The Squidgy Stuff…The Guts Of It

The Squidgy Stuff: Understanding the Mind-Body Connection

Emotions—what I call “the squidgy stuff”—can make anyone squirm. Most people see emotions through a prism, with lights flashing in all directions when we lose control. Generally, we’re not taught that emotions have a direct effect on the body’s wellness. Have you ever seen something and felt a shiver run through your body without knowing why? It’s the old story: for every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. When we have a thought, we always have a physical response in the body—conscious or unconscious.

As Maya Angelou once said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” Our bodies are constantly telling stories through physical sensations and responses.

The Three Levels of Mind

The unconscious mind is always eavesdropping on the conscious mind. There are three levels we refer to: some see it as mind, body, and spirit; others as unconscious mind, conscious mind, and higher self. Your brain sends messages to your body at millions of parts per second. We’re constantly deleting, distorting, and generalizing at rapid speeds, telling us what’s happening around us through a multitude of neurotransmitters that communicate symbolically throughout our bodies. The power of the mind has direct input on how the body functions.

Carl Jung understood this connection deeply: “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” Our emotional reactions are mirrors of our inner state.

The Computer Analogy

Like a computer, when there’s too much information, there’s overload. The system starts to slow down and eventually freezes. A negative emotion is like a virus in your computer—it causes your body to malfunction just like your computer does. You must first recognize it, take action by processing it, clean it out, and refresh it.

When ignored, the body starts to reveal symptoms of dis-ease. If you don’t take notice, change what you’re doing, and attend to the issue, it gets worse and may even shut down. There’s no tricking the body. Although you think you can outsmart it, you’ll find it’s outsmarting you! The body is the most intelligent computer on the planet, and we all have different operating systems created from our influences and experiences.

The Power of Language

We humans love to give things names. When diagnosed with a dis-ease, you’ll hear people say with a sigh: “I have…” They sound like they own it, sometimes with pride, wearing it like a badge of honor.

Be very careful what you say out loud. You’re not only giving it airtime that people will gladly remind you of, but you’re sending a clear message to your body that you’re owning it. As Louise Hay wisely noted, “The thoughts we think and the words we speak create our experiences.” The more you give negative thoughts energy, the more they settle in the body. Defeat sets in, and you start handing over your power. When this happens, change the language within you and start to take control—just don’t own the illness.

Your Body’s Blueprint for Health

The unconscious mind has the blueprint of perfect health. It has all the answers and knows how to heal. We were designed to heal ourselves, to listen to our bodies, and to love. But you have to listen and trust—easier said than done! These are two very difficult things to do, especially with all the information we’re bombarded with these days.

As Hippocrates said, “Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease.” Ask yourself: do you have the dis-ease, or does it have you? In reality, you don’t want it, so this is your chance to turn it around.

The Gut: Your Processing Center

We have filters throughout our body (whether we ingest something or manifest it in our emotional self). When there’s something you don’t like, where’s the first place you feel it? In the tummy, right? If there’s something you don’t like, it goes straight to the solar plexus—the stomach, gut, or hara as it’s known in Eastern medicine.

Your gut is like a central filter through which all things pass and are processed. It’s the hub, and anatomically, it’s the processing center. It’s physically about processing, and all emotions are processed and will manifest in the gut if not dealt with properly—constipation, food sensitivities, stomach aches, diarrhea, etc.

Important note: If you’re upset, don’t eat anything because you’re swallowing the emotion—otherwise known as emotional eating. You’re not only eating food but also the emotions of anger, sadness, fear, guilt, or hurt, and you’re storing it all in the body.

Storage Areas: Hips and Shoulders

The hips and shoulders are like the closets in the hallway where we stuff our clutter. These parts of the body are where we hold and store all the emotional “crap.” When we don’t process this, it gets held in these areas. If not moved and expelled through exercise and movement—especially yoga, as it opens all the closets—it will build up and cause pain.

As the body workers say, “The issues are in the tissues.” Everything has to be processed, or it will build up and manifest into something bigger. Eventually, your body finds a way to make you listen by creating dis-ease.

Your Body’s Communication System

When you feel pain, it’s the unconscious mind saying to the conscious mind: “Hey! I’m trying to tell you something—please listen to me.” If not listened to, your body will find a way to make you listen and will stop you in your tracks, literally.

Mental wellness or illness creates a physical outcome every time, without fail. Your mind and body are part of an interactive system. What’s happening in one part of the body’s systems affects the other systems. Therefore, your health is directly related to your thought processes.

