Five Bodies Yoga - Self-healing

1. What do I mean by self-healing?

In order to relieve or resolve discomfort as effectively as possible, with Five Bodies Yoga, we work on balancing imbalances in all of our bodies rather than just addressing the problem in one body.

1. In the mental body this is the dissolution of false beliefs.
2. In the emotional body this is the release of stored negative emotions (engrams, or in Sanskrit: samskaras).
3. In the pranic body this is removing energy blockages in the energy channels and harmonizing the different energies in the body.
4. In the physical body, this is the release of physical limitations, ailments, and illnesses and the achievement of fitness.

2. How do illness and suffering arise?

Trigger warning... I (or the spiritual scriptures, actually) am offering you a perspective on how illnesses arise that you may not have heard of and that may contradict the belief you have about it. That's why... as with all the knowledge you'll find on this site, just take what feels right to you.

So... in general, imbalances, blockages, illnesses, and suffering originally arise from:

1. Ignorance (or unconsciousness) about the true nature of our being and how creation works (-> we are, in our essence, spiritual beings made of pure consciousness, light and love, who are on earth to have experiences). Hence..
2. Identification with the bodies instead of the true Self. Hence..
3. Attachment to pleasant experiences (including people, etc.) and rejection of unpleasant experiences

Sutra 2.3 "Ignorance (false understanding), identification with the changeable, attachment, rejection, and fear of death are the causes of suffering."

Btw, in Tibetan medicine, these are also seen as the causes of illness.

Graphics Brain

To understand this better, an example might help:

So I identify with my body (or bodies) because of ignorance... For example, I am a bus driver who does a lot of sports, had a difficult childhood with certain traumatic experiences, is rather introverted, likes to eat cherries, etc. This personality exists in the world of forms (matter, energy, emotions, thoughts), whose basic characteristic it is to change over time because change is the only constant in the world of forms.

So, if this bus driver experiences a certain level of fulfillment, for example, when he is with a certain other person, then he will strive to repeat that experience - which in itself is not a problem. But the problem arises when he begins to attach himself to this experience/person - i.e., when he makes his own sense of happiness dependent on this person. If such an attachment has arisen and suddenly it is no longer possible for him to be with that person for whatever reason, then suffering arises because the fulfillment projected into the object outside (=in this case the another person) can no longer be experienced.

If he continues to create this pain within himself over a longer period due to corresponding thoughts (e.g., I am not worthy of being loved; that's why I was abandoned by this person), imbalances can arise, which over time can lead to illnesses. Continuing with this example, one may, for example, develop lung problems as a result of grieving the loss of a relationship because the lungs are one of the organs that are often affected by the emotion of grief.

Now, when you go to a Western medicine doctor, he usually only sees the symptom and doesn't know why that symptom shows up in the first place. He then often tries to kill it with chemicals, without realizing that it is trying to give the person a hint of a false belief that has finally come into the physical body.

'If the various chakras are blocked by negative thoughts and emotions, this can subsequently affect the function of the corresponding organ, gland, or region of the body, and disease and physical suffering can therefore manifest.' - Swami Paramahamsa Nithyananda

I would also like to mention that it is quite common for souls who come to this planet to no longer know who they really are - this is even a basic requirement for being able to have certain experiences here. As a result, it is also common for one to identify with the bodies and therefore become attached to certain things and reject certain other things, instead of simply seeing everything as an experience that one is currently having and letting the corresponding emotions simply flow freely through the energy system. It takes a very highly developed awareness and mastery over the body to really be able to live this in any situation.

3. For further understanding

What most people also don't realize is that our emotions are like a compass. Any thought that isn't in line with the view of the Higher Self creates a more or less negative feeling in the emotional body, depending on how distorted the view is, as we already learned in 3. Follow your heart.

If you feed untrue or negative thoughts over a longer period of time and create corresponding emotions, as already mentioned, imbalances can occur in the body's energy system. Also, if you don't fully express certain emotions (=don't let them flow out of your body system completely) or if you have an intense experience that you can't fully process (=trauma), emotional energies can be build in the body and problems can arise as a result.

