PROTECTION MODE
“Safety is not the absence of threat, but the presence of connection.” — Gabor Maté
The definition of the word protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection mechanisms are characteristic of all living things to avoid harm and ensure our survival. Our bodies, outside of the cognitive awareness of our existence, are organisms imbued with layers of protection. The most superficial layer being our skin, our always on alert nervous system interwoven with myofascia, zooming in deeper to the proton/electron balance holding our molecules together and even further beyond that at the quantum energetic level. This innate intelligence governs every function. We are in a constant state of self-regulation and self-protection which is crucial to our survival.
I often associate the winter season with protection more so than other times of the year. It is a time with more darkness than daylight. A time when we literally and metaphorically take our fall harvests and conserve for the months ahead, slow down and go within. Some mammals go so far as to hibernate the entire season to survive the adverse conditions of winter. Female black bears go into a semi hibernation during these months to give birth to their offspring, ensuring a safe and warm environment for their cubs to enter the world. Us humans don’t go quite that far but we do employ many methods to protect ourselves from winter’s brusqueness. We layer on additional clothing, spend more time inside, light a fire (or just turn on the heater), drink hot beverages, eat hearty meals and snuggle up in cozy blankets with our loved ones.
Human adaptability to our environment is a double-edged sword, our greatest asset and at times Achille’s heel. Protective mechanisms, like anything, are effective and supportive at the right moment, in moderation. But what happens when we take these mechanisms too far? When we over-protect? Perhaps we become too sequestered, we become hardened or calloused; less flexible, less available. Scar tissue is a great example of somatic overprotection. In the short-term shoring up or splinting damaged tissue makes sense, but over the long-term, sensation, mobility and function decline. We also enact these defenses when people hurt us emotionally. We sometimes use that momentary heartache as an excuse to distrust and pull back from others when what we really need is support and connection. All these processes are physiological even if they are not physical and, as with all things, finding the right balance of protection and exposure is key to our health and well-being.
My goal as a practitioner is to help you find this balance by tuning into the self-healing processes we all possess, guiding your body towards its highest function. I am committed to staying curious, learning, growing and evolving so that I can provide the most effective care to all of you. As part of that commitment, I recently completed a course of training that I am very excited to incorporate into my practice. It is a method of assessment called the LTAP™ devised by the brilliant athletic trainer and educator Anna Hartman, AT, MS, ATC, CSCS. This paradigm integrates basic orthopedic tests and osteopathic principles to uncover the layers of protection our body employs to keep us safe on the day to day but can negatively impact posture and function and reduce healing outcomes. The goal of each LTAP™ based session is to meet every body exactly where it is, decipher where it says treatment is needed and apply it in the correct sequence that the body — not the clinician — prefers. There is no forcing the body to adhere, only peeling back the layers of protection in a way that cultivates the utmost safe environment for holistic healing. Ultimately this session structure leads to more specificity of treatment and therefore more effective and long-lasting treatment results.
As we wrap up yet another year and settle into the quiet austerity of the winter season we simultaneously barrel towards an unknown future in a very divided, tumultuous time in our country, where many of us feel unsafe. It is my hope in this moment to facilitate as much healing, stability and strength as I can so you feel better equipped to weather the oncoming storms. Any relief I help bring you, any balance, I hope you can reverberate to your communities. Perhaps then, collectively, we will carry onward with just the right amount of protection needed to preserve our humanity, dignity, and grace.