The BodyMind

so ma ti za tion (so"muh.ti.zay'shun) n. In psychiatry, the neurotic displacement of emotional conflicts onto the body, resulting in various physical symptoms or complaints; this may take the form of a conversion type of hysterical neurosis involving voluntary muscles and the sensory system, or it may express itself as a psychophysiological disorder involving the autonomic nervous system and the viscera inervated by it. - McGraw-Hill Nursing Dictionary

In Chakrassage, synergistic parallels are drawn between the concepts of bioenergetics and the chakra system. The composite of which produces therapeutic techniques that are complimentary to the continuum of Nature. The study of bioenergetics seeks to understand the bond between ego and body, thinking and feeling. The chakra system provides a mapped continuum, dropping from a spiritual conscience down into the rooted earthly orientation from which we spring.

Somatic release begins with realizing the innate wisdom of the bodymind as the organization of highly ordered shapes and feeling patterns. These shapes and feelings organize in response to our experience in our environment, as a survival perfecting process. It is perfectly natural to organize painful and exhausting shapes, and we should respect ourselves for doing so. That means stop telling yourself that your body is broken. Stop letting others tell you that you are failing and take responsibility for your own pain. When you do this it then becomes possible for you to shift your shape and your perspective, clearing cellular memory of its old story and making space for new shapes to emerge. Consider this progressive wholism and old routines of spot-treating the surface as regressive segregation. Segregating your mind from your body, thinking from feeling. Regressive therapies say, "Hey Doc, give me a pill that'll make me the way I was five years ago." Progressive therapies say, "My body is/ has a story that deserves to be heard. I am ready to shift my perspective. I am ready to change my story."

Using bioenergetic concepts, Chakrassage reads the language of the body, mapping the movement and blockage of the lifeforce, which we call charge. This charge has a pulsatory effect on the corresponding chakras, resulting in the opening or closing of the chakra, depending on frequency and magnitude of positive or negative experiences. The organization of the charge manifests physically and can be observed and followed with a trained eye. Other elements of Chakrassage are then implemented to discharge deficient areas and recharge excessive areas.

"What you have is a simple, profound somatic release and resuscitation system using gifts and tools we all possess. Chakrassage integrates proven techniques, out of which emerge collective properties that tone the bodymind's ability to balance and renew itself.
"Together the chakras describe a kind of Jacob's ladder connecting the polarities of Heaven and Earth, mind and body, spirit and matter. These polarities exist on a continuum, with the chakras as incremental steps that are embodied within all life processes. Each step upward moves from a heavy, well-defined vibrational state to a subtler, freer form. Each step downward brings us into form and solidity."  - Anodea Judith Eastern Body Western Mind