COMPANION NOTES: thymus, fighter cells, and an Amazon queen
Uncovering fascial connections, deepening our somatic awareness, and finding out what the fate of a warrior queen might tell us about auto-immune dysfunction.
Taking a somatic approach to embodied anatomy is a chance to attune to imagery, archetypes and stories, as well as ways of moving, and being with music and sound. In this way, we imbue our understanding with intuitive wisdom and a sort of meaning-making that is highly personalised, yet can resonate across the collective experience too. I hope these follow-up notes and journaling prompts inspire you to make further explorations into the thymus and immune system.
FASCIAL CONNECTIONS
Rather like the embryological journey of the heart, the early thymus descends from its origin in the head/neck region of the embryo, specifically from the third pharyngeal arch, and finally makes a home in the upper part of the rib cage. It follows a connective tissue pathway of something called the pretracheal fascia, the section which runs from the hyoid* bone to the pericardium, the double layered wrapping of the heart.