The Emotional Body
Psychoneuroendocrinology may sound like something straight out of a sci-fi movie but it is the interdisciplinary approach to “psycho” – psychology, psychiatry; “neuro” – neurology, neurobiology; and “endocrinology” – the study of our hormones. In a nutshell, the way in which our thoughts and emotions can affect our nervous, endocrine, immune systems and overall physiology. It is the butterflies we feel in our stomach before taking an exam or the racing heart when we see someone we are attracted to.
Psychoneuroendocrinology is a fairly new discipline that fuses together a range of health sciences that had previously overlooked the significance of the emotions in the onset, deterioration or improvement of disease. Stressful triggers, or our inability to adequately process them can be indicated in cases of asthma, eczema, digestive disorders and cancer.
One of the interesting things about this branch of medicine is that it helps us to understand, not only the way our emotions affect our own bodies, but also how our emotions can affect or be affected by others. For example, the hormone oxytocin is produced during breastfeeding. This conditioned response, the oxytocin reflex or “letdown reflex” may be produced when a nursing mother hears her baby cry or thinks about her baby. If the nursing mother is emotionally overwhelmed or in pain, the reflex may stop.
Traditional medicine places a great emphasis on the power of the emotions and their connection to the physical, mental and spiritual bodies. Many healing systems map out the various emotional centres of the body and the way in which they can be affected by ill health. One of the most widely recognised is the chakra system. The seven chakras are energy centres along the body that interact with one another and allow us to receive, transmit and process the universal life force energy. Each chakra resonates and vibrates at a different rate. When the chakra is not resonating properly, we may experience disharmony or disease.
A simplified explanation of the chakra system is: root chakra (stability), sacral chakra (relationships), solar plexus chakra (individual power), heart chakra (love), throat chakra (expression) , third eye chakra (intuition) and the crown chakra (higher consciousness).
Anatomically, the chakras correlate to the various intricate clusters of nerve fibres or plexus originating along the spinal cord. For example, the celiac or solar plexus is located at “the pit of the stomach” just under the diaphragm. The fibres of the solar plexus stimulate the smooth muscle and glands in the stomach, small intestine, liver, spleen, pancreas and kidneys. It plays a key role in our flight or fight stress response, sending signals to other parts of the body to make physiologically changes in preparation for a threat or injury – an unhealthy production of hormones associated with stress, increased heart rate, decreased digestion, suppressed immunity. This includes, not just actually threats like being chased by a lion, but also perceived threats to our identity, relationships or wealth.
Depending on the individual’s story, a light cranial contact with the solar plexus may reveal heat or a tightness if there is a high level of stress in their life or in their past. As this chakra is associated with personal power, a contact with the feet may help the individual with a sense of “standing in their power”. Sometimes it may be necessary to just tune in to the body from the feet because the emotional attachment at the social plexus is too sensitive. Over time it may become possible to make direct contact with the solar plexus, if necessary.
Psychoneuroendocrinology highlights the need to take a holistic approach to health and healing. Our emotional, mental, physical and spiritual bodies are not separate entities. Our emotions can have as much of an effect on our immunity as sitting in a doctor’s waiting room. During Cranio-Sacral Awareness Week, we will look at three emotional centres and the way in which they can be suppressed through injury or trauma and addressed during treatment.
