Checklist for HealthThe past does not equal the future.
— ANTHONY ROBBINS
At times you may wonder why you can’t move forward in life. Your intentions are good: you plan to grow, heal, and advance in the direction of your hopes and dreams. But it may seem that something is holding you back. When this happens, it can help to look at unresolved issues of the past. All of us have past experiences that were less than pleasant. But it is our interpretations and impressions of what happened, and why it happened, that can cause us to remain stuck. In this spoke of the wheel, we will explore how to overcome our past and grow beyond it.
Everyone has a story. Our story is our past. We might repeat this story only to ourselves, to others, or both. Often this story weighs us down like a lead cloak, preventing us from moving forward in life. And if it doesn’t do that, it at least slows us down sometimes. We use our story as an excuse not to take risks or change our path. We use our story to get sympathy or pity. At times, we use our story as a mask so we don’t have to reveal our true self to others.
So what is your story?
It may be simple or long. It may take into account other people or just one person. The story takes the form of a diagnosis, a single experience, or a repeated experience. At all times, your story makes you a victim.
Here are some examples of stories people tell:
• I was abused as a child.
• I was abandoned.
• We were poor.
• My father left when I was eight years old.
• I’m a cancer survivor.
• I come from a broken home.
• I’m a single mother/father.
• I’m a diabetic.
• I suffer from depression.
• I was not given the same opportunities as my brother/sister.
• I am a middle child.
• My father was an alcoholic.
• My parents were immigrants.
• My parents were married but hated each other.
• I was the “smart” one.
• At school, I was considered a nerd.
• I am fat.
Exercise: The Stories from Your Past
What story or stories do you repeat to yourself and others? Think about and write down at least two stories.
How do you feel after writing down your story (or stories)? Better? The same? Do you feel as if your story is familiar to you, like an old friend? Does your story feel empowering?
I will bet your story feels familiar and may feel good. It may even feel safe. But I will also bet it feels disempowering. Your story has been a way to hide from who you really are. It has been keeping you in a holding pattern, preventing you from moving forward. In a sense, your story is an excuse you have made to yourself to not achieve, not take care of yourself, and not live your dharma, or purpose. Now I’m going to ask you to do something radical. Take the pen, pencil, or other writing utensil you used to write your story (or stories) and cross it out. Cross out your story completely. You do not need it in order to succeed in life. You do not need it to move forward in the direction you are moving. It’s in your past. Even if part of your story is still occurring in the present, by crossing it out you set your intention to let it go.
Let me explain why this is so important. Though part of your story has some truth to it, another part of it is a lie. Let me repeat, your story, although true, has a grain of untruth to it, so it’s not valid. Let’s suppose your story is: “I am fat.” You could even expand it a bit: “I’ve been fat a long time” or “I’ve always been fat.”
Yes, your body may be fat. But is that who you are? Have you always been fat? Really? When you were born, for the first few days of your life, were you fat? Was there ever a time in your life when you weren’t fat? Even for a day? Is it serving you well to repeat “I am fat” in order to change it?
Instead, change your story to a phrase like: “I am on a path to get healthy and lose weight.” Even if you are not sure how to achieve this, but you desire it, you are on the path, right? Is that a more accurate statement? Does it empower you more than “I am fat”?
Let’s take another story: “I was abandoned.”
Again, this is a partial truth. If you are here today, reading this book, someone raised you. It may not have been your biological parents but someone stepped up to the plate. Perhaps it was your grandmother, an aunt, a stepparent, a foster parent, a neighbor. Someone took the role of parent and helped you become who you are today. Changing perspective helps to change the story and empower you. The story “I was abandoned” can become: “My parents, who were not able to care for me, let my grandmother raise me because they loved me so much.”
Now that you’ve crossed out the old stories, write yourself at least two new stories.
Your story has become so deeply ingrained that it may take some time before you are able to change it completely. Each time you think of the old story, switch to the new one. Remember, while the old story may have had some truth, so does the new story. It’s a matter of choice. Shift your focus to the new one in order to move forward.
