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Learn the Language
of Your Body
The body is honest.
—saori minota
Your body is smart. Like, kind of genius actually. It is talking to you all the time, sending you clues and messages through its symptoms. In a 2012 Huffington Post article, Deepak Chopra wrote, “Modern medicine, for all its advances, knows less than 10 percent of what your body knows instinctively.” 9 I credit a huge part of my own healing success, and that of my clients, to finding what messages the body is trying to communicate through symptoms. These symptoms are actually metaphors for what’s going on internally, on an emotional and energetic level.
Even though I don’t have any long-term health issues anymore, I still interpret any temporary symptoms that arise for me. Is this headache that just popped up trying to get my attention? Does my tummy feel queasy because of something I’m not stopping to deal with? By becoming aware of this connection, I know I will never again get to a place of oh my goodness, how did this horrible condition completely sneak in and take over my life?
In this chapter, I’m going to give you a brand-new way to look at symptoms. You are going to see the body through a lens that offers clues, messages, and metaphors to further your healing. I’ll give you real-life examples so you can begin to practice thinking in this way by yourself. I will also provide you with my interpretations of the body’s symptoms and its messages. Each condition, symptom, and reaction is a metaphor for some bigger meaning—one that can be used as a clue while you work your way through this book.
Learning the language of the body is an insanely valuable technique, because if you are open to it, you’ll start seeing the metaphors in everything. And those can be translated into messages your body is trying to deliver, beliefs your body is holding, old unprocessed experiences you need to let go of, and more. These are all things that you will learn how to clear in part three.
Symptoms are your body’s emotional guidance system, which is hard to ignore, resist, or dismiss. I used to become annoyed at my body for always being symptomatic, but in hindsight, I see it was the only completely honest source of information in my life. It called me out—very often. As I became more apt and able to ignore it, it became stronger and louder. It never gave up and didn’t cower at my rebellion. It just kept delivering the messages.
After a while, you will become familiar with how your body speaks to you. We each have what I like to refer to as the loudest link (my more positive version of the term the weakest link ). This part (or parts) of your body may feel like your worst enemy, but, in fact, it is your best friend. It’ll be the part that acts up first to tell you something is not right. For me, the loudest link is my uterus. If I am not paying attention to something, my uterus will tell me. Another person may have a lower back that goes out when they need a message. Yet another may have a random eye twitch or rash. Another may experience migraines. You get the idea.
Connect with Your Body
While gently analyzing symptoms, always remember that your body is doing its very best. These messages (symptoms) are being sent with love and helpfulness. Directly connecting with your body in loving and reassuring ways is a worthwhile approach when you want your body to heal.
Here are a few methods of communicating with my body that have been successful for me.
This prayer to my body is one I wrote to help myself connect with it on a healthy level, even through the frustration I often felt because of symptoms. I offer it to you here in the hope that it will bring you some peace, too.
Blessed is my body and soul that carries the weight
of a million lifetimes—and remains, anyway.
I thank you for surviving each day, up until now,
And for the ones that will come after this.
I release all resentment of you.
I release all criticism.
I choose to listen to you without judgment.
I choose to let you know I love you.
I choose to allow you to simply be.
Thank you and it is done!
Sometimes, during periods of horrific menstrual pain, I could do nothing but put my hands over my lower abdomen and talk to my uterus. I’d say aloud that I understood it was trying to tell me something and that I was doing my best to hear what that was. I would make pacts for hot baths and other treats if only “we” could pull it together enough so I could walk to the bathroom without being doubled over. In some very strange way, it helped me connect with my rebellious organ and find love and compassion for all of myself. Talking in a loving way to your body is a useful daily practice for healing.
Sit quietly with your hands over the part of you that needs the most love. Now talk to it, breathe through it, or just send love or compassion to it. It’s amazing what being connected to even the parts of ourselves that we’re not too happy with at the moment can do for our healing.
I’m a little obsessed with sticky notes. I have them everywhere with reminders and favorite quotes. I also use them for healing. Remember how words are just energy? Writing words or phrases like “I love you,” “healing,” “strong,” or “happy” and putting them in your pockets or on your body can have a healing effect.
Try it. You might just end up following in my footsteps as the “sticky note queen.”
Paying special attention to the specific body part in need of healing can be very beneficial. By focusing on the challenged area, organ, gland, or body part in a positive way, you can clear out stagnant energy. You can do this in any way that feels good to you, but here are a few suggestions:
• Tap, stretch, or rub directly on the challenged area. This will help create movement and a healthy flow of energy there.
• Imagine that area of the body bathed in light. Different colors have different frequencies, but the colors of violet, indigo (a color between blue and violet), and blue have some of the highest frequencies, which make them powerful for healing.
