Patterns of the Living Body: From Postural/Fascial Patterns to Biographical Life Patterns. The Body Tells Our Story
Patterns of the Living Body: From Postural/Fascial Patterns to Biographical Life Patterns
The Body Tells Our Story
In Practice: Observing Postural and Fascial Patterns
As an osteopath, I spend a significant amount of time observing postural patterns and palpating tension and tensegrity within the body. It is clear to me that every body has a unique pattern, often held unconsciously. We live our lives and move within these patterns. These patterns tell a story, much like fossils tell the history of the earth.
Sometimes, these patterns accumulate in layers, developing for various reasons. They reveal moments in our lives that become "frozen" in our general body posture and fascial web. The fascia tensegrity system holds these patterns, which in turn affect the vessels and nerves embedded in the fascial web. This disrupts the physiology of the surrounding interstitium, altering the channels of bodily communication. Essentially, the networks of the body’s communications are affected. However, the body possesses the inherent ability to unwind these patterns, marking the beginning of the healing process.
Patterns Held from Acute and Chronic Inflammatory Processes
Let's consider a simple example of how these patterns might initially develop. Take, for instance, a straightforward physical trauma. The body—especially the nervous system—responds to trauma with contraction, a reflexive response to external force. This reflex alters the inner environment as the body adapts to the new outer circumstances, creating a pattern. Once the trauma has ended and we are in a safe place, the healing process begins.
Healing starts with acute inflammation: blood flow increases to the area, immune cells break down damaged tissue, new nutrients are delivered, and blood works to repair and evolve the injured area. Once acute inflammation resolves, the nervous system releases the pattern, and normal, healthy function returns.
However, this isn’t always the case. Acute inflammation can be painful and take time to resolve. If we don't have the time to complete this process, the nervous system holds onto the trauma locally and creates a compensation pattern. The inflammation becomes chronic. Though not painful, chronic inflammation results in impaired function. This chronic state can persist for years, and we may even forget the original trauma.
As layers of chronic inflammation patterns accumulate, the body becomes uncoordinated. We feel exhausted, unable to move or function optimally. This is a scenario I frequently encounter in practice.
What Happens When We Start to Unwind These Patterns?
It’s important to understand that ultimately, it is the nervous system’s choice to unwind these patterns. If the nervous system isn’t ready to let go, no external intervention, no matter how skilled, will bypass this guardian.
To begin unwinding, we must first establish rapport with the nervous system. We need to listen, to be receptive, and not force anything. When we do this, the nervous system opens up, guiding us by showing us the patterns. We simply follow them.
However, the nervous system won’t allow this process if the adrenals are stuck in a chronic state of survival. The first step is to address adrenal tone. Once adrenal tone is balanced, and the nervous system is ready to show us the path, the unwinding begins.
At this point, what was once a physical pattern becomes a physiological process. The unresolved acute inflammation is given another chance to heal. After a day of feeling relaxed, acute inflammation may re-emerge. If the pattern has been held for a long time, the surrounding extracellular tissues and fluids may have become stagnant and acidic. The lymphatic system and veins take this up, and the immune system is activated, prompting fever through the lymphocytes, and subsequent detoxification through the liver, and other organs. This fever and cleansing is sometimes followed by a hangover-like sensation as the liver processes the toxins and byproducts of metabolism.
As healing continues, every organ plays a role in transforming what was held within the physical pattern. This healing process extends beyond the physiological level, reaching into our consciousness. We may experience a range of emotions—depression, heaviness, anxiety, or even relief—as the body releases the history of the trauma.
We can observe the unwinding and healing process across four distinct levels: physically, physiologically (vitality), emotionally (consciously), and biographically (spiritually).
The Impact of Patterns on Physiological Rhythms
As previously mentioned, these patterns also influence physiological rhythms, which can be seen as patterns on their own level. The relationship between physical and physiological patterns is direct and reciprocal. The physical patterns found in the body's posture and fascia—both globally and locally—directly affect physiological rhythms. Likewise, physiological patterns influence physical patterns.