Understanding Why You Have a Past
The past is tricky. Some of us have a smooth past, and others a difficult one. It’s hard to understand the explanation behind what we endured to get to where we are today. If you had a rocky past, you may have come to think that life is unfair. If you had a smooth past, you may wonder what is to come. In Vedanta, the knowledge that Ayurveda derives from, our past not only is our past in this lifetime but also is an accumulation of lifetimes. Whatever you choose to believe, your past and all its lessons got you to where you are today. Have you ever been in the midst of hardship and wondered, “Why in the world am I going through this?” and then found later on that it made sense? There is a bigger picture in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes we receive an answer to the question “Why?” and sometimes we don’t.
An expression in Vedanta tells us, “Life flows between the banks of pain and pleasure. We bump into both sides, but we must not get stuck on one side for too long.” In the West, we have the expression “This too shall pass,” which indicates more or less the same thing. In our hearts, we understand that life is, in fact, like a river. We will always have the dichotomy of good and bad, rich and poor, hardship and ease. When we experience an event, the lesson is not only to witness it but also to gain what it has to teach us. The practice of meditation brings about the ability to witness our awareness. And our intellect will allow us to get the lesson and move on.
In the section on emotional healing, we focused on taking responsibility for our feelings and actions. In learning lessons from past events, taking responsibility is extremely helpful. Often, those who have difficulty moving on after events stay rooted in a victim state of mind, or victim consciousness. And if as you read this you’re saying to yourself, “Well, I never do that. I don’t stay in victim consciousness,” guess again. We all do it at one time or another.
Let me provide an example. Have you ever received a speeding ticket? After recovering from shock at the cost of the ticket, you begin to explain to others what happened. Do you tell them something like: “I was going faster than the speed limit, which is against the law. A police officer noticed how fast I was going, pulled me over, and gave me a speeding ticket, which, in the end, I know I deserved because I was breaking the law.” Have you ever heard anyone say that?
What we usually say or hear is: “It was a speed trap” or “All the other cars were going fast, so I needed to keep up with traffic” or “It was the end of the month, and that cop needed to meet his quota.” And those are the nice things we say. But what about: “Those pigs are just on a power trip. Why aren’t they out catching criminals instead of picking on poor, law-abiding citizens who are just going ten miles over the speed limit while all those drug dealers and child molesters are running loose?”
Most of us pick victim consciousness because it makes us look like the hero and the other person like the bad guy. But what does it do to our psyche? It keeps us rooted in the past. It becomes a part of our story; we hold on to it, and it keeps us from moving on. Ultimately, we are responsible for all our actions and reactions. It doesn’t matter if we did something consciously or unconsciously. If you get this one lesson, you won’t believe the personal growth that will occur.
“I am responsible for all my actions and reactions.” This is a mantra you can repeat to yourself daily to help you heal from your past. “Now, what if,” you might ask, “I did experience an event that I wasn’t directly responsible for?”
Let’s suppose you were on the receiving end of child abuse, spouse abuse, rape, or another form of violence. I am not suggesting you are responsible for such events. It is obvious that in such an instance you were a victim. But the key word here is were. The event happened, however tragic or unfortunate it may have been. And some events are painful enough to take a long time to heal. You are not responsible for those events, but you are responsible for your interpretation of how they affect your present and future. There are stories of survivors of the Holocaust or other instances of genocide, and of mothers of murdered children, who forgave their perpetrators. I’ve never had anything that tragic happen, and I’m not going to pretend I could easily forgive people who committed such crimes. But those who do have gotten the lesson and moved on.
It doesn’t matter what happened in your past. What is it doing to your present and your future?
Finding the Lesson and Moving On
Life gives us tests and lessons. That is clear. What you do with those tests and lessons is your choice. In school, if you take the test, understand the lesson, and score high, you can move on to the next level. Life is the same way. Have you ever discovered a weakness in yourself and found that the same lessons keep popping up as a result of that weakness? Well, it’s because you haven’t gotten the lesson yet. When you finally get the lesson, the universe will say, “Now’s the time to move on.” And do you know what that will provide? More lessons! But here’s the fun part: once you realize this, you can enjoy it.