Now that you have some positive practices for connecting with your body, you’re in a better place to really communicate with it. We’re ready to look at what it might be saying.
Examples of Symptoms as Helpful Clues
When I was writing this book, my menstrual cycles continued as usual, without the excruciating pain I was once shackled by. However, they suddenly became extremely heavy and relentless. Even though my uterus used to send messages in the form of pain, my uterus is still my body’s main messenger. Same messenger, but new message. Just to be safe, I checked in with my naturopath, who confirmed that everything, including my hormone levels, was normal. She casually said she believes that sometimes there’s just a “spiritual barnacle” of something left that’s finally ready to be dealt with. So I took that and ran. My menstrual cycle made me feel like I was “bleeding out,” so I thought about that. In what ways in my life did I feel like I was bleeding out? Of course, it hit me! While writing this book, I didn’t cut back on my client load; I just added the hundreds of extra hours into my schedule without lightening my burden in any other way. It was so pre-healthy “old me.” I felt like I was an output machine with little time for recharge.
When I realized this, I began clearing the beliefs that made me think I had to do it all. I cleared fears about letting my clients down if I took some time off. I took a few weeks off work to focus solely on writing. By not allowing time and space for my creative expression in the way that I needed, I had been suppressing energy in my sacral (second) chakra (governing the uterus), which you will learn about in more detail later in this chapter. I also explored and cleared some resistances to being vulnerable in personal relationships. It is not something I’ve ever been naturally good at, and it was hindering me at that time in my life more than ever. The second chakra is related to feelings, so this made a lot of sense in relationship to that time in my life.
I didn’t beat myself up. I just went through the process of exploring and clearing, knowing that when my uterus was convinced I had gotten the message, it would relax again. And it did. The heavy bleeding subsided after that. Just a few more “spiritual barnacles,” I suppose!
Another example of how our body sends us messages comes from a friend I worked with. Amelia couldn’t move her neck in either direction more than about fifteen degrees. I asked her when it started and she said just a few years ago. Of course, I then asked her what was going on at that time in her life. She talked a lot about her brother and his wife and how she disapproved of how they were disciplining their children. Amelia didn’t have kids herself but definitely had ideas about the “right” and “wrong” ways to raise kids. The neck is a very flexible part of our body, and if we decide to be “stiff” or narrow-minded about something, our necks will often show us what’s not working in our lives, through symptoms. We did some clearing on her not being able to allow her brother to take his own direction with his children. We released her fears about him doing it “wrong,” and resistance to being flexible in her relationship with her brother’s wife. Immediately she could turn her neck to each side about thirty degrees—already a huge improvement.
Based on that initial improvement, I knew there was more to clear, and I had another question pop into my mind. I asked her, if she wasn’t so distracted by what her brother and his wife were doing, what would she be focusing on? She immediately said, “Dancing! I used to go to dance class all the time, but my neck won’t let me now.” Together, we discovered some fears she had about getting back into her passion, which, ironically, was being reinforced by her just being too upset and in pain to do anyway (funny how that works, right?). We worked on those fears, and what do you know, she could immediately turn her head about 50 percent farther on each side! We worked from these two angles over just a couple of sessions and she regained full movement in her neck.
Her neck pain and immobility might have been metaphors for some of these things: fear around dancing and her self-expression, an inability to be flexible in her thoughts and relationships, and the “pain in the neck” she was allowing her brother and wife to be in her life, just by them being themselves. One symptom can be sending several messages, but if you simply explore whatever comes to mind, you’ll definitely have some solid ground to work on.
Note: It’s very important to understand something here. We are in no way denying the existence of any medical or psychological condition. We are simply looking at a much bigger, holistic picture of your body and working to address any emotional imbalances that might have contributed to the issues in the first place. We are, in essence, asking the body, “Why has this issue manifested here?” “Why has this issue manifested now?” We are trying to use the body’s language to get answers that will help you heal. Furthermore, by releasing any extra emotional “burden” from your system, even if not directly related to the condition, your body will have more energy and strength to heal itself. This process is all about doing what we can to minimize stress on the body and maximize healing potential.
Common Clues, Messages, and Metaphors
I remember at one point in my own healing, as I started to uncover these messages and metaphors, I thought, T he human body is so interesting. I just wish mine wasn’t quite this interesting. You might feel the same; but as best you can, just try to remember that these symptoms are massive clues that will help you heal.
In my work with clients, I see some common patterns in terms of metaphors, messages, and clues that certain types of conditions or symptoms are connected to. It doesn’t matter what name or diagnosis your specific collection of symptoms has been given. It is much more important to look at the area being affected and the possible message behind it.
