The Armpit as a storage unit

Was reminded the other day during an interesting session how the armpit area is a potential repository for held emotions. A shock is held in the body, some information is left unprocessed,  or something as innocent (or possibly as malicious) as being tickled leaves a lasting mark. Because the armpit, like the groin area is not only tender, it is quite large and well hidden, it can accumulate layers of holding one on top of the other. Like growth rings on a tree, one hurt can be added on after a year, or maybe ten years and an area of contraction and holding results. Tension naturally goes to somewhere that is already tense, and thus is also less conscious, so it can land there and take root. 

In this session, a quite body aware person was able to breathe into the armpit we were working on, become more present and drop deeper into the experience. He immediately remembered something that happened more than 20 years prior that had made him feel very uncomfortable. As that memory surfaced in the session, we simply hung out and gave it the space and time to move through. In this case, it was only a matter of a couple of minutes, but something that had been held for quite a long time was released. There may be many more layers there, but the process of letting go had begun, and it is a rewarding work which left the client feeling lighter and standing taller.