You may think that my Psoas is getting a lot of airtime lately and you would be right. It is quite literally my entire focus at the moment. I have read that some schools of thought are that the psoas is not a muscle at all, but rather an organ. Every day I log on to find yet another reel talking about our psoas and that it is believed by this or that group of people to be the location in our body where we store grief, trauma, pain or our humours, whatever the feck that is. I am likely to mention being in a bad humour but that is a different animal. The morning of my treatment I found a reel about Greek philosophers’ views about our psoas and discussing storing our humours in our psoas.
I asked Mr AI (The Artist Formerly Known As Google) who said that the theory of the four humours is an ancient medical concept stating that human health, mood, and personality depend on the balance of four core bodily fluids: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. Rooted in ancient Greek medicine by Hippocrates, this framework shaped medical practice for over two thousand years until modern science replaced it. (ummmm did it realllllly replace it or just try to clinicise it? Is that even a word? It should be.)
The Four Core Fluids are:
Blood: Linked to air and spring; thought to be hot and wet; creates a cheerful and active sanguine personality.
Phlegm: Linked to water and winter; thought to be cold and wet; creates a calm and sluggish phlegmatic personality.
Yellow Bile: Linked to fire and summer; thought to be hot and dry; creates an easily angered and aggressive choleric personality.
Black Bile: Linked to earth and autumn; thought to be cold and dry; creates a sad and gloomy melancholic personality.
How close is this to the 4 Directions in Native American practices! The directions may differ and the element associated to it but it is similar principals of thought.
The belief by the Greeks was that Health and Treatment depends on multiple aspects:
Equilibrium: Good health requires these four fluids to stay mixed in the correct proportions.
Imbalance: Illness, pain, and emotional shifts occur when a fluid becomes too abundant, too low, or blocked inside the body.
Cures: Ancient doctors tried to restore balance by changing a patient’s diet, prescribing herbal medicines, or removing fluids through practices like blood letting.
This week when writing this, my Elder Meditation email was of course on topic advising me that balance across all aspects of my life is important.
I take note of these confirmations and I keep moving in that direction, one foot in front of the other, toward my goal of a happy, healthier, pain free life.
In historical humoral medicine, the psoas muscle was not viewed as containing its own unique humor, but it was considered a primary site where systemic humoral imbalances, particularly excess black bile and phlegm, settled and caused disease. Because the psoas is located deep within the lower lumbar region and sits directly behind the digestive organs, ancient and medieval physicians believed it acted as a physical “sink” or structural pocket where heavy, toxic fluids pooled.
I find it intriguing that my body definitely expelled massive quantities of phlegm after my first psoas treatment as well as all manner of other toxins. I just had a head slapping moment of clarity. When I began to laugh and laugh during my TRE session, was this my body’s way of showing me that it is listening to my internal debates and putting all of the information together in a way I understand? It is exactly my usual way of thinking, casually hopping from the conceptual body ‘humours’ to an output of actual hilarity?
Conversely, as my therapist pointed out, for autistic individuals masking is such a huge part of our make up that I may be masking my tears with laughter. Laughter can be a mask for sadness. I use laughter and sarcasm as a defense mechanism. I often laugh when other people would cry and I cry when other people might not even be phased by a situation.
Chronically tight hip flexors are often called an “emotional gatekeeper” or the “muscle of the soul”. Just as ancient doctors blamed black bile for a heavy, sad disposition, modern somatic therapies look to psoas tension as a physical storage site for unresolved emotional stress, anxiety, and trauma.
Biologically, the psoas is directly linked via our fascia to the diaphragm and interacts intimately with the brainstem (the oldest, most “reptilian” part of our brain). The belief is that the reptilian brain relied on the psoas to ensure survival. There are beliefs that the psoas holds memories from before humans even had language. It holds the memories of ancient, instinctual fears and protections that your logical, conscious mind cannot put into words so it makes sense it has it’s own method of communication.
Twice this week I had a very audible message from my body. Generally I get up in the morning very stiff. I always bounce on my toes for 1 minute. One morning this week it was not helping and I heard distinctly ‘bend backwards‘ so I arched my back and dropped my head and shoulders back and I heard a loud POP in my lumbar-thoracic region and the pain released. The same thing happened the next day but I was more open to ‘hearing’ it as my body speaking to me and I listened without hesitation.
I had a client meeting this week which did not go well. Not through any blame of my own, the client was having a generic whinge about the cost of the development. I absorb that energy – however misdirected it may be. I put off my camera and my body started shaking.
Yesterday I had my second session of TRE. I had to drive myself, which causes anxiety, and then on the way I got caught up in traffic. It is literally a 5 minute drive from my house but it took me twenty because there was a giant tree fallen across the road. I then realised I had no airtime or data to message Yolande that I was late. I started getting very anxious and I felt the shaking start, it was centered around my diaphragm but I felt the first twitches in my jaw. I had a little shake of my upper body and felt much calmer.
This morning I woke and when I got out of bed and put my foot on the ground I anticipated the usual pain but there was none. Zero!!! I felt a twinge when I bent to sit down, but that makes me think there is still one block I need to clear. What it does do is give me such a feeling of respect for my body and for my brain being able to step out of the way to let my body work on healing itself. I know that things happen when they are meant to.
I ordered groceries again which were delivered on Thursday. We did have take out last weekend and I tried to have steak and salad, or chicken and salad, so yeah me.
However, I also had chips. So boo.
Oops.
But I still bounced multiple times a day on my toes, and on my rebounder for 10 minutes every day.
Once my groceries were delivered I stepped up my game. I cooked a gorgeous pork fillet which I wrapped in bacon (only because the bacon was from the previous shopping and needed to be eaten). I roasted butternut in the same pan as the pork and it was so delicious. I sauteed red cabbage in butter and balsamic and wilted some spinach. Low carb and yummy.
Last night I finished work late and my instinct was to get a take away as I was so tired. I told myself I was grateful for having access to healthy food I like. I had ordered a rotisserie chicken so we sliced that up. I cooked the last bits of bacon and made a nice fresh salad. I called it a deconstructed Chicken & Bacon Caesar and Norm asked what made it deconstructed so I just told him to eat his chicken and don’t be cheeky. The only carbs were the salad dressing and the croutons. What is life without croutons?
In addition to the constant traffic of my family of Cape Robins, I had a visit from a young black sparrowhawk this week. If I had not been sitting there enjoying the view after work I never would have even known he was there! Last time I spotted him because he made such a racket crashing into the bushes by the pool, but this time he was silent as the wind that was lifting him up.
We have also had daily visits from the Guinea Fowl. Poppy just sits watching, sometimes advancing, but usually just watching.
My two new feeders are a hit with the Swee Waxbills. The front one emptied in 48 hours but this one is lasting longer at the back.
For this week’s special treat, I give you the stunning Izzy Escobar singing “Hate to Be the One”. Her new songs are on repeat on my streaming service right now, I am completely obsessed.
Norm and I are babysitting this afternoon & evening for Baby B. Her parents are going to the cinema and for dinner. They are going to see Spiderman and Wes is trying to teach B about the lore. B calls him ‘Spicerman’ which is more appropriate for her cheffy dad than the webbed dude!
We have a 3 day weekend in South Africa and I am going for lunch with a friend on Monday so I have a Sunday chill out day in between my 2 social days.
Until next time, Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxox
Kitten in the City 