During these last 20 some years as an herbalist and massage therapist I have noticed patterns that seem universal no matter what a person is healing from. Many people come to a wellness center such as AmaTierra to regain their energy and to heal from any number of things: a broken relationship, grief over loss, long-term stress and fatigue, chemotherapy, chronic health issues. And the one common misnomer I see is that people believe and expect that the healing process is a linear one…one that progresses from point A to point B and eventually to Z as though one is climbing a staircase.“I should be over this by now!” many say, especially regarding emotional pain. And if the problem is physical (although I also now believe there can be no actual separation between the mental/emotional/physical body) people will say “The doctors say the procedure was a success, that I should have this (limp, pain, whatever).
The truth, as I see it, is that healing happens as a spiral, ultimately an upward one, and sometimes with dips. Imagine a spiral beginning at the bottom where the problem first manifested, and as the body/mind begins to understand, respond and use its innate healing power, together with helpful influences such as herbs, supplements, therapy, bodywork to put itself right, we progress more and more toward the Center, toward wholeness and good health. However, being a spiral, we generally return to the place of the original hurt (a song may bring back the grief, steep stairs re-injure the knee), but as the body has gained more wisdom, the pain is less acute. We recognize the return to woundedness and say “Ah, yes, you are part of me, but I have progressed. I feel different, more whole, more healed.
Why is it important to notice that healing happens in a spiral? One, to let ourselves off the hook and stop pulling on the leash, wrenching ourselves into rightness when we are not yet ready (“I should be over this…”). And if we accept that in order for true healing to occur the body must remind itself of the original injury then I believe we can become more conscious of our humanity, and more accepting of where we might be in the present moment.
Is there anything we can do to speed up the healing process? Actually, I think there are many things we can do, and I will save that for the next blog….
