Dr. Charles LeV is a man who shared with the Evergreen community a small portion of his deep knowledge. He is a a professor of medicine at OHSU in Portland Oregon. DR. Lev is an Acupuncture and practices Traditional Chinese Medicine. At OHSU he specializes in behavioral and mental health. integrative medicine, and pain management. Dr. Charles Lev’s presentation was packed full of great information. Two concepts that really stuck with me were based in shaking qigong and also Trauma release exercise.
It is interesting to think that this shaking response to trauma is common amongst mini mammalian families. The shaking is a way for the body to release hormones that are sent to your muscles to allow them to escape threat. Many humans store their traumas in their body instead of finishing the cycle and allowing the body to move through and release the built up residues. This fight or flight response was developed in humans as we evolved.
Much of chapter 10 in Bill Bryson’s The Body is dedicated to exploring how the human body has changed through our evolution. Much of our evolution has in fact made it possible for us to survive threats from predators. our skeleton have changed to allow us to be agile and capable of escaping on foot.
This concept is also discussed in Anchored. Our attempts to sooth our vagus nerve during moments of anxiety or stress can also be attributed to how our bodies evolved to keep us safe from perspective traumas. “Running in the background, neuroception being about automatic state change that either invites us into connection with people, places, and experiences or move us away from connection and into the protection of fight, flight, or shutdown” (Dana,2020 p9)
“Th marvelous pharmacy that was designed by nature and placed into our being by the universal architect produces most of the medicine that we need.”(Jahnke, 1999 p3) The Healer within has provided so much information about how our bodies have their own innate wisdom to heal and protect itself. This wisdom, again has been gained through our ages of evolution. The intricacies we hold within are astounding. Human civilizations have risen and fallen and with untold amounts of wisdom being gained and lost. Delving into these ancient wisdoms that we do still have access to could be the tools we need as humans to shift our trajectory back towards some semblance of global hemostasis.
Citation:
Bryson, B. (2019) The Body: A Guide for Occupants. . (Bryson, B.)[Audiobook] Soundcloud.com/penguinaudiobook/the-body-by-bill-bryson-read. URL (October 1, 2019).
Jahnke, R. (1997), The Healer Within, HarperCollins.
Charles Rothschild Lev L.Ac. | Health care provider.
https://www.ohsu.edu/providers/charles-rothschild-lEV-lac
Dana, D. (2021). Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory. Sounds True.