Repressed emotions lead to physical aches & pains

We all know that Pilates is a movement method rebalancing and acting on the Mind, the Body & the Spirit. 

Thinking that we can address each on if those bodies independently and separately would be rather foolish as the body acts as one complete and holistic being, integrating our Mind and our Emotions at all times in everything we do and whenever we move. We are just as much what we think, as what we feel and what we do every day, every hour, every second of our life.

Joseph Pilates dealt mainly with people suffering from mechanical and physical distress which caused pains. But in today's times, I cannot stop noticing how much more people suffer from emotional and mental distress causing pains and chronic aches. Joseph was aware of this fast growing world and that men would eventually suffer from the imbalances in the body caused by stress.

Elder Master Teacher Mary Bowen was one of my teachers who has helped me understand and experience how much my own emotions and my subconscious affect my body and my postural behaviour. Our emotional body isway more powerful on us that we possibly are aware of or we want to recognise. Giving it acknowledgement is the first step to better health, I believe. Being aware on which body parts act as a sponge to our emotions and how mobilising these body parts can lead to good emotional health was a life saviour to me in some moments of my life.

I hope that with this sample of information about the science of our emotions affecting our health, based on kinesiology, you will be more aware of the subtleties of the relationship emotions have with our body and our mind.

Think & Feel for Health Our emotions affect us physically whether we are aware of it or not.

It might be easy to understand that a scary thought gets our heart beating faster, but it can be harder to realise that loneliness, sadness or depression can also affect us physically, and when it comes to more complex emotions or illnesses few of us consider our emotions to have any relevance.

Emotions that are freely experienced and expressed without judgment or attachment tend to flow fluidly. On the other hand, repressed emotions (especially fearful or negative ones) can zap mental energy and lead to health problems...

It's important to recognise our thoughts and emotions and be aware of the impact they have - not only on each other, but also on our bodies, behaviour, and relationships.

Generally speaking, we tend to think of our bodies and minds as separate systems and believe they function, for the most part, independently. Yet instinctively we know that is not the whole story. Understanding the body-mind relationship won’t necessarily cure all our physical difficulties, but by learning the language of symptoms and illness we can discover what is being repressed or ignored in our psyche and emotions, and how this is influencing our well-being. From this vantage point we can discover that there is an extraordinarily intimate three-way communication going on between our body, our mind and our emotions that affects both our physical state and our mental and emotional health.

By brining your attention to our emotions, I am not trying to convince anyone that the sole reason for illness is in our emotions. Nor am I saying that by understanding how the mind, body and emotions work together that we’ll be able to miraculously cure ourselves.

What I believe although is that the role of the mind and emotions in our state of health is a vital one. By understanding this relationship they have to one an other we can claim a greater role in our own well-being. It is only a part of the overall picture, but it is the part that is invariably overlooked.

The Pilates method helps us move from the inside to the outside. Being able to integrate how we feel when we move with the method is creating that inner flow from the inside to the outside. Being more sensitive to our inner balance will strengthen our immune system, strengthen us from within and evacuate any repressed tensions for better general health and for the “Greater Enjoyment of Life”, like Joe would claim!

ILLNESS CAUSED BY REPRESSED EMOTIONS

In this very brief and short description of different emotions leading to illnesses you will be able to awaken you awareness to the power of repressing your emotions. So try to detect your inner emotional state as soon as possible evacuating the tension physically through movement or mentally through positive thinking.

• PANIC

  can cause diarrhea

•  

  Repressed ANGER or RESENTMENT‍

  kidney failure

•  

  DIFFICULTY FINDING YOUR PLACE OR TAKING YOUR PLACE

  can cause repeated urinary infections

•  

  SOMETHING THAT YOU DO NOT WANT TO HEAR OR WHEN YOU DON’T WANT TO LISTEN

  otitis or earache

•  

  SOMETHING THAT YOU CANNOT SAY OR SOMETHING HAS BEEN REVEALED

  angina or chest pain

•  

  A REFUSAL TO GIVE IN, TO COMPROMISE, TO OBEY OR TO SUBMIT

  knee problems

•  

  FEAR OF THE FUTURE, FEAR OF CHANGE OR FEAR OF LOSING MONEY

  lumbar pain

•  

  INFLEXIBILITY OR RIGIDITY

  back pain and stiff neck

•  

  CONFLICT WITH AUTHORITY

  shoulder pain

•  

  DOING EVERYTHING YOURSELF

  also shoulder pains and a burdening sensation

•  

  GRINDING THE TEETH TO CONFRONT SOMEONE OR A SITUATION WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING

  dental pain, ulcers and abscess

•  

  FEAR OF THE FUTURE

  difficulty moving forward, or needing to lift the feet. Pain in the legs, feet or ankles

KNEES

Knee pain, knees that break, knees that crack, pains in the meniscus: refusal to bend and to “fall to the knees" (to submit) to yield, pride, ego, inflexible character or being contrary, you submit by not saying anything, or abstaining but our knees tell us whether or not we agree with this situation. 

• Difficulty accepting comments or criticism from others.

• Problems with authority and rank, ego problems, pride.

• Having to concede in order to save the peace.

• Suppressed or frustrated ambition due to an exterior cause, stubbornness, humiliation.

• Guilty for being right.

• Anger at being too influenceable

ARMS

There are several emotional causes linked to pains and arm problems. The arms are an extension of the heart and are linked to the action of giving and receiving, as well as authority and power. Pains in the arms can be linked to difficulty loving what I am doing. Feeling useless, doubting your abilities, which leads the person to retreat into themselves and to take pity on their own suffering.

• They believe that they have to take care of someone.
• Not feeling superior when they have the ”upper hand" on someone.
• Difficulty taking others in their arms and showing them affection.
• I do not allow myself to do things for myself because I judge myself and I remember my strict up bringing, which has damaged me.
• I do not allow myself to take things or I regret having taken something, or I think that I have taken something that I don’t deserve.
• Or something has been given to me out of duty, that I haven’t taken, I feel angry.
• This is linked to having been judged by one’s parents.
• Wanting to trap someone in your arms to have them under your control, but having to let them go again, and then not being able to love them and protect them (a child, for example...).
• Reliving a failed situation, wanting to lower the arms.