Holding Space: Pressure Rainbow Style
Posted by Margarita Navarrete-Hutchinson on Sunday, March 11, 2018 Under: Mind and Body
Since recognizing the Pressure Rainbow as a valuable tool for better understanding one's self and nervous system, I have been practicing "holding space" in the Blue, Blue-Green, and Green zones.
"Holding space" basically refers to being present, usually with/for other people.
After acknowledging the Pressure Rainbow, I started recognizing when I was in a certain color zone, as well as when other people were, as well.
Over a lifetime, I've recognized that, thanks to (unconscious) social mirroring, we tend to reflect/react to what we interpret the individuals/environment around us to be projecting.
We live in a relatively Orange world--the Orange level alert/survival mode that dictates that we conserve resources, because there is perceived lack/not enough, and every other vessel may be an enemy...and we're navigating through mine fields...
We have to practice being calm, so that our nervous systems understand and can arrive to "Calm"...the Blue zone. In the Blue zone, our immune systems have access to vital energetic resources, that get redirected when our protective systems engage...Orange zone.
Blue-Green...relaxed and happy. Blue Green is a lovely space/place to hold/be familiar with, within one's self. When we become skilled at holding/maintaining Blue Green, when surrounded by Orange, we get to enjoy our peace of mind; and may potentially help other vessels/nervous systems join us in the Blue Green zone, thus reducing the pressure on their systems, simply by "holding space." We don't even have to use words.
Green is full on happy. When that gets reflected back at us, the Green grows into Gold. That's treasure.
It's easy for humans to reflect Yellow, Orange, and Red--those zones are the progressive stages of our protective systems engaging, which only takes microseconds...maybe less! Homo sapiens would not be a successful species if we didn't have excellent protective systems that automatically engage to keep us alive.
It requires practice to consciously bring our heart and breath rates down, and no time at all to excite our nervous systems.
An interesting side effect of practicing calming my nervous system, is that I seem to have the capacity to feel ever greater/more intense emotions in response to ideas/situations that excite my nervous system. Perhaps because my system can better cope with the pressure, and more readily return to Blue/Green space?
Recently, I had the opportunity to hold space; a dear friend has been diagnosed with lung cancer, and as she is older, has decided to let it run its course. Some of those who love her are already mourning her loss, even though she is still present with us, and may be for another 6 months or more.
Synchronicity was on my side, and I had the good fortune of visiting the city my friend is living in, the weekend that she was coming home from the hospital. Her daughter coordinated a house cleanup.
I arrived, ready for the woeful faces that greeted me...I breezed by them kindly, with a calm smile, and went in...holding a sense of peaceful joy and appreciation for this very precious human that we are still fortunate to share present space with, in our current physical vessels.
I stood aside for a moment, trying to find my place amid the hub-bub...so many faces that I hadn't seen in years, and new faces, too...I didn't know what had been cleaned and what hadn't...so I made way to the bathroom, and found things to clean, so that i could be of service, too.
A while later, her daughter thanked me for "sharing Reiki with the house," to which I suprisedly replied, "I wasn't doing that!" and followed with, "But I am a death doula, and as such, death doesn't sadden me. I feel my role is to remind those around her to save their sadness for when she's gone, and appreciate her joyfully while we still have her with us."
It wasn't until later, when I had a moment to process the afternoon, that realized that when she thought I had been doing Reiki, I was in actuality engaging Pressure Rainbow principles.
I knew I was going to be walking into Yellow/Orange level grief; so I centered myself in Blue/Blue-Green on the drive there, and again before I set foot out of the car.
And then I held it.
It seemed like it did affect/change the space...by the time I left, the grief stricken faces had either changed in tone, or left the house; and those that remained were peaceful & joyful, and displaying gratitude toward their cherished elder.
I got to have the pleasure of making her laugh; and singing a song to her that I had just learned how to play on the ukulele, that has a very poignant message:
Time to put the silicone obsession down
Take a look around....find a way in the silence...
Lie supine away with your back to the ground
Dis- and re-connect to the resonance now...
You were never an island...
Unique....voice among the many....in this choir
Tuning...into each other...lift All higher....
