To heal means to become whole. One can only become whole when they address the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of their livelihood. We are all born with a physical body, an energetic body, and a spiritual connection to the cosmos. While many of our health ailments manifest in the physical body, we must look to our energetic body to understand the origin of chronic illness. For we are all born with an energetic body just as individual as our thumbprint and all physical manifestations begin as pure energy.
I’ve been inspired by reading Energy Medicine: Balancing Your Body’s Energies for Optimal Health, Joy, and Vitality by Donna Eden and Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing by Christiane Northrup, M.D. These two amazing women have been able to hone in on imbalances in the energetic body and how those energies influence the physical body, disease, and its ability to heal.
What is the energetic body?
The energetic body is also referred to as “etheric body” or “subtle body” and is the first layer of the aura (human energy field). This layer is directly connected to the physical body, sustains the physical, and connects the spiritual realm to the physical realm. Although most people today are unable to visually see auras, we feel them and interact with their energies every day. Those who study energy medicine have the ability to feel and analyze the energetic body.
’Subtle’ energies were described by Einstein as energies we know of because of their effects but do not have the instruments to detect directly… While these subtle energies cannot move a needle on a gauge, many healers know how to engage them to restore health and vitality. (Eden, 21)
Within the energetic body lies seven layers of seven chakras. Each chakra is an energy station of spiraling energy where refined emotional and spiritual information are transformed and distributed into the cells of the physical body. The seven chakras are as follows from bottom top: root chakra, sacral chakra, solar plexus chakra, heart chakra, throat chakra, third eye chakra, and crown chakra. Please note that there are many names for these energy centers depending on the culture of origin, and the locations of the energy centers and associated qualities remains synonymous throughout worldly literature.
Each chakra spirals through seven layers within the energetic body towards the physical body . The outer layer contained the chaotic energy of recent events that have yet to be fully integrated. The deeper the layer, the more clear and consistent the energy becomes. The fourth layer embodies energy from previous experiences in the person’s life. Memory is encoded in the fourth, fifth, and sixth layers as images and stories. The seventh layer contains issues and wisdom learned from previous lifetimes or ancestors. The color and density of this layer are different than every other layer.
How does the energetic body connect to physical illness?
The following chart gives an overview of how the energetic body connects the physical organs to emotional and mental experiences that stem from personal and inherited experience. The examples illustrate possible correlations between energy imbalance and specific disease manifestation.
| Chakra | Organs | Endocrine Gland | Mental, Emotional Elements | Energetic Imbalances | Examples of Physical Dysfunctions |
| 1) Root | Hip joints, spine, blood, immune system, Vagina, Penis, rectum | Ovaries or Testes | Survival, safety, security, sense of Belonging, trust, fear, dependence | Unresolved family and survival issues, revenge, shame | Back pain, sciatica, scoliosis, rectal cancer, chronic fatigue, autoimmune disease, skin problems, low sex drive, ovarian cysts |
| 2) Sacral | Uterus, large intestine, pelvis, appendix bladder | Adrenals | Drives in outer world for sex, money, power, and relationships, co-creation, fertility, relationship dynamics | Distrust, control, blame, guilt, shame about own body, rejection | Uterine fibroids, low back pain, pelvic pain, appendicitis, lack of creativity, urinary tract infections |
| 3) Solar Plexus | Upper intestines, liver, gallbladder, lower esophagus, stomach, kidneys, adrenals, | Pancreas | Self-esteem, self-confidence, self-respect, sense of responsibility, | Substance abuse, inferiority, aggression, defensiveness, territorial, hyper-responsible, irresponsible, repression, lack of inhibition | Ulcers, spasmodic colon, Heartburn, pancreatitis, diabetes, constipation, diarrhea, Eating disorders, Liver dysfunction, Adrenal fatigue |
