What Blocks Healing?

The Healing Body Is A Miracle

Hello dear reader,

As some of you know, I have recently been recovering from knee replacement surgery.  It’s been enlightening, and I want to share an aspect of my journey with you.

My healing has been nothing short of miraculous.  More than anything, I am stunned at the body’s capacity to heal, and not just my body, but THE body, OUR bodies.   What I have observed is that my body wants to heal.

As a therapist, this is not new news to me, yet I have a deeper level of appreciation and understanding of the process.

I attribute my healing to many years of therapy and body work and most recently to my on-going yoga practice, which has deepened over the last several years through my study and practices with my teacher, Yogarupa Rod Stryker.  Although the physical practices of hatha yoga, referred to as asana, are fundamentally important in properly aligning the body to optimize the flow of energy, the focus of my practice has been less on asana and much more on pranayama, intentionally directing the flow of breath as our life force, and specific meditation practices.

I am reminded that in 2004, I contracted Lyme disease.   While I was very fortunate to have caught it at the onset, I also did not go the traditional, western medicine route of heavy doses of antibiotics.  Instead, I did weekly acupuncture, herbs and homeopathy.  While I was acutely ill for two months, I experienced a full recovery.

Prana and energy blocks

Our life force, or prana as we refer to it in yoga, is referred to by other names in other traditions, such chi in Chinese medicine and qi as in Reiki.  In yoga, prana flows through nadis, or energy channels.  In Chinese medicine, it flows through meridians.

What inhibits our healing, whether physical, emotional or spiritual, are energy blocks.   From my perspective as a therapist, most  illnesses and areas of vulnerability in the physical body have emotional roots that create energy blocks.   The ways we experience these blocks, for example through tightness in our certain areas of our body and breath, through specific illnesses, or through emotional issues such as depression and anxiety, can be traced back to how belief systems, developmental wounding and traumas are held in our body.  Healing depends on clearing these blocks.

As a personal example, while I have been banging my knees for over 50 years on skis, which has no doubt contributed to the deterioration of the cartilage, I have also considered why my knees are my primary area of vulnerability?  What does weakness and vulnerability in my knees symbolize?  Perhaps a lack of support or fear of moving forward?  Yes.  

As a scientist in my earlier life, I was skeptical of “energy healing” for many years.

I have come to more deeply appreciate all of the different ways we have to clear energy blocks.  Developmental belief systems and traumatic memories are often held below the level of conscious awareness in our implicit memory and limbic brain. In yoga, we refer to entrenched mental and emotional patterns as “samskaras.”  As a psychotherapist, I apply the methods I am deeply rooted in—Hakomi, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and EMDR, as well as “parts work” influenced by Internal Family Systems and Gestalt—to “provide a different experience” and rewire the brain, creating new neural pathways, as well as help the body “sequence” through truncated physical and emotional blocks.

I believe in an integrative approach to healing, with modalities that work in harmony.  Some examples are bodywork such as structural integration and Rolfing, massage therapy, acupuncture and Chinese medicine, and qi gong.  As a yoga instructor, I bring more and more of my training, practices of meditation and pranayama into my work to facilitate the removal of energetic blockages, often giving specific practices to be done at home.

As part of my meditation practice, I have recorded a guided meditation that can be used to scan your body and become more aware of your mind and thoughts. You can download my meditation here.

What are your experiences with healing your mind, body, and soul? What do you actively do to clear any energy blocks you may have? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts with me.

Wishing you peace and nourishment this holiday season,

Linda

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