To strengthen the body boundary is to strengthen the sense of self. There are many ways of accomplishing this. The best strategy is to utilize methods that address both the body and the mind. We must remember a basic principle of Somatic Psychology that the body is always an experiential body and so to change the body changes the experience and vice versa. IMPORTANT NOTE: The following suggestions are intended for educational exploration of one’s embodied consciousness only and are not meant to diagnose, treat, or prescribe. ALWAYS confer with your healthcare provider(s) before applying any of them.
Strengthening One’s Boundary
Empowerment begins with taking charge of your mind-body enhancement plan by first consulting with your healthcare providers regarding exercise, nutrition, weight loss, and psychological needs (Kiely, 2020; McNutt, 2016; Umar & Mundy, 2016). Wanting to strengthen one’s body structure is caused by the chronic feeling of being weak and vulnerable. While adding muscle tone is part of the equation and a more crucial aspect is balancing the body so that it feels naturally supported.
Bodywork and massage to increase sense of physical self while balancing posture to increase this sense of support. Studies show that upright posture improves mood and can enhance a sense of empowerment especially in women (Kozak, Roberts, & Patterson, 2014; Peper et al., 2016). Structural bodywork methods such as Rolfing and Hellerwork can help achieve this along with yoga and the Alexander Technique (Woodman & Moore, 2012).
Many persons with weak body structures suffer from inhibited breathing patterns. Practicing breathwork techniques may enhance energy and feelings of wholeness. The regular practice of qigong improves respiratory functions and so makes for a supportive practice in the treatment of asthma and emphysema. Other benefits which accrue over time are reduced reactive catecholamine production with increased cardiac output, reduced heart rate, and ischemia. Qigong enhances lipolysis, improves lipoprotein levels, reduces hypertension, and increases aerobic conditioning. Qigong has been shown to produce significant improvements in neurological and psychological functions with improvements in memory and learning capacity, reductions in anxiety, fatigue, and hyperactivity, improvements in nerve function, and changes in EEG patterns (Lee, 1999).
Likewise, a meta-analysis of 44 studies examining the effects of yogic alternate nostril breathing (anulom-vilom pranayama) conclude that there is a high level of evidence for improving cardiovascular, pulmonary, autonomic nervous system, and cognitive functioning (Ghiya, 2017).
Physical exercise is one of the most important tools for strengthening the experience of the body especially the body’s core. Exercise is an important aspect of health maintenance and therapeutic treatment. Even the simplest exercise is beneficial. For example, a single session of aerobic exercise improves body image (Béres, Czeglédi, & Babusa, 2017).
Meditation is very helpful for cultivating a sense of self and personal boundaries while increasing personal well-being (Shapiro et al., 2008).
Tai Chi Ch’uan helps to improve psychological functioning including emotional and bodily well-being (Jimenez, Melendez, & Albers, 2012; Wang et al., 2010). The practice of Tai Chi Push Hands is useful in this regard.
Grounding and centering exercises using guided imagery and movement are also helpful.
The martial arts are helpful in developing a sense of personal power and confidence as they entail exercise, good self-care, meditation, and grounding/centering.
It also would be helpful to engage in clinical somatic psychotherapy to explore ego-boundary issues and self-other relationships. Gestalt therapy and others are suggested (Raffagnino 2019).
Softening One’s Boundary
Paradoxically, all of the above methods used to strengthen one’s body can be used to soften it and make it more permeable and less rigidly restrictive. It all depends on the treatment intention guiding the intervention. However, one form of clinical somatic psychotherapy might be especially powerful in this regard and that is Reichian therapy which aims at removing the muscular armor (Llewellyn, 1995; Schierholz, 2011).