| 4) Heart | Heart, lungs, blood vessels, shoulders, ribs/breasts, diaphragm, upper esophagus | Thymus | Passion, Compassion, Emotional expression, mutual partnerships, nurture, receptivity | Inability to give or receive love from others or self, lack of forgiveness, unresolved grief, hostility, | Heart attack, hypertension, heart disease, asthma, allergies, lung cancer, breast cancer, pneumonia, shoulder pain |
| 5) Throat | Trachea, throat, vocal folds, mouth, teeth and gums | Thyroid | Communication, verbal expression, comprehension, timing, will | Inability to speak, lack of listening, willfulness, overly compliant, | Bronchitis, sore throat, mouth ulcer, gum disease, TMJ, neck pain, laryngitis, thyroid disease |
| 6) Third Eye | Brain, Eyes, Ears, Nose | Pineal, Pituitary | Perception, Thought, intuition, Vision | Indecisive, inability to tolerate ambiguity, inability to learn, dismissing non-rational thought, lack of vision | Stroke, blindness, deafness, dizziness, tinnitus, learning disabilities, seizures, ALS |
| 7) Crown | Spinal cord and brain stem | Pineal, Pituitary | Morality, life purpose, connection to God, faith, values, | Lack of purpose, inability to accept factors beyond control | Developmental disorders, MS, life-threatening illness or accident, depression, paralysis |
How do energetic imbalances cause physical illness?
Most of the blockages in your vibrational systems are emotional in nature. It’s helpful to think of your vibrational system as being like a stream of water flowing along. As long as this energy flow is healthy and you are feeling good about yourself, there’s much less risk of disease. Environmental toxins, dietary fat, and excess sugar or alcohol (to name a few) usually don’t manifest in disease unless other factors have already set up the pattern of blockage in the body’s energy system in the first place. Environmental or dietary risk factors can be likened to debris carried along in the body’s energy flow. This debris stays afloat unless there is a felled tree or other blockage to the water flowing in the stream. When there is, the debris collects in the branches of the felled tree and accumulates. Over time, similar accumulations in the body’s energy flow can result in physical illness. (Northrup, 68)
Where and how disease manifests in an individual’s body is directly correlated to inheritance, personal experiences, memories, and emotional imbalances that are stored in the energy body. If one is not able to verbalize trauma and is therefore unable to fully process, cope, or adapt to those experiences, then the memories become stored and will show up as physical symptoms. It’s important to note that it is not the memory or the trauma itself that causes problems, but rather the interpretation of the experience and the ability to process. Once physical symptoms have manifested, it’s important to listen to the body’s intuition (a form an internal communication) to know what needs to be addressed emotionally and physically.
What are methods to heal from imbalances in the energetic body?
Meditation, talk therapy, acupuncture, singing, and energy work are methods to locate and address imbalances in the energetic body.
Mona Lisa Schultz, a psychiatrist and medical intuitive, recommends the following four steps to process traumatic memories and experiences.
We (psychiatrists) teach memory maturation. This consists of four steps: (1) locating the traumatic experience in the past and differentiating it from our current reality; (2) focusing on living in the present without feeling or behaving according to irrelevant demands belonging to the past; (3) decreasing hyperarousal by means of mediation, relaxation response, and exercise; and (4) decreasing intrusive reliving and stopping traumatic black hole cycles. (Schulz, 99)
As an energy worker, I am able to pick up on not only where the physical disease is manifesting in specific organs, but also where imbalances lie in the energetic body that have potential to reverse or create physical disease. The chart above is a good general representation on how the energetic and emotional body communicate through physical illness, but each individual’s body has its unique dialect and symbolism. Therefore, it is up to the individual to listen to their intuition and hone in on the specific meaning of their symptoms. This internal work is often the missing link in those who suffer from chronic illness and are not healing, regardless of lifestyle changes.
Book References:
Energy Medicine: Balancing Your Body’s Energies for Optimal Health, Joy, and Vitality by Donna Eden
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