The Issues are in the Tissues

For a little over two weeks now I have been working on flexibility. It is my belief that the body reflects the Soul, and as such the aura and related blockages tend to manifest in physical body issues that, if not addressed, can become exacerbated over time.

For example, someone who has had a life-long issue with a blockage in their throat chakra will at first find their neck sore, have tension headaches, develop seasonal allergies, experience a sore and/or scratchy throat, or have other irritating but manageable problems that come and go. However, if the blockage continues unresolved, major issues such as thyroid problems or worse can develop.

In my case, my issues tend to be in my hips. My hips are tight and inflexible in certain positions. I also often get female menstrual symptoms in that area that can be quite uncomfortable. Often, when the Kundalini rises, I have residual soreness in my hips and lower abdomen. All of this points to my lower chakras – first and second specifically – being out of balance.

Recently I have also noticed I have horribly tight shoulders. This is a high heart chakra related issue but also directly related to the hours I spend at a computer or huddled over my Iphone. As a CPT and trained in muscle imbalances I know that my tight hips and shoulders are connected and to fix one I have to also address the other.

My goal, then, has been to work on my tight shoulders and hips at least twice a day. Typically I begin with foam rolling and follow up with deep stretches. This regime takes about 15 minutes, twice a day, sometimes more depending on how stiff I am. If I am working out that day, then I do two more stretching sessions, before and after my workout. Yeah, that is a lot of stretching.

As a way to measure my progress I am focusing on my deep squat, or yogi squat. I am unable to go deep into the squat because of my tight hips and calves. The only way to remedy this is to continue to practice a modified version of the yogi squat consistently and over time the muscles will get use to their new positions and adjust. To give you an idea of how bad my squat is, I have to hold onto something in order to get all the way down, otherwise I fall backward if I go below parallel. Currently, I can do 1 minute at a time before my hips begin to bother me and I have to stand up. I should be able to 4 minutes without holding onto anything for support. So I have a very long way to go.

Here is an article about the yogi squat you might find interesting. If you also struggle to get low into the squat the article can help you figure out why and give you steps to address it.

When it comes to shoulders, my goal is to be able to sit in cow faced pose without discomfort. I am able to manage the seated portion fairly easily (yay!) but the arms/shoulders are another issue. I cannot, no matter how hard I try, grab my hands or fingers in the back. I have to use a towel and even then my right shoulder is very stiff when I come out of the pose. So, like with my hips. I have to work out the knots first and then do some deep stretches to loosen up my chest and shoulders.

Cow Faced Pose 

While also stretching twice a day I am now sitting differently and changing the way I move. When I need to bend over and get something, I squat to do it, even if it means that my heels are off the ground. When I sit at my computer I sit in a low seat that forces my calves into a flexed position. When I am in bed on my computer I sit cross legged for as long as I can or take butterfly pose. So far, these daily lifestyle changes seem to be making the most difference. Not that the stretching isn’t helping, it is, but lifestyle changes put those stretches to use.

In the end, just working on the physical issues is not enough, I know that. An old saying that was often said when I was in massage school applies here – The issues are in the tissues. When I was in massage school I was giving and receiving at least one deep tissue massage a day. I soon discovered that I had bouts of crying and other intense emotion that would come and go. This, I was told, were the issues releasing as my body healed. Pretty awesome, huh? So, I am certain that as I address my current flexibility issues that issues will arise for resolution in much the same way.

Get Flexible! 

Anyone want to join me? You don’t have to do my intense regime. You can simply devote 15 minutes a day to stretching. I also recommended getting a good quality foam roller and some lacrosse and tennis balls which are great for working out knots in places like the chest, shoulders, lats (underarms), back and other harder to reach areas.

Below are some of the tools I use:

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Foam roller – Triggerpoint
GoFit Roll-on Massager – I love this tool! I got mine at Academy but have seen it at Target, too.
BodyGlove massage bar (they have one on the GoFit website, too) – great for quadriceps.
Double ball (for thoracic spine/back)
Not shown – tennis ball

If you have no idea how to use these tools, check out the how-to videos here. There are also tons on YouTube. Basically, you roll a muscle area (thighs, back, calves, etc) and when you feel soreness or sensitivity you stop and hold firm for 30 seconds. Then follow with 30 seconds of stretching for the muscle you just foam rolled.