The recurring theme in my life is patience. All my life I’ve struggled with impatience. My mother’s repeated words of advice, “Patience is a virtue,” kept me frustrated well into adulthood. And my impatience has bitten me in the butt, so to speak. I’ve burned bridges, missed opportunities, and lost money owing to impatience. Slowly, but surely, I’m getting the lesson. It’s taken me over forty years but I am learning to step back and allow things to unfold naturally, rather than forcing things to happen. Now that I’m aware of this life lesson, I get to choose. If I find myself being impatient, I can choose patience. It goes back to being a choice-maker with an infinite number of options.
Let’s say your recurring theme is abusive relationships. Starting with a family member, then a spouse or boss at work, and then others, you’ve had a stream of abusive relationships. How do you find the lessons in this? Ask yourself these questions:
1. What are these relationships trying to teach me?
2. What do I need to assert verbally or nonverbally to become stronger?
3. How do I step out of the victim role and into an empowered role?
4. What do I need to learn about my patterns of behavior that attract this type of relationship?
5. What am I gaining by remaining in an abusive relationship (or in more than one)?
Again, you are not responsible for having endured abuse in an abusive relationship, but you are responsible for your present and future. By answering empowering questions and setting your intention to move on from the past, you will help yourself receive the lesson. Your recurring theme may not be abuse. It may be poverty, failure, or addiction. It could be procrastination or difficulty with love. Whatever it is, find the recurring theme of your past.
To heal the damage from your past, sometimes it’s as easy as making a decision like: “I will no longer allow myself to be in abusive relationships” or “What happened in my past will not decide my future.” Other times, healing is a lengthier process that requires professional help. But if professional help is coupled with meditation, self-awareness, taking responsibility, and conscious choice-making, the process of moving forward goes much faster.
The Seven Main Chakras: Opening Blocked Energy
Regardless of our capacity to heal our past, there is always residue from past impressions. This residue lives in our cells and tissues in the form of toxins. But it also remains in our energy body, the aspect of the self that gives us vital force or vital energy. In Sanskrit, this energy is called prana. Each and every one of us has energy centers in the body called chakras. The word chakra means “wheel.” There are seven main chakras, and their locations range from the base of the spine all the way up to the crown of the head. If the concept of a chakra, or energy center, is too abstract for you, think of it as an anatomical region that also possesses aspects of your emotions, experiences, personality, and spirit.
An easy example of this is your heart. The heart is the anatomical region, and the emotion most often linked to the heart is love. The experience of love is linked to your heart along with all of your past. Your personal aspect of the heart and love is the way you express love, and the spiritual association of the heart can be anything from self-love to love of a higher being.
To heal from the past and become healthy in the present, and to remain that way in the future, examine the chakras and discover where you’re holding on to blocked energy. This can point you in the direction of healing.
When I worked through my experience with thyroid cancer, I was determined to find all the reasons why I had allowed the cancer to occur. Instinctively, I knew the road to healing included the belief that I had brought this to my life, which empowered me to take it out of my life. At twenty-eight I told myself, “I am learning the lesson that thyroid cancer is providing for me so I never have to get cancer again.” Through my journey to self-discovery, I learned about the seven main chakras. The thyroid is situated in the fifth chakra, or the chakra of verbal expression.
Once I learned this, I explored internally what I had been doing that kept me from expressing myself fully or, in other words, what had blocked the chakra. And in looking back beyond the thyroid cancer in my health history, I realized that, throughout my entire life, all my ailments had begun in the throat. As a child I’d constantly had strep throat or tonsillitis. When I was seventeen, I was diagnosed with mononucleosis and my throat partially closed as a result of an abscess, which had to be opened surgically. The message was clear: I needed to resolve my throat chakra issues. Expressing my authentic self verbally to loved ones had always been a challenge. However, I didn’t recognize it until the moment I gained knowledge about the chakras. I had to go through the difficult task of confronting my fears then and expressing myself to loved ones authentically. Discovering the source of the blockage was liberating. And while it took me some time to honor that part of me, I believe ailments of the throat will never return, now that I’ve healed the fifth chakra.
