Ten Principles of Neural Somatic Integration (NSI)
1. The Body as a Portal: The physical body “carries” (stores) ALL our experience (from trauma to pleasure) in neuronal circuitry and/or chemical functionality and corporal functionality and structure. This makes the
physical body a portal for healing and trauma relief.
2. Stress Responses Lead to Patholog:. Chronic distress (pain) - physical, mental/emotional that is not
“organic” in its origins (i.e., the result of disease or accident) is the result of a defensive physiognomic
response to past experienced or anticipated threat or pain. Called “stress,” these responses, while originally intended to preserve or protect (e.g., signals to the organism to either flee, freeze or fight), when persisted in after the perceived threat has passed, create pathology.
3. Discharge: Release of these no-longer functional responses results in “discharge” (an electrical term that is applied to what the body/mind experiences when released from constrained or restrictive constructs.) Discharge is a pleasurable experience, even exhilarating: energy that has been “cooped up” in neuro-circuitry is now free to move, flow, and be available for creative and productive and pleasurable experiences.
4. The Role of Cognition: Psychotherapy (including all forms of psychological intervention) seeks to obtain this release through cognition – through analysis, synthesis, “understanding” (and accepting and/or changing) the historical causality that resulted in the pathology. Beyond simple “understanding,” however, effective psychotherapy provides a compensatory emotional container in which the mind/body can “let go” of what it no longer needs to protect itself and discharge the related neural energy that has been devoted to holding the complex of beliefs, emotional triggers,and corresponding physical configurations in place. Talk therapy has begun to acknowledge the role of the body in healing psychological trauma and neuroses. The work of Gene Gendling and his introduction of the concept of a “felt sense” present IN THE BODY as a
key to effective therapy is an outstanding example.
5. The Evolution of Body Work: Body work has also “evolved” very quickly in recent years (or perhaps rediscovered what it was originally) from addressing only the physical manifestations of a distress complex (i.e., the gross anatomy of muscle, ligament, tendon, lymph gland, and physical symptoms of restricted motion, cramping, etc.). Pioneers such as Moshe Feldenkrais, Trager, Alexander, Rosen, etc. developed methods to address underlying patterns of body dysfunction. The work of Peter Levine on trauma release processes is particularly relevant to this discussion.
6. Neural Causality: Neural Somatic Integration (NSI) is a continuation of the process of addressing the underlying neural patterns that are the proximate cause of a given distress pattern. Proximate, because
it is the cause that is present in the organism, be it in an unconscious or conscious way – a memory, a body structure/posture, a feeling, or a pain symptom.The historical cause of a distress complex is not present. Only the residue of the organism’s response to the distressing input remains in “flesh and blood” including the entire network of neuro-biologic circuitry.
7. NSI Brings Release from the Past: NSI offers opportunities for the organism to heal itself by bringing attention to the pathologies and distress complexes that the practitioner “senses” through visual observation, touch, and/or verbal feedback. The practitioner does not presume to know “how” to heal the organism. He/she places faith in the organism to heal itself, yielding to the extraordinarily complex self-healing and self-regulating mechanisms of the autonomic, parasympathetic, and neurologic systems. The practitioner’s
role is to be a “living feedback mechanism” to the organism of what he/she senses about the organism’s physical condition and to encourage the organism to shut down pathologic psycho-physical protocols and allow itself to function “naturally” (i.e., without a pathologic syndrome interfering with health and life). Practitioner “senses” through visual observation, touch, and/or verbal feedback. The practitioner does not presume to know “how” to heal the organism. He/she places faith in the organism to heal itself, yielding to the extraordinarily complex self-healing and self-regulating mechanisms of the autonomic, parasympathetic, and neurologic systems. The practitioner’s role is to be a “living feedback mechanism” to the organism of what he/she senses about the organism’s physical condition and to encourage the organism to shut down pathologic psycho-physical protocols and allow itself to function “naturally” (i.e., without a pathologic syndrome interfering with health and life). The effect is to allow the organism to “breath” naturally, to feel itself, to release what has been held onto out of a reflex of fear of continued or repeated wounding. The organism is shown that the historical cause of the distress reaction is no longer operative; or, if it is, it
must be shown that options for “escape” or change or alternative responses are available. NSI’s message to the body is: You no longer need to hold on to this or that defensive complex which may have once provided you with security or even enabled you to survive and was a perfectly “natural” response to the trauma that was experienced - but which is now killing you, or at least restricting your ability to experience your body, your mind, your feelings (i.e.., your life) in the present, and is limiting your access to the positive states of
joy, peace, love, hope, or courage.
8. Body Worker As Listener and Observer. The body worker who employs NSI will not follow any régime of massage or manipulation, even those of ancient tradition (e.g., reflexology, acupressure, etc.) Rather, he/she will “listen” to the organism as it speaks through gesture, voice, muscle tension, pain sites, posture, responsive imagery, recollection, etc. He/she will observe in a neutral and non-judgmental fashion what is really there in the organism, reflect this back through feedback, verbal and tactile, to the organism, and offer the organism the opportunity to release, discharge, and heal. The practitioner cannot “force” this release. He/she cannot force the organism to “let go” of a long-standing neural defense/distress structure. Such pressure will inevitable be greeted by the organism as a further attack or stress and it will respond with a reinforcement of the very distress complex the practitioner is seeking to relieve.
9. Trust and Safety. Only when there is a free and safe interchange between practitioner and organism will healing occur. Trust is a sine qua non for any healing relationship. Without it, the organism remains “on guard” against further distress, thereby strengthening the neural circuitry one is attempting to “unplug” and release into life giving, health producing somatic neurology.
10. Course of Treatment. Given the historical duration or intensity of most trauma or distress patterns the kind of neural somatic integration we are seeking will not likely occur quickly. It is possible that one could expect to spend a year in weekly NSI work for every decade of life in order to work through the various distress complexes one might have, tthough this of course will vary from client to client. However; at a certain point, it will become possible for the subject to become his/her own healing practitioner. NSI is not simply a “therapeutic” process; it is an educational one, and clients can become attuned to their own body/mind symptomatology and begin to self- regulate using strategies learned in formal NSI sessions. In this sense, the healing process is lifelong. Resolving old traumas and distress symptoms does not ensure that the organism will not suffer new traumas or distress. However, once the dynamic and creative process of NSI has been internalized, the client will have tools to respond to contemporary distresses in ways that will minimize the establishment of defensive complexes or relieve quickly those which occur.