--from Disillusioned, by A Perfect Circle, --
It was such a gift, to get to share such a beautiful song with her, that was just released in January.
I thought about what my intention was, going into the shared space of my friend's home; and acknowledged that what I was "doing" was working with the nervous system.
I address the nervous system when I provide massage therapy....and I am also addressing/affecting the nervous systems of the vessels around me, when I consciously hold space...maybe through engaging the social mirroring response.
There's the possibility that maybe why Reiki works for some people, is due in part to the social mirror: the combination of their desire to feel to better, paired with allowing someone else to help them feel better, is vital for the body's self-repair system to engage.
When the practitioner is an individual who is not only trusted, but someone who exudes wellness, calm, peace, acceptance, and happiness, it may help trigger the recipient's social mirroring reflex to engage, thus resulting in a greater/more positive sense of well-being.
The combination of all of those factors, paired with the faith/trust of the recipient in both the practitioner and the modality, engages the body to self-repair, also known as the placebo effect.
I think that the placebo effect is fascinating and wonderful, and have been curious for years about how we may consciously trigger our bodies' placebo responses, for increased wellness.
There are teams of scientists and doctors from different arenas working on just that, and I look forward to their findings.
In the meantime, I'll keep on practicing holding space, Pressure Rainbow style; and appreciate the benefits, all around.
I don't do Reiki; when people think I'm doing "energy work," I'm working with their fascia, nervous systems. and/or cutaneous nerves--which deeply relaxes the nervous system, without having to tear into muscle tissues. The sensation of their muscles/the tension disengaging, can sometimes be confused as resulting from "energy work," because the techniques applied are so gentle, that it seems like some sort of magic.
The magic lies in helping the nervous system of the vessel/individual I am assisting, in remembering that it is safe.
Once the body/nervous system are in accord that it is indeed safe, the immune/self-repair system goes back online; and consciousness shifts from seeking out enemies/problems, to being present in the moment and breathing peacefully.
Yes, the "energy" of my client has shifted; because the body's resources are now available to the immune system for self-repair. And it feels good to feel safe.
It's not magic.
It's a pressure shift.
I'm happy and grateful to assist my clients, as their bodies remember that they are, INDEED, safe.
May we all remember.
"Holding space" basically refers to being present, usually with/for other people.
After acknowledging the Pressure Rainbow, I started recognizing when I was in a certain color zone, as well as when other people were, as well.
Over a lifetime, I've recognized that, thanks to (unconscious) social mirroring, we tend to reflect/react to what we interpret the individuals/environment around us to be projecting.
We live in a relatively Orange world--the Orange level alert/survival mode that dictates that we conserve resources, because there is perceived lack/not enough, and every other vessel may be an enemy...and we're navigating through mine fields...
We have to practice being calm, so that our nervous systems understand and can arrive to "Calm"...the Blue zone. In the Blue zone, our immune systems have access to vital energetic resources, that get redirected when our protective systems engage...Orange zone.
Blue-Green...relaxed and happy. Blue Green is a lovely space/place to hold/be familiar with, within one's self. When we become skilled at holding/maintaining Blue Green, when surrounded by Orange, we get to enjoy our peace of mind; and may potentially help other vessels/nervous systems join us in the Blue Green zone, thus reducing the pressure on their systems, simply by "holding space." We don't even have to use words.
Green is full on happy. When that gets reflected back at us, the Green grows into Gold. That's treasure.
It's easy for humans to reflect Yellow, Orange, and Red--those zones are the progressive stages of our protective systems engaging, which only takes microseconds...maybe less! Homo sapiens would not be a successful species if we didn't have excellent protective systems that automatically engage to keep us alive.
It requires practice to consciously bring our heart and breath rates down, and no time at all to excite our nervous systems.
An interesting side effect of practicing calming my nervous system, is that I seem to have the capacity to feel ever greater/more intense emotions in response to ideas/situations that excite my nervous system. Perhaps because my system can better cope with the pressure, and more readily return to Blue/Green space?
Recently, I had the opportunity to hold space; a dear friend has been diagnosed with lung cancer, and as she is older, has decided to let it run its course. Some of those who love her are already mourning her loss, even though she is still present with us, and may be for another 6 months or more.
