Depression To Expression: From Hard to Fluid Bodies and Closed to Open Voices

Chronically depressed? I'm certain you've tried everything you could find and nothing seems to work. I'd like to offer you a simple, low cost, non-toxic approach that has worked well for my students and I believe it just might work for you too. Like the lotus growing in the mud, I used my emotional dysfunction as a catalyst and the growing edges of personal discovery to move through depressed states of mind and body, anxiety, and inhibiting self-imposed barriers, into powerful new and different ways of being. My story, not unlike many of yours, exemplifies how we all have the potential to move beyond the rigid molds of mechanized conditioning that repress the genuine spirit of our essential nature. One of my tasks as an Expressive Arts Therapist has been mirroring hundreds of people's habitual movement styles – the way they breathed, sat, stood, walked and talked to understand what they experienced. What I discovered in my research was that the chronically depressed individual had learned to bury the vital expression of their feeling nature deep inside them. As a result, the muscular system became an armored guard that shaped their body into static postures, monotone speech habits, and predictable movement patterns to prevent the dreaded enemy to be seen, felt or heard. It is the habit of 'sameness' that depresses and ages us more quickly than anything else I know. Most of us do not live in our body. We live in our heads. Substantial research reveals that adults think about 50,000 thoughts a day - or about one million thoughts every three months. At least half these thoughts are negative! Spending our precious time living in the ivory tower of the mind, which undervalues our feeling heart and body would make anyone depressed! Lots of talk and more pills (Antidepressant sales just hit a new high) are the mainstream prescription in dealing with depression and trying to suppress or discuss depression isn't necessarily the most effective approach to solving the problem. So what's the secret of freeing the debilitating effects of this ever-growing malady? On top of this, there are so few outlets to unleash the buildup of repressed emotion. Most therapeutic intervention is often long and costly. Screaming at sports events, watching violent movies, yelling at people we love, pounding pillows over traumatic events, road rage or taking addictive substances are futile attempts to make up for the deficit. The challenge is not to deny or transcend our emotional life; it's about discovering how to express this primal power in healthy, creative ways. So, what can turn things around? Remember that your brain contains an apothecary of natural chemicals designed to sustain your health and vitality throughout life. Without a synergistic flow of emotive chemistry (See Bruce Lipton's, The Biology of Belief and Candice Pert's Molecules of Emotion), our system becomes increasingly toxic. Circulation diminishes, skin sags, bones become brittle and disease can build with alarming intensity. Chronic suppression of emotions results in a massive disturbance of the psychosomatic network. What I'm about to suggest can help liberate the hidden vitality imprisoned in your body. I have developed a simple and fun, non-drug intervention that prescribes ingesting massive amounts of emotive breath, sound and movement while bobbling on a ball! I know this sounds absolutely silly to your mental mind. But, hang in there. Activating high spectrum oxygen and humming vibrations streaming through your body while having fun bobbling on a ball unleashes the production of endorphins – the chemical that releases the pure pleasure and joy of your being to come alive once again that some people attempt to obtain through eating chocolate or taking drugs. Cooperating with Nature With diverse bouncing actions, your body cells are pitted against the earth's gravitational pull. This means in the upward thrust of the bounce, sixty trillion cells are aerated with more oxygen. In the downward pressure of the bounce, toxic waste is flushed out of your cells through your lymph system and circulation flows with increased vigor. Bobbling on the Ball releases opiates that can promote a 'natural high' without the need for addictive substances. The sensuous delight that is increased via bobbling can eroticize your nerve fibers, warm your flesh, arouse your arteries, and pump blood into your heart with undivided passion!