Holistic medicine doesn't separate the physical body from the emotions or thoughts. From the perspective of a holistic healer, the body's symptoms indicate psychological issues and emotions that aren't being handled properly. Physical pain alerts you to a deeper problem, a sickness in the soul, and gives you an opportunity to address it.

According to Thorwald Dethlefsen and Rudiger Dahlke, authors of The Healing Power of Illness, no ill person is an innocent victim. Every disease originates in an unhealthy emotional or psychological state, and its cure depends on correcting those thoughts, feelings, and resistances. The reason cancer so