June 2008 - Mind/Body News: What Your Neck is Saying

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Have you ever wondered if your physical issues may have an emotional or psychological cause? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” Have you ever had a stiff neck, or had pain in your neck? The fact is, your body is talking to you, and when you don’t pay attention to your emotions and needs, the problem often shows up in your body. It’s one way of getting your attention, but unfortunately it’s often a distraction, because you haven’t dealt with or honored what is behind that imbalance. Below, is a copy of an article from the book: “Your Body Speaks Your Mind”, by Deb Shapiro. This is an excellent book about how your body speaks to you.

“The neck is a two-way communicator, both physically and emotionally. Life-sustaining food, water, and air are taken in and swallowed, as is input from other people and the world. At the same time, emotions, feelings, and thoughts are expressed outwardly through the voice and lips. In this way, the neck forms a bridge between thoughts and feelings, between the mind and heart, as well as between the mind and the physical body. It is, therefore, a natural place for a body/mind split, where one part of your nature becomes isolated from the rest: the more energy that is put in one area, the less tends to be put in the other. For instance, academics tend to be less physically active, while athletes tend to be less studious.

A mind/body split can create tension or even rigidity in the neck.

• What constriction does your neck need to be released from?
• Do you need to listen to your feelings?
• Do you need to speak your heart?
• Or, do you need to put less energy into thinking and more into physical exercise?

Problems in the neck may indicate a rejection of the body, perhaps due to past abuse or because of a disability: there may be a lack of energy moving through your neck into the body, a lack of relationship with who you are as a physical being.

• Do you feel your body as vibrant and energetic?
• Or does it feel like a stranger, unfamiliar, even unknown, something you drag around with you?

The neck holds the head upright so you can look forward, maintaining dignity and courage. A drooping head implies a hopeless, giving-up attitude, an inability to face what lies ahead. The neck also allows the head to move so you can see on all sides, embracing a larger reality than just the one in front of you. This implies an openness of mind and acceptance of others’ views. Stiffness indicates resistance, usually to other ways of thinking; it is as if you are wearing blinders and cannot turn your head to see from the sides.

• Can you only see your own point of view?
• Are you feeling prejudiced or resistant toward someone?
• Are you becoming narrow-minded in your attitudes?
• Or is someone being a “pain in the neck,” perhaps by asking too much of you?

A stiff neck may also indicate an inability to make a decision: literally not knowing which way to turn. Such stiffness limits the amount of feeling and communication passing between the mind and body.  If you have a stiff or painful neck, it may also be due to TMS (tension myositis syndrome) and a cramping of the muscles.

The neck contains your voice box, so it is intimately connected  to your mode of expression, with a stiff neck limiting the amount of feeling that can be expressed from within.

• Are you holding back your feelings?
• Are your feelings too strong to express?
• When you cannot move your neck freely, this implies stubbornness  and rigidity. What is needed to ease your neck?
• Is something or someone emotionally strangling you?”

If you’re interested in finding out the root cause of a physical condition that is bothering you, hypnosis can help release the cause, thus healing or improving the condition. Feel free to call or email us for further information.

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