In essence, the physical body is morphology expressed through the movement and rhythm of physiology that has come to rest, creating form. It will return to movement within the physiological systems. This relationship is most evident in the rhythms of the female reproductive cycle, which correlate with the postural patterns of the pelvis and spine.
We also observe these rhythms throughout the day. For example, the adrenal glands release hormones in the early morning, stimulating the autonomic nervous system (ANS) into its waking state. This has a direct effect on muscle tone, especially the thoracic paraspinal muscles, capillary contraction in blood vessels, and a change in spinal/postural patterns directly related to a physiological rhythm. In the afternoon, the adrenals naturally excrete fewer stimulating hormones, making us feel less alert. These rhythms shift with the seasons, as we have less adrenal reserve during the winter months.
If the body remains stuck in a state of excessive sympathetic nervous system (SNS) tone, this chronic state can create long-lasting physical patterns with widespread effects on the body’s rhythms, posture and fascial patterns.
Patterns in Emotions and Consciousness
These physical and physiological patterns usually remain subconscious, only becoming noticeable when movement is restricted or when our health and well-being are compromised due to a lack of rhythm. What we are most consciously aware of is our mood and state of consciousness. We may experience feelings of anxiety, depression, lightness, or heaviness. Our consciousness might be excessively alert, or we may struggle to wake up fully.
In a healthy state, we maintain a centre, and emotions and consciousness flow around this centre. These emotional and conscious states are directly related to the physical and physiological patterns discussed earlier.
For instance, when the adrenal glands are overstimulated, we may feel hyper-alert, leading to a freeze response. If this pattern persists long-term, anxiety sets in, and the individual may feel trapped in a fearful mindset. Eventually, when the adrenal reserves deplete, extreme fatigue sets in, but the anxiety remains.
This cycle can have significant long-term effects if not addressed. Although the body will naturally attempt to halt this unhealthy cycle, we can find many ways to not listen and block out the body’s needs expressed through its symptoms (eg analgesics and various adrenal stimulants).
We can observe extreme patterns of emotional behaviour expressed by individuals who seem stuck in belief systems or thought patterns that completely take over their everyday lives, such as with extreme OCD.
Our emotions and state of consciousness also have a direct effect on physiology, and therefore the physical body. For example, someone with OCD tendencies often has restriction in their breathing—an asthmatic pattern—with rigidity of the thorax and flattening of the thoracic spinal curvature.
Biographical Patterns and Rhythms
There is also a rhythm to our biography, seen in the seven-year cycles of development. The first 21 years of life consist of three distinct seven-year periods: childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. During each phase, physical and emotional patterns undergo significant changes.
These cycles continue into adulthood, and by around the age of 49 (after seven seven-year cycles), we experience a deeper sense of self and gain clarity on what is truly important to us. Around this time, many people undergo a significant life shift, feeling compelled to break free from old biographical patterns and create a new direction. We could consider this period of the biography the point at which we truly become a mature adult and finally have an understanding of who we are as an independent individual.
The body continues undergoing physiological changes throughout these phases. As we age each seven years, the vitality of the body transforms into wisdom.
When we fight against these natural phases and rhythms, we become misaligned with our own feelings and emotions. As a result, we also become misaligned with our physiology, which can lead to a sense of estrangement from our physical body.
There are also biographical rhythms present across generations, especially when children inherit the family business, estate, or other familial traits. These traits are encoded in our DNA, unfolding through the physiology, consciousness, and behavioural patterns. It is up to the individual to make changes to the story embedded in the DNA, not only through their biographical journey but also through their immune system, which aims to reintegrate the body—creating and changing the inherited body for the unique journey of that individual.
Breaking these patterns requires strength and willpower to change on all four levels—physical, physiological, emotional, and biographical. Often, individuals must undergo a period of introspection and external change to reclaim their life narrative. This process may be experienced as a crisis, but it’s a crucial step toward transformation, knowing, and becoming the authentic self.
