The Holy Grail of Healing: An Invitation to EMDR and Body Wisdom
By Christina Johnson, Licensed EMDR Therapist
After every storm, the rivers find their banks again. The water remembers where it belongs. The brain, I have come to believe, knows the same thing. I am a licensed EMDR therapist. For more than thirty years I have sat with people whose minds were caught mid-flood — the heart still bracing, the body still preparing to run from a danger that ended long ago. I was trained in EMDR in 1995 and return each year to the annual conference.
From my practice in San Miguel de Allende, where I have worked since 2013, I have watched what happens when the river finds its way home. EMDR progresses quickly, with a goal in mind. My clients usually arrive with a present situation or past trauma that is damaging their lives. They may want resolution, peace, or a new path forward through forgiveness — a Holy Grail. Even those who are not yet aware of an objective can access the information the body holds through mindfulness and intention, and discover what the body and mind desire through somatic speech.
The body is a quiet teacher. The vagus nerve — that long, wandering messenger between gut and brain — needs gentle stimulation to shift us from fight-or-flight into connection and clear thinking. EMDR's bilateral movement, paired with breath and somatic awareness, helps the nervous system find its rhythm again. The body remembers safety the way rivers remember banks.
In session after session, I have watched a closed door open between the trauma and the rest of a person's life. We close the door to that old room, and step into the peaceful room of presence. Peace be still. Grief becomes bearable, panic becomes quiet, and self-blame loosens its long grip. The healing is not a miracle — it is the nervous system remembering its own intelligence.
If you are carrying a moment that has not yet found its way to the past, I want you to know there is always another chapter waiting to be written. The river still knows where to go, and the body still remembers the way home.
See www.visionarypower.com for contact information.
