Changeable Podcast EP390: Open and closed
Feb 2, 2026
A conversation about energetic openness versus shutting down and how that shows up in the body. It explores why closing starts in childhood and keeps recurring later in life. The role of openness in listening, feeling, and energetic exchange in relationships is discussed. The piece highlights noticing tightness as a doorway to gentle opening.
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Openness As A Soft Orientation
- Openness is a soft, yielding orientation of body, heart, and mind that accepts experience rather than resisting it.
- Dr. Amy Johnson says openness feels fluid and allows life to flow without pushing or shutting down.
Childhood Hurt Creates Lasting Closure
- As a child hurt by an adult, we often contracted and closed to protect ourselves, which made sense then but became habitual.
- Dr. Amy Johnson recounts that this protective closing persists into adulthood and undermines relationships and wellbeing.
Closing Creates The Very Harm It Seeks To Prevent
- Habitual closing usually isn't warranted in adult relationships and often causes the very outcomes we fear.
- Dr. Amy Johnson notes closing hurts us and creates loneliness, physical and emotional problems.
