It is no secret that we are many layered creatures that are inherently connected from head to toe, skin to bone. We are in these beautifully creative bodies that are designed to move. We are able to orient ourselves to many things—stimuli—both outside and inside of our physical bodies. In an ideal world, all of this creation we know as ‘us’ works without us really noticing…until it doesn’t. Then all of our attention is pulled in and we feel the discord.
Excess
On a very simple level we can say that every disharmony in our being is related to excess or deficiency in one form or another. When we have a knot or pain in our body, it is often a result of excess accumulation of something–stress, scar tissue, repetitive motions, emotional experiences. Since our mind and our body cannot be separated, emotional upheaval lands in our body, too. To complicate things just enough, we actually could have come into this life with an excess and/or deficiency as well.
Science has shown that when we feel emotions – happy, sad, scared, excited, and so on – our body releases chemical hormones (neuropeptides) that are literally our molecules of emotion. If these chemical emotions do not get processed fully, meaning fully felt and experienced, then they, too, become stuck in our tissue. Our issues literally become stuck in our tissues.
When we have too much of anything in our system and our bodies cannot process it, integrate or balance this input, it becomes an overloading of our system. Ideally, we would have just enough movement, stimulation, emotional experiences and surprises to our system that our bodies and minds could respond with resilience and be able to process the information fully, leaving us with more experience in the world. Yet, that isn’t always the case.
Deficiency
There are probably as many reasons for unresolved process as there are breaths in our lifetime, yet we can simplify once again to this excess and deficient concept. Some of us are born with deficiencies. When I first heard this, I resisted the concept wholeheartedly. I now have a little more space for it. Deficiency is like a faulty wire or weakness somewhere in our being that simply restricts our connection and flow.
We inherit a large portion of our physical make up from our parents. If they were deficient in one realm or another — let’s just say for instance one had gut challenges. While this is not a guarantee that we will inherit these same systems, it does mean that there we had a little less abundance of nourishment and nutrients to create a strong gut environment. If the other parent had a highly balanced gut, then our chances were better, you see? But if both had gut challenges, then the necessary nutrients to build a strong physical system simply were not as prolific, hence we inherit.
This type of inheritance goes for physical, emotional and even psychic or intuitive abilities. If our parents were anxious, angry or highly sensitive, any of this could have been inherited. Highly sensitive individuals are born that way. Their nervous systems literally pick up more stimulation from the environment. They are like highly sensitive receivers that pick up all sorts of nuance from the environment in the form of emotion, light, sound, texture and energy. This means they receive more stimulation and possibly more stress from the environment. If their body is deficient in say, gut resiliency, then they may possibly have more physical challenges landing in the gut simply because this is a weaker area in terms of ability to handle the stimulation, which is stress.
In a case like this, we would need to nourish our physical body with food, herbs, supplements or something that can meet the physical body’s chemical needs to build up strength in that area. Once we do this, we are able to handle and process simulation much more effectively because our body is not overloaded and overwhelmed. If the body is balanced and we still feel overwhelmed, then it is an excess of external stimulation and we need to adjust our environment to meet the needs of the way we are made.
Stagnation
Many times, excess and deficiency go hand in hand. Say we have a pain in our neck and we feel a knot of tension there. It could be from repetitive motion (physical), job/family stress (emotional) or too much environmental input (non-physical or psychic). Regardless of cause, it is an excess accumulation. If this spot is habitually the bearer of this neck pain, then the challenge could be compounded by it being, or becoming over time, a weak spot.
To remedy this stagnation, which is a stop of process or flow, we need to first address the accumulated stress. How we do this is up to us. Maybe it’s movement like exercise, yoga or stretching. Maybe it’s addressing the knot directly through hands-on or hands-off therapy. Maybe we approach it through our emotions and that gives us relief. Remember – body and mind go together so releasing emotional stagnation may very well resolve physical issues.
Once we handle the excess, then we shore up any deficiency that has come to our awareness. This could be being more aware of how we move or sit, an adjustment in family or job scenario or shifting our environment so it is more supportive to our being. Dealing with the shortage or imbalance, which is the deficiency, will help us be able to move more smoothly in the future. If we only handle the excess, but do nothing with the environment, whether it is our internal environment or external environment, then chances are we will again be faced with a similar experience.
Stagnation is said to be the root of all disease. By nature, we are designed to flow, both internally and externally out in the world. When something blocks our movement, challenges arise. These challenges are stress, which we actually require to grow. Too much, and we become overwhelmed. Too little and we’re bored to tears. Knowing the just right amount is a process of growth and leads us to wisdom—both in body and mind.
Know Thyself is a beautiful and valuable adage given to us by the ancient Greeks that is a timeless reminder to cultivate an environment where our bodies, minds and spirits can thrive. Using the simple assessment of excess or deficiency in creating flow allows us to more deeply know our own being and what brings us comfort, joy and vitality. May our process find a pleasing harmony with the way we are made!