Closing Thoughts
This blog-lecture has been about a key principle of Somatic Psychology: the body boundary. The body boundary is akin to Freud’s notion of the body-ego, but is seen here as a psychophysical structure: the actual experience of the body or body schema including the skin, sensory organs, and muscles as well as the sense of embodied identity. It was seen that the quality of the body boundary affects a variety of variety of aspects of the embodied self in particular the sense of personal integrity or power. We reviewed different aspects of strong versus weak boundary and the boundary differences between the sexes. The discussion then turned to violations of the body boundary which leave a person feeling inherently powerless, vulnerable, anxious, and distrusting as what happened in my own case after a series of childhood surgeries. One important aspect of personal power deals with the sense of being able to cope with problems or seeing one’s self as too weak to do so. This concept is the locus of control and it makes for an important psychological corollary to the body boundary. People with disturbed body boundaries (and this also includes a disrupted sense of body image) tend to compensate for their loss of power by distorting their bodies by either hardening them into over-bounded forms or inflating them into obesity or allowing them to collapse into under-bounded structures. This is because body attitudes are always reflected in body form, body-ego defenses, and personality patterns. These defensive forms were briefly reviewed and suggestions were made as to how best approach their rehabilitation. This theme was then continued on in the present blog lecture regarding possible mind-body interventions that might be useful in either strengthening or softening the body boundary and defenses. The key to a sense of personal empowerment is somatic integrity. This integrity can be easily violated because body consciousness is very plastic and readily response to change for good or ill. And, it is especially vulnerable in the case of children who lack psychophysical maturity and coping skills. The good news here is that power can be restored and maintained with effort, practice, and good professional support. I myself was blessed in finding remarkable therapists and bodyworks in my search for wholeness. They are out there and just waiting for you to find them. I wish you best of luck in your search and healing journey. _________________________
Part 1 and Part 2 available here…
- Embodiment and Empowerment Part 1: Body-Ego Boundary and Locus of Control
- Embodiment and Empowerment Part 2: Defending the Body Boundary
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References
Béres, A., Czeglédi, E., & Babusa, B. (2017). Effects of a single aerobic exercise session on body image. Mentálhigiéné és Pszichoszomatika 18, p. 84-104.
Ghiya, S. (2017). Alternate nostril breathing: A systematic review of clinical trials. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences 5(8), p. 3273-3286.
Jimenez, P., Melendez, A., & Albers, U. (2012). Psychological effects of tai chi chuan. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics 55, p. 460-467.
Kieley, M. (2020). Personal Health: A Population Perspective. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Kozak, M., Roberts,T., & Patterson, K. (2014). She stoops to conquer? How posture interacts with self, objectification and status to impact women’s affect and performance. Psychology of Women Quarterly, doi.org/10.1177/0361684313517865.
Lee, C. (1999). Qigong. In W. Jonas & J. Levin (Eds.), Essentials of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, pp. 393-409.
Llewellyn, E. (1995). A phenomenological study: The impact of neo-Reichian bodywork on six clients. Unpublished master’s thesis, The University of British Columbia.
McNutt, R. (2016). Your Health, Your Decisions: How to Work with Your Doctor to Become a Knowledge-Based Patient. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press.
Peper, E., Booiman, A., Lin, I., & Harvey, R. (2016). Increase strength and mood with posture. Biofeedback 12(2), p. 14-17.
Raffagnino, R. (2019). Gestalt therapy effectiveness: A systematic review of empirical evidence. Open Journal of Social Sciences 7, p. 66-83.
Schierholz, N. (2011). Toward a patient-centered understanding of orgonomic (Reichian) therapy. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA.
Shapiro, S., Oman, D., Thoresen, C., Plante, T., & Flinders, T. (2008). Journal of Clinical Psychology 64(7), p. 840-862.
Umar, A. & Mundy, D. (2015). Re-thinking models of patient empowerment. Studies in Health, Technology, and Information 209, p. 175-181.
Wang, C., Bannuru, R., Ramel, J., Kupelnick, B., Scott, T., & Schmid, C. (2010). Tai chi on psychological well-being: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 10(23), p. 1-16.
Woodman, J. & Moore, N. (2012). Evidence for the effectiveness of Alexander Technique lessons in medical and health-related conditions: A systematic review. The International Journal of Clinical Practice 66(1), p. 98-112.