Good Morning!  I hope had an incredibly wonderful weekend!

Today’s post is inspired by the books Spark and Brain Rules and several research studies all pointing to the advantages of massage and exercise for beating the blues.  In this post, we’ll focus on how your body helps in the treatment of depression.

As it turns out, one time or another in our lives, we tend to get a bit down if not depressed. And if we’re feeling content, darn if we don’t know someone else that’s singing the blues.

One of the challenges of depression is that it feels all-consuming.  Sometimes, at it’s worst, it feels like we’re in a heavy dark cloud or even a deep dark hole – often trapped in our thoughts and immobile.

Through the years, I’ve learned that bringing the body into the depression “problem solving” mix can be invaluable.

In other words, it may be that our difficult thoughts – AKA our “stinking thinking” – creates our difficult moods, yet it seems that the body often “holds onto” or “stores” our emotions.

Based on years of working with clients, Lansing Gresham, an instructor of mine, theorized that different body areas were the “keeper” of different emotions.  And more importantly, our bodies are often a vital resource to getting beyond the blues.

For example, he found that:

• Sadness – was primarily “stored” in the Lungs, and
• Control issues – were “kept” in the Neck

Through various practices and venues, it has been the body, and it’s strength and/or healing,  that provides an additional, though often untapped, coping mechanism to help us deal with life’s challenges.

Take Charge! – Color Your Emotions

So it was fun, that years later, while I was working as a child therapist, that my kids enjoyed coloring their “Body-Emotion” maps (like the one pictured to the left and below and also available here,)

My kids used their own body-emotion map to identify which part of their bodies were the “keeper” of their different emotions.  From this exercise, they could also:

• “Look down on their emotions” rather than always feeling like they were caught in the middle of them, and
• “Color and play” with their emotions,  rather than hide from them or pretend they didn’t exist.  (In this sense, they exercised an early form of control over their emotions.)

Science is also providing insights.  Studies have found that both exercise and safe touch, including massage, are great for the brain and effective against depression and anxiety.

One of my favorite authors is Dr. John Medina (below) – the author of Brain Rules.