The lists in the rest of this chapter are grouped according to chakras (a part of the subtle energy body); organs, glands, and other parts of the physical body; systems of the body; and conditions you might be experiencing. For each, I will offer examples of what metaphors your body may be using to get a message across. This is my interpretation based on intuition, personal metaphors, energetic understanding, and experience with clients. My outline will give you a variety of ideas to explore. While this is going to be hugely helpful, please do not close yourself off to coming up with even more ideas. Remain open to what messages your own body is trying to give you.
It is sometimes helpful to look at what was happening in your life just before these messages started to show up (in the year or two before). While it is useful to pay attention to the time before the symptoms began, that period might actually represent an issue that goes back to an event even earlier in your life. For example, let’s say you were going through a divorce the year before you started having panic attacks. It may seem that your divorce is the triggering incident, but the emotional energy could be even more closely connected to when your own parents got divorced during your childhood
If, when reading these lists, a particular metaphor resonates with you or something “random” like an old memory or person from your life pops into your head, it’s likely a big ol’ clue from your subconscious mind saying pay attention to me! Stay open to whatever is trying to come up and I promise that you’ll see opportunities where you once saw roadblocks.
On a final note, you may see the same symptoms, body system, or concept in various places within these lists with different suggested messages. That’s because the energy may show up in more than one place and may also mean a variety of things. Just see what resonates with you and leave the rest.
After these lists, you will find a series of questions to help you explore even further. This will get you to start thinking in terms of clues and messages and will help you have a greater understanding of what energies need to be cleared in part three. You’ll probably be referring back to this section often while working through part three, using it as a resource for new ideas and direction, so it may be a good idea to mark the page at the start of the lists so you can easily find it.
Chakras
Chakras are spinning energy centers in the body. There are seven major chakras throughout the body. Chakras store “old stories” and early patterns in the body. Their energies are directly tied to early childhood programming and conditioning. Each chakra governs different areas of the physical body. Energy imbalances in the chakras often show up as symptoms in the related physical area. By noticing which chakras seem to be imbalanced, and studying the chakra’s corresponding organs, glands, and muscles, you’ll likely find some new clues to work with.
Crown (Seventh) Chakra— The crown chakra covers the top of your head down to your eyes. It symbolizes spirituality and your connection to a higher force or power. It is tied to the energy of knowing you can trust life and that you are being taken care of and guided.
Physical Coverage: Top of the brain and pineal gland.
Focus: Purpose in life and connection to a higher source.
Third Eye or Brow (Six th) Chakra— The third eye (or brow) chakra is located directly between the eyebrows. It represents intuition, imagination, reflection, and the ability to see things for what or how they are (interpretation). This chakra is responsible for your senses, both sensory and extrasensory perception.
Physical Coverage: Eyes, ears, nose, pituitary gland, hypothalamus, skull, and your brain’s frontal lobe—considered the emotional control center.
Focus: Vision and inner guidance.
Throat (Fifth) Chakra— Located in the center of the throat, this chakra is about expression, communication, and truth, both internally and externally. It is the metabolizer of the body, metabolizing information, expression, and more. It is often regarded as the most important chakra of all because it receives information from all the other chakras and processes it, helping to create your unique expression in the world.
Physical Coverage: Thyroid gland, throat, tonsils, mouth, and brain stem.
Focus: Communication and expression.
Heart (Fourth) Chakra— The heart chakra is located in the center of your chest. It is linked to love, intimacy, forgiveness, and the ability to send and receive love. This chakra is also responsible for helping you manifest your heart’s desires by sending energetic signals of them out into the world. It spins over your thymus gland, one of the most important glands for the health of your immune system. All emotional conflict can affect heart chakra energy.
Physical Coverage: Heart, thymus gland, lungs, upper rib cage and vertebrae, shoulders, arms, and breasts.
Focus: Love, relationships, and inner healing.
Solar Plexus (Third) Chakra— The solar plexus chakra, located just below the sternum, governs your sense of personal power, including your personal choices and actions in the world. Its energy is tied to self-confidence, self-esteem, and the feeling of having power over your own life. It stores your judgments and opinions about yourself and the world. This chakra is closely linked to your ego and identity and how you relate to the world—who you are in it, what you desire in it, and how you can manifest those desires.
Physical Coverage: Kidneys, liver, adrenal glands, pancreas, spleen, stomach, gallbladder, and lower rib cage.
Focus: Personal power and positive mentality.
Sacral (Second) Chakra— The sacral chakra is located behind the navel in the pelvis. It relates to your joy, creativity, feelings, and childlike qualities. It also represents sexuality. It’s tied closely to your stories and conditioning from childhood. This chakra also governs the energy of self-nurturing and self-healing.
Physical Coverage: Reproductive organs, bladder, intestines, ileocecal valve (controls and regulates the flow of fecal matter in your body), pelvis, sacrum, and the lumbar region of the spine.
Focus: Feelings, joy, and creativity.
