Working
with Chronic and Life Threatening Illness: Part VII
The fifth chakra is in the throat area which governs our ability to express ourselves, to speak what is truly in our hearts. Often there is a disconnect or block between the flow of energy from the heart chakra to the throat chakra. Leaks in the will center also can adversely effect one’s ability to assert oneself so it important to consider the interplay among the various chakras. There are many messages in our culture as to what is acceptable behavior and what our role should be depending on our class, gender and race. Often as children, we are taught that what we have to say is unimportant or we are unworthy of being heard. This belief and the energy connected to it may be carried with us deep into adulthood. Sometimes we overcompensate for wounding in this area and over express ourselves – dominating the room and taking up lots of space with irrelevant chatter.
Chronic physical conditions that are associated with the throat chakra are TMJ, stuttering, and chronic hearing and sinus infections. One can almost see a veil or vise over this area tightening as one struggles to bring to voice that which has been suppressed. As the desire to speak from the heart grows, the part of oneself that emerged in childhood to protect oneself from condemnation and ridicule, takes over blocking true expression, and at times, causing physical distress. When I have worked with someone who has TMJ, it is important to understand and release the beliefs that hold the energy of suppression in place or the pain may intensify. Thus in this situation it is best to employ both a cognitive and energetic approach. Sometimes fear of expression gets stuck in the throat area and a more acute representation of this fear emerges as a bad cold or sore throat keeping one from attending an important meeting or family event where what is expected of one is in conflict with what one truly feels. It is not uncommon for the block of what one truly want to express to be so entrenched that it is not even in one’s conscious awareness.
