In our formative years, we experience trauma that has a lasting effect on our nervous system, resulting in energetic armoring that is truly meant to protect us. As we grow up, we often find that the armoring we once depended on as children no longer serves our adult selves and becomes a burden—keeping us at a “young” operational level. Core Energetics offers a moment to allow oneself to fully come into contact with such armoring, as well as whatever hidden feelings that armor may be protecting, and why that armor may have been necessary in the first place.
Oftentimes, the first step is to bring awareness below the neckline, to tap into the wisdom of the body—the body’s consciousness—which is so often overlooked, as if the body holds no understanding or intelligence, and the brain alone runs the show. The second step, after coming into contact with whatever may be held below the surface, is to take ownership of the repressed feelings and allow for some small rebellion to take place energetically. This may be as simple as being able to say “No,” or “Stop,” or “I need help.”
Here, body interventions come into the space. Interventions may include, but are not limited to, work with a cube, which—without going into too much detail—allows the body’s feelings of rage or defiance to come through and gain some agency. Work with the roller, which again helps to recapitulate the energy flow by stressing the armoring, allows for an energetic release. Another example is the use of touch, which can be profoundly vulnerable and bring up a well of emotional responses.
These interventions help us paint a picture of what we know, what sensations or feelings are present, and how embracing these feelings may feel painful or pleasurable. One of the aims of this work is to provide a positive experience of life and its happenings, replacing the traumatic experiences felt in the past. Reshaping the energetic outcome allows the body to develop an understanding of what could be, instead of remaining locked into what is felt in that moment in time.
As we learn more about what it means to be fully human in a human body, it is becoming clear that the traditional White, Western European way of understanding people has its limits. To truly explore the human energy field and the richness of human experience, we need to look through many different cultural and societal lenses. Seeking knowledge and wisdom isn’t about sticking to one perspective—it’s about drawing from multiple sources and approaches. Without that openness, our understanding can become rigid and stale, and we miss the fullness of what it means to be alive.
My goal as a practitioner is to meet you where you are, see you as you are, and make space for whatever you’re holding—only going as fast as the slowest part of you is ready to go.