Synchronicity was on my side, and I had the good fortune of visiting the city my friend is living in, the weekend that she was coming home from the hospital. Her daughter coordinated a house cleanup.
I arrived, ready for the woeful faces that greeted me...I breezed by them kindly, with a calm smile, and went in...holding a sense of peaceful joy and appreciation for this very precious human that we are still fortunate to share present space with, in our current physical vessels.
I stood aside for a moment, trying to find my place amid the hub-bub...so many faces that I hadn't seen in years, and new faces, too...I didn't know what had been cleaned and what hadn't...so I made way to the bathroom, and found things to clean, so that i could be of service, too.
A while later, her daughter thanked me for "sharing Reiki with the house," to which I suprisedly replied, "I wasn't doing that!" and followed with, "But I am a death doula, and as such, death doesn't sadden me. I feel my role is to remind those around her to save their sadness for when she's gone, and appreciate her joyfully while we still have her with us."
It wasn't until later, when I had a moment to process the afternoon, that realized that when she thought I had been doing Reiki, I was in actuality engaging Pressure Rainbow principles.
I knew I was going to be walking into Yellow/Orange level grief; so I centered myself in Blue/Blue-Green on the drive there, and again before I set foot out of the car.
And then I held it.
It seemed like it did affect/change the space...by the time I left, the grief stricken faces had either changed in tone, or left the house; and those that remained were peaceful & joyful, and displaying gratitude toward their cherished elder.
I got to have the pleasure of making her laugh; and singing a song to her that I had just learned how to play on the ukulele, that has a very poignant message:
Time to put the silicone obsession down
Take a look around....find a way in the silence...
Lie supine away with your back to the ground
Dis- and re-connect to the resonance now...
You were never an island...
Unique....voice among the many....in this choir
Tuning...into each other...lift All higher....
--from Disillusioned, by A Perfect Circle, --
It was such a gift, to get to share such a beautiful song with her, that was just released in January.
I thought about what my intention was, going into the shared space of my friend's home; and acknowledged that what I was "doing" was working with the nervous system.
I address the nervous system when I provide massage therapy....and I am also addressing/affecting the nervous systems of the vessels around me, when I consciously hold space...maybe through engaging the social mirroring response.
There's the possibility that maybe why Reiki works for some people, is due in part to the social mirror: the combination of their desire to feel to better, paired with allowing someone else to help them feel better, is vital for the body's self-repair system to engage.
When the practitioner is an individual who is not only trusted, but someone who exudes wellness, calm, peace, acceptance, and happiness, it may help trigger the recipient's social mirroring reflex to engage, thus resulting in a greater/more positive sense of well-being.
The combination of all of those factors, paired with the faith/trust of the recipient in both the practitioner and the modality, engages the body to self-repair, also known as the placebo effect.
I think that the placebo effect is fascinating and wonderful, and have been curious for years about how we may consciously trigger our bodies' placebo responses, for increased wellness.
There are teams of scientists and doctors from different arenas working on just that, and I look forward to their findings.
In the meantime, I'll keep on practicing holding space, Pressure Rainbow style; and appreciate the benefits, all around.
I don't do Reiki; when people think I'm doing "energy work," I'm working with their fascia, nervous systems. and/or cutaneous nerves--which deeply relaxes the nervous system, without having to tear into muscle tissues. The sensation of their muscles/the tension disengaging, can sometimes be confused as resulting from "energy work," because the techniques applied are so gentle, that it seems like some sort of magic.
The magic lies in helping the nervous system of the vessel/individual I am assisting, in remembering that it is safe.
Once the body/nervous system are in accord that it is indeed safe, the immune/self-repair system goes back online; and consciousness shifts from seeking out enemies/problems, to being present in the moment and breathing peacefully.
Yes, the "energy" of my client has shifted; because the body's resources are now available to the immune system for self-repair. And it feels good to feel safe.
It's not magic.
It's a pressure shift.
I'm happy and grateful to assist my clients, as their bodies remember that they are, INDEED, safe.
May we all remember.
In : Mind and Body
Tags: perception "holding space" pressure rainbow magic safe
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If my insights may be of service to others, I am grateful for the opportunity to share.
May they serve you well.
