Creating safety in our own hypermobile bodies is key

“When we feel safe, we can be whoever we were meant to be”. Stephen Porges, author of The Polyvagal Theory, said this at an event I attended with him. I have been curious and passionate about creating a sense of safety for myself and my clients since I created my Integral Movement Method.

My method for hypermobility starts with Breathing and Relaxation because I was instinctively drawn to this for myself during my own search for safety.

Last year I presented to The Fascia Hub about trauma, the autonomic nervous system and EDS. Why do some people’s symptoms of dysautonomia start after a trauma? A trauma can be anything your nervous system perceived as trauma – accident, illness, hormonal changes. It does not necessarily mean a childhood trauma.

For me, my symptoms started aged 12. I was diagnosed with IBS at that age. This directly correlates with my parents’ divorce. Fainting, dizziness, palpitations, chemical sensitivities all followed. Did the trauma of the divorce push my nervous system to trigger my symptoms? Home life prior to the divorce was often tense, unpredictable and I learnt at a very young age that I didn’t always feel safe. My nervous system was primed for ‘fight or flight’.

Through my work, I’ve searched and researched ways to feel safe. I pass this onto my clients now through my movement therapy work. Breath is key. We must find a way to release tension in our tissues – our body and mind – so that we can become stronger. This is why I believe rehab can never just be about doing exercise. Language is so key to this too – using words like push, pull, squeeze – all have connotations of force. If you are working on your nervous system – perhaps from a trauma – you do not want to be stimulating your system in this way. If you’ve seen any of my YouTube videos, you will see that I choose language that is very soothing and calming for the nervous system.