A free monthly mind and body connection to help inspire and care for the writer.
May’s Notes
Scars, Wounds, & Healing
Scar Tissue: Anytime the body heals, it undergoes a process involving new cells, replacing damaged cells. Many of these new cells form with collagen, which promotes tissue strength.
Sometimes, when the body undergoes trauma, the collagen cells clump and form scar tissue – which can harden, shrink, and interfere with mobility.
Sometimes, this is true in our hearts, our minds as well as within our bodies.
Let’s talk about wounds, scars, and ways to heal…
The Movement
Massaging Scar Tissue
Some scar tissue can be diminished and/or dissolved:
- Move – walk, swim, gentle flow activity.
- Stretch – realign your body to its natural length.
- Massage – can reorganize the scar tissue, increase blood flow, help the body heal.
Scar Tissue Massage
- Apply a natural lotion or oil – one that contains Vitamin E is best. I open Vitamin E capsules and use it as a natural moisturizer.
- Massage in small and gentle circular motion, never to the point of pain.
- Massage in the opposite circular direction.
- Repeat.
You can massage internal scars and emotional scars in this same way using guided meditation.
- Close your eyes and imagine a scar.
- You can gently rub on the surface of your body near the scar as above, repeating in the opposite direction.
- If emotional scar – envision the area in your body that might carry emotion and envision how this scar might appear.
- Envision the scar releasing, becoming softer, healing in whatever way may serve you.
- How do you want to interact with this area – swaddle, hold, swim with dolphins…..?
The Musings
Writing Prompt: Name your scar.
Now make a short list of interview questions for your scar.
You might include:
- I’m wondering how you got started.
- What was your first job?
- Are you interested in moving on?
- Are you helping me still?
- Do you need my help?
- Is there anyone we can thank for your presence in my life?
- How can I let you know that I appreciate all you’ve done to help me heal?
The Movement
Making Chapels of Our Scars from Alice Anderson’s memoir, Some Bright Morning I’ll Fly Away
We carry evidence on our bodies of our survival. How beautiful it is when our bodies knit ourselves back together.
Mirror your movement with your hands by knitting your fingers.
Create a chapel. You might remember, the rhyme:
Here’s the church, here’s the steeple, open the doors, and here are the people. And if you’ve forgotten, here is Mother Goose Playhouse to remind you.
The Musings
Writing Prompt: Write an Ode to Your Scar – thank you for stitching your body back together. Or write in praise to the people in the chapel who helped you seam yourself together.
The Movement
Scar/Wound Sensitivity
Scar/Wound Sensitivity: Some scars and wounds are over-sensitive (we can relate). This happens when nerves and deeper tissues are affected by injury (or surgery). Sometimes, the skin is damaged, and the nerves associated are also damaged. The nerves can be re-educated as they heal to help decrease pain and hypersensitivity.
One thought: The deep-pressure neural receptors are the first to heal, meaning that deep pressure will be less painful than light touch (as odd as that sounds). Because of this, you can begin desensitization with deep pressure throughout the scarred area. As you are able, you will want to lighten pressure until light pressure is no longer painful.
NOTE: Always check with your doctor before manipulating scars, wounds, and surgical sites.
DESENSITIZATION: Rubbing over top of the scar with varied pressures and differing textures will speed the healing process of damaged nerves, desensitizing the area. To do this, use a towel, dryer sheet, napkin, sponge, Velcro, etc. and rub over the scar, starting with deeper pressures and progressing to lighter pressures.
The Musings
Writing Prompt: Re-Story your scar, your wound, your injury. This is used in nightmare therapy (a term I’m inventing…) If you wake in the middle of trauma, relax, re-story the dream into a more pleasant, winning, achieving, joyful experience. You know, happily ever after.
Can you offer yourself many different textures (endings or happenings) with one event in your life? Is there any part of you that is now living – or could live – “as if” the re-story happened? For example, maybe you gained a superpower of sensitivity towards others….
No…we cannot return and re-live experiences “as if”– and many of our events have helped shape us….
The Movement
Rocking
Gently Rocking – this movement releases endorphins, self-regulates, helps fight addiction, gives your body a rhythm, and helps with chronic pain. You can use a rocking chair, a hammock, a front porch swing, or your own body. Think about sending comfort to those parts of your body that need it.
The Musings
Writing Prompt: Write a poem in couplets (like a back and forth in rocking) (I and Thou) – even consider a rhyme – to create a soothing rhythm that rocking does.
What word/phrasing would be comforting (to soothe me, to hold me, to love me) for the second repeating line in each couplet?
A ghazal is a great form and is at least five couplets.
More Healing Resources
(from our May participants – thanks for sharing)
Next Class
June 1st at 10 am PST / 11 am MST / Noon CST / 1 pm EST
Fitness is not just in the body. It is in the mind. In the heart.
Whatever your challenge, Musings & Movements may offer tools that open peace and help you continue to grow your writing practice.
Disclaimer: As with any fitness program, please use common sense when joining us. To avoid injury, check with your doctor before beginning this or any fitness program. Musings & Movement will not be responsible or liable for any injury sustained as a result of participating in these workshops, courses, series, or classes, including recordings, videos, or information shared. This includes emails, videos, and text.
Downloadable Workshop Notes
April, 2023 – The Body as a Poem
A Body Poem unfolds much like a guided meditation, a space you might note sensations, places where your body feels more alive, or, perhaps, is numbed.
- Put on music or nature sounds.
- Find a place of stillness.
- Fold your body into any shape that honors stillness and comfort.
- Notice what steams and bubbles, much like a poem, the metaphors, and the images within and on the surface of your body.
©Musings & Movements, All Rights Reserved, 2023, Gayle Brandeis & Rebecca Evans
Rebecca Evans 