Have you ever heard yourself say: “Oh! I just can’t stomach that”? This is literally your body sending a message to your entire being. The emotions are affecting the gut, so long-term, it can cause issues. Most illness and dis-ease comes from the gut.

The Power of Positive Programming

Even though you may not have told anyone about your thoughts, your body is eavesdropping on you and processing information every second. You must deal with it, process it, and most importantly, be kind to yourself with positive input and reframing—all the time. It can be exhausting.

You’ll find a negative thought is much easier than a positive one, but once you train yourself, you’ll know only one way: positive input. It’s like having an iOS download every day. Things become fresher and cleaner in your daily life, and the ability to listen becomes easier and more graceful. Believe me, more magic occurs in your world.

As Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”

Daily Survival Skills Checklist

Your body is like a newborn child with no instruction book, communicating with you on an emotional level nonstop. Be mindful of how you wake up and of your last thoughts before bed. It all matters. Focus on happy, high-vibe thoughts. If you have resistance, shift back to high-vibration thoughts of love and light.

1. Mindfulness

When you wake in the morning, have a mantra of gratitude. Mine is: “Thank you for the gifts I receive today. I am truly blessed.” When you say it, feel it in every cell in your body. If you make it short and sweet, it becomes a habit and rolls off the tongue easily and effortlessly.

2. Movement

I choose yoga asanas (poses) and walking my dog! Animals are great reminders of the joy of movement—they’re always ecstatic when you put on your walking shoes and say the magic words.

3. Conscious Breath

Once or twice a day, give yourself a three-minute breathing space where you focus on just the breath and nothing else. As Thich Nhat Hanh taught, “Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile.”

4. Mindful Eating

Chew your food slowly. I have to stop myself all the time—after 17 years as an international flight attendant, I’m still teaching myself these things!

The Basics of Survival

Simply remember to breathe and feed your body. Breathe with mindfulness so you’re sending a clear message to all your cells (the employees) that you’re feeding them the energy of breath. This helps the major organs (the managers) filter and do their daily work so the entire body runs happily and stress-free.

The more I study, the more it comes back to basics. We humans love to complicate everything, and we do that so well. Here are the survival priorities:

1. Breathe: Humans can only survive without breath for 3 minutes
2. Water: Without water, the human body can only survive for approximately 3 days
3. Rest: Quality, restful sleep
4. Food: Nourishing food straight from the source—live food is best

It’s meant to be simple, and we’re meant to be able to heal ourselves. It just takes a change of programming: being at cause (knowing that everything that is, I create, and I can heal) rather than at effect (it’s not my fault).

The Truth About Wellness

Wellness comes from within. Until you decide you’re going to make the change, you’ll forever find a reason why you cannot. The fact is: you can.

As a therapist, I’m not a doctor of medicine (and I believe there’s a place for both). I’ve chosen to focus on the mind-body connection to get to the core issue. I’m not telling you what to do—I’m simply making suggestions, giving you food for thought.

The good news is that you can release all these “squidgy” emotions in the body. You can let go of the past and make room for creating your future. If you think you have something stopping you from moving forward, let’s work together to clear the emotional clutter and get on with creating your future.

Remember: You Are in Control

Whether student or teacher, it’s the same thing—you’re always in complete control. When you’re not, you become highly suggestible and aren’t taking control of your own health. Healing comes from you, not from the practitioner or teacher. That person is just the guide you’ve chosen who reflects your values. You are the one doing the healing.

I’ve always said my clients are my teachers in different forms. I only hope I can continue to hear the message myself. They continuously give me gifts of mindfulness, and when I give advice, I’m listening, accepting the gift of mindfulness, and hopefully hearing myself and making corrections along the way.

I may know the theory, but it takes constant reminders and action to create optimal wellness in the here and now.

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If you need guidance on how to deal with the ‘squidgy stuff’ and create your future, visit me at Cooroy: www.maplestacupunture.com.au. Make an appointment, and let’s start the refresh program using the 5 elements to health.

Final reminder—one that no child or animal needs because they just do it naturally: Remember to play!

As Pablo Picasso said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linda McCall Dip. Shiatsu & Oriental Therapies   Healthy Equilibrium PO Box 71 Eumundi QLD 4562 Australia Web:  www.healthyequilibrium.com.au Tel: +61(0) 422  334  745 Skype: motorcycleyogi Email: linda@healthyeq.com Blog spot: www.blahblah.biz