Grabher (2010, pp. 56-57) offers an even more detailed description of what Sapolsky would identify as the state of freeze:
The reaction of fear involves a violent contraction of the flexor muscles–especially the abdominals–and breath holding. This is accompanied by a series of vasomotor disturbances: the pulse quickens, perspiration increases, and in extreme cases, trembling and defecation may occur. . . . The strong flexor contraction is accompanied by a simultaneous inhibition of its antagonist, the extensor muscles, causing the knees to bend and making it difficult to stand upright. The disturbances that are typical of anxiety: vertigo, vomiting, and other symptoms-are the same as those generally seen when the vestibular functions are disturbed.
Grabher (2010, p. 57) goes on to identify the psychological manifestations of this anxiety-induced freeze and offers the Feldenkrais perspective on the interlocking of body and mind:
Thus, we have established what is the underlying pattern in the formation of anxiety complexes ingrained states of fear, indecisiveness, and chronic self-doubt. Additionally, we have pointed out the interdependence of feelings on the one hand and central nervous system functions on the other hand, showing how they affect bodily posture and create typical patterns of muscular tonus.
Grabher has described a condition that is apparent in the lives of many of us who reside in the anxiety-ridden world of the mid-21st Century. We are forever clad in armor and stand motionless like the Tin Man in our own threatening forest. The armor is only loosened with therapeutic oil and only removed with the gentle engagement in movement. Grabher (2010, p. 19) offers this technical description:
A general improvement in the way we use our skeleton allows us to enjoy the full range of movements of the joints and intervertebral disks. All too often, the bodily limitations that we believe are due to not being limber are, instead, caused by habitual contraction and shortening of our muscle of which we are not conscious. Unwittingly, our postures become distorted, and the joints of our bodies suffer unequal pressures.
Much as we can challenge the Tin Man’s assumption that the rain froze him in place, Grabher (2010, p. 19) joins Feldenkrais in challenging the assumption that we act old and cranky because of our age:
Degeneration of the joint surfaces imposes, in its turn, a further restriction of muscular activity so as to avoid pain and discomfort in movement. Thus, a vicious circle is established, which gradually distorts the skeleton, the spine, and the intervertebral disks, resulting in an elderly body whose range of movements is reduced long before we have become old. Actually, age has little to do with this sad event. On the contrary, it is quite possible to restore the body’s ability to perform every movement of which the skeleton is capable.
Grabher (2010, p. 19) offers optimism in suggesting that we can become limber at any age:
Download Article 1K ClubUp until sixty years of age, anyone of good health who is not suffering serious illness can attain this optimal ability with little more than an hour of retraining for each year of one’s life. It is possible to attain this condition even beyond sixty years–depending on the person’s intelligence and will to life.
