My body-mind stuff continued...

Linked to blog My body speaks my mind posted 5 May 09.

Well, I've cross-referenced the relevant sections of Debbie Shapiro's book, Your Body Speaks Your Mind, with my list of injuries and ailments, and I have been enlightened. What I will or can do about this though, is another matter. What follows is a list of those injuries and ailments along with a description of the associated body-mind messages that are supposedly shouting at me and telling me to - 'do something!'

FEET - hammer/claw toe, dislocation, broken big toe - left side.

Feet are associated with being independent, moving forward in life and being connected to earth, to the reality of the physical world - i.e. extending forward on the journey through life, Growing up by 'standing on your own two feet' and not being taken advantage of by 'putting your foot down'. These things indicate our feelings about where we are going. If, for instance, there is fear of what lies ahead - perhaps due to old age, illness, or insecurity - then toes may curl or the feet become sore so that we cannot walk easily. This stops us from moving forward, as if we are trying to stop the future from happening. Or it may feel as if there is nowhere to go, so why bother'.

ANKLES - repeated twisting of ankle - 70/30 split right/left side.

Twisted ankles are associated with lack of flexibility and problems with the direction your are going in. They support our entire weight - if an ankle slips the whole body falls to the ground. Support is the key word, as the ankles reflect the support we depend on, not just from others around us but from the inner support system we have built for ourselves. The strain is to great, causing energy to buckle and twist. Are you being pulled in different directions? Do you need to change direction? Also indicates trauma and rejection, inner psychological, emotional and spiritual problems associated with beliefs, convictions, meaning and purpose. Phew! 

 

LEGS - broken leg, left side.

Signifies conflict at the deepest level - i.e. about where you are going or if it would be better to go in a different direction. Unable to stand up for yourself? Loss of standing? Unsupported? What is happening to your movement in the world?

PELVIS - hip/pelvis problems - right side.

The pelvis forms a ring of bone that forms a pivot between the upper and lower halves of the body, balancing the realm of action and creation above with the world of direction and movement below. The pelvis is the centre of movement: from here the legs take that movement out into the world, enabling us to stand on our own and walk our own path. Fear of movement - perhaps fear that there is nothing to move towards (felt most by the elderly), or fear of where we are going - then the hips will reflect this. A problem here indicates deep fear of change, an inability to let go of the past. Stiff hips are a sign of resistance to change, perhaps in work or living situation - i.e. retirement. Also connected to intimacy and trust in relationships. Past hurt can cause withdrawal of energy from this area.

BACK - lower back problems.

The pillar of our being, giving support and strength, uprightness and dignity. Not only physical injury but also psycho/emotional issues that have caused tension, weakness or contraction in the back prior to an accident. The back represents the unconscious because it is where we dump issues or feelings that we don't want to deal with - they are kept well out of sight there. If we can't see them, how can anyone else? Survival issues connected here. Being overloaded. Pressure - is someone being a 'pain in the back'? Expresses all the weight and responsibility of being human. Isolation? Pressure here flows to legs (nerve system) affecting movement forward, sometimes creating numbness in feet and legs.

HANDS - small injuries to hands - 60/40 split left/right side.

As children we develop our mental capacities by working with our hands. When brain activity diminishes, such as a stroke, so does dexterity. Hands are where we create, they represent all the ways we do things and all the feelings we have about what we are doing. Our hands go out ahead of us to meet the world and they symbolise how we are handling life or are being handled. Hands are 'wrung in anguish', 'gripped in desperation'. We can let things 'slip through our hands' or we can 'grasp them - perhaps to tightly. Fingers stretch out into the world and often get damaged before other parts of our bodies. Extending too far? Moving to quickly and in the process not being aware of details along the way? Fingers show insensitivity to subtler/smaller issues. Bent fingers indicate change in direction - pointing away as if reaching out into new areas of experience. 

ARMS - broken arm - right side.

Arms express the energy coming from the heart out to the world, through hugging, touching, expressing and caressing. Open arms are an expression of fearlessness and acceptance. Folded arms close across the heart, putting a protective barrier between ourselves and others; the message is 'Stay clear, keep your distance, intimacy not wanted'. Arms manifest inner desires and longings - are you doing what you want to do? A broken arm indicates a deep level of conflict with your activity. What does a broken arm stop you from doing? Does it stop you from hugging someone, from going to work? Do you need a break from what you are doing?

