Have you seen the meme that shows what we think a spiritual awakening looks like versus what it’s actually like? If you haven’t, visualise the expectation of sitting cross legged in a meditative state looking Zen, versus being a quivering emotional wreck with a blanket wrapped around you. That’s why I love memes. Hilarious and accurate!
The process of unravelling decades of conditioning, expectations, belief systems and the “who we should be” isn’t always a delight. In fact, discomfort is a more appropriate description. It’s pretty courageous to leave the beaten path and try and figure out who you actually are underneath all of the meticulously curated expectations that we place on ourselves. But oddly, it’s usually that discomfort of not living one's truth or pretending 'everything is okay the way it’s going' that lead clients to our door. The act of making an inquiry or an appointment takes courage and a willingness to change which is a shift in itself. So, what is the role of your practitioner once you decide there’s another way (possibly more authentic way?) to live your life?
The role of a holistic practitioner is to provide a safe and supportive environment where you as the client, can explore the depths of every aspect of your being. To embark on a holistic journey is to acknowledge that a comprehensive approach to your wellbeing is necessary to create lasting change, rather than just targeting isolated symptoms. In doing so, the body naturally heals. It’s good like that.
Kinesiology is an all-encompassing process which supports the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of your being. As such, the process involves a 50/50 approach. The modality requires participation. We can only go as deeply as you are willing to meet yourself in a session. For some, this is a truly transformative experience, for others it’s a step on the journey. There is no right and wrong to where anyone is on their journey, and I encourage and support clients to honour where they are at – it’s all valid. Sometimes a thought, emotion, sensation or visual can come up in session and it is always relevant to the issue being worked on – communicate this with your practitioner!
A kinesiology balance requires the addition of feedback from the body related to the presenting issue. The presenting issue is rarely the cause of the issue, but it does help to trace the issue back to its roots. This is a multilayered process and when working with energy the results are dynamic. Shifts can occur instantly or can happen more subtly over a slower process requiring integration. It all depends on what your body is ready to experience. Remembering that everything you have done up until this point is valuable and has been an important step on the path. Kinesiology may be just another step, but it could also be the thing to help everything prior to this point fall into place and deconstruct the Jenga tower!
This is where the onion analogy comes in. At first, we may have a logical insight into why we think, do or behave in certain ways. This is one layer of the issue. As we go further on our journey of self- discovery, we may begin to feel the emotion, thought pattern or belief system associated with the issue, we may feel this emotion and release tears, we may deeply experience an insight viscerally in our body (I like to think of this as something “landing” for us) or we may have a physical response. Each person is different. A few months or years may pass, and the issue may have been resolved. Then seemingly out of the blue, something may trigger us, or the issue may resurface in some way, and we may think we are back to square one. In actual fact, and I say all of this from my current understanding and experience, we are ready to heal the issue on a deeper layer. The layer or onion analogy for healing is similar to the learning process (and as I’m discovering, the writing process). In school there was “rote learning”, memorizing knowledge or facts to tick a box, then if we were lucky, we would understand that knowledge and then over time if we were even luckier, we would gain wisdom into how to apply and understand that knowledge on a deeper level, which generally comes over time and application. To simply even further, when we are children, we are told to wash our hands. We may not understand the concept of germs, but we do it. As we grow and have more capacity for understanding intellectually, we begin to understand why it is so important to wash our hands and apply that to our day-to-day routine and throughout the day where appropriate. We learn to discern when it is appropriate.
The further down the path of self-inquiry you go, the more personal growth, self-awareness and transformation you will experience (regardless of what modality). Your practitioner will use the techniques they are equipped with to bring to your conscious attention the thoughts, emotions, belief systems and other facets of your being which need to be addressed, all through direct communication with your subconscious via biofeedback from your muscles.
Whilst the role of your kinesiology practitioner is to remain as neutral as possible while working alongside your body, there may be times where you are prompted with questions which can cause discomfort. This is done so gently and with compassion, to give you an opportunity to explore the aspects of yourself you may have been unaware of, avoiding, suppressing, denying or dissociated from. When we really look into these aspects, there is potential for massive shifts within our psyche. When we lean in or embrace the discomfort with curiosity instead of judgement, we become open to learning more about ourselves and the interconnectedness of our aspects, leading to more authenticity, which in turn fosters healthier and deeper relationships.
During the healing process, if you feel discomfort, try to discern whether or not it is resistance to shifting a long-standing pattern of energy that is hesitant to shift. Note sabotaging thoughts such as “this isn’t going to work for me”, “what’s wrong with me?”. Notice it for what it is, a thought pattern that is most likely an element of resistance. Our subconscious wants to keep us safe and there is nothing safer to it than the known, even if that “known” is causing us real mental, emotional or physical pain. Once we notice that the thought (no matter how recurring) is resistance, try giving it a wave, maybe even welcome it like an old friend. You can try being playful with this part of yourself “ah, hello discomfort, you delight!”. Often times before I’ve experienced big energetic shifts there is one last effort from my subconscious to hold on to the “old way” before releasing and breaking through to a new layer or level of breakthrough. Discomfort, I imagine is like the birthing process - through it is the only way.
There may be times where you feel out of your comfort zone and that is very normal. Learning to discern between resistance to change and non-resonance is important in this work. Your practitioner may have to bring up uncomfortable concepts at times, but it is done with love and non-judgement. Our role is to support you in remembering your wholeness and that means integrating all parts of you. Our role is to teach you how to read your own map. Your body holds the key to any answer or issue you may be facing – nobody else. Our role as practitioner is to hold your hand as you figure it out for yourself. I believe this is one of the most empowering experiences you can have; to experience a revelation within rather than have an answer provided to you. Our role is to support your empowerment. This is where true transformation unfolds. With that being said, maybe let’s not shy away from discomfort, it holds some pretty juicy opportunities in the pursuit of personal growth!
If you would like to explore this idea further, come in and see me in the clinic! Our beautiful Maylands cottage offers Kinesiology and Neurofeedback to support you on your health and healing journey.
Warm Regards,
Lisa McGuinness
Kinesiologist & Neurofeedback Practitioner