Dialogue With the Body

In most cases learning something essential in life requires physical pain.
Haruki Murakami (Japanese writer)

The Message of Pain

I am learning something essential.  We all experience physical pain from time to time. Physical pain stills us and makes us listen.  We can gain valuable insight and knowledge from it  if we take the time to get beyond the discomfort to the lesson.

 My body seems a little desperate to get my attention lately.  It gets it through chest pain, pelvic pain and now my musculoskeletal system is joining in.  I got up from a crossed legged meditation yesterday and the back was gone.  I hurt my back in an emergency patient transfer way back in 1986 when I worked out west.  Was off work for one and half days with it ( if that).  Seen a doctor for a 5 minute visit a week later...he prescribed  Flexeril which I didn't take.  Never had an Xray or mentioned it to another doctor since but the effects of that injury never went away.

It goes out on me...I don't know how to describe it..."kinks up"  "Spasms" "prevents me from standing up or straightening up"  ..."causes pain that makes even putting my weight down on the floor excruciating"...it does this ...whatever this is...once or twice a year.  There were times I was literally unable to walk to the bathroom and had to be carried during these bouts.  Pretty!! lol 

But because it only goes out a couple of times a year I totally forget about it in between the bouts.   Yoga, I believe was my saving grace. I also used chiropractic from time to time with some benefit. Since I am not able to do my yoga regularly because of the crazy heart symptoms...the back isn't getting the stretching it needs.

So yesterday on top of the pelvic pain that was thankfully milder than it was the day before and the post work day cardiac symptoms I always get... I got the back pain.  I reached down at one point of the evening...all tensed up... to get something off the floor and I  pulled my shoulder.  There was a very sharp and intense pain there for a few minutes and that got aggravated for the rest of the night. 

If that wasn't enough, while I was sitting on the couch watching TV in an awkward position (my couch is not meant for bad backs or shoulders) ,  I started getting these awful Charlie horses in my feet...the kind that make your toes fan apart and you scream, jump up   and stamp imaginary fires out on the floor in an attempt to get rid of them. 

They went from one foot to the other for about an hour. Well of course every time I jumped up ...forgetting about my back and shoulder...I intensified those two other experiences and gave myself palpitations to boot. It was like: Really???  Could you be a little more subtle in your calling out to me?  You do not have to yell body!!!  I am becoming more aware!!I probably would have heard you without all this crap!  You could have just whispered that there was something you wanted me to hear." lol

Indulge me.  I am going to take it a part to examine the message each symptom might have to say in a more holistic way.  Let's go back and use the chakra's as a guide to understanding the lessons the pain might be teaching me.

The Chakra's

 

What are chakras? 

According to the ancient teachings of Yoga  and Ayurveda we have seven circulating wheels of energy that travel up the spine.  Each chakra has a name and colour and affects more than just the spine or physical body.  This spiral of energy houses the Prana or vital life force that resides within us all. It is believed that everything is energy and if energy is blocked anywhere along the chakras the person will have some type of emotional or life energy block as well. Healing is carried beyond the limitations of the physical body.

 

I won't list all them  but will supply the reference which can explain more to you. Whether you see this as "woo-woo nonsense" or not...have  a look before you dismiss the possibility of some truths hidden within these teachings.

Messages from The Lower Chakras

 

Let's start with the lowest affected chakra in me. The lower back and the pelvic region belong to the second chakra which is believed to be responsible for creative expression .  So here I am with a lot of screaming and complaining going on down there.  Could it be that I am not being creative enough?  Not writing enough?  I have been so busy submitting...that I have not put much into writing the two new books I lined up.  I know in my heart it is not about the publishing or making money...it is about the writing.  I need  to put more energy into creating than I do into selling my work.  :) Keep it pure!

 

I have been told that my shoulder and back will act up when I am not using my core muscles correctly...when they get weak and lazy.  So the core muscles are situated in the third chakra...the center of personal power.  Wow!  Weak in the power department means a feeling of powerless ness.  I do feel powerless to the events of my life lately...to my health condition, the financial situation, getting people to believe me and support me.  I can see that applying pretty nicely.  Maybe my body is telling me through pain in shoulder and back the same thing my physiotherapist is telling me...I need to build up my own power muscles if I want to be free of pain for good.  Cool.

Messages from The Heart Chakra

 

Now...this is really cool...the forth chakra is considered the bridge between matter and spirit.  That is where the heart resides...any respiratory or cardiac conditions would be due, according to these ancient teachings, to blocked energy that prevents us from reaching spiritual balance .  Here I am so caught up in awakening from and transcending a life dominated by ego and the world of matter to the spiritual.  Does it not make sense, then,  to have  a physical cardiac condition? 

Something is preventing the awakening.  I need to find out what that is. The heart chakra is also responsible for love and connection.  Is it a lack of self love that is preventing me from going forward into receiving the spiritual blessings all around me?  Do I feel disconnected from society and others because of my present situation?  I would have to answer yes to both.

Messages from The Third Eye
 

Then there is the sixth chakra which sits between the eyebrows.  A blockage here could affect my physical vision ( which I am having a heck of a time with lately) but also my intuition. My inability to see clearly and to have distortions in vision are telling me that I am not heeding my intuition enough which I definitely want to do.

 

Wow!  Pretty interesting isn't it?  Worth looking a little more into.

So much to learn from pain, the chakras and the body

 

So despite the pain I feel a bit of a thrill in thinking that there is more to it than the obvious.  There is a challenging lesson waiting to be understood through physical discomfort.  I can't say I like pain...but...I do love a good learning challenge!

 

All is well in my world.

 

Fondin, F. (n.d.) What is a Chakra? from The Chopra Center.  Retrieved from http://www.chopra.com/articles/what-is-a-chakra#sm.00019gtg1loafdrzv9s1doa39szzf