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Tag Archives: proprioception

Embodied Autonomy, Read Me First

Dissociation, Prolapse & Pelvic Floor Function

Posted on by Ellen Heed
CNS Mindmap
12
Jul
Accurate proprioception (knowing where you are in space) is a use-it-or-lose-it proposition. Due to scar tissue and inflammatory factors, essential functions of pelvic floor organs and genital tissues can be affected. Scar tissue causes thickening of the extracellular matrix or ECM (the goop between your cells), which reduces blood flow, neural messaging, and sensory integration, eventually interfering with your pelvic proprioceptive literacy. This is a kind of dissociation, an inability to feel parts of your body. The mental representation of pelvic floor muscles, encoded in the sensory motor cortex of the brain, goes dark.
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Embodied Autonomy

Castor Oil: Ancient yet Modern Medium for Self-care

Posted on by Ellen Heed
16
Dec
Castor oil is derived from the plant Ricinus communis, with a global history of use reaching deep into our past. This is a story about how I used it to treat genital, vaginal, and abdominal scars. I learned about castor oil and scar tissue at the Shiatsu Massage School of California in the late 1990s. I was beginning to think about how to help women suffering from sexual pain after perineal tears, episiotomies, C-sections, and other injuries after giving birth.
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Embodied Autonomy, Read Me First

Transference & Countertransference in Somatic Work

Posted on by Ellen Heed
Where Is Our Attention
20
Jul
In my professional practice as a health consultant, scar tissue remediator, bodyworker, and teacher, I am increasingly aware of the way transference and countertransference play out across a psychological spectrum. This is an effort to identify that spectrum, so we, as somatic professionals, can successfully offer more dynamic and productive sessions. A picture is worth a thousand words. The image above has meaning to me because many of us have our attention out - in our hands - when we work with clients. Where do we hold our internal awareness?
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