Heartfelt experiences

My right arm and shoulder hurt. I had no idea how this had come about, it was at times very uncomfortable. Over the course of a couple of months I sought help from various sources, all holistic. Firstly the chiropractor. Wise words and an intense adjustment later I felt as though I had been run over by a herd of yak, but the shoulder did improve a little.

Next the Yoga teacher. Several excellent movements to release the tension and to realign, plus releasing the fascia, which also gave some relief. Along with some releasing breath work this did begin to ease the discomfort a little more. I began to let go. (We all need to let go). Attention was drawn to my elevated ‘Vata’ (air and ether energies) and that I needed to work on being more grounded, to increase my meditation practise and focus on myself more.

Now the Bowen therapist. My fascia was tight, this was true. I had compensated right around my right shoulder-blade and rib cage which was also no aching and hence I had proved to myself just how connected each and every part of the body is to the next part. The Bowen did help to release the tension a little more.

By now I was becoming frustrated. My body doesn’t ‘usually’ have aches and pains. I recalled falling down the stairs at the spa in Bath a couple of months earlier…..and my arms aching afterwards. Was this the cause? Or was something else going on?

Next some Shiatsu. I knew that Lynda would dig deeper emotionally and she identified the heart meridian as the aching energy channel. Not surprising given all the heart focused things happening in my life through the whole of 2016 and still continuing a little even now. Lynda worked on this and the discomfort eased a little more.

Then I went on a retreat. It was a retreat called ‘Living from the Heart’. How very apt. Wow. I had no idea about compassion and the heart focus until this time. I practiced heart and compassion focused practices on a regular basis but until now, I had no idea what this really truly meant.

Compassion cannot exist without suffering. They are two sides of the same coin, darkness does not exist without light, happiness does not exist without sadness. Everything has an opposite. 

This lesson I learned during this retreat. I delved deep into my very being and found the repeating patterns of behaviour that create my reactions and emotions to this very day. I began to understand  more than before the true nature of the interconnectedness of all things. I began to understand myself, and others. I began to really see, as if for the first time, that we are all suffering and we are all deserving of compassion, kindness and love. I knew this before but suddenly I really knew it.

The focus of compassion can be used in many ways, but only when we experience and understand our own suffering, our own self, (or begin to understand for it is a lifelong journey), can we truly begin to understand the true nature of suffering and so the true nature of compassion. I am not saying don’t practice compassion if you haven’t delved, far from it, but start delving, start considering and be aware of the suffering and the compassion, for they are one and the same. And in this we are all united, we are not so different to one another. See the similarities not the differences.

Last week I went for a massage and ended up having Zero Balancing. This worked even more on my whole being, the muscles and tissues and the body but also the energy focus of the heart, and deeply released even more held tension.

The body, the mind and the emotions are so linked. Everything is so intertwined. We cannot discount emotional and psychological triggers for physical discomfort and suffering. Look deeper than the surface of your skin, look into yourself and really consider what is going on within.

The discomfort in my shoulder and arm eased considerably when I connected with myself, my heart centre and the suffering and compassion within, as well as creating that heart connection with others. That emotional connection eased the tension more than any of the physical work I had done. I am certain that the many physical solutions I sought did help in relieving the physical symptoms, but until I addressed the energetic and heartfelt root of this pain it did not begin to ease. I had heartache, and now it has eased, and I understand a little more the connection of the body, mind and  the emotions.