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Why We Need Emotional Release

EXPLORING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN ORGANS AND EMOTIONS

Holistic Wellness 5 Minute Read

 Every session with expert bodyworker Matteo Pasquali is an invitation to come back to yourself. Based in COMO Shambhala Alpina Dolomites his approach is a deeply intuitive one that integrates massage therapy and Chinese techniques to transform the body’s functionality. In this COMO Conversation, Pasquali explains how emotional energy becomes trapped in the body, and what whole-person care really means. 

In conversation with

Matteo Pasquali

Matteo Pasquali has long been determined to help clients’ bodies function optimally. Starting on his journey as a chef and nutritionist, Pasquali moved on to study anatomy, physiology and massage in the United Kingdom, before becoming certified in Sport Traumatology in Italy. With his accumulated experience, Pasquali has his own method of specialised treatments that works with the body’s natural physiology and helps the body function optimally.

WHAT STARTED YOUR WELLNESS JOURNEY? WHAT MAKES YOUR APPROACH SO UNIQUE?

I studied classic massage therapy in Europe and London, specifically the anatomy of the body, how the tissue works, and how you can treat them to correct dysfunction or treat injuries. I also did the same thing in Italy, with sports traumatology, which focuses on the muscles, fascia, the bones and the joints. I almost immediately realised that you cannot only consider the physical side of the person, but the whole person. Not just what they’ve been through, but their emotions and the kind of emotional stressors that they have been dealing with. The skin is the best way to describe this concept. When you’re shy, you might blush and your cheeks turn red. When you’re scared, you get goosebumps. When you’re angry, a part of your digestive system is going to react, even though you might not see it. When you’re nervous, you might feel nauseous. The connection between emotions and organs is a major part of my work. 

The organs are very interesting to me, especially the belly. I studied the energy lines in the body, meridians, and chi nei tsang, a visceral massage that is part of the Chinese way of treating the internal organs. In this practice, you can understand how the emotions are connected to a specific organ. That is a major part of my work and that allows me to go much deeper during my treatments and commit to whole-person care.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES THAT YOU USE IN YOUR PRACTICE?

I start with a series of physical and mechanical tests to assess the body. After that, I typically focus on bodywork techniques, like deep tissue, soft tissue, myofascial release, trigger points, and stretching. I also work on the meridians mainly using Thai massage, as well as internal organ massage. The sessions are holistic — clients might come in for a shoulder treatment, but I try to work synergistically with the other areas of the body, which allows the relief and benefits from the treatment to last longer. I like to have a quick chat in the beginning, where I just let them speak their mind freely and share what they need from the session. From there, I develop and construct a treatment plan that focuses around the person. At the end of the session, I would also remind them to ground themselves in small, achievable ways, like speaking just a little bit slower. Our world is already so fast-paced. We have to be mindful and intentional in grounding ourselves. 

I like to focus on the abdomen because the effects can be quite transformative. One of my regulars is a gynaecologist who comes to see me every year for hip and lower back pain. She has two young sons, she’s constantly working, so she’s always tired. I usually do a full body session for her, and after repeated sessions, I realised that her intestinal tract is full of small blockages, and the end of the tract tends to be very swollen and hard. After releasing these blockages (which were caused by long hours and poor eating habits), the pain in the hips and lower back is reduced, which again speaks to the interconnectedness of the body and the importance of a holistic approach. 

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL SESSION LOOK LIKE?

For first-timers, I usually try to start with the neck, shoulders, hips, back first, to let them ease into the session before I work on the abdomen. As a whole, I try to treat the whole person — you might come to a session to seek relief for the knees, but addressing the lower back and the hips first can be more beneficial. They are also used to the typical physical therapy sessions, so there’s a bit of convincing needed for them to let me try a more holistic method. The most important part is to really have that conversation with them. Sometimes, I work on a client and they say they can’t feel the difference — but everyone around them sees the glow in the skin, the brightness in the eyes, and elevated energy levels. 

For my long-time clients, we can usually dive straight into the issue that they want to address immediately. 

HOW HAS YOUR PRACTICE HELPED YOUR CLIENTS? ARE THERE ANY KEY MOMENTS THAT YOU REMEMBER?

I have treated some interesting clients. One of them was an American lady who held a lot of tightness in the shoulders and neck, and hence suffered from very severe headaches. So I started with the neck and shoulders before moving to her abdomen. While massaging her abdomen I could feel something was different in her liver area, and asked her about her gallbladder. And she told me that it was actually scar tissue, because it was removed as a kid. And in Chinese medicine, the gallbladder is connected with the emotion of anger — not your typical anger like road rage, for example, but the kind that is deeply held within the body and has to do with generational trauma. And she told me that her gallbladder started suffering after her parent’s divorce as a child, and she had to have it removed. It was very interesting, because it wasn’t necessarily a tool for diagnosis, but something that came up with conversation. 

Ultimately, my sessions are an invitation to come back to your body, to listen to it just a little bit more. My aim is to get them to look inside themselves. One of my other clients is a CEO — a very busy man who was also very out of touch with himself. Always in his head, very controlling, and very sceptical of my practice. I convinced him to try the abdominal treatment, and he told me after the treatment that everything felt new to him. He said, “I didn’t know what to do with myself. You left me in touch with a part of me that I had forgotten.” It was a reminder that he didn’t need to do everything, and didn’t always have to come down hard on people. He started to take slower, deeper breaths, and consciously tried to have more space between thoughts. And with each session, he allowed himself to let go just a little bit more — not just in the physical sense, but to become more vulnerable as well.

WHAT ARE SOME COMMON ISSUES THAT YOU SEE AMONG YOUR CLIENTS, BOTH OLD AND NEW?

Most of it is tightness in the hips. It’s the centre of the body — you articulate your legs and upper body from the hips, and your organs rest nicely on them as well. The nest of organs are shielded by the ribs but while you walk, the organs tend to move within as well. It’s something that we can’t see. Through gentle pressure and manipulation of the organs, you can help to liberate the fascia and help their mobility so that the organs can slide smoothly between each other. After I release the fascia, the client’s breathing patterns tend to get deeper. Another one is a tight neck. The nerves that are connected to the diaphragm radiate out through the neck, and you need the diaphragm for breathing. Once the neck is tight, the diaphragm is usually tight, and probably the stomach feels constricted, because the diaphragm is squeezing it a little bit. In general, waiting to have a problem is not a good thing. Doing regular maintenance is always better than trying to fix it. 

Bodywork sessions with Matteo Pasquali are available at COMO Shambhala Alpina Dolomites. For more information, please click here.


 

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