When I was in college, I studied Erik Erikson’s stages of child psychological development. The premise of his theory is that a child must pass through a certain stage of development at a given age, and if he succeeds, the next step in development will lead him to social and psychological success. The hierarchy of the seven main chakras is similar to psychological development.
Among the seven chakras, three are devoted to the physical; the fourth is the link between matter, or the physical, and spirit; and the last three are spiritual in nature. If you open and align the first three chakras successfully, you will gain greater access to the higher chakras. It is also possible to remain stuck in the first, second, or third chakra and never move to the higher chakras. If you resolve blockages in your chakras, you will gain greater intuition, health, love, happiness, and bliss.
When working to unblock the chakras, it helps to first meditate for about fifteen minutes; then, with your eyes still closed, place your awareness on each of the chakras for about three to five minutes. Your body will let you know where the blockages are located. You will feel either a sense of openness, a neutral state, or a sense of closed energy. In an open chakra, you will feel energy flowing freely, almost as if air could circulate throughout the area of the chakra. When a chakra has a neutral feeling, neither open nor closed, you might feel energy but not exactly free-flowing energy. Since our bodies are in flux between balance and imbalance, a neutral feeling doesn’t necessarily indicate a blockage; it may simply be a momentary state. For example, if you just had a meal and you focus on the solar plexus chakra, you might feel movement but not a completely open chakra, since there’s food in the stomach. A closed feeling would be a sensation of something solid, such as a lump in your throat when you’re upset.
If you detect a neutral or closed sensation in a chakra, keep your awareness there and see if you experience anything related to that chakra. A memory may come to mind, or a symptom you experienced in the past may manifest in the body. Keep a notebook handy while doing this exercise and jot down anything that comes to mind or that you feel in your body. If a lot of memories or sensations are present that relate to a specific chakra, focus your awareness on this chakra a few times a day for the next few days. By maintaining an intention to open the chakra, you will find that you receive guidance on what you need to do to release the energy there. Continue to take notes on what comes up in your meditation practice and in daily activity.
You can use tools to help you open your chakras if necessary. Visualization of the color of each chakra, chanting mantras for the chakra, and wearing gems that correspond to the blocked chakra can be useful. Yoga poses corresponding to each of the chakras, and of course pranayama (yogic breathing techniques) and meditation, all aid in chakra opening.
When imagining the area of each chakra, envision it as a thick wheel of swirling energy going from the front of the body through to the back of the body. If you were standing, this “wheel” would be parallel to the floor.
The Root Chakra: Muladhara
This chakra encompasses the base of the spine, the perineum, and the first three vertebrae. The earth element dominates the root chakra, which represents security, stability, basic needs, and trust. When the root chakra is aligned, you feel a sense of security and certainty that your basic physical and psychological needs will be met. An unbalanced root chakra leads to a feeling of being ungrounded, uncertain, and mistrustful. The period when the root chakra builds its foundation is birth to age seven.
When examining your past, look at areas where you might have developed blockages in the root chakra. Things like the death of immediate family members early in life, divorce, loss of a parent’s job, relocating frequently, financial loss, or poverty can lead to imbalances in the root chakra. Anytime our foundation is shaken, we create an imbalance in the base chakra.
Possible causes of root chakra imbalance also include obesity, hemorrhoids, constipation, sciatica, degenerative arthritis, anorexia nervosa, knee troubles, greed, violent behavior, fear, anxiety, and insecurity.
The color that corresponds to the muladhara chakra is red, and the mantra sound is lam. The gemstones that correspond to the root chakra are ruby and garnet. Any grounding yoga poses are good for the root chakra. Padmasana (lotus flexion), knee-to-chest pose, lizard pose, and sivasana (relaxation pose) all can open and align this first chakra.
