Pain is a form of communication
The body, mind, and spirit are intricately interconnected, very complex and wise. Our body, mind, and spirit are constantly sending us messages about our health and well-being. Unfortunately, many of us don’t hear the messages it sends or we ignore them.
For example, when you get a headache do you:
- stop and try to determine what is making your head hurt
- take a Tylenol to suppress it and carry on
You’re already feeling stressed or overwhelmed and someone asks you to do something for them. You immediately feel a knot in your stomach. Do you:
- ignore that feeling and say yes anyway
- set boundaries and say no
- negotiate a time frame that works for you
Pain is one way the body tells us something is out of balance. Many people come to me because they want to relieve a physical pain. After a few sessions, it becomes clear there are emotional components regardless if it started with a physical injury/accident or medical condition.
Others come with emotional or mental pain that has manifested in physical pain such as headaches from stress. By addressing the whole person – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual – the root cause of the pain can be addressed resulting in deeper and long lasting pain relief. Medications can alleviate pain temporarily but not treat the actual cause.
One Client’s Story
This female client came to me with low back pain, she had a history of herniated disks in her lumbar spine and was wearing a back brace. After each session, her back pain significantly improved and I gave her essential oils to use at home to help manage the pain. After 3 visits she no longer needed to wear the back brace but the pain was still present at a lower intensity. I noticed a pattern in her energy field, her second chakra was always compromised at the beginning of the sessions.
The 2nd chakra has to do with relationships, feeling emotions, the stress response and the low back. I asked her to think about any relationships that were challenging in her life or if she was repressing any emotion toward someone. She shared with me a life event that had devastated her daughter. She was deeply concerned for her mental and emotional well-being. This occurred about 2 months earlier, which is when her back pain flared up.
So there were emotional and energetic components to her physical pain. First, she was stressed about her daughter. Stress causes muscle tension (which increases pain) and affects the way you think. Second, she was taking on some of her daughter’s energy which was at a lower vibration then her energy field. My client needed to support her daughter without taking on her energy or causing stress in herself.
We discussed a few strategies and agreed upon a couple she felt she could follow through with. Now we were working directly with the root cause of the pain.
After a few more sessions her back pain was mild, intermittent and she could easily manage it. Emotionally she felt more positive and better able to support her daughter. Her chakras were open and flowing at the beginning of the session. This tells me she was in a much more balanced state.
The Therapies
I love the integrative healing therapies I use because they address the whole person and I don’t need to know all the details.
- Healing Touch was helping to release energy that was not her own as well as clearing congestion from her energy field. I did not need to know specifics about who was affecting her or why.
- Essential oils were working on her physical body by decreasing inflammation and providing analgesic effects along with raising her vibration and uplifting her spirits before I knew what the emotional issues were.
Once we both became aware of the issue we could address it directly for faster results. However, if she had not shared her story with me the therapies are still effective, it just takes longer because the client is more passive.
If you’re experiencing pain and are interested in integrative therapies let’s talk! You have nothing to lose but your pain.
Laurie Ratto, RN, BSN, HTCP/I, CCA, speaker and author has 40 years’ experience helping people to heal from physical, mental, and emotional pain. She provides a safe, nurturing space and support for your mind, body, and spirit so you can release all forms of pain. Laurie specializes in integrative therapies and keeps her RN license current because she understands the power of balance as we heal.