IFS Insight: IFS And The Body

And today I'm going to talk just a bit about more somatic and body work in IFS and working with the body.

And in IFS,

We understand that the mind,

Brain,

And body are all connected.

To achieve true healing,

We need to include the body in the process.

And so,

Let me give a little insight into why we use the body in IFS.

And there are many reasons to include the body in this model.

Ideally,

The body is where all our different parts and our true self live.

However,

Some parts might feel cut off or disconnected from the body.

For some people,

The body feels like a battleground where parts fight or control or struggle with issues like appearance,

Abilities,

Gender expression,

Or race.

These parts can impact the body positively or negatively,

And the body's condition can affect the parts as well.

In IFS,

One of the beauties of it is that it's a flexible,

Client-centered approach that makes it safe for people who might feel uncomfortable paying attention to the body.

We can start with top-down approaches,

Focusing on thoughts and feelings first,

And then move to the body.

Alternatively,

For those who are more aware of their body,

We can use a bottom-up approach,

Starting with the body and integrating thoughts and feelings along the way.

An IFS practitioner will find the best method for each client.

And I've found it takes a little time,

A few sessions,

To understand the client's system and to build trust between my system and their system.

But after a few sessions,

We kind of find our rhythm and footing of the approach we need to take.

Sometimes it's top-down,

Sometimes it's bottom-up,

Sometimes it's external-in,

And sometimes it's vice-versa from those somatic feelings outward.

And let's look a little bit at how parts and self show up in the body.

Our parts and true self can show up in the body in various ways.

And I learn in my IFS training how parts affect physical health,

How to work with parts through the body,

Like my lower back pain.

It's been a trailhead to many,

Many experiences inward,

And just being aware of that.

And recent discoveries in neuroscience relate well to IFS,

And it's good to just be aware of that.

And it's one thing to be in our head,

But it's also healing if we can get out of our head and into the body.

And the parts,

The self,

And the body,

They can all be integrated together to feel whole.

And in order to feel whole,

Our true self must be present in the body.

When the self is more present,

Other parts can relax and soften back.

In cases of severe trauma,

And I am not a trauma-trained professional,

But have gotten a lot of experience in my own life and with clients to see that this is healing.

And in those cases,

Parts may dominate,

Making the self feel less embodied.

There may be a numbness or dissociation,

It's good to be aware of that.

And parts might show up as physical sensations,

Like pain that I mentioned,

Or illness.

When they are encouraged to communicate their needs directly,

Managers,

Firefighters,

And exiles use the body,

And we can help them know that that's okay in different ways.

And common patterns can include,

For example,

Managers control parts of the body to avoid feeling vulnerable,

Which can cause physical tension or pain.

And firefighters,

They use distractions or pleasures like food or substances to escape pain or create illnesses to avoid situations.

And then those exiles might use physical sensations to communicate when they feel unheard,

Needing the self to feel their pain so that they can have validation and get some relief.

Self-energy,

Which includes qualities like compassion,

Clarity,

Confidence,

Courage,

Creativity,

And connectedness,

Also shows up in the body,

Often felt as calmness or warmth in the heart.

And the physical tension from conflicting parts can ease as these conflicts resolve.

And here are some ways that we can work with the body using internal family systems.

IFS has developed ways to understand how parts and self interact with the body.

We see the body as a natural home for parts and the self.

The goal is to help parts unburden,

Reconnecting them with the self and making space for the self in the body.

We may pay attention to physical signs of parts and the self throughout the IFS process,

Starting with the six F's that we as IFS practitioners use of finding the part,

Focusing on it,

Fleshing it out,

And noticing how we're feeling toward it and see if we can extend it some of those eight C's like calmness and curiosity.

And if we are able to,

Then we can befriend it and focus on that part so that it can be integrated,

Be re-acclimated to who we are,

And ultimately be healed.

And so we locate where the part is in or around the body,

Which is key in this process.

And this strengthens the connection and helps gather information directly from the part.

We also check how the body feels after an unburdening happens and integrating parts,

Ensuring the client's nervous system is regulated before in the session and send them back out to the broader world.

Some basic ways to work with parts and the self in the body include scanning the body for physical clues like tension,

Aches,

Nausea,

Or tingling.

And we can use these sensations to connect with the parts associated with them.

Also just noticing sensations connected to a part and exploring them with permission.

It's important that we do get permission or there's going to be backlash from some of those parts,

Particularly protectors.

Observing feelings toward a sensation and finding the part carrying those feelings.

Getting to know the part located in a specific body area.

We can also discover how a part wants to move the body or what posture it take.

Noticing how polarizations,

Conflicting parts show up in the body.

We can also recognize the presence of self-energy,

Calmness,

Curiosity,

Et cetera,

In the body and inviting parts to engage with it.

And then also sharing self-energy with a part by placing one hand where self-energy is felt and another where the part is located.

So maybe there's a self-energy in the chest but a tightness in the gut or some tingling in the extremities and sometimes just that touch of touching the heart and then maybe touching two fingers together of where that tingling is and extending that self-energy there.

And then finally,

Focusing on a symptom,

Exploring what parts are expressing through it or how they're reacting to it and considering what the symptom might say if it could speak.

And these methods,

And there are other ones,

But they help integrate the body into the healing process,

Making the journey toward balance and wholeness more effective.

And so be aware of your parts and be aware of how they're showing up in your body.

And let's just keep trying to all just send compassion to ourself and the world as we continue this journey with our parts.