The Self-Organizing Body
by Sue Choi

The human system is a highly refined sensing organ. Its relationship to the environment  (which includes space, gravity, other people, what is safe, what is threatening, sources of nutrition, sources of attack, sources of pleasure) drives its action and supports its expression.  A person with an overly sensitive body is NOT in need of decreasing sensory capacity or living in a manner that restricts everyday sensation.  Rather, the need is to open and increase the connection to innate self-organizing potential.  Sensations are meant to inform.  They only feel like they bombard when the information they contain has no meaning and cannot be put into context.  A person processes meaning when they are able to build a context around their experiences. 

Our systems start contextualizing in the womb.  The ambient, low frequency, rhythmic noise of heartbeat, fluid movement, digestion and breathing creates a backdrop of white noise, a matrix of sound that surrounds and secures the fetus.  Then a high frequency sound pierces the matrix - it is the voice of the mother. It’s pacing and melodic range stands out from the background and arrives on the sound landscape irregularly. This novelty sparks a curiosity, a desire for connection.  The fetus is drawn to the sound and from this moment on, the organizing principle of sound (and in particular the melodic organization of language) provides context and meaning because the interest and desire to connect has been established.

When a person is sensorially overwhelmed, the behaviors and symptoms of disorganized sensory experience are not unique to the person – it is natural for anyone to behave this way given this context.  So instead of changing behavior by rote training, we should strive to change the context of experience by building awareness, stimulating proprioception, increasing neural connections, unwinding patterns, changing visual habits, improving listening skills. 

This is what I do – help a person change the context to unleash and expand the healing self-organization of the body.  Through movement education, hands-on cranio-visceral work and perceptual education, I teach people how they can shift into more responsive ways of organizing. This organization allows a freedom of expression that is uncluttered and a capacity to deeply experience life and interconnectedness with clarity.

When faced with sensory processing problems - such as sensitivity to sound or touch, vestibular or visual difficulties, poor coordination - there is an enormous amount of effort that goes into simply living in such a body. Consequently, less energy is available to clearly process information, understand one's feelings, connect meaningfully with others, make clear choices, etc. To discover and expand the self-organization in one's body is an opportunity to creatively discover a new way of being in the body.  It is the chance to experience life from a fresh perspective.

My approach is not about fixing deficits; it’s about seeing the opportunity to expand into our greatest capacity.

April, 2011

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