The Creative and Sexual Chakra: Svadhisthana
The second chakra governs our creative and sexual energy. Its location encompasses an area reaching from above the pubic bone to below the navel, and it includes the sacral plexus. Water is the element of the second chakra, which includes the bodily fluids of circulation, urination, elimination, sexuality, and reproduction. Svadhisthana is used for expansion. Creative energy is expansion, whether for reproduction or creation of something else new. Expansion leads to growth, and stunted creativity leads to decay. From the second chakra, desire, emotions, and pleasure flow like water. The instinct to nurture is grounded in the second chakra. A healthy second chakra brings us a healthy sex life with our beloved, healthy sexual function, regular menstrual cycles for women, satisfaction in work and play, and creative hobbies. A blocked second chakra can lead to sexual dysfunction; uterine, bladder, or kidney trouble; diseases of the sex organs; addictions; jealousy; envy; or pessimism. We develop the second chakra between the ages of eight and fourteen.
The color of the second chakra is orange, and the mantra sound is vam. Coral is its gemstone. Yoga poses that help open and align the second chakra include flowing movements like pelvic rocks, hip swaying, reclining butterfly pose, bound angle pose, and cobra pose. Practicing deep diaphragmatic breathing can help bring energy to the lower abdomen and the second chakra as you consciously expand and contract the belly.
The Solar Plexus Chakra: Manipura
Manipura is considered the dwelling place of the self. Through the third chakra we portray our self to the outside world. This is the chakra of personal power and will. Imagine a large circle around the navel and extending up to the breastbone, and this encompasses the solar plexus chakra. As its name suggests, fire dominates the solar plexus chakra, which is necessary for digestion and assimilation of nutrients in the body. The fire element provides us with the “get up and go” required to perform our work. The solar plexus is also the seat of the ego, which can help or hinder us in life. When aligned, we perform actions of selfless service. An out-of-balance third chakra will cause us to become obsessed with gaining power over others. A blocked third chakra can lead to metabolic disorders such as diabetes, hypoglycemia, and acid reflux and ulcers. We develop the third chakra between ages fourteen to twenty-one.
The color of the manipura chakra is bright yellow like the sun. In fact, the word manipura means lustrous gem. The mantra sound is ram. The gemstones for the third chakra are amber and topaz. Third-chakra yogic breathing includes the bhastrika breath, or the “breath of fire,” and kapalabati, or the “skull-shining breath.” Yoga poses to help open and align the third chakra include the boat pose (navasana), bow pose, plank pose with deep breathing, and inclined plane.
The Heart Chakra: Anahata
We’ve arrived at the center of the seven chakras. There are three below and three above. The heart chakra is where matter and spirit meet. The anahata chakra is our source of love, compassion, understanding, empathy, giving, and gratitude. The fourth chakra encompasses the heart, thymus gland, lungs, arms, and hands. The air element rules the heart chakra. Love felt through this chakra is a genuine type of love that goes beyond the sexual attraction of the second chakra and the desire and drive of the third chakra. In the heart, the air element gives us lightheartedness, laughter, weightlessness, and freedom. Ailments of the fourth chakra can manifest as asthma, high blood pressure, heart disease, and lung disease. Another imbalance of the heart chakra occurs when the well-intended giver of love, compassion, devotion, and healing depletes his or her energy without refilling with self-love and self-healing. We develop the fourth chakra between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-eight.
The color of the fourth chakra is green. The mantra sound is yum. The gemstones are emerald and rose quartz. Yoga poses that help to open and align the heart chakra include the standing bow pose, camel pose, cow face pose, and fish pose.
The Throat Chakra: Vishuddha
The fifth chakra is the first on the spiritual plane through which we truly transcend our physical limitations. Through communication and verbal expression, we can be present where we are not present physically. Communication via telephone, video, Internet, or audio recordings allows us to transcend space and be in one place while our body is in another place. For example, I can attend a video conference in Tokyo, seeing the attendees and giving my input, while sitting comfortably at my home in Virginia.
Sound, vibration, self-expression, and all forms of communication are encompassed by the fifth chakra. The element corresponding to the fifth chakra is akasha, or space. Sound travels through space. Like akasha, the vastness of communication is infinite.
