Ruskin Apothecary

We all adjust ourselves constantly to our environment, sometimes with a degree of consciousness, though mostly with very little awareness of what we are actually doing.

Voice is just one adjustment. Body language, in the shape of thousands of micro-muscular and myofascial shifts, is often completely unconscious. As we move through daily encounters, we may not only mimic the the person we are with, but adjust ourselves according to our preconception of what is suitable (to make someone else feel comfortable, for instance). Within these preconception lie layer upon layer of ancestral habit, and within these layers lie clues, ancient doorways and mysteries about who we really are and the history we carry within us.

These adjustments, which help create our various social personas, often present themselves during a process of healing. I remember one person whose father would hit them on the left side of their face, which only surfaced when exploring a whole body left-right imbalance. In this case we found that if this person was approached from the right they presented themselves in an open hearted and inquisitive way. If they were approached from the left (and these difference were very subtle), they experienced a slight tremor of anxiety, a contraction of their lower belly and a shallowing of breathing. As they released these patterns it was not only a revelation in their day to day interactions, but also unlocked a path of healing related to their father and caused some significant easing and relaxing of posture.

If you are curious to notice your own patterns in this area, depth of breathing, eye contact, and connection with your Hara (centre of balance in lower belly) are good places to start observing yourself. As always with the process of conscious healing, witness these things without trying to change them. Regular compassionate witnessing reliably produces more sustained shifts than a willful act of intervention.

It may be of interest to healers / potential healers that a high degree of unconscious myofascial adjustment is very common amongst the highly sensitive people drawn to this path. This can allow us deep insight into the person we are with, but potentially at the cost of losing our own grounding and our own centre. One of the most fundamental skills for healers is to be able to stay strongly rooted in our own identity whilst extending compassionate awareness to others.