An example of the energy/emotion 'Anger': An old woman is driving her car very slowly in front of you for some time, and there is no possibility of overtaking. For example, you might think to yourself, 'Why are you doing that? Just drive faster, old lady!' This thought may create the emotion 'anger'. But by not expressing the emotion of anger that you have already created, you are creating a problem within yourself as you are storing up this emotion in your body system. So if the anger energy has already been created, you should at least express it in a way that doesn't cause further harm.

A healthier way to resolve this situation would be to take on a higher perspective and look at it with compassion, such as thinking, 'This is an old woman who probably doesn't see that good anymore. It's just not that easy for older people to drive faster.' or 'I can't do anything about this situation right now anyway, so I'll make the best of it and just enjoy driving slower for a short while.' In this case, I didn't create any anger energy in myself, nor did I ruin my mood, and all of that simply by looking at the situation differently.

But if you choose the negative view again and again and don't change that over a certain period, the higher self has to take further steps to be heard. The signals then ultimately come to the physical level so that you can actually see them, for example, in the form of pain, illnesses, and accidents - yes, exactly, accidents are not just a coincidence but also have a (karmic) cause. We create our reality through our perspectives (our minds)!

Sutra 2.13 "As long as karmic roots remain, they are expressed as different life circumstances, life expectancy, and types of experiences."

Important side note: This, of course, doesn't mean that one has to just accept every kind of negative behavior from others; it's important to set your own boundaries and act accordingly when these boundaries are overstepped.

So you see that 'diseases' in themselves are not bad - they are there to make us aware of something we are not aware of, to learn something, or to have a certain experience.

So now you know what illnesses are really about, if you weren't aware of it before. From now on, observe your thoughts more often, what emotions they generate in you, and what these emotions then do to your energy and your physical body. The more consciously you observe these processes, the more you will become aware of the impact negative thoughts have on your body system and your life in general.

4. Five Bodies Yoga - Self-healing

In the 'Self-healing' part of the Five Bodies Yoga basic exercise series, we become more and more aware of each of our bodies (so that we can then more easily move away from identifying with the respective body), we free it from built-up blockages, and we optimize its functionality. We start with the grossest level and then move further and further into the subtle.

Over time (also as a result of the 'study of the scriptures', through which we can acquire higher perspectives), we become able to recognize incorrect perspectives and their consequences in our body systems and replace them with higher ones more quickly .

Sutra 2.11 "Through meditation, we can calm and eliminate the thought waves caused by the causes of suffering."

It should also be said: Basically, every healing is self-healing, even if you are apparently healed by a healer (or, for example, a tumor is removed in an operation by a doctor). Because... in this case, the healer only acts as an authority that causes one's own being to give itself permission to allow the desired change (=to heal). However, if the disease still has a purpose to fulfill or the being is not willing to really allow the change, then it will not be possible to cure it (or, for example, the tumor will then come back).

You may be wondering now... but what about babies and children who have illnesses?

No soul comes to this planet with a 'blank slate'. In such a case, the baby/child has brought this illness with him/her in its 'energetic baggage' from previous life(s) (=cross-incarnational karma). This also allows the soul to have certain experiences that it can only have in this way.

Sutra 2.12 “The basis of suffering is the reservoir of consequences of actions (=karma) that is experienced in the present or future life.”

What exactly is meant by the 'view of the Higher Self'?

In truth, you are an individualized aspect of the Creator (God). This aspect has, so to speak, temporarily left its 'home' (which is the highest consciousness, light, and love) in order to have certain experiences. After a long journey (which to some extent led to the opposite of your true nature), you are now getting ready to return home. And... it's not just you yourself who is this light and this love - everything that is, is in essence this light and this love!

BUT... because we are identified with the forms of creation, we still experience absolutely real suffering in our bodies, and our experiences often do not feel as if there is light and love behind them. Nevertheless, it is the case - all experiences originally come from the light and love of the source of all being and serve our soul on its path.