Root (First) Chakra— The root chakra is located at the base of the spine. It represents your feelings of safety and your primal instinct for survival. It’s connected to early childhood beliefs, money, and identity. It deals with abandonment issues, unworthiness, and feeling insecure. It also relates to financial worries at a survival level. This chakra, when healthy, keeps you feeling grounded or rooted in life. What people often describe as “anxiety” is closely linked to root chakra energy imbalance.
Physical Coverage: Genitals, legs and feet, and base of spine.
Focus: Safety, security, and survival.
Organs, Glands, and Other Parts of the Body
Adrenal Glands— Adrenal glands are part of the endocrine system and are located at the top of the kidneys. They are in charge of producing cortisol. Cortisol is an adrenal hormone, called “the stress hormone,” and modulates many of the body’s reactions to stress. The adrenals can become fatigued when a person is in a constant state of fear, always feeling on edge or like the other shoe is about to drop. Adrenal glands are dominated by the triple warmer meridian, which is responsible for the fight, flight, or freeze pattern. General stress and feeling like you need to be defended will affect the adrenals.
Adrenal glands are also related to your ability to manage your energy in a healthy way. Being unable to say no and having fears around disappointing others will affect the adrenals. The adrenals can be suppressed by feeling undeserving and feeling lost in relationship to what direction to take in life. Weakened adrenals can be linked to despair and feelings of “what’s the point?”
Weakened adrenal glands can show up as problems with the left knee or low back. What people refer to as “anxiety” can be closely related to imbalances of the adrenal glands. Because adrenal glands are part of the endocrine system, their energies and imbalances can affect the thyroid and the reproductive system as well.
Tip: Refer to the solar plexus (third) and root (first) chakras for more.
Arms and Hands— Arms and hands can be metaphors for carrying too much for others, feeling like your hands are tied in a particular situation, like things are too much or too hot to handle, fear about letting go, holding on too tightly, grasping at straws, difficulty giving and receiving, feeling like you are holding everything together on your own, and fear about things being out of your hands.
Tip: Refer to the heart (fourth) chakra for more.
Back— Energy affecting your back can be showing you patterns of carrying everything on your back, being unable to stand up for yourself, being stabbed in the back, being afraid to turn your back, turning your back on someone (guilt), turning your back to something scary, living in the past (feeling like it’s behind you or following you), wishing you could go back and change something, being afraid that your past (all that stuff “back there”) will catch up with you, being unable to back away from a situation, feeling scared to stand up for yourself, and having no backbone with others.
The lower back (root chakra) is usually linked to survival energy, such as family, personal safety, finances/money, and early childhood; the mid-back (solar plexus chakra) is often associated with guilt; and the upper back (heart chakra) may be a metaphor for feeling unsupported.
Imbalanced kidneys can also lead to back pain (particularly low and middle), so it’s worth looking at aspects of fear, the primary emotion of the kidneys. Additionally, back discomfort can be connected to the bladder, reproductive organs, small intestine, and large intestine (colon).
Tip: Refer to the root (first) chakra, solar plexus (third) chakra, and heart (fourth) chakra for more.
Bladder— Bladder issues are often linked to fear and nervousness, being pissed off, or feeling insecure and unsure (wishy-washy). The bladder is connected to the nervous system, energetically. If the nervous system is imbalanced due to stress reactions, it can greatly affect the bladder (a “nervous bladder”). Always feeling on edge or on the fence about something can also irritate the bladder. Situations where we are constantly planning on how to approach someone or something can keep us suspended in nervousness. Imbalances in bladder energy can show up in the lower back, knees, and feet.
Tip: Refer to the sacral (second) chakra for more.
Brain/Head— Metaphors for this area can be linked to feeling dizzy with anger or fear, being hot-headed, spinning with confusion, feeling like your world has been rocked, feeling overwhelmed, being unable to clear your head, being a headstrong person, being overwhelmed, being clouded, feeling like you can’t stop thinking about something or can’t get your head around something. Are you “doing your head in” by ruminating over the same worry or thought?
Your head is also linked to feeling connected to a higher source (God, the universe, the Divine) and your spiritual self. Not being able to trust life’s flow can create physical symptoms in this area.
Self-criticism and over-thinking are also messages sent by symptoms in the head. Migraines are a common sign of being too hard on oneself.
Headaches and dizziness are associated with the liver meridian’s energy, so looking at emotions that affect the liver may also be helpful. These are anger (self-directed or otherwise), resentment, bitterness, and frustration. Sometimes headaches can be linked to sexual fears and experiences or criticism.
Dizziness is linked to the nervous system energetically, which is governed by the bladder meridian. As I mentioned when discussing the bladder, that energy can be linked to nervousness, anger, feeling insecure, and more.
Tip: Refer to the crown (seventh) chakra for more.