Here are some videos I recommend for stretching:

If you decide to try this, give it at least 30 days. You will be tempted to give up because if you are tight some of the poses will be uncomfortable (they should never hurt, though). I break a sweat from the intensity sometimes, especially those stretches involving my hips and shoulders. Ugh! But, you should begin to notice you are less stiff as you progress.

Good luck and let me know how it goes! I will be updating with my own progress over time.

Dream: My Heaven – No Entry

Interesting night of dreams.

Lucid Dream: Chest on Fire

I suddenly became lucid. I was standing in a suburban neighborhood in a cul-de-sac. There was a car on my left as I approached some people standing on the side of the road outside a house. Everyone of the people in the group were African American and I recognized that I was different from them but didn’t care. My main focus was finding my “daughter”. I remember thinking, “Do I even remember what she looks like?”

Not long after that thought I saw her and rushed up to her, wrapping my arms around her and hugging her tightly. I told her how much I loved her and called her my daughter. I asked her how she was doing as I pulled away and saw her looking to her left and behind her. I turned and saw another young woman, probably about 14 years old approaching. When I saw her I knew she was my daughter, too, and that she was very sad. I opened my arms to her, inviting her into a hug. She fell into my arms and I told her how much I loved her, how beautiful she was and not to be sad.

When I pulled away I looked at this young woman and marveled at her beauty. Her hair had been relaxed and straightened and was pulled up tight at the top of her head, cascading down around her in a neat little shoulder-length bob. Her skin was flawless and glowing but her eyes told another story.

I motioned to the woman sitting in the car to my left and told the young lady, “Never forget how much you are love. She loves you.” It felt like the woman in the car was the mother. I touched the mother figure and was surprised to find her very, very pregnant.

I hugged the young woman again and told her, “It won’t last forever. Just feel the love. Just feel it right here (putting my hand on her chest). You are always loved.” I believe she was crying but can’t remember seeing any tears. What I do recall is that I could feel all her sadness and pain. I took it on as my own and began to cry with her.

My hand was still on her chest but I could also feel the pressure of it on my own chest, right between my breasts. The pressure was focused and distinct to the point that it almost hurt. I began to physically feel an intense heat there. It got hotter and hotter to the point that I felt I would not be able to bear the heat much longer.

The heat and pressure spread over my entire body and eventually woke me up. I could still feel it lingering as I rubbed the tears from my eyes. I have never felt heat like that before. It was so real, so physically hot, that I was certain my bed had caught on fire.

Dream: Surgery

This dream was very long. It took place mostly in a hospital. I was to get cosmetic surgery on my stomach area and had checked in. I was awaiting surgery, first in my room, and then in an operating room.

There were several “interns” tending to my needs and talking to me about my up-coming procedure. One was familiar, a tall, blonde male of slender build. There was discussion about what to expect from my surgery. They gave the surgery a name but I don’t recall the name now. Instead I remember seeing in my mind what would happen. They would take a flap of skin from my abdomen, double it over on top of itself to make my entire mid-section more firm and tight.

While I was waiting, my sister stopped by. She was an intern at the hospital, too, and was surprised to see me there. She gave me more information on the surgery and then left, wishing me luck. I remember knowing my sister in this life was nowhere near being as smart as this sister and marveled at how different she was in the dream.

I ended up staying the night and being taken back to wait for surgery the next day. The same group surrounded me and I asked if I could make a change to my surgery and get breast implants. They said it shouldn’t be an issue but I still seemed to wait for a long time. I remember wandering to an area with a very old computer and rotary phone. I realized it had long been abandoned by the staff and looked through the files, curious at the time capsule I had found.

When the doctor arrived I was placed on the operating table and left awake as the surgery took place. It took no time at all and I remember being left naked on the table for a long while, my new body looking like Barbie it was so perfect.

Eventually the blonde male came and took me from the operating room. I knew he wasn’t meant to because he sneaked me out. He seemed romantically interested in me but I didn’t mind.

He took me to the cafeteria to get some food and ordered us cookies. We were each given two cookies and then there was a third cookie also. I remember asking him, “Two cookies?” He nodded “yes”. I took mine and began to eat them. So did he.

