WHERE CAN WE FIND THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT?

In Energetic Medicine there is no real separation between mind, body, spirit and emotions. Many practitioners of Energetic Medicine, combine this philosophy of unified relationship between Body Mind and Spirit, with many different healing disciplines; to uncover the meaning at the root of a patient’s dis-ease. In my practice, one of the most common complaints that patients present with is neck and shoulder pain and dysfunction (reduced range of motion, etc.). In the patient history, if the event is not an occurrence of trauma, the patient will usually begin to describe a situation of either overuse or an unusual movement to which they attribute the origin of their pain or dysfunction. This history provide the “where” and “when” around which such dysfunction occurred. From my traditional training as a Chiropractor, I note any neurological and postural (structural/musculo-skeletal) levels of involvement in the patient’s presentation. However, what can be just as important is the emotional and psychological state of the person presenting. This can speak more to the “why.” How is this relationship between the physical symptoms and any corresponding emotional state made? We can begin to understand this relationship by recognizing that what is known as meridians in Traditional Chinese Medicine, are energy pathways which have a corresponding relationship to our body’s muscle groups. Furthermore, each of these meridians is not only associated with sense organs, physiological organs, muscle groups, tissues, openings to the surface of the body, but also to emotional states. By examining the different aspects of these relationships one may perceive how neck and shoulder pain are associated through neuromuscular states of excess or deficient tone in the muscles. Because of this understanding, the energy practitioner may also guide the patient in understanding how they may better maintain balance of the mind and emotions in order to maintain physical balance. Unusual periods of mental overwork, or physical and emotional stress can contribute to neck and shoulder pain can also cause a weakness in muscle tone, which may destabilize the shoulder, neck or cervical spine, low back or lumbar spine and the pelvis. Unresolved grief and loss may also affect the structures of the shoulder as well as contributing to the overall stressors for a patient. I have also treated patients with pain in the shoulder, who were unaware that their anger and resentment, (whether conscious or unconscious), were contributing to imbalances in muscle tone affecting the shoulder. Even the need to make hard decisions can be a factor in flare-ups of shoulder pain. In my practice I use a number of healing modalities. In particular, I find Applied Kinesiology (AK) and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to be very helpful in determining the issues at the root of a patient’s complaint, and in taking steps to rectify it. TCM supplies the information regarding mental and emotional states, which may block or stagnate this energy, and offers principles for effective healing. TCM is not just about acupuncture - it covers an eightfold path of disciplines that are designed to bring body mind and spirit back into harmony. In AK, the use of muscle testing determines functional loss of the muscles surrounding a joint. It also employs the use of reflex points, which allows stuck, congested, and blocked energy to flow readily through the meridians, which supply the body’s organ and muscle functions. When a person moves, force is generated through the body. My background also includes experience as an Exercise Physiologist, with a Master’s degree in the field. It is fascinating to me to notice how a person’s movement contributes to the forces impacting the body’s structures and how that can affect proper function. When the normal chain of action through the body’s movement is disrupted, because of muscles with unbalanced tonus, a person may experience debilitating and excruciating pain and dysfunction. If over time this is not corrected, the syndrome can move from dysfunction to actual impairment of joints. The body is quite miraculous in its ability to compensate on all levels in an attempt to stabilize and protect its functions. Quite frequently what is found, is that the part of the joint reported by the patient to be painful, is actually responding to a dysfunctional muscle surrounding the joint. The patient may report pain from a particular area or muscle group, which in fact is over-compensating for another muscle, which is lacking in tone. It is this over-compensating related muscle group, and whatever is the root issue around its dysfunction that must be dealt with. This is why so often patients come to me for treatment because prior treatment to the problem, did not address the root issues In my practice I use a number of healing modalities. In particular, I find Applied Kinesiology (AK) and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to be very helpful in determining the issues at the root of a patient’s complaint, and in taking steps to rectify it. TCM supplies the information regarding mental and emotional states, which may block or stagnate this energy, and offers principles for effective healing. TCM is not just about acupuncture - it covers an eightfold path of disciplines that are designed to bring body mind and spirit back into harmony. In AK, the use of muscle testing determines functional loss of the muscles surrounding a joint. It also employs the use of reflex points, which allows stuck, congested, and blocked energy to flow readily through the meridians, which supply the body’s organ and muscle functions. When a person moves, force is generated through the body. My background also includes experience as an Exercise Physiologist, with a Master’s degree in the field. It is fascinating to me to notice how a person’s movement contributes to the forces impacting the body’s structures and how that can affect proper function. When the normal chain of action through the body’s movement is disrupted, because of muscles with unbalanced tonus, a person may experience debilitating and excruciating pain and dysfunction. If over time this is