Energy Work - Part Two
Releasing trapped energy is nothing more than completing a process that has been stalled. You can complete that process at any time. It just takes time, effort, and determination.
Energy work has been an incredibly helpful tool in reconnecting on a mind-body level. It has especially been useful to be able to do it on myself. In fact, I think it’s more effective that way since I know myself best.
Before I jump into this week’s post, I just want to give a personal update.
I’ve decided to do a heavy metal detox. And I don’t mean I’ve been listening to too much Metallica.
Over the last five months I’ve been doing some of the most serious research I’ve done since my college days. I wasn’t ever all that interested in science, but there is a topic that has grabbed my attention and won’t let go.
I came across some alarming information last week, which I’m still digesting. But during my research, I’ve come across articles talking about heavy metal poisoning and its effects, some of which include:
Muscle cramps
Numbness
Brain fog
Headaches or migraines
Weakness
Fatigue
Loss of coordination
Abnormal gait
Anxiety & depression
Chronic inflammation
Microfracturing of bones
Irregular heartbeat
Proximal muscle weakness
Symptoms vary depending on the specific metal. The products we consume and even the air we breathe can be contaminated with heavy metals. An article describes the impact of this contamination:
Heavy metals accumulate in tissues like the brain, liver, kidneys, nervous system, and parts of the immune system. This contributes to the aging of tissues and increases the risk for chronic diseases and cancer. The metals also deplete antioxidants in the body, which results in free radical damage to organs and tissues. [..]
The accumulation of heavy metals and decrease of antioxidants has been shown to cause autoimmune disease, thyroid disorders, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegeneration. Recent studies have shown a strong connection between heavy metals, like lead and mercury, and Alzheimer's disease. An elevated amount of these metals in the body trigger the brain to increase amyloid production to reduce inflammation created by the metals. Unfortunately, increased amyloid production often leads to dementia.
Are Heavy Metals to Blame for Your Mysterious Symptoms? California Center for Functional Medicine
I’ve seen other articles liking heavy metal exposure to osteoporosis and autism.
The body doesn’t easily eliminate some types of heavy metals without intervention. So, I’ve decided to follow my intuition and try a detox. I’ve ordered a few supplements including a chelating agent. I have a good feeling about it. I’ll write a follow up if it seems to be helping.
There is another reason I feel I may have had exposure to heavy metals, and it's something that everyone should be concerned about, but I will save that for a future post.
That’s all the digression for now.
A Caution
My prior post, Energy Work - Part One, took a lot of energy. I wanted to allow some time before writing the follow up post and I’m glad I did.
I don’t want to make this a long section, but I do want to provide a caution. The type of energy work I do for myself involves working within my own body and energy field to break up trauma and stuck energy.
Of course, everything is connected energetically. There’s no way to completely separate oneself from environmental or social influences. However, it’s my understanding that there may be other methodologies that involve channeling foreign energy into the body. I would recommend against this.
By accident, I encountered something like this. I don’t know if it was energy work per se. I don’t want to go into details for personal reasons. But please be careful about what energy you take into your body. Don’t displace your own vibrations for someone or something else’s. When a foreign object enters the body, symptoms of illness can occur. I believe the same happens for our spirit, our energy body.
The purpose of energy work, as I see it, is not a giving of the body to foreign elements, but a reclaiming of it from them.
The good news is, bodies and spirits both have ways of removing foreign substances. It may require effort and change—but change is possible.
Basic Principles
In my prior post, I talked about several different types of energy work. The ones I started with were Dr. Bradley Nelson’s The Energy Code and another book by Rose Rosetree called Cut Cords of Attachment. I mention Rose’s book with reservations because I don’t agree with some of her principles and methods. However, this book opened my mind to the concept of energy structures and what impact they can have on health. It also informed the method I adapted for myself.
When I first started doing self-help energy work in 2016. I was very by-the-book. I kept one or the other of these two books close at hand while I worked, until I had the methods memorized.
If you’re curious, feel free to look them up. I won’t go into detail on their methods here.
What was most important was that they taught me the basic principles I now use:
A method of communicating with the body (Dr. Nelson uses muscle testing, which I adapted for myself).
How to identify the trapped energy (Dr. Nelson uses a chart, but I don’t always find this level of specificity necessary).
A method of release (Dr. Nelson via magnets and Rose via clapping and breathing).
Ending the session by bringing in good energy (Rose does this by “bandaging”).
As I’ve gotten used to the feeling of delving into my subconscious, I’ve needed fewer and fewer of the charts and ritual elements of these methods. I don’t use magnets. I don’t tap or clap. I don’t bandage. I transition, like one would in and out of a meditative state, and the transition has become smoother over time.