Breasts— Messages that show up in the breasts most often relate to self-nurturing. This might be a message that you are ignoring your own needs. Symptoms in the breasts are often indicators of an inability to turn inward and take care of yourself first. The stomach meridian, or energy pathway, runs directly through the breasts. Because the emotion of worry is linked to the stomach meridian, energy around worry is something to pay attention to.
Because of their location, breasts can be affected by anything that is unresolved in the lungs and heart, including unprocessed grief, inner conflict, and relationships about which you don’t have a feeling of inner peace.
Tip: Refer to the heart (fourth) chakra for more.
Cheeks/Sinuses— Sinus issues can be messages of being congested with old ideas, irritation, or old grief (unreleased tears and snot) or being “stuffed” full of worry. This can also be about feeling stuck in life, without the movement and flow you desire.
The sinuses are connected energetically to your stomach, which relates to the emotion of worry. Many people who have sinus issues also have stomach challenges, and vice versa.
Tip: Refer to the third eye (sixth) chakra for more.
Chest and Lungs— Symptoms that show up in the chest might have the message of carrying a burden on your chest, having a heavy heart, fear of having an open heart, being in a suffocating situation, or being unable to get something off your chest. (As you can see, many of these are heart-related matters.)
Energy imbalances in the chest area are often linked to energies such as heaviness, grief, depression, rejection, and confusion.
Tip: Refer to the heart (fourth) chakra for more.
Ears— Ears can be offering metaphors for not being willing or able to hear the truth, listen to yourself, or listen to others; being hurt by the words of another; or being overly sensitive to what others say in general.
Ears are energetically connected to the kidney meridian. Emotions associated with the kidneys are fear, dread, and blaming and are all worth exploring.
Tip: Refer to the throat (fifth chakra) for more.
Eyes— Metaphors concerning the eyes might deal with clarity and inner knowing. They might include an inability to see the truth, not liking what you see in your own life, not wanting to see what’s ahead, refusing to look at the truth, an inability to look forward, not trusting life and the future, or not being able to trust your inner eye or intuition. The kidneys are also linked to the eyes energetically. Emotions associated with the kidneys are fear, dread, and blaming, so it would be interesting to see if those might fit for you too.
Migraines that affect the eyes specifically can be linked to conflict with the inner voice and fear of listening to intuition (which comes from the third eye area, right between your eyebrows). If the issue with the eyes involves dry eyes, this is often linked to fear, nervousness, or inability to show emotion, fear of letting go, and an imbalance in the nervous system. Twitching of the eye (or any other body part, in fact) is energetically linked to the nervous system as well.
Tip: Refer to the third eye (sixth) chakra for more.
Gallbladder— Your gallbladder secretes bile to help you digest fat and is an important part of your digestive process. It is imbalanced by emotions such as resentment, frustration, guilt, and indecisiveness. If it is a problem, there may be some “fat” or “waste” in your life that you are just not letting go of. Gallbladder imbalance will often result in right knee pain and right shoulder pain.
Tip: Refer to the solar plexus (third) chakra for more.
Heart— Your heart is a muscle that pumps blood through your entire body, but it is essential to your emotional health as well. According to the Institute of Heart Math, the heart and brain have a continuous two-way dialogue, each affecting the functioning of the other. The signals that go from the heart to the brain can influence emotional and cognitive functioning. The heart is often called the “second brain” of the body and is connected to giving and receiving love and the ability to manifest. It is affected by feelings such as insecurity, abandonment, betrayal, and extending yourself to others but not receiving anything back.
Imbalances or conflicts in the heart often cause dizziness, so this is something else to consider. Insomnia or other sleep challenges are almost always related to matters of the heart, such as inner conflict, feeling unsettled, feeling lost, and not listening to your heart. Unresolved emotional energy in the heart can radiate and affect the shoulders, chest, and neck (including the thyroid).
Tip: Refer to the heart (fourth) chakra for more.
Hips— Your hips help to lead you forward in life. They also support your lower body. When you are feeling fearful about a new direction in your life or being able to support yourself, it can show up in your hips. Imbalances in the large intestine (colon) can also manifest as pain or discomfort in the hips. Your large intestine is linked to “letting go,” so if there is fear about letting go and moving forward, this would be beneficial to address. Imbalances in the uterus or other areas of the reproductive system can also affect the hips.
Tip: Refer to the root (first) chakra for more.
Kidneys— Your kidneys cleanse your blood and are a large reservoir for your energy. They are imbalanced by emotions such as fear, dread, or feeling unsupported or conflicted. The kidney meridian runs through your feet and legs, so fear around moving forward or stepping out on your own may fit. In Chinese medicine, the kidney energy stores your life force energy and is extremely important. Anything that drains your kidney energy (most often fear) will affect your entire body. Kidney imbalance can also show up as pain or discomfort in your lower and mid back.
