Knowing in Your Bones

I love all the somatic phrases we have to describe our well being beyond purely the physical. Here are some other phrases that come to mind: wearing our heart on our sleeve; eyes are the windows to our soul; I know in my gut...

It's interesting because biomedicine and modern western culture in general doesn't often ascribe knowing and emotions to different parts of our body.

It's all in our brain.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the medicine I'm trained in, this somatic expression of our emotions is foundational. The Heart is the seat of the emotions and each organ has a specific emotional correspondence.

It's not all in your head.

Just as the organs associate with the emotions, they associate with the seasons and specific body tissues and much, much more.

This means we have seasons and body tissues that connect to our emotions!

So, if you know it in your bones, it's likely that your bones do know.

When I use an expression like "know it in my bones" it's a reference to my intuition and how deeply I feel compelled to do something or not.

What is the driver of this?

Good old fashioned Fear!

And guess what Fear is associated with? Yep. Bones! And, more broadly, Winter, Water, Kidneys, and even our Will Power.

Bones also know ancestral patterns - our DNA, or as we say in acupuncture realms, our prenatal essence. And they know when we're aging and overdoing because our wear and tear shows up in our bones.

It's not all negative. Knowing in our bones often pushes us to take healthy risks. Knowledge itself and healthy self care habits often help us to overcome the struggles our ancestors had and prevent or address the wear and tear that we often face.

So, you might be wondering , why so much talk about the bones?

Well, this month in our classes talk about all things Bone and Bone Health. In yoga, we'll be learning about poses and sequences that increase bone density AND prevent osteoporosis and osteopenia.

In the Self Care Tools classes we're incorporating Guided Meditation, Aroma Point Therapy, Qi Gong and Self Massage that are beneficial to the Kidney energy and our bones by association.

This is not rocket science. It's accessible, helpful tools and awareness to empower you to heal yourself and prevent diseases and improve your quality of life as you age.

So, thank you for indulging me in my geek out session.

I'd love to hear from you and about what you know in your bones. Also, please share anymore somatic expressions that reference our emotions... I'm all ears! (Did you know that ears are associated with all of this too?!!!)