When the vishuddha chakra is open and aligned, we feel we’re able to effectively communicate our needs, desires, and ideas. Our connection to others through verbal expression breaks down barriers and provides expansion beyond the personal self.
If the fifth chakra is blocked, we feel a sense of frustration and disconnect, and we’re unable to communicate our needs effectively. The anatomical region of the throat chakra includes the thyroid, parathyroid, neck, and shoulders. Physical ailments of this chakra can include sore throat, stiff neck, colds, thyroid problems, or hearing problems. We develop the fifth chakra between the ages of twenty-eight and thirty-five.
The color that corresponds to the vishuddha chakra is bright blue. The mantra sound is hum. The gemstone is turquoise. The ujjayi yogic breathing technique, which is done with a partially constricted throat and is accompanied by a subtle sound, can help open and align the throat. Yoga poses for the fifth chakra include the plow, shoulder stand, bridge pose, neck rolls and circles, and knee-to-ear pose (a plow pose with bent knees positioned beside the ears).
The Sixth Chakra: Ajna
The sixth chakra is located between the eyebrows and is called the third-eye chakra or the center of intuition. The third-eye chakra encompasses the pineal gland and the eyes. According to Vedanta, the physical eyes see the past and present and the third eye sees the future. The ajna chakra brings us clarity, clairvoyance, and spirituality, enabling us to transcend our dualistic nature. Those able to open their third-eye chakra have a glow or a light surrounding their bodies. An out-of-balance ajna chakra can bring about headaches, hallucinations, nightmares, difficulty concentrating, poor memory, eye problems, or difficulty visualizing. We develop the sixth chakra between the ages of thirty-six and forty-two.
The color for the sixth chakra is indigo. The mantra sound is sham. The gemstones are lapis lazuli and quartz. Eye exercises are helpful for aligning the sixth chakra. Alternate nostril breathing, or nadi shodhana, is a great pranayama and can open the ajna chakra. Yoga poses to help open and align the sixth chakra include the dolphin pose, child’s pose supported by pressing the forehead to a block or the floor, and eagle’s pose.
The Seventh Chakra: Sahaswara
The seventh chakra, located at the crown of the head, is called the thousand-petal lotus. It is our source of enlightenment and spiritual connection to our higher selves, others, and ultimately the divine. It is at the level of awareness of this chakra that we realize we are not separate from our source but united. Unconditional love flows from our being. The oneness we experience can never again be divided. This is the highest state of attainment in our human existence. The sahaswara chakra encompasses the pituitary gland, the cerebral cortex, and the central nervous system. An out-of-balance seventh chakra may bring depression, alienation, confusion, boredom, apathy, spiritual superiority, or loss of memory. We develop the seventh chakra between the ages of forty-three and forty-nine.
The colors are violet and white. The mantra sound is om. The gemstones are amethyst and diamond. Meditation is the ultimate practice for opening the crown chakra. Yoga poses that place a focus on the crown of the head, such as the headstand, handstand, and forward folds with the head placed on the floor, help open and align the seventh chakra.
Let Go of Your Past by Taking Three Lessons to the Future
The past is a guide, a road map that will show you the way to your destiny. Extract from it what you will, and discard that which you no longer need. Deciding to let go is as easy as making a decision. Feel the freedom that arises as you decide to move on. Change the stories you tell yourself and others so you can reshape the path of your future.
From the work we’ve done together on your story and the blockages in your chakras, what lessons have you learned? What is it about your story that you wish to change? You are the playwright of your life, and you get to write the script. Isn’t that exciting?
From your stories and blocked chakras, draw three lessons you wish to take with you into your future. These are lessons you’ve learned and don’t wish to repeat. You’ve gotten the message from these three lessons, and you are moving on. Some examples: “I no longer need to feed myself unhealthy food to feel whole. I am whole just as I am.” “My parents did their best to raise me. I am my own person now who takes full responsibility for her decisions.” “I orchestrate my own destiny.”
Write down your story as it is today.
Create your new story and write it down.
Explore the lessons of your past and how they formed who you are today.
Go through your chakras and note which ones seem blocked.
Create and write down three lessons to take from your past and into your fulfilling future.