SHOULDER - left side.

The shoulders are where we 'shoulder our responsibilities'. Taking on other peoples problems or taking on burdens that are not ours can start to weigh very heavy. Avoiding our own issues? Tense shoulders may mean that you are carrying to many burdens. Shoulders are our doing centre. From here doing and creative energy flows down the arms and into the hands where it emerges in what we do in the world - applies to work and to the way we live, i.e. relationships, feelings etc. Tense shoulders can indicate that we are not doing what we would like to do. Place where energy becomes blocked - frozen shoulder? Hunched shoulders indicate a desire to protect the heart or chest by closing in. 

NECK - left side.

Through the neck and throat we take in that which gives physical life - water, food and air - and we share outwardly our feelings about that life. From the head come thoughts and experiences that go down into the body to be translated into action. From the body, the responses come up into the head to be expressed - the neck is a mediator between these two, a bridge between the absolute and the relative. A natural cut-off point, this is where a mind-body split is often found, especially if the two-way communication between the intellectual mind and the feeling heart is in anyway conflicting. A drooping head implies a giving up attitude, an inability to face what lies ahead. Free movement indicates openness of mind, acceptance of other's views. Stiff/painful neck indicates that only own views count, Prejudiced/resistant towards someone. Narrow minded in attitude. Someone being 'a pain in the neck?' Stiffness can imply stubbornness or inability to make a decision.

HEAD - scalp wounds and Tinnitus.

The control centre: from here all orders for action, the intelligence that governs those actions, the responses to information received and the maintenance of all our physical and psycho/emotional systems. Through this centre we reach upwards to the heavens to discover vistas of abstract wisdom and spiritual awakening, and we reach outwards and downwards into the world to explore the realms of individual, relative communication and creativity. The head is the container for this meeting of the abstract and the relative. A crack to the skull can indicate a great longing to expand and grow from within but is restricted by outside circumstances; it is like a shell breaking to let the new emerge. Represents conflict between physical demands or reality of the world and a deeper spiritual desire/motivation. Tinnitus is the ear's way of getting our attention, especially if it drowns out all other sounds. A reminder to listen to what is being said. Ringing makes us focus inwards, to listen to our own voice, to pay attention to what is going on at home.

MY SCORE.

While doing this exercise, my feeling was that I might actually come out quite a balanced individual. But my scoring shows otherwise! To score I simply added together how many left/right side references there were, identify what was strongly indicated for my particular injury/ailment and then apply the outcome to my body power balance. In my case the score was:

7 to 3 in favour of my left side. Oops! A few things to sort out here then. 10 references to being dissatisfied with the direction I'm going/not going in (I knew that). 3 references to past life issues/experiences - I know what that's about too!

BODY POWER BALANCE - left or right? Okay, okay, it's left!

The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body and vice versa. Left brain is logical and rational side involved with daily work, assertiveness and decision making. Right brain is creative and intuitive side, involved with home life, relationships, feeling and insight. Applies to the body, particularly if one side of the body tends to get hurt more than the other. Right side of body represents the masculine in both men and women - to give and to be dominant/assertive; it is the authoritative and intellectual part of our being; involved with the world and work, our job or function in society. Reflects feelings about being a man and functioning in a competitive world. Reflects feelings towards own masculinity and masculine qualities - no problems/issues raised for me here. Left side of body represents the feminine in both men and women - indicates ability to ask for help, to receive, or to surrender; to nourish and care for others. Includes how one feels about being a man and connecting with the ability to be tender and loving - I'm okay with this. Also reflects feelings about females in ones life - mother, sister, wife or daughter. Conflict in this area may manifest on left side - tell me about it!

What next?

There's a phone ringing in my head but I haven't been listening. The phone call is about the 20 messages lodged in various parts of my body, all telling me that I'm going the wrong way in life and that I've got some baggage to get rid of. I've read them now, so I'd better do something about it. So what about my running? How does this exercise fit with my running? It doesn't, except that not being able to run, being forced to rest, has given me the space to discover and consider a few things about me that are in need of correction or need changing in some way. It may be that I simply embarked on this exercise just to; fill my day; to avoid the mental boredom that comes with forced rest and physical inaction. Running then, or more the lack of it, is responsible for the predicament I now find myself in and maybe, just maybe, I'll be back running stronger and faster than before. Who knows.