Orgone Energy | Releasing Body Armouring from Infant Separation Trauma
The evidence from psychological research is clear: When children are separated from their parents, it can have traumatic repercussions for life.
Everything is Effected — Body Mind and Spirit
When experiences are traumatic, the pathways getting the most use are those in response to trauma; this reduces the formation of other pathways needed for adaptive behaviour. Trauma in early childhood can result in disrupted attachment, cognitive delays, and impaired emotional regulation.
The attachment bond between a mother and her child is first formed in the womb, where fetuses have been found to develop preferential responses to maternal scents and sounds that persist after birth, explains Myron Hofer, who was director of the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychology at Columbia University until his retirement in 2011. These rapid early-learning processes continue during the newborn stage of development, in which children begin to recognize their mothers’ faces and voices.
From this point on, early maternal separation can result in a series of traumatic emotional reactions during which the child engages in an anxious period of calling and active search behaviour followed by a period of declining behavioural responsiveness.
But attachment is much more than a feeling — according to research in Current Directions in Psychological Science, it’s an umbrella term critical to development across the lifespan.
“The human brain is designed to sense, process, store, perceive, and act on information from the external and the internal environment. All of these complex systems and activities work together for one overarching purpose — survival” (Goldstein, 1995 cited in Perry, et al., 1995).
Neurons are the building blocks of the brain. During development, neurons create networks that link to create systems. These systems are how the brain regulates all functions. Brain functions are organized from the most simple to the most complex. The development of these functions is sequential, meaning prior events impact future development.
A key fact that child welfare professionals, judges, and others who work with child welfare-involved families should know is that there are critical developmental times when neural pathways are being formed that can be significantly altered by traumatic events (Perry, 1995, 2009).
The Body
The psoas muscle
The psoas muscle (pronounced SO-as) may be the most important muscle in your body. Without this essential muscle group, you wouldn’t even be able to get out of bed in the morning! In fact, whether you run, bike, dance, practice yoga, or just hang out on your couch, your psoas muscles are involved. That’s because your psoas muscles are the primary connectors between your torso and your legs. They affect your posture and help to stabilize your spine.
Many experts don’t understand the complexity of the psoas muscles, it’s not uncommon for people to be given the wrong diagnoses and treatments for their psoas-related pain.
Body Armouring
Through severe trauma, the whole body has the potential to form major somatic blocks initiating body armouring.
What is Body Armoring? Wilhelm Reich — 1936 states “Armoring is the condition that results when energy is bound by muscular contraction and does not flow through the body.”
The emotional component of the Psoas Muscle and how it is linked to the mind. The contraction of the Psoas which occurs as part of the stress response of infant separation can cause an instinctual reaction to curl into a foetal ball to prepare for flight or fight. Unfortunately, when you have a permanently tightened Psoas, due to habitual trauma, it continually sends danger signals to the body reducing your overall healthy immunity and a loss of contact with your core.
Reich then established a theory of segmental armouring to explain how the body establishes its psychic equilibrium. In this Segmental Armouring theory, seven segments of the body exist where armouring or muscular tensions develop or takes place, and where the segmental contractions are at right angles to the flow of “life force” or orgone energy in the body.
The Orgone Theory
Wilhelm Reich developed the theory back in the 1930s, after may experiments he believed that the world was made up of bioenergetic life force or life energy but his belief was not uncommon traditional cultures held the similar beliefs in Chinese culture they call it Chi in India it called Prana and in Homeopathy we call it vital force. Reiki also uses life energy to heal.
In fact, Reich’s concept of 7 segments also has a correlating overlay of the 7 chakra system of eastern Philosophy, and in many ways has a premise that is basically the same as proposed by eastern philosophy.
The fixation of movement keeps the body in the sympathetic nervous system.
These are the 7 segments that were delineated by Reich:
- Ocular or Eye
- Oral
- Cervical
- Thoracic
- Diaphragm
- Abdominal
- Pelvic
The Instinctual Mind
Three layers of mind work together to serve the functions of the ego in all human beings. Each energetic layer has separate functions yet all three layers are interconnected and directly impact each other. As we learn about the layers in the internal structure of the ego, this clarifies the purpose of identifying what the ego is and how it operates within us. When we understand how ego operates inside our mind we are better equipped to heal the energetic imbalances of Negative Ego and the Pain Body triggers.
The seven most painful experiences related to the separation that the majority of adoptees and mothers know so well are:
- Unworthiness
- Shame / Guilt
- Lack of Trust / Self Doubt
- Betrayal / Abandonment
- Anger / Rage
- Fear
- Entrapment / Enslavement
The goal here is spiritual protection, to dismantle the ego. Self Esteem is the value of a person’s worth and there are a lot of factors that come into play, especially in helping a person feel more confident about himself, which is also a primary factor in establishing a person’s outlook towards personal inspiration and feeling as a success. On the spiritual Ascension pathway, recognising the importance of character building as a necessary part of having self-love and self-acceptance is critical to progress through self deception blocks.
Somatic Healing
Our bodies hold on to past traumas which are reflected in our body language, posture and also expressions. Past traumas manifest physical symptoms like pain, digestive issues, hormonal imbalances, sexual dysfunction and immune system dysfunction, medical issues, depression, anxiety and addiction.
Somatic psychology confirms that the mind and body connection is deeply rooted. In recent years neuroscience has emerged with evidence that supports somatic psychology, showing how the mind influences the body and how the body influences the mind.
The main goal of somatic therapy is the recognition and release of physical tension that may remain in the body in the aftermath of a traumatic event. The therapy sessions typically involve the patient tracking his or her experience of sensations throughout the body. Depending on the form of somatic psychology used, sessions may include awareness of bodily sensations, dance, breathing techniques, voice work, physical exercise, movement and healing touch.
Somatic therapy offers a variety of benefits. It reframes and transforms current or past negative experiences, inculcates a greater sense of oneself, confidence, resilience and hope. It reduces discomfort, strain and stress while developing a heightened ability to concentrate.
Somatic therapy takes many forms. From ancient Eastern practices to recently developed Western techniques, beneficial somatic therapies can be found in nearly every culture. The following list is just a sampling of the many somatic therapies available.
- Massage
- Postural integration
- Sensory awareness
- Body-mind centring
- Dance
- Kinetic awareness
- Martial arts
- Ayurveda
- Yoga
- Polarity therapy
- Trigger point therapy
- Reiki
- Acupressure
- Somatic experiencing
- Meditation in movement
- Neurosomatic therapy
- Somatic gene therapy
“Only the liberation of the natural capacity for love in human beings can master their sadistic destructiveness.”
― Wilhelm Reich
“The less he understands something, the more firmly he believes in it.”
― Wilhelm Reich
“Love is the absence of Anxiety.”
― Wilhelm Reich
“And the truth must finally lie in that which every oppressed individual feels within himself but hasn’t the courage to express”
― Wilhelm Reich
