What happens when the thing that's been holding you together finally leaves?

This episode is about a Sunday afternoon reiki session that turned into an unexpected encounter with an eight-armed tenant I didn't know I was housing. It's about the strange emptiness that comes after healing, the body memories we carry without knowing, and why sometimes getting better feels like falling apart.

A story of somatic release, phantom weight, and learning that our bodies are basically emotional storage units with really weird inventory. From the moment she casually mentioned "there's a whole octopus wrapped around your left hip bone" to the days after, when everything felt too spacious and wrong.

If you've ever felt the absence of something you didn't know was there, if healing has left you feeling emptier instead of lighter, or if you're curious about what it means when someone pulls a metaphorical sea creature out of your hip, this one's for you.

Topics discussed: somatic healing, energy work, reiki experience, body memories, trauma storage, emotional release, phantom sensations, grief after healing, body as archive, nervous system healing, metaphysical octopi, hip tension, chronic pain, energy medicine, somatic experiencing, body-mind connection, healing crisis, emotional processing, inner child work, attachment and release, the body keeps the score, fascia and emotion, integration after healing, sitting with emptiness, non-linear healing, body wisdom

Read the full essay that inspired this episode.

This is Audio Spells from ⁠⁠The Blue Algorithm⁠⁠: a voice-note series exploring emotional truth, nervous system wisdom, and the gap between who we think we should be and who we actually are.

Song featured: "safety scissors" by @melissageurts

Created by ⁠⁠Melissa Geurts⁠⁠⁠, Group Executive Creative Director at Good Housekeeping and founder of The Blue Algorithm.

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If this opened something in you, pass it on. Or keep it close. Sometimes the strangest stories are the most universal.