“Behind all disease lie our fears, our anxieties, our greed, our likes and dislikes”.
- Dr. Edward Bach, The Twelve Healers and Other Remedies.
Western medicine, especially healthcare system in the US (that I faced after growing up in Europe), and big pharma are known for treating symptoms. And unfortunately, they made most people forget how to be curious and proactive and to ask: "What stands behind my symptom? What is my body trying to tell me? What can I do besides masking the symptom?". Asking those questions can set you on a long and twisted journey to true healing and a chance to change yourself holistically - clearing the imbalances, disease, or behavior pattern in its core. So they never come back in your lifetime or are passed on to future generations.
We forgot that our body has its own intelligence and language. The language of pain, tension and discomfort. The language that we don't like and try to silence as quickly and effectively possible.
What is the spiritual meaning of the back pain? It is the emotional and spiritual issue that have not been addressed that cause chronic back pain and muscle tension. This unprocessed emotional and spiritual debris from your past and even previous generations can manifest in your body as physical tension and pain. Until your brain will not acknowledge the underlying issue, your body would have to keep hounding through the language of pain until you pay attention.
Every time something “bad’ happens to your health or breaks your daily habitual routine, you have two options: try to immediately “fix” it and restore to a familiar habitual state. Or you can observe what lessons this symptom or situation can teach you and treat it as an opportunity to make corrections and adjustment to your lifestyle and goals.
The key to successfully addressing any issue is in analyzing the problem from all four sides: mind, body, spirit, and soul/emotions. After you understand the root cause you then can address and attack it on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels.
In general, issues with the back reflect our sense of security, trust in life and feeling safe and being supported in the world.
Lets take a look on the back pain from holistically:
On the physical level chronic back pain, especially chronic lower back pain, is a result of tensions in your body-mind-soul that reflects how you respond to your life's experiences. Chronic contraction of the muscles, never allowing them to relax, is a set-up for constant pain. Being always in a DO/WORK mode and never allowing enough of BE/RELAX time put enormous stress on the muscular and endocrine system. Tense constricted muscles prevent normal circulation of blood and lymph leading to accumulation of the cellular waste and toxins.
The more I work with my own trauma and teach workshops about trauma, the more I realize the importance of working with historical and transgenerational trauma. We are not isolated individuals but are part of a larger picture. That larger picture consists of our own individual family trees and their place within a community and a larger collective.
Being born and raised in the Soviet Union family and society with attitude that leisure and rest is evil and it rots your soul. Work, work, work. Keep yourself occupied no matter with what - this is your purpose. Being productive is a measure of your worthiness for your family and your country. Work during the week and work during the weekend. You rest only during the vacation (unless you work in your country house’ garden) and on official holidays (when you cook for two days to feed your guests and then clean up after them).
Self-reflection question: What is your cultural background? What was the attitude towards work/rest for your parents, grandparents, community and society they had been living?
On metaphysical level your body speaks through your lower back in the form of pain when you have emotional and spiritual issues that you have not acknowledged.
There are valuable sources of information to understand what happens in your life and the spiritual meaning behind your symptoms. Multiple books are available on the subject to name a few:
Your Body Speaks Your Mind: Decoding the Emotional, Psychological, and Spiritual Messages That Underlie Illness, by Deb Shapiro
Feelings Buried Alive Never Die by Karol K. Truman
Heal your Body and You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay
The Secret Language of Your Body: The Essential Guide to Health and Wellness by Inna Segal
Messages from the Body: Their Psychological Meaning by Michael J. Lincoln Ph.D., FKA Narayan-Singh Khalsa
The book by Louse Hay, called "You Can Heal Your Life" is one of the 'bibles' for the metaphysical cause of symptoms that I use for reference. She suggests that the pain of your lower back/lumbar spine correlates to the following:
L-1: Signifies a crying out for love. Needing to feel lonely. Lack of security.
L-2: Signifies the inability to see a way out. Remaining stuck in pain from childhood.
