Body Memory

Photo: Logan Ingalls / CC BY 2.0

I’m probably not the only one who flashed back to ghosts of World Series past this season. And not just as an intellectual exercise. ‘Body memory’ we call it in our biz. One minute I was watching the Cubs, next I was remembering images, sounds, and flavors from years ago, right down to the squeaks and lumps of the bar stool I sat on watching Brett Saberhagen shut out the mighty Cardinals 30+ years ago.

The Childe Harold was a dive bar near Dupont Circle. Where Bruce Springsteen played for $750 in the early 70’s and George McGovern went for solace during his doomed campaign. Best burgers ever, great beer selection. My youngest sister (may she rest in peace) enjoyed both and met us there. She was an intern on Capitol Hill that year. Before any of us had any kids. My husband and I were newly married and we didn’t own a TV.

Many things to be grateful for in this Series. Seeing civility among humans in fierce competition is a big one. And I so do appreciate the distraction from our other national pastime. The multi-sensory visit with my little sister is an unexpected treasure. I remember her laugh. Her enthusiasm. Frustrations she shared that day about work and relationships.

We weren’t glued to the TV. I like listening to baseball, tuning into the subtle shifts in tone that call attention to key plays. Like the police scanner in the newsroom when I was a cub reporter on the police beat: A certain change in the pace and volume of the background chatter cued me to grab a pencil (!) to write down where to show up to get a story.

Body memories are like that. They can swell suddenly out of a background we’re barely paying attention to. Something, maybe a similar experience, catches our attention and we’re transported to the sensory experience of another place and time. Dramatic experiences can get locked into cells in ways we lose track of for years. Until something jars us and unlocks the stored memory and ‘re-collects’ the experience. Complete with sensations that take our whole body right back to where – and who – we were at that time.

Not always a welcome experience. The precious memory of my sister that day at that bar quickly collided with the pain of grieving her untimely death a few years ago.

Traumatic memories that barge in at unexpected times can be even more unsettling. The older the experience, the less equipped we may feel to deal with it. I had adult experience, context and language to help me integrate my experience of that day 30 years ago. Earlier memories show up with less of all of those so they can feel overwhelming.

Western medicine is beginning to understand the physical as well as mental benefits of addressing early traumas. Studies came out a few weeks ago that clarified the risk of physical illness in later life following early trauma.

Various therapies, including Asian healing arts, have tried and true tools for untangling the knotty bits around old wounds, both physical and mental. This kind of healing takes partnership. It’s virtually impossible to do it all on our own.

Whatever sparks lost memories may provide keys to open doors to healing and wholeness. Maybe even a baseball game.



Cynthia Zanti Jabs, L.Ac., has practiced Acupuncture and Medical Qi Gong for two decades. She can be reached at her Ruscombe Mansion office by calling 443-226- 6626

Author: MARY

Office Manager at Ruscombe Mansion Community Health Center