When the Body Remembers What the Mind Tries to Forget:Redefining Chronic Pain through Gravity, Trauma, and Release

In clinical practice, we often encounter a frustrating cycle familiar to both therapists and patients: a precise treatment brings clear relief-pain markers subside, range of motion improves, and inflammation decreases. Yet, after a variable period, the symptoms return. The lower back pain resurfaces, the cervical strain tightens again, or an unexplained muscular fatigue settles in.

Israel Don, a researcher of fundamental physical conditions, describes this phenomenon eloquently: the issue lies not merely in the injured tissue, but in the body’s "Carrying Conditions."

Our bodies operate under constant gravity. If our internal architecture-the way we hold ourselves against the gravitational force-is based on compensation and excessive effort, then local treatment is merely "fighting fires." As long as the fundamental pattern of how we carry ourselves remains unchanged, the tissue will inevitably return to functioning under that same destructive load.

But this raises a deeper question: Who or what determines these "Carrying Conditions"? Why does the body choose to hold itself in a pattern of strain and contraction, even when it causes suffering?

The Body remember like an Archive: Reading History Through Tissue

As a Psychotherapist incorporating Deep Tissue bodywork, I view these "Carrying Conditions" not just as a mechanical issue, but as a living biography.

When a client enters my clinic, a scan takes place before a single hand is laid upon them. The body narrates what words often conceal. I perceive the concentrations of energy, the "stuck" areas-often places where the client is entirely unaware of the rigidity they hold. This stagnation is not accidental; it is evidence of the "Armor" the individual has constructed over years.

The body remembers everything. It archives our emotional history, the environment in which we grew up, and the defense mechanisms we developed to survive. The "compensatory stabilization patterns" Israel Don speaks of in the physical realm are, in fact, emotional survival strategies.

Touch as a Dialogue with the Unconscious

My method integrates Deep Tissue work with active psychotherapeutic listening. This deep contact is not merely a manipulation of muscle; it is an entry point into the system, an invitation to dialogue with that Armor.

When I contact the rigid tissue, the body begins to "share" information. In many cases, particularly surrounding trauma, the body reveals to me what the patient learned to do in order to function after the injury. The chronic contraction in the shoulders, the locking of the pelvis, or the collapse of the chest-these are not "postural errors." They are solutions the body found to protect the psyche during moments of distress or danger.

The treatment is a process of dual unraveling:

1. Physical Unraveling: Through Deep Tissue work at varying levels of depth, we allow the tissue to release its rigid grip, fundamentally altering the physical "Carrying Conditions" against gravity.

2. Conscious Unraveling: During and after the treatment, a dialogue unfolds. If the patient is ready, I reflect back what their body is communicating. We learn together: Why was this Armor created? What did it protect? And do we, years later, still require it at such intensity?

   
   

From Stagnation to Individuality

The goal is not simply to "straighten" the body or erase pain, but to fertilise the individual trapped within the Armor. When we release the energy that was invested in holding onto trauma or defense, that energy becomes available for vitality, creativity, and growth.

This integrated approach allows the patient to discover their true capabilities, beyond their limiting patterns. When the shift in how one carries their body stems from deep understanding and emotional release, it becomes sustainable. The body no longer needs to "return" to pain, because the root cause has been addressed.

An Invitation to Listen Deeper

If you find yourself in a loop of recurring pain, or feel that your body is "stuck" in a pattern you cannot seem to crack, the solution may not lie in another mechanical manipulation alone.

I invite you to a process where we examine not just the symptom, but the whole person carrying it. Come and discover what your body is trying to tell you, and learn how to transform your carrying conditions-both physical and emotional-from a burden into a source of strength and free movement.