Mindset Movement and Wellness

Intuitive healing is the practice of tapping into the body's own knowing and using the guidance from the body's feedback to heal. This is a practice of deep listening to the body. We, humans, are all healers. Our body's are built with the amazing capacity to regenerate cells. These cells can be in our brain or in our muscles and/organs, bones, every part of us can and does regenerate. After a large amputation like a mastectomy, my body spoke louder to me than it ever had before. By using meditation and mindfulness I was able to quiet my mind, which loves to problem solve but not always the current problems, and really listen to the information the body was providing. I noted that by flexing my ankle or my neck I would feel changes across my chest. The changes felt welcome, and informed next steps of healing which could be a rotation of the wrist or a depression of the pelvis, multiple joints away from my incisions.

Everyday, usually twice a day, I would lay down, listen to a sound bath meditation and tune into the body. I would move and send my breath to my tight spots and linger there. My body healing was during the fall season, I spent countless hours on my back deck breathing life into my body. After about 6 weeks I found myself in a resortative yoga class and realized that by getting into positions and holding/sinking into poses was deeply helpful for other body's as well. 

As a physical therapist, my education of fascia, tissue healing and movement allowed me to trust my own knowing.  I had been healing myself for years with cross friction massage to painful joints, corrective exercises to address assymetries, and stretching to improve tightness in my body, but after my amputation, the knowing was too loud to ignore and I knew I wanted to bring it to others. My dream is to empower my clients and anyone who will listen to tune into their own knowing and move their body to promote its full healing. Not just those after mastectomy but everyone with pain or discomfort in their body. 

Chest tightness is one of the most common things women report post mastectomy. It is important to learn that stretching alone may not be enough. Over 60% of women report sensory changes after mastectomy, and 25-60% report chronic post mastectomy pain even years later. (Juhl et al., 2020; Andersen & Kehlet, 2011).

Superficial nerves may be cut, stretched or damaged during mastectomy.  Many of us are left with decreased or absent sensation across our chests if we've had a mastectomy. There isn't much in the literature about sensory re-integration for the mastectomy patient but there is a large body of research available for other amputations. 

If you look at the size of amputation of mastectomy there is no surprise that the feeling of tightness or even phantom limb pain, or more specifically phantom breast pain can exist. 

The good news is that our brains and our bodies are neuroplastic, which means we can make new connections to attempt to minimize painful sensations and try to reintegrate normal sensory input. 

Pulling from my knowledge of sensory reintegration, I would unwrap chest and expose my incisions to the air early on (day 3). I would lie on my bed for 5 minutes (or longer as I became less sensitive). The sensory feedback was definately distorted, my chest did NOT feel like my own. It was a bit scary at first but I focused on being curious about what I was feeling. I would actually speak to my body, I would tell it, "okay body that does feel different", but "it is not painful, just different". I would do deep breathing to full expand my chest from the inside which helped with central nervous system regulation.  

This initial technique of just exposing to the air can then be expanded upon with gradual reintroduction of touch with different textures (cotton, silk, gentle vibration or tapping) to help the nervous system reinterpret non-threatening stimuli. Movement practices like yoga that incorporate breath and movement can also be beneficial (yoga was a big part of my healing!)

Sensory re-training is rarely mentioned in post mastectomy recovery, it is something that I am passionate about and quite curious about as well. I have noticed that even 10 months after my double mastectomy, if I am having a high stress day I do notice more chest tightness than on a day where I feel more relaxed. This is another interesting finding of how our brain and our cortisol or stress levels can impact our healing and change our body sensation. 

Myofascial release and massage can help. You can do this on your own or seek out a skilled practitioner. 

Do you have changes in sensation? 

There is one person in particular who I trust the most in my life. She is me.  

There is no one I believe to be more capable to problem solve, to ask for help, to research, than future Sophia.  She's proven herself capable time and time again. So when a fear pops up, my essence (the observer) reminds me that I am in this present moment, where this fear doesn't exist. I remind myself that future Sophia will deal with whatever comes up. This allows me to dive into this present moment with more aliveness and fervor. 

Be here now. Future You will solve any future problems that arise. 

Enjoy this gift of the present moment.