What is Your Body Telling You?

Every physical injury or ailment you have has an emotional cause, there are no exceptions.

It took a while for this to really sink in with me, even although I’ve known for years that our thoughts (and – moreover - the emotions attached to them) become things in our lives.

None of this is new news; people like Louise Hay (author and now publishing house giant) and Lise Bourbeau and have been writing about it for years. Healers like Caroline Myss and others, dating back thousands of years, have practiced it intuitively. Yet most of us still look to the physical for the root cause, mainly because that is what modern medicine caters for.

Yet if you consider what is being taught, it may in fact make sense to you. For example, I notice that my back aches at the end of each day and – for years – I’ve carried tension in my shoulders. Why do I lose power so easily in those areas?

Well, the area of my spine where I get back ache (between the waist and neck) denotes an emotional insecurity. Lise Bourbeau’s book says “Doing is a way of expressing and receiving love, your expectations of others are high and, when not met, you feel you have a lot on your back.”

The advice on this is to stop believing that you need to expend your energies to ensure others’ happiness. When you want to give to others, give purely for the pleasure of giving as you don’t need to be the emotional support for anyone.

My inner knowing acknowledges this, hence articles like Making How You Feel More Important than What Others Think. Practicing it, well, that will require practice! You can see how easily it comes about, especially with young children in the frame, but as I said in the article, put your own life belt on first.  

Shoulders are similar; pain signifies a feeling of being emotionally burdened. In focusing on keeping others happy you fail to reach out and grasp your own happiness. Liberate yourself by allowing others to live their own lives and make their own mistakes. It’s not that your body is saying slow down, it’s about doing things out of love rather than a misguided sense of obligation.

For every single ache and ailment, you will find that people have observed common patterns over millennia. By recognizing these patterns, you can begin to take action on the real root causes.

When a friend of mine recently died of kidney failure, it made complete sense to me (knowing her story) that the emotional cause of that is repressed anger. As the kidney’s help maintain the balance and pressure of fluids in the body, it’s a clear message that there’s an emotional imbalance. There is an underlying belief that life is unfair that basically results in a sense of powerlessness.   

Another person I know experienced a collapsed lung and, while quite common in their physical demographic, the emotional indicators resonate. As air is our primary life force, it makes sense that any lung issues relate to depression of some sort – a feeling of being suffocated by someone or a situation that is keeping you from the life force you need.

The more serious the problem, the more critical the message. In the case of a lung disorder like that, your body is telling you to take a deep breath of life. To experience the wonder and passion that is your life, and to realise that only you have the power to smother the fire within you or allow your surroundings to smother you. Change your perceptions about who is in the driving seat of your life.

We learn many things about what is socially acceptable, none of them really serve us, and so it is time to let them go. More easily said than done, I know. However, recognizing these important underlying causes is a really great first step. At the very least, it will help you to recognise some of the beliefs that you have.

Beliefs are simply repeated thought patterns, but they are often difficult to articulate as they run like a background programme in our psyche. Most stem from our early years, and are not even likely to be rational interpretations of your experiences. A common example is the child who repeatedly watches their parents argue and split up, who may then interpret that (and hold the belief) that all relationships are bad – and unconsciously trigger similar results in their own life.

Whereas, if you can use the information that is already out there to start to look at some of your unhelpful beliefs, you can begin to build more helpful thought patterns instead. However, if the explanations for your ailments or injuries don’t resonate, trust that. You are your own best advisor.

In short though, when it comes to listening to your body, all roads lead to appreciating and allowing the real you to emerge and take centre stage. To love yourself, and to look after yourself, as the priority.

With thanks to the wealth of literature, healers and teachers out there, in particular Lise Bourbeau’s wisdom on the particular ailments mentioned here.

Knowing I’ve helped in some way through my writing means a lot - I’d love for you to like, comment on, or  share these thoughts with others, or contact me directly at shona@shonakeachie.com, I’m always happy to help if I can. You can also subscribe to my newsletter and, as a special thank you, you will receive the link to my video 3 Steps to Becoming You.