As long as I am in an environment where I can focus, I can do energy work. Of course, it’s most effective when I can devote my full time and attention. There are things that can only be found and reached with full concentration. And, too, I’ve sometimes needed to sleep immediately following the deepest releases.
Communicating with the body
Returning to a computer analogy, I’m grateful for user interfaces (UI). I don’t speak Java or HTML, or really any computer language. What you are looking at on screen when you use a computer is an interface. Whether you swipe or press buttons, these are your basic methods of communicating with the device—and what you see is its way of communicating with you. Programmers created this interface to make things easier for you.
We can communicate with our bodies in a similar way—by creating an interface.
Muscle testing (different from applied kinesiology) is the type of interface Dr. Bradley Nelson uses in his methodology. It involves creating an understanding between the mind and the body on how to communicate. One example is the sway test. You establish that the body will sway forward if it recognizes a true statement or sway backward if it recognizes a false statement. Then, you test this with a few simple questions, like “Is the sky blue?” or “Am I ten years old?” In this way, you can ask your body basic questions and receive basic answers. From there, you move on to the diagnostic questions that will help you find out where energy may be trapped.
Normal methods of muscle testing didn’t work well for me, even when I had a practitioner doing the energy work. I don’t know if this is because my disease is related to mind-body disconnect, but that’s my guess.
Instead, in my own sessions, I often close my eyes and pull up an imaginary “screen,” like the computer screens we so often look at. I divide the screen based on the answer I need. Usually it’s best to ask a question with only two answers, such as “Is the problem in my upper or lower body?” In which case, I would divide my mental screen with “upper” on one side and “lower” on the other side. I usually don’t subdivide into more than 4 possible answers or it takes too much focus.
From there, I turn my attention away from the screen and toward my breath. I take two deep breaths, and on the second exhale I ask my body to “point” to the answer on screen. Whichever is more prominent in my mind indicates the selection. I literally feel my eyes move sometimes, so this may be just another form of muscle testing. But one that works!
The important thing is to establish a way of communicating that works simply and effectively.
Identify the trapped energy
Once you have an interface in place, you can begin with a question as simple as “Is there a trapped emotion that I’m ready to release?”
But from there, how do you find out what/where it is?
You can use Dr. Nelson’s chart, if you’d like. I decided to try it by the book again today, since it’s been a while. I asked the following questions:
Is the trapped emotion in Column A or Column B? (answer: B)
Is it an odd number or even number? (answer: odd)
Is it 1, 3, or 5? (answer: 1)
Of the 5 emotions listed, is it an odd number or even number (answer: odd)
Is it 1, 3, or 5? (answer: 1)
Is it located, as the chart says, in my heart or small intestine (answer: yes)
The trapped emotion was “abandonment.” I then asked my body to highlight the location for me. I breathed twice and felt my attention drawn to my left chest, over my heart.
Repeating this with other trapped emotions, I have found that (for me) the location of the trapped energy doesn’t always match Dr. Nelson’s chart. But it did in this case.
Method of release
Once I had the location firmly in mind, I asked my body to let go of the trapped emotion. I breathed twice again, staying focused on that area. If you’re adhering to Dr. Nelson’s method, this is where you would use rolling magnets on your spine. Rose’s method of release includes clapping to enhance focus. I decided clapping was distracting, so I switched to tapping before I stopped doing it altogether.
For me, I simply need to focus on the area until I feel the release. My concentration frees up naturally and I often feel a physical sensation.
After releasing “abandonment,” my chest felt lighter and the physical sense of relief made my arms feel a bit weak. There was also some twitching in my left scalenes and (oddly) my left glutes.
Bringing in good energy
According to Rose, releasing the trapped energy can leave a void. Whenever you move something out, it leaves a place for something else to come in. It’s best to choose for yourself what to fill the void with. I find this is also a principle that applies to other things—like getting rid of unwanted thoughts or freeing up time. If you don’t fill the void with something positive, almost always something unintentional or unwanted creeps back in.
Rose’s method includes a visualization of good, positive things being applied into the space where the trapped energy was. This could be “raindrops on roses,” “whiskers on kittens,” or whatever you like that brings you positive energy. For myself, appreciating the sense of release is often sufficient on its own. It’s a simple, but effective sense of gratitude. But I need to really notice the appreciation and let it change me. Focus on it and let it fill the space inside you.
I've learned it’s also important to pace yourself and take time to process the change. Streamlining the process has made it seem quicker to do energy work. But if I don’t get enough rest, I get irritable and that is what fills the void rather than healing, positive feelings.
Energy Detox
It was interesting, going by the book after such a long time. There are times when the body needs to identify the trapped energy before it will be willing to release it. In that case, the chart is very helpful.
When I don’t want to use a chart or don’t have one handy, I can sometimes ask my body to recall a word or image associated with the trauma.
