The establishment of normal breathing is a huge factor for optimal newborn health.
After having eight visits of therapy, a patient had worked through a number of difficult issues. The ninth visit presented a whole new layer of her traumatic onion.
As I was listening to her upper body, she went into an unusual position while sitting on the table. She raised up her trunk with a slight arch to try hard to take a breath.
It appeared that she could not get a deep breath because of fascial restriction in her respiratory system. I later asked her for a detailed account of her birth.
She related that her mother had preeclampsia, requiring an emergency cesarean section. “My mom heard ‘Save the mother,” and then she went under—quite a memory!
“Since she was so ill, they would bring me in the incubator, a clear box with breathing tubes, to her room. She couldn’t hold me until much later. I was in the hospital for weeks with the doctors waiting for my breathing to improve.”
In working with John Barnes for 10 years, I vividly remember him writing that the fascia remembers. This is a perfect example of that concept.
I hypothesize that, in the first eight visits, she was peeling her onion of trauma. She would feel better after each visit, but she never felt 100%, as there was a piece missing.
I believe that it was the inability to take that deep first breath. The cranial osteopathic physicians often spoke of this critical aspect of life during my training in the 1980s.
The Patient Responds Post-Therapy
“I am noticing this time around I am more conscious of my happenings as I usually am after you work on me, I manage my day better, etc. but the mental chatter, call it generalized anxiety, (many open bookmarks of stuff in my mind) has not stopped. Interesting how it all works!
“Perhaps because this is a busy season for me with the holidays? I usually have no anxiety after your bodywork and will go out on church happenings with no issues, but it’s still the same level of bad. I am grateful that I am still able to manage my days better though, which is what I need to be doing right now with so much holiday activity.”
Dr. Barry Gillespie Comments
Since she lives about four hours away, I gave her a home exercise to do to help her release the remaining strain from her throat into her head. I will check her on her next visit.
I often write about the great aspect of working through the emotional and physical lifetime traumas to reach the core trauma of the onion. I am hoping that this is her core.
The work at birth can be critical for some babies. Gillespie Approach Training is a great tool for healthcare providers.
The Patient Comments
“I am going to work on letting go of my first-breath birth trauma so that I can push through this core issue and find continued healing.”
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