Any view you have about yourself and creation that is not matching with the view that you are a being of highest love and light, in a creation that is also that love and light (=the view of the Higher Self), creates a more or less negative state of being.

Now you may be wondering: But how can all the terrible things that are happening in the world be love?

We are all essentially Light and Love in our essence, but until we have never experienced anything else, we do not know our full potential for creation, nor do we fully appreciate our essence. That's why we (among other things) came to this planet into duality, to also experience all facets of the opposite of our true selves.

When the soul has had enough of these experiences (and thereby learned more about itself), it can make its way back 'home'. Over time, step by step, it becomes more aware of who it really is, and all this with the immeasurable wealth of experiences (for itself and the entire creation) that it was able to gain through its experiences in duality.

In this way, the soul can then achieve real wholeness: the shadow has been integrated into the light (which it is) and non-love into love (which it is).

So should I now spend all my time and energy healing myself?

The ultimate goal of every soul (but not for every soul in this incantation) is self-knowledge and returning to its natural state of supreme bliss. Clearing the body system is very important (and for many souls a necessary process on the path to self-knowledge), but in the end it mainly serves to become ready to achieve and maintain self-knowledge.

It is appropriate for most people to clear some blockages, but the main goal should always be kept in mind. Also... healing the body system from all existing blockages is an often endless undertaking; it is not necessary to clear all the blockages that are in the body system in order to progress on the path of self-knowledge. By the way, deep healing often happens on its own the more you return to your natural state of being.

How does self-healing work?

I would like to mention this point because self-healing often doesn't work the way many people imagine it to. Yes, it often happens that certain blockages are released while practicing the exercises, but very often it happens differently. The blocking energies are first just brought further to the surface through practice and can only subsequently dissolve over time.

This dissolution often happens, for example, through certain external situations that you suddenly find yourself in after the healing work, which have the potential to get certain energies flowing again, to release pent-up emotions, and to change distorted perspectives. It can also be that certain new people suddenly come into your life and old relationships dissolve, that you find new teachers (for whom you may not have been ready before), etc. So be aware of what is happening in your life when you work on yourself. It's interesting to see certain connections.

What does science say about it?

The Japanese scientist Dr. Masaru Emoto has shown in his studies (see his book 'The Hidden Message of Water') that our thoughts, emotions, and words have a direct effect on the structure of water molecules. If you then consider that the human body consists of around 70% water, it becomes clear that we ourselves determine the structure of the water in our own body.

To illustrate, each of the following water crystals was exposed to the corresponding word:

Love and gratitude:

Picture of water molecule

You disgust me:

Thank you:

Picture of water molecule

His research also shows how the structure of contaminated water changes when exposed to positive thoughts. The pictures below show the structure of the water from the Fujiwara Dam before and after it was subjected to the prayers of a Buddhist priest for 1 hour.

Before:

Picture of water molecule

After:

Picture of water molecule

This shows that our thoughts, emotions and words influence, respectively actively determine our own health.

Further scientific evidence can be found in the so-called 'placebo effect'. With the 'placebo effect', a certain number of sick people in clinical tests recovered when given 'placebo medication' simply because they believed that they had received an effective medication for their symptoms. In reality, for example, they were given a pill made of sugar. So these people are ready to be 'cured' and just believing that they can be cured by a pill causes the disease to dissolve. This is, of course, a problem for western medicine, as according to their teachings, such a thing should not exist.

For more information check out the book 'You Are the Placebo' by Dr. Joe Dispenza as well as the New York Times bestseller: 'Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself' by Lissa Rankin, M.D.

Dr. Joe Dispenza and Dr. Bruce Lipton have also done further studies on the effects of thoughts and emotions on the body. For example, Dr. Joe Dispenza documented how the immune systems of 117 test subjects improved by around 50% by doing gratitude meditation every day for a certain period of time. Another experiment in this regard is documented here: UCSD: Water, Blood, and the Microbiome

Now it's time for: 1. The Physical Body