“To Clench or Not to Clench”
In all my experience since the 60’s, I have learned about what it really takes to create change and/or healing, and to “open to life.” The first step is to not clench.
With all that is going on in our personal lives and the world, we are prone to holding or closing our bodies in a way that causes tension or tightness – clenching. This challenges our bodies energetically. I believe that pain and disease are caused by our patterns of “clenching.” For example, we may unconsciously lift our shoulders in a tense position.
The major destructive effect of a tense body is that it causes us to hold the breath to a certain extent – not breathing fully into all parts of the lungs. This begins a ripple effect of our oxygenated energy falling short of fully infusing all of our cells. As this blocked energy maneuvers to find an area to flow, the way water flows into empty spaces; it creates patterns that may be causing chronic pain, imbalance and disease.
This way of “clenching” or holding the body tightly expresses a way of saying “no” to all the sadness and suffering in the world. But it is also saying “no” to life – saying “no” to all the goodness, too.
I shall attempt to explain how this principle is used in healing work and how you can apply it to living a fuller life. I have been using this perspective in work to “re-pattern” the body, which includes the whole self.
The way this works is that when I first put my hands on someone’s body I receive it all as being “whole and complete” just the way it is. Whatever symptoms that you are experiencing is for a very good reason – pain and discomfort included, as difficult as this may be to accept.
This receiving of you as “whole” with total acceptance allows the body to relax and “let go”– letting in nourishment that you need on the cellular level. Imagine being still, allowing yourself to begin to release on all levels in every cell – as though you are holding yourself as a newborn for the very first time.
This way of being and touch has actually been responsible for assisting alignment of my scoliosis (curvature of the spine). Allowing displaced vertebrae to first move out of balance and then to realign corrects the curvature. If we attempted to push vertebrae into alignment without respect for the body’s resistance, it would create a polarity and the vertebrae would push right back. You may be able to force things into place, but this only creates a temporary spatial change.
The only way for lasting change to occur is to first be truly present with what is. You can focus this to emotional or physical pain, disease, or more as a deepening or expansion to a dimension or quality of your beingness.
So when life brings you a painful situation, what would it be like for you to open your body to it, experience it, feel it, smell it, and visualize the colors of it? Let it happen to you. However you feel it, be in it. Allow your soul to have the experience wholeheartedly. For example, opening to the memory of a pain that is difficult to face, such as physical abuse, may seem unnatural or unacceptable at first. Yet, should these memories surface and you physically “clench” that can lock it into place.
If you allow yourself to open, no matter to what extent that you open, there then will be space for the Divine Creative Force to enter and healing to accelerate.
Start by first letting go of the shoulders and breathing.
Imagine that you inhale downward through the pelvis to the base of the spine and exhale to a spiral upward through the spine to the very top of your head.
Be aware of not only gently inflating all parts of your lungs, but feel or imagine that the entire body is transparent to the breath, and that even the seeming boundary of your skin is no boundary whatsoever.
As you do this you are releasing clenching. Should you not be able to open and instead sustain your clench you would still be healing. Just open your mind to the idea of not clenching, soften the clench, accepting it and continue to breathe. There is a difference between clenching and wholeheartedly opening your body and mind to your clench – opening to your “no” – allowing yourself to have the experience totally through all the senses, and open to the clench with all your heart. What does it feel like, smell like and look like?
As you experience your clench to the fullest, you will notice an opening in a new direction of change and healing. Opening to what you think may be a problem is to look at the necessity of what you may consider a problem and even the value as you open to allow your Soul’s experience of the feelings.
It may seem challenging at first. It is oftentimes necessary to invite experienced professional assistance. The process of allowing help is often another way of opening to receiving what you need or releasing a clench.
When opening to all of life’s experiences, you will also be learning to open to more pleasure, comfort and joy. Through this process each cell in your body will receive more nourishment.
Isn’t this “opening to life” an opening to the light of Love? Image the ripple effect it will be having on the world.
I invite you to clench or not to clench, but to open to life through your body as it is.
What if we all felt completely accepted? When we have this acceptance and compassion for ourselves and others it allows the dropping of our shoulders with relief. Gratitude, laughter and smiling brings it all home.
RosaMaria Nicolosi, RN, CMBP, has had the honor over many years of seeing clients experience higher levels of health and life transformation by introducing them to their individual self-healing abilities. Her core belief is the attainable mastery of self–care.
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