INNER WORK
BODY MAP

Guided suggestions for mapping feelings and emotions in the body.

The Inner Work Body Maps™ are meant as guided suggestions to help put the power of healing back where it belongs, in your hands. The most powerful tool you can have along the healing journey is a strong connection to self. Keep what resonates and find your own truth for anything that doesn’t.

Providing this language for the body and mind to communicate, gives space for you to connect with the greatest healer of all- yourself. It’s important to remember these are only suggested areas of focus, and this map should only be used as a tool to aid in your journey. Ultimately you are the best guide for you, what’s important is getting the conversation started with your body so a relationship can be formed.

Have a healthy support system and medical professionals in place before diving in. Exploring unprocessed emotions can be overwhelming or cause mental and physical fatigue. Have a personal plan in place to help you navigate heavy feelings or experiences that may arise.

Masculine Feminine Polarities of the Human Body
Our nervous system is contralateral; meaning that the brain’s hemispheres control the opposite sides of our body. We have the linear or ‘logical’ (left side of brain), and the non-linear or ‘creative’ (right side of brain). Our right brain manifests on the left side of the body, and our left manifests on the right.

How we relate to emotions in our mind, manifests in our physical body as well. Our left side is said to be receptive, or feminine. It responds to stimulus from our environment, and is known to hold a lot of our past experiences, emotions, memories, and joy or pain. Our right side (or masculine) organizes, moves things forward and guides how we interact with our outside world.

The front side of our body is said to reveal our social self, identity, ego, and the parts of us we allow the outside world to see. It reflects aspects of ourselves in daily living like communication, desire, happiness and sadness (shown in the face, posture, and body language).

While our back side reflects the private and subconscious elements in life. Typically heavy emotions, like anger or fear, can be stored along our spine and in the back of our body. These unprocessed emotions become trapped until released.

TRAUMA & EMOTIONS IN THE BODY
In the animal world, once safety is found, animals will “shake off” a life-threatening chase to help discharge excess energy from the traumatic event. When pushed beyond our threshold for coping with a stress, trauma, or an emotional response – our nervous system will demand space to regulate and clear a path back to balance.

If we suppress this response, it can manifest in pain or disease. Since an emotional inventory is kept within our physical body, discomfort or pain can be the result of unreleased tensions, stress and trauma.

Unprocessed emotions become hidden and trapped in the structure of our physical being. Allowing our nervous system to finish its natural response for processing emotions and trauma, helps our body maintain homeostasis and gives opportunity to build overall mental and physical health.

SOUND IT OUT
The first step is to listen. Often times we react to pain or discomfort by numbing or ignoring it. Leaning into the discomfort and listening to what it might be saying connects our mind and body; allowing a relationship to form. Let your body sound it out to you. Where do you feel pain? What parts are uncomfortable? What parts do you hide or protect?

Find a somatic way to explore your emotions through the body. See what modalities speak to you, and use them to create your own Inner Work Body Map™ as a guide back to yourself. Remember these are only suggestions to help put the power of healing back where it belongs, in your hands. The most powerful tool you can have along the healing journey is a strong connection to self. Keep what resonates and find your own truth for anything that doesn’t.

FEEL IT OUT
Identifying feelings you need to feel and release can be as detailed as you are comfortable with. Listen to yourself and expand only as far as your mind and body want to push it. Feel it out. Some feel comfortable releasing exclusively through the body without revisiting trauma in the mind, experiencing relief of both body and mind. Others may choose to release through mental memories, talk therapy or energetic work.

Once you’ve identified an area to release, you can mold this into an intention you hold throughout any modality that speaks to you. Common practices include free-form dancing, stretching of the hips and back, massage, forest bathing or being in nature, Qigong, Tai Chi, and many more. Find a modality and healer you connect with, hold your intention of release and let each area go. This may take a number of revisits to peel the layers off, be patient with your journey, your feelings and yourself.

MOVE IT OUT
When you’ve identified and felt your way through what or who you’re letting go of and are ready to release; write out your Intention of Release to focus on during your healing. This is an agreement and awareness between your body, mind, and soul of what is being released.

When we hold a conscious intention behind our chosen practice, we hold the power and direction of impact that practice has on us. This puts the power of healing into our own hands and allows us to weave this with any given belief system or modality we connect with. No matter what practice you use to release, remember that each body experiences and processes differently. Be patient and kind with yourself and allow your body to move, shake, stretch and release the way it needs to. Give time for your mind to adjust and energies to integrate.

INTENTION OF RELEASE
Creating your intention of release forms a conscious awareness of focus during healing. This can be an agreement made silently in your mind, written down as affirmations, used with visualization, meditation, breath-work, mantra, poem, song writing or prayer. Melding creativity with the healing journey helps connect the subconscious and tap into our innate healing abilities. Let your inner child choose the healing adventure.

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