Our Energetic Force
Whether you prescribe to the idea of a soul, believe in qi, have taken a picture of your aura, or hold a vague understanding of magnetic fields, energy is somewhere on your radar. What we don’t often think about is how pervasive energy is – it is literally everything. No, that’s not a typo. I mean everything. From the ground we walk on to the stars to our own bodies, everything is made of energy in various states of matter. While we could spend the rest of the this article going into the specific details of how and what and in what way this is possible, that’s a little technical (and technically out of my massage scope of practice). Instead, we’ll focus on the different energies that most directly affect the body and pain. The Body as Energy But before we can say that energy affects the body, we must first open to the reality of the body being able to be affected by energy. Possibly one of the most effective ways of doing this is by talking a little bit about EKGs. Electrocardiograms are used to measure the heart’s output and rhythm. Usually these tests are conducted by placing electrodes directly on the skin. However, an EKG can produce accurate results even when the measurement tools are up to 20 feet away from the body. While no official medical explanation has been offered for this phenomenon, it is clear that the electromagnetic signal – the energy – the EKG measures must extend and broadcast further than our physical body. This bubble of energy is one of the many elements that creates what is sometimes referred to as the aura and it is within this field that we hold everything that we feel makes us ourselves. Memory and Emotion Topping that list of what creates a “self” are memories and emotions, which I would argue in some instances are one and the same. We experience tens of thousands of sensations and scenarios in a day, all of which elicit some kind of emotional response (joy, sorrow, fear, strength, indifference, etc.), and then get processed in our minds to either be consciously forgotten or stored for later use. Trouble arises when we experience a categorized “bad” emotion or are unable to let go of a “negative” memory. Our bodies can go into overdrive to deal with these sensations and our minds can kick into high gear to quickly resolve the issue, usually by pushing it away, throwing a sheet over it and going, “Look! It’s gone!” We forget about it and assume that because we aren’t thinking about it that we’ve dealt with it. Law of Conservation “But what does this mental process have to do with my body?” you might be asking. The law of conservation states that neither matter nor energy can be created or destroyed. This means that even though you may longer be focused on the lumpy thing in the corner, that pseudo-furniture of emotion is still there taking up space, collecting dust, and (if the pile is big enough) spilling out into other areas of your life. Even though we have a tendency to view emotions as things that are “just in my head” the fact that they illicit physiological and biological responses helps to translate them from ethereal to something more tangible. So then because this energy is physical and create physical changes, where this energy is stored must necessarily be somewhere inside the body. Trapped Emotions and Pain Where our minds choose to stick whatever it is we are trying to avoid at the moment is usually a) where the body experienced the traumatic event either figuratively or actually such as in the hip that was most affected in a car crash or your heart if you were feeling betrayed or b) where there is already a weakness like the ankle that you broke years ago or the wrist you overuse when typing. It is also possible to store this energy in parts of us that we would consider very strong if we are trying to build protection for ourselves around an event, but this is less common. Since we are essentially adding stress to areas that are already weakened in some way by storing this energy, they can be the root cause of pain and dysfunction. Signs that energy is the root cause of your discomfort are
lack of known injury
normal x-rays and MRI results
possessing a myriad of symptoms as well as pain i.e. fatigue, mal-ease, anxiety, et. al.
frequent recurrence
What Can I Do About It? Releasing negative energy can be one in a several ways. Talk therapy, meditation, sometimes and sometimes exercise will all allow you to focus on and acknowledge a trapped emotion so you are able to let it go, but the method I have found to be most effective is to receive Energy Work. Energy Work is any intentional act which moves an manipulates a person’s energy field; the most well-known form of this type of therapy in the United States is Reiki. This work can be performed with or without physical contact, in person or at a distance. While Energy Work can be a standalone treatment for just about all ailments, it is important to remember that medical monitoring and care is best for maladies such as cancer, depression, and any other life threatening illness. If you have any questions about how energy work works, what types of energy work there are or any other energy related topic, feel free to reach out via comment, phone or email!