Tip: Refer to the solar plexus (third) chakra for more.
Legs, Knees, and Feet— Challenges with legs and feet can indicate feeling unsafe moving forward, being ungrounded, being unsure of your next step, feeling stuck in the mud, being too fearful to move, feeling like you’re sinking, carrying too much emotional weight, being unable to walk away from something, having to walk away from something, and feeling lost/wandering around.
Right knee issues are often linked to resentment and the gallbladder, while left knee issues are often linked to strained adrenals (tiring yourself out, draining your energy reserves).
As we already discussed, the legs and feet are connected to kidney energy; so again, fear is something to consider.
Tip: Refer to the root (first) chakra for more.
Liver— Your liver is a big supporter of your immune system. It detoxifies the blood and is also related to hormones and the menstrual cycle. Emotions linked to the liver include anger, resentment, irritability, depression, and frustration, as well as feeling like nothing ever goes right, that your life is a struggle, and everyone is out to get you. The liver is energetically connected to hormones and can affect the endocrine system (specifically women’s menstrual cycles) when imbalanced. Liver imbalance can also create pain between the shoulder blades and in the right shoulder. Additionally, stagnant liver energy can create headaches and dizziness, stemming from going over old hurts that we’re still angry about.
Tip: Refer to the solar plexus (third) chakra for more.
Neck— Emotional energy showing up in the neck can symbolize being frozen in fear, being afraid to turn in any direction, being afraid of making a mistake and heading the wrong way in life, being narrow-minded, having a “pain in the neck” in your life (usually a person), and being afraid to stick your neck out in the world. It can also symbolize being inflexible with yourself, others, and new ways of thinking or being indecisive or not sure which way to go. The stomach meridian runs through the neck and is associated with the emotion of worry. Often, problems with the neck are actually more closely related to the stomach than the neck itself, but it is wise to work from both angles.
Tip: Refer to the throat (fifth) chakra for more.
Pancreas— The pancreas secretes insulin in the body. Feelings of bitterness often show up as imbalances in the pancreas. You may also feel like the “sweetness” of life has been taken from you or life has been unfair to you. This can include feeling out of control or victimized. The pancreas can also be affected by the emotion of shock. Pancreatic imbalances might affect the left shoulder and the wrists. Because the pancreas is part of the digestive system, it is wise to think about what in your past is too painful to digest and forgive.
Tip: Refer to the solar plexus (third) chakra for more.
Pineal Gland— This small endocrine gland produces a number of chemicals and hormones, most notably melatonin. Melatonin modulates the body’s circadian rhythm, which regulates sleep. The pineal gland can be connected to sleep disturbances. It is also linked to being unable to balance the cycle of light and dark, metaphorically. This may show up as moods being very high or low, with no balance or rhythm in between.
The pineal gland is also called the third eye because of its connection to psychic sensitivity, intuition, and spiritual dimensions. Refusal to open up to our intuition can affect the pineal gland. Fears around the unknown and what’s out there can also affect the pineal gland negatively. These imbalances often show up as migraines, specifically those involving the eyes.
Tip: Refer to the crown (seventh) chakra for more. Note: This can be confusing, as the pineal gland is referred to as the third eye but it not part of the third eye chakra.
Pituitary Gland— This gland, located at the base of the brain, regulates hormone production in the endocrine system. It is like the control center of other glands such as the thyroid, ovaries, testicles, and adrenals. The pituitary gland is responsible for activating adolescence and the beginning of sexuality, so many times, experiences and emotions from pre-adolescence and adolescence should be looked at. The pituitary gland produces a hormone to prompt the kidneys to increase water absorption, so this gland can be linked to dehydration.
The pituitary gland is affected by confusion, difficulty making decisions, and constantly changing your mind because of doubt and fear. Part of the pituitary is responsible for regulating emotional thoughts, so it is also impacted by emotional instability.
Tip: Refer to the third eye (sixth) chakra for more.
Reproductive Organs— The reproductive organs are all about creativity, being comfortable with feeling your feelings, security, and joy. When we do not allow our childlike selves to be expressed (as in being “too responsible”), this can block energy. Similarly, when we are afraid to express ourselves creatively, whether artistically or otherwise, energy can get stuck in these organs. When we have issues and fears related to parenting or being parented, they often affect the reproductive organs as well. Fear or guilt around creating our lives as we wish will affect these organs. Feelings of insecurity (the opposite of feeling secure in the womb) and an inability to turn inward for comfort will affect this area. Other emotions that affect the reproductive system are humiliation, shame, and worthlessness. Repressed emotions about sexuality or energy from past sexual trauma can also show up here. When the reproductive system is imbalanced, it can affect the hips and lower back. I often find that imbalances in the uterus cause discomfort in the shoulder blades.
