Dr. Erica Goodstone, LMHC, Certified Rubenfeld Synergist
It never ceases to amaze me how much my body tells me, if and when I listen to its messages. Many years ago I had back problems. At that time, the message was loud and clear that I did not feel supported, that I felt nobody “had my back,” and I felt as if I had the entire weight of the world on my back. Over and over again, during the many, many Rubenfeld Synergy sessions I have received, I would say to the practitioner “I don’t feel supported.” Gradually, over time, my perspective changed and I was able to give and receive the support I needed.
Years later, when I was elected chair of my college department and I was about to move from my small office into the much larger chairperson’s office, I began to bang my knees. I had been in that small office for over 15 years and never ever banged my knees on the desk until I was ready to leave. Once I knew I was leaving, it was as if my knees were impatient for me to get out of there already. The office space suddenly became too small for my body.
At times I have experienced a pain in my neck when I could not make a clear decision and other people were upsetting and confusing me. At other times I felt an acute pain in my stomach or my chest when someone unexpectedly attacked me with harsh and critical words.
Lately, as my business model is about to expand beyond the limits that have been comfortable for me in the past, my body is again giving me lots of signals and not so subtle messages. According to Louise Hay, author of You Can Heal Your Life, my current body symptoms are definitely connected to my business expansion – or my fear and resistance to the changes that are coming. The symptoms in my toes, swelling and discomfort, “represent the minor details of the future.” The symptoms in my fingers ”represent the details of life,” my current life, my emotions (intellect, worry, anger, sexuality, family and pretending). As I strive to be more authentic in the world, as I become more fully myself in the family of life, my body reminds me of all the ways that I am not yet there, not yet fully present, not yet fully free. My shoulders, tensing up and creating painful spasms from years of holding on to the burdens of my life, are preparing me to expand and allow joy and pleasure and success into my daily life.
And when my neck pain limits my range of motion, it reminds me to keep my focus forward in the direction of my vision. The spasms in my neck encourage me to let go of preconceived ideas, to be open to new possibilities, and to remain flexible, calm and peaceful no matter what is currently happening in my life.
In my Rubenfeld Synergy Sessions, I help your body to become the center of attention and to teach you from its vast store of accumulated wisdom. Does your body know where you are going? Have you paid attention to the possible meaning of your own physical aches and pains and symptoms? Your body stores all the impressions and memories of sensations and emotions that you have experienced in your life. Pay attention to your own storehouse of wisdom.
What messages are you discovering in your own body now? Does your body know where you’re going, maybe even before you consciously know?
Please share your insights in the comments below.
Dr. Erica Goodstone can be reached at her web site DrEricaWellness.com.
Thanks, Erica. Many good reminders of how much our body has to say. I recently broke my ankle, and boy, was there a lot of listening to be done. I discussed that in my blog (http://www.stephaniesmythe.com/content/blog). All my Rubenfeld Synergy sessions helped me with my own healing, and its a delight to be able to offer these sessions and help to others.
Twitter: JoanMBrooks
says:
Thank you, Erica, for this reminder of our “body of knowledge”. Our wisdom truly resides in our bodies. I’m reminded of a time my body spoke very clearly to me. I was still working for the FAA, or as I say, working in hell for good wages, when my left shoulder froze up. To my knowledge, I had not injured it, but I had very limited movement in my left arm, and it hurt! In Synergy sessions, my shoulder, when asked, told me that working for the FAA was killing me. When I cried, and said, “Okay, I know that! Just tell me how to leave!”, my shoulder reminded me of the song, Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover. My left shoulder literally told me five things I needed to do or put into place so I could leave a job that paid 6 figures. I did those things and quit the FAA. Within 2 weeks of making that decision, my shoulder stopped hurting and has not hurt since. Within a month, I once again had full range of movement in my left arm. My body was clearly telling me that the job I was in was killing me, slowly and surely. By listening to the wisdom of my body I was able to free myself from a living hell. I moved back to West Virginia and opened a Rubenfeld Synergy practice, which feeds and nourishes my soul, and therefore my body.
Stephanie,
I agree. All of my Rubenfeld Synergy sessions have helped me with my own healing and each time I am surprised by how balanced and connected my body feels.
Erica
DrErica recently posted..My Body Knows Where I’m Going … Does Yours?
Stephanie,
I agree. All of my Rubenfeld Synergy sessions have helped me with my own healing and each time I am surprised by how balanced and connected my body feels.
Erica
DrErica recently posted..My Body Knows Where I’m Going … Does Yours?
Joan,
Thank you for sharing such a powerful personal story about the messages you received in your body and how you literally changed your life by listening.
Erica
DrErica recently posted..My Body Knows Where I’m Going … Does Yours?
This blog reminds me of a client I worked with who would get an earache in her right ear when she got upset. It would disappear once she felt stable again. What finally emerged in her Rubenfeld Synergy sessions was that she often had an earache as a child who lived with fear in a home where her parents were abusive. Her sessions with me were completed several years ago, but we are still in touch. She is happy and feeling good about herself and her life. The ache in her right ear has disappeared.
Jeanne,
Our bodies store so many messages from our past. When we finally listen and pay attention, the symptoms often disappear.
DrErica recently posted..My Body Knows Where I’m Going … Does Yours?
It is amazing how much information is available to us if we tune in to the signals.
Helping the “thinking” part of our brain to quiet down, and validating the sensations we feel in our body is so helpful in leading a healthy satisfying life. Thank you for this important reminder.
Mike,
“Validating the sensations we feel in our body.” You said something so important. We often are aware of our body’s signals but we choose to ignore them or make light of them instead of paying attention.
Erica
DrErica recently posted..What Are YOU Thinking Now?
Thank you, Erica, for sharing so many examples of how your body and mind are connected, and how your body’s wisdom shows you the way, even before you are conscious of the internal processes that are happening. That wonderful gift, of listening to the body, can bring so much understanding and clarity. Thank you for showing us where your body is going.
Kelly,
I like the way you described it as a “gift,” listening to the body. You are so right, if we listen to our body we can gain so much understanding and clarity and easily move forward toward what we want to create and have in our life.
Erica
DrErica recently posted..What Are YOU Thinking Now?