not corrected, the syndrome can move from dysfunction to actual impairment of joints. The body is quite miraculous in its ability to compensate on all levels in an attempt to stabilize and protect its functions. Quite frequently what is found, is that the part of the joint reported by the patient to be painful, is actually responding to a dysfunctional muscle surrounding the joint. The patient may report pain from a particular area or muscle group, which in fact is over-compensating for another muscle, which is lacking in tone. It is this over-compensating related muscle group, and whatever is the root issue around its dysfunction that must be dealt with. This is why so often patients come to me for treatment because prior treatment to the problem, did not address the root issues around the primary dysfunctional muscle group. The energy meridian associated with the muscle group often is affected by the mental or emotional state, which blocks, stagnates or congests the meridian channel’s energy. This is in effect the root or source of the shoulder pain, mentioned earlier. Recently a 42-year-old woman presented in the clinic with unrelenting pain in her right front (anterior) and rear (posterior) thigh. Simultaneously, she reported pain and clicking in her left shoulder as she moved it through her range of motion. As the patient and I began talking to identify the emotional stressors which could be affecting her at this time, it seemed that the source was the patient’s concerns over some important pending decisions regarding her work. She was unclear whether she could accept the results of her choices. Not only was this affecting energy flow in the body through the meridians, it was also affecting other energy structures of the body called chakras. These are vortexes of energy, which bring energy from the energy field into the spine. Documented in western physiology, and originating in Ayurvedic Medicine, these vortexes also hold the energy of issues. These are the issues we incarnate to resolve. They are also issues that develop in our lifetime in response to the primary issues. For her, the primary effect was in the heart meridian and chakra, which had a domino effect on the small intestine meridian, the partner channel for the heart. Also affected were the triple heater and heart protector meridians. In physical examination using AK, it was confirmed that the above listed meridians had related muscle groups that were lacking in tone. These included the abdominal and femoral group of muscles (small intestine meridian), gluteus maximus (heart protector/circulation-sex meridian), subscapularis (heart meridian), pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi (stomach meridian), cervical spine flexors and extensors (central meridian or conception vessel). sartorius (anterior thigh; triple heater meridian/ adrenal glands, teres minor (triple heater/ thyroid). The triple heater is the meridian, which is associated with the endocrine system in AK. This is activated in stress, or as more commonly known, the organs involved with the fight/flight syndrome. It reflects the practice of our external boundaries. One sage phrases it as the moat around the castle. The heart protector meridian often is related to issues of power, intimacy and protecting our internal boundaries. The heart meridian, among other issues deals with abundance of joy in the patient; this is interpreted in TCM as excess emotions. The stomach and spleen meridians are associated with anxiety, stress and over-thinking. This affects not only the shoulder, but also the cervical spine, as does the central or conception vessel meridian. The patient was amazed at the correlation of the physical symptoms and the related energetic systems. These were resonating with her emotional issues about feeling powerless and unable to keep strong boundaries at work, and her anxiety and over-thinking about what she should do about her job. For this woman, treatment involved strengthening the root muscle groups using the reflex points associated with these muscles. In effect, the reflex points are like switching points on the body, which when stimulated allow the energy to flow unrestricted in the meridian channels. The segments of the patient’s spine that had been pulled out of adjustment because of the hypotonic muscles, and which were contributing to nerve pain, were also corrected using chiropractic treatment. Within a few treatments, She was able to move easily without pain in cervical spine, shoulder and hip. By bringing to the patient’s awareness the unresolved emotional issues affecting her stress, and describing for her how these emotional stressors were having a direct physical impact on producing structural imbalance and pain in her body, the patient became more conscious of these emotions. Through this process she was better able to identify when these emotions came up and to work to handle them better in future. These emotional states no longer had the power to affect her in the way they had prior to treatment. Toward the end of his life, Albert Schweitzer was asked about his respect for traditional African medicine and their “so called witch doctors”. He responded, ”The witch doctor succeeds for the same reason all the rest of us succeed. Each patient carries his own doctor inside him. They come to us not knowing that cure. We are at our best when we give the doctor who resides within each patient a chance to go to work.”

Susan S. McCullough, M.S., D.C.: Dr. McCullough has a B.A. in Psychology from Emory University, a Master’s degree in Exercise Science from Georgia State University, and a Doctor of Chiropractic from Life University. She has been in practice since 1998, and presently practices at The Heal Center (770-390-0012) in Dunwoody, GA. top

Sources for this article include:

“TRADITONAL CHINESE MEDICINE”, The Way of the Dragon Series, Nan Lu , O.M.D., 2000, 2001
“VIBRATIONAL MEDICINE” Richard Gerber M.D. , 1988, 1996, 2001
“APPLIED KINESIOLOGY”, A Synopsis, David Walther, D.C., 1994
“NOURSHING YOUR DESTINY” Lonny Jarrett, O.M.D, 2002
“THE HEALING BRAIN”, Ornstein, Ph D., and Sobel, M. D., 1988

WHERE CAN WE FIND THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT?

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