Mind-body-spirit approaches to look at the bigger picture of health and wellness.
This means honoring the body as a holistic system and recognizing that everything is connected.
The body holds messages, and it’s always communicating.
By learning how to tune in, you can approach discomforts as a detective and look for patterns and trends.
You might not reach a conclusive outcome, but you’ll likely increase self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-compassion. You’ll also open the door to the subconscious – the part of your mind that you aren’t fully aware of but can influence your mind-set and actions.
Many traditional healing practices center around energy and the belief that everything is energy. These approaches connect energy with illness and explore causes and symptoms on many levels. They all emphasize the value of listening to what the body is trying to communicate.
There are many energetic approaches to healing, including the chakra system and Traditional Chinese Medicine:
• The chakra system originated in India between 1,500–500 BCE.There are seven main chakras located in the body that correspond with major nerve centers. The system focuses on promoting holistic balance by enhancing and strengthening the energy flow throughout the chakras.
• Energy movement is also the core of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). According to TCM, Qi is the life force that drives all activities in all life-forms: It’s in everything.
A lack of Qi can lead to pain, illness, and suffering. Therefore, the goal is to bring Qi into balance to support growth and healing.
One aspect of bodily energy is the idea that certain areas have specific qualities, which can correlate with function.
Here are some examples:
- The neck and throat are associated with self-expression. If you notice a lot of symptoms clustered in your neck – sore throats, stiff necks, etc. – you might consider how you are (or are not) expressing your needs and desires.
- The spine and pelvis provide structure and support for the rest of your bones. Back pain might be connected to feeling a lack of support, or feeling too much “weight” in your life.
- Knee and ankle joints help you move, so issues in those areas might be connected to inflexibility or feeling stuck.
While tuning in may not provide concrete answers, it encourages you to stay curious about potential patterns that might help you better understand what’s going on and how you might work through it.
For example, do you tend to have more issues with one side of your body than the other? Do you tend to experience a lot of symptoms in one particular area? These can be interesting questions to ask yourself if you’ve never considered them before!
USE THE FOLLOWING EXERCISES TO PRACTICE TUNING IN TO DIFFERENT PARTS OF YOUR BODY.
Body Map paste a figure
1| Mark the areas where symptoms occur.
2| Do you notice any patterns?
3| What do you suspect is the root cause?
4| How might you address the root cause?
Make a note. Choose a body part that you’ve been struggling with – an area where you’ve had chronic pain or tightness, a body part that you don’t like to think about, or somewhere you want to focus some attention.
In a journal:
1| Make note of that body part.
• What do you feel about it?
• What do you want to know about it?
• What do you want to learn from it?
2| Make note from the point of view of that body part.
• What does it have to say?
• How does it feel?
• What does it want and need?
After you journal, spend a few minutes reflecting on how this exercise went for you:
• What might your body be trying to tell you? How might that body part be connected to other aspects of your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual selves? (For example, why might your neck always hurt when you feel angry?)
• What might you do with this information?
• Which chakra is that area of your body associated with? Knowing that, how might you offer support to that area?
Your mind and body are connected. Your thoughts and emotions can impact your body, and your body can impact your thoughts and beliefs. The body is wise! You just have to listen and honor it.
Hope you found this information helpful.
Please get in touch if any questions or comments.
Thank you for reading my blog!