Tip: Refer to the sacral (second) chakra for more.
Shoulders— Shoulders, metaphorically, carry weight. Your body might be talking to you about carrying the weight of others, shouldering a burden, giving or being given the cold shoulder, or trying to shrug something off to please others or avoid conflict. Shoulders can also be linked to feeling pushed around.
The energy of the liver is connected to muscles between the shoulder blades and specifically in the right shoulder. Liver imbalances are linked to anger, frustration, and resentment, so these emotions might be worth examining when looking at shoulder symptoms. As mentioned earlier, I have seen imbalances in the uterus manifest here.
Tip: Refer to the heart (fourth) chakra for more.
Skin— Your skin acts as a barrier between you and the world. When symptoms show up on the skin, they can be linked to feeling like someone is getting under your skin, feeling unprotected against something or someone, feeling that you are itching or burning to release something, and holding hurts right under the surface. Skin rupturing such as blisters can be bubbling-up agitation.
Rashes are sometimes an indication of a burst of anger/expression that you’ve been holding on to, or the body having a big or sensitive reaction. Skin issues are often linked to the fight, flight, or freeze reaction (panic). Your skin is linked energetically to your lungs, which are connected to the primary emotions of grief, sadness, and confusion. The energy of congestion can also show up in the skin—feeling congested or stuck with emotion and unable to move it out.
Tip: I often interpret skin rashes as feeling unsafe and needing to be defensive or protective, so it might be beneficial to refer to the root (first) chakra for more.
Spleen— Your spleen metabolizes energy, thoughts, and emotions and is important to immune function. Your spleen is linked to the concept of nourishment and self-support. Issues with the spleen show up as always seeking outside nourishment and not being able to achieve that internally. The spleen is one of the most important organs in Chinese medicine because it’s responsible not only for digestion and metabolism but also for the distribution of energy to other areas of the body. The spleen meridian is closely linked to the triple warmer meridian and the fight, flight, or freeze response. When the triple warmer meridian is in overdrive, it borrows energy from the spleen’s reservoir, creating a situation where the spleen meridian can’t do its job. The spleen is very affected by stress, low self-esteem, and an inability to turn inward. Excessive thinking, worrying, and dwelling drain spleen energy. The emotions connected to the spleen are failure, worry, and helplessness. Imbalances here can affect the left shoulder and mid back.
Tip: Refer to the solar plexus (third) chakra for more.
Stomach/Intestines— Imbalances in the stomach and digestive system are often related to being unable to “digest” an experience, being sick with worry/guilt/fear, feeling disgusted about something, being gutted (really upset), hating someone’s guts, having something eating away at you, feeling stuck or unable to let go of the old (constipation), being unable to metabolize or process something (thoughts, emotions, a situation), or having difficulty slowing down your reactions (diarrhea).
Imbalances in the lower digestive system—such as the large intestine (colon)—are linked to difficulty in letting go and often affect the lower back and hips. Because the small intestine’s function is to absorb nutrients, imbalances here can represent being unable to receive and absorb (love, nutrients, etc.), and are sometimes linked to feeling undeserving of those things. Imbalances in the small intestine can affect the lower back and knees.
The neck muscles are linked to the stomach. The stomach is associated with the energy of worry, so if you are a worrier, it will often be your neck and/or stomach that delivers that message.
Tip: Refer to the sacral (second) and solar plexus (third) chakras for more.
Throat/Thyroid— The throat symbolizes communication, expression, and metabolizing energy. Symptoms that manifest in the throat can be pointing you to energy around choking on words, swallowing emotions (anger, pain, grief), feeling choked by someone else, being unable to swallow the truth, feeling afraid to speak up, or being choked up and unable to express your feelings. The throat and thyroid can also be imbalanced by speaking, giving advice, and feeling the need to express or defend yourself beyond what feels comfortable or healthy for you.
Thyroid conditions, tonsillitis, and other mouth and throat conditions are most often linked to these types of metaphors.
Tip: Refer to the throat (fifth) chakra for more.
Systems of the Body
While there are many systems in the body, the only two that I interpret as a whole are the nervous system and the immune system. These two are so connected to the functioning of the entire body that I tend to focus on them for a trickle-down effect. The rest of the systems (such as digestive, muscular, lymphatic, and more) are best interpreted by looking at where in the system or in what part of the body, organ, or chakra the dysfunction is manifesting.
Immune System — This system is in charge of keeping you safe—keeping foreign invaders out. Symptoms that show up in the immune system are often linked to defensiveness and protection. Do you feel angry and defensive? Do you feel vulnerable and defenseless? What or whom do you feel like you need protection against? (Others, or maybe even yourself ?) Or do you feel like you have no protection at all? The immune system is your protector. If you feel unsafe being vulnerable, have no way to protect yourself, or feel defensive all the time, it can wreak havoc on this system.
