids, energy, mood, and/or emotions. Bodywork during the early stages of life can have positive effects for years to come.