One time, an image flashed to mind. It was a dark room and an angry face. It felt like my body was trying to recall a blocked memory. I don’t have a clear recollection of what it was, but my intuition tells me it was related to some trauma I experienced in fifth grade. I had a teacher who would read to us in the semi-dark classroom after recess. I loved the stories. We were allowed to draw while he read, which I also enjoyed. But one day, something traumatic happened with that teacher that I can no longer remember. All I know is that I came to my mom in tears, not wanting to return to school. It felt unsafe—as if I had suffered psychological abuse. My mother pleaded with the principal and got me transferred to another fifth grade class. Part of me wishes I could remember, and part of me doesn’t want to. That face in the dark and the semi-dark classroom after recess—they feel tied together.
As a side-effect of energy work, I often have lucid dreams. Dreams where I’m driving and the car won’t stop no matter how hard I push on the brake. Dreams where I’m wandering through “grandma’s house” but it’s a sprawling forty or so mismatched rooms. Dreams where I have to grocery shop and my mind takes me through detailed assortments of products and departments. Dreams where I have to order at a fast food restaurant but I can’t read the menu and there’s a line behind me.
Family members sometimes make appearances at much younger ages—two, eight, and ten. I remember vividly seeing my sister as a toddler in a dream that happened a few months ago.
I get nightmares, too, and I’m just grateful that the bad energy is leaving me via dreams rather than coming in. At least, most of the time.
Types of stuck energy
I won’t pretend to be an expert on how many types of trapped energy there may be, but I’ve experienced at least three different kinds.
Dr. Nelson’s book is geared toward emotions—specific instances of “sadness,” “betrayal,” and “anger.” To my understanding this can be any emotion that is too powerful or too crowded out so it can’t be processed in the moment it is felt. The body says “I can’t make sense of this now, I’ll come back to it later.”
I’ve also experienced general information overload as a type of trapped energy. For example, when I was a kid we went on family roadtrips and I went into a “mode” where I absorbed all the details. I didn’t want to miss anything. The funny sign on the side of the road. The flavors of saltwater taffy that a specific store sold. The humidity and temperature. The taste of fries and soda. I wanted to “save” my experience to savor it later. After cherished events, I even journaled some of these kinds details to preserve them. Collecting details was like collecting buckets of pretty stones and shells so I could later decide which ones to put on display. But what to do with the ones I didn’t decide to keep? They got stored.
A third type of trapped energy is addressed in Rose Rosetree’s book “Cut Cords of Attachment.” Cords of attachment are a type of energy structure tied to relationships. These cords become especially evident in toxic relationships, which can quickly drain one’s energy or trigger certain reactionary behaviors. If you feel like a different person from relationship to relationship, you may be affected by cords of attachment. If you find it difficult to forgive someone, you may be affected by a cord of attachment. It’s a linking energy that keeps relationships trapped—so that walking away doesn’t give a feeling of closure, communication feels stifled or ineffective, or there’s a sense of codependency.
Potential limitations
As a note, cutting cords of attachment isn’t going to resolve relationship issues. It isn’t going to change the other person. It isn’t going to change your reactionary behaviors. However, it can relieve past trauma caused by a specific person if your body is ready to let go. Cutting cords of attachment may be most helpful in relationships that you intend to walk away from or where both people are committed to trying to improve.
Energy work can make it easier to change patterns of fight/ flight/ freeze but it can’t break those patterns for you. Only action can do that. For example, fighting social anxiety has been a mix of releasing old trauma and making courageous choices. Things are slowly getting easier and I just move forward one step at a time.
Energy work also may not be helpful for people who already process their emotions and thoughts freely. There are some really resilient people out there (and I don’t mean people who pretend not to care). People who are resilient emote and bounce back quickly. I’m always really impressed by those kinds of people and I hope I can get closer to achieving that kind of resilience. It may always be difficult for me because of how sensitive I am. My biggest enemy is information overload. But people process things differently and I think diversity is a beautiful thing.
Conclusion
Just to summarize, what doesn’t get processed in the moment gets stored to be processed later. This includes emotions, information received by the senses, and energy between partners of a relationship. All of these trapped energies have a location in the body, but certain conditions must be met in order to release them:
You need to have a perception of the trapped energy.
You need to be willing to finish processing it—whether through emoting, embracing pain, or taking an action (like forgiving, walking away, confronting a fear, etc.)
You need to give yourself permission to let go.
With these conditions met, you are ready to do the work of release.
Releasing trapped energy is nothing more than completing a process that has been stalled. You can complete that process at any time. It just takes time, effort, and determination.
If you have tried other kinds of therapies or tools and you are not seeing results, why not give the tool of energy work a try?
With love,
Ordinary Girl