L-3: Signifies strong feelings of guilt and self-hatred. History of sexual abuse.
L-4: Signifies one's rejection of her/his sexuality. Feeling financially insecure, and fearing having or changing careers. Strong feelings of powerlessness.
L-5: Signifies feeling insecure. Difficulties in communicating. Strong feelings of anger. Denies the right to have pleasure in her/his life.
Sacrum: Signifies stubbornly holding on to old anger. Feelings of powerlessness and loss of power.
Coccyx (tailbone): Signifies blaming oneself, holding on to that which no longer serves the self, being out of balance with oneself, "sitting on old pain”. Or tucking your tail between the legs in fear of facing the world.
In my case, L5 referred back of denying myself and fun time in favor of work obligations and responsibilities. And L4 signified my rejection of sexuality, feeling financially insecure, and fear of having a career, strong feelings of powerlessness. Spot on! Thank you, Louse Hay!
My meditation with intention: I sat down quietly, inhaled Shadow aroma and asked "Where does my insecurity about my career, feeling of lack and distorted relationship with money came from?".
Insight: I was taken back to my childhood and suddenly remembered my grandmother and her stories about the WWII and the life of Soviet Russia. During the war, your life depended on finding anything to eat, shelter to sleep and ability to stay quiet and low. Life in the communist Soviet Russia wasn’t much different: stay low and do as you told, don’t be bright, don’t show if you have anything extra. If you think differently or have any extra material belongings you will be punished and your property confiscated.
That was an important Aha! moment. I was bearing the fears and limiting beliefs that I inherited through generations of my lineage. My grandmother felt insecure, my mother felt insecure and they couldn’t give me any support on my career choices that they thought were rebellious. "A woman running a business and making lots of money? This is shameful and unacceptable. What will the neighbors think? You don’t know how to do it and you will fail. Why can’t you be like everybody else?” This record play was deeply imprinted in my subconscious, into my body and messed up with my base chakra. It is now on the surface of awareness and available to be healed!
I THANK my low back pain for its messages! Now I am aware and I am working and healing the traumas.
My personal holistic approach and protocol to address the four sides of lower back pain:
Chiropractor adjustment and deep muscle work once a week for 4 weeks.
At home stretching, trigger point therapy with lacrosse ball and Trigger Point Performance Cane Massager. Paying attention to any memories, information or insights that come to mind while performing the exercises.
Applying arnica gel on overworked muscles.
Supplements: Vitamin C 5,000 mg/daily, Magnesium glicinate/malate 750 mg/day, Bromelain (apart from food for joint health), GABA Calm 750 mg/day
Hot tub with Epson salts, magnesium flakes and dried Golden Seal herb.
De-Stress Flower Essence Elixir to work with your stress response and generate a more self-loving lifestyle and attitude towards work and responsibilites.
Tue Self Release Aroma blend: inhalation and topical application on painful areas, trigger points and acupressure points.
True Self Shadow Aroma blend: inhalation and spraying on the pillow before bedtime to get insights during sleep.
True Self Tranquility Aroma blend: inhalation and topical application on acupressure and pulse points o ease tension and anxiety. Especially effective while combined with Surrender flower essence blend.
Intuitive movements for the lower back, deep breathing, meditative foam rolling with gentle yoga movements to enhance your healing. and paying attention to any memories, information or insights that come to mind while performing the exercises.
Meditation on the historical trauma. Sitting quietly, feel with the pain and sufferings of your ancestors, your family lineage with all their secrets, drama and pains. Feel compassion and understanding. Observe if any patterns may be present in YOUR life.
If you are interested in getting insights on your symptoms, decode the messages and dig deeply into the root of your hidden limiting believes, traumas and addictions, contact me at anna@maitriverde.com or book a private session with me that will take your wellness on an uprated level.
Resources:
Michael J. Lincoln, Ph.D. “Messages from the Body – Their Psychological Meaning.” Talking Hearts, 2013.
Louise Hay "You Can Heal Your Life.” Hay House,1984