Then we were in the shower together, both of us naked. I recall seeing his nakedness and noticing his arousal but not caring because I felt safe with him and knew he was a gentleman. This is where the dream ended.

As I woke I was hearing someone (the man from the dream perhaps?) asking me, “Do you know how beautiful you are?” There was a conversation that followed but I was too tired to remember it. Mostly I remember that he was trying to tell me that no matter how old my physical body gets, I will always be beautiful. I also think he told me that he was there to help me.

Prior to falling asleep I had asked again to be shown my Heaven, or where I would go when I died. This time I think my question was answered.

Dream: My Heaven – No Entry

I found myself in a beautiful garden, beautiful beyond any place I have seen on Earth. There was a crystal blue, shimmering stream running down the center. It shined like it had diamonds or crystals in it. On either side of the stream was vivid green grass dotted with flowers of all kinds. People dressed in white and with glowing skin were walking about, mostly in pairs, some holding hands, others arm in arm. Groups of people were sitting among the flowers and others under the massive oak trees that had shimmering fruits hanging from their branches. Beyond the trees were rolling hills that went as far as the eye could see.

In the center, crossing over the crystal stream, was a golden bridge. In the middle of the bridge stood a man who, to me, felt like “God”, but I knew this concept is incorrect but the closest approximation my mind could come up with. I watched as he met those who had arrived into the garden in the middle of the bridge. He spoke with them, telling them what their path would be while they were there, and then granting them access.

I saw a young blonde woman dressed in white walk up to the man on the bridge. The gatekeeper, as I will call him, barred her way into the garden. In that moment I shifted perspectives and became that woman.

The tall, gorgeous blonde man was fantastic in appearance. His skin shimmered as if covered in diamonds. His eyes were a vivid blue and his hair, straight and blonde, flowed down to his mid-back. He wore all white and was a good two feet taller than me, making him at least 7 feet tall. When he spoke to me my inclination was not to question anything he said but accept it fully and comply.

I wish I could recall word-for-word what he said but I became extremely lucid at his words. They echoed in my mind as I tried to capture them and their meaning. I do remember he said that my purpose was back on Earth, assisting my “family”.

When I heard him tell me, “Your purpose is not here” (meaning I could not come into the garden), I initially accepted it without question and turned to leave. Then I began to wonder to myself, “What did he say?”  So I turned and with my mind asked him, “Say that again?” He repeated himself and his words were odd inside my mind, like musical but also booming and not of this Earth.

In this short period of time as I pondered what was happening the scene began to de-materialize and the garden slowly faded from view. The man, however, did not leave my mind/thoughts. Upset, I remember hearing that I was not meant to walk the path I once thought I was here to walk. Instead, my main purpose was to my family, which I interpreted to mean my husband, children, mother and siblings.

Interpretation

I believe the first dream was me visiting my daughters from another life or parallel lifetime. It felt like I crossed over, into this other dimension, with the purpose to check on them. The empathic connection I had was amazing as was the heat I felt in my chest that spread to my entire body. I’m not sure exactly what to make of the whole experience, though.

The second dream about a surgery is probably a result of my recent considerations about getting some cosmetic procedures done to correct some physical imperfections that are the result of growing older. Mostly these ideas are coming out of sheer boredom and wanting something interesting to do with my time but they also arise from a sense that my youth is slowly fading away. The message in the end was that I am beautiful no matter what. The dream could also be symbolic of healing, specifically to my mid-section where my second and third chakras are located.

The final dream seems to be a direct message to me that I am not yet meant to go to my Heaven. My firm belief is that Heaven is whatever we want it to be, so on some level I see Heaven as a magical garden. I must also think that there is someone acting as a kind of gatekeeper. This probably stems from my Christian background where people are said to stand at “the gates of Heaven” and from there are either granted entry or not based upon their good deeds on Earth. The appearance of the gatekeeper in my dream reminds me of my many dream encounters with Andromedans. They are usually very fair skinned and appear similarly to the gatekeeper man. It seems that my dream Heaven is not based upon “good deeds”, though. Instead, entry is granted when a person’s mission on Earth is complete. I am told in no uncertain terms that my mission is not yet complete.

As for my purpose being to assist my family, my guess is that it not just my biological family members I am assisting.