Nervous System— The nervous system is probably the system I focus most of my attention on with clients because its health is so essential to helping them heal. The nervous system is most affected by feeling nervous or anxious about something, being suspended in the fight, flight, or freeze response, waiting for the other shoe to drop, and feeling on the brink of something bad happening all the time. This is related to the triple warmer meridian, which governs the fight, flight, or freeze response. The health of the nervous system is vital to our overall well-being. The nervous system is connected energetically to the bladder, and the bladder is symbolic of being nervous (as in a “nervous bladder”). Because being pissed off is another message the bladder sometimes sends, it’s worth looking at feeling nervous about making others upset, which may affect the nervous system. Being too hard on yourself can wreak havoc on the nervous system by creating a situation in which you can never relax (imagine that someone is picking on you all the time—and it’s you!). Twitching, spasms, tingling, and stabbing pain that seems to come out of the blue are all messages about energy affecting the nervous system.
Health Conditions
Allergies, Sensitivities, and Intolerances— Allergies are all about feeling fearful and defensive. The body is misdirecting its fear by trying to protect you from things like food and substances that are perfectly safe. This is often a whole-body fear response but can also be connected to strong emotions you were feeling when exposed to particular substances, which then made the body “blame” those substances for the upset and caused an allergy to protect you from them. Working on fear and learning to feel safe will be your biggest assets when working with allergies.
Tip: See chapter 10.
Autoimmune Conditions— Autoimmune conditions are all about attacking your own body or self. These conditions are often signs of self-criticism, attacking yourself or your past (regrets), and feeling completely out of control. They can be particularly affected by patterns of carrying guilt or shame and feeling unworthy or undeserving.
Fatigue-Related Conditions— Fatigue is symbolic of feeling drained and not having “enough” for yourself. It can be linked to feeling tired of life or of a specific situation, being without passion, holding heaviness or sadness, feeling exhausted from never saying no, people-pleasing, and being overwhelmed and drained from cycles of worry and fear. Energy around despair, feeling lost, being stuck with no way out, and overwhelm are commonly seen with fatigue-related conditions. The adrenal glands and their connected patterns are particularly relevant to fatigue.
Immunodeficiency Conditions— An underactive immune system can be interpreted as feeling attacked by others or the outside world and not having any self-protection; not being able to defend oneself.
Inflammatory Conditions— While pretty much all conditions have a component of inflammation to them, conditions that are specifically inflammatory in nature include arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, skin issues, allergies, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. These can manifest as being angry or inflamed, letting old hurts build heat, feeling agitated, being critical toward the self or others, being hypersensitive, or having a sense of impending doom.
Pain-Related Conditions— These types of manifestations are often linked to self-punishing patterns such as blaming yourself, feeling like you deserve punishment for not being perfect, holding guilt about the past, absorbing the pain of others, or being hypersensitive about being hurt by others.
Sleep-Related Conditions— Insomnia, disrupted sleep, and trouble falling asleep are all related to having an unsettled heart. What is hurting your heart? What is not allowing your heart to feel at peace? Any internal unresolved conflict will affect your heart and ability to rest peacefully.
Questions to Uncover Clues, Messages, and Metaphors
There are so many metaphors your body could be acting out that will be wonderful clues for your journey. For each symptom or body part, there might be several different messages. Again, my interpretations are just examples and a place to start. It’s important to simply start thinking in terms of the body’s language and really look at what yours might be saying in the context of your own life. This practice will be invaluable for you moving forward.
Here is a list of questions to ask yourself, which will give you a really good start at figuring out what your body is trying to communicate to you. Make notes of your answers and ideas so you can reference them during your deep clearing work in the next part of this book.
• What is this symptom helping me avoid? If the symptom is in a specific body part, does that part represent something to me that I’m afraid of ?
• Is this symptom or condition linked to a fear that makes sense according to the body part or chakra it’s located in?
• What does this symptom represent/symbolize that I may be resisting?
• What is the physical function of this body part? Am I allowing myself to do the emotional equivalent of that? Do I fear the emotional equivalent of that?
• How do I feel about this symptom or this part of the body? Does that emotion correlate with what could be at the root of symptoms related to it?
• What experience in my past could still be stored in that specific part of my body? Can I use what that part of the body represents in order to figure it out?
You now understand the language of the body and have knowledge that will help you big time in part three, coming up next. The clues you discovered in this chapter will give you a clear lens to help you discover which specific types of stress reactions, themes, and experiences will be most beneficial for you to clear.
9 . Deepak Chopra, “The Real Secret to Staying Healthy For Life,” The Huffington Post , July 30, 2012, www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/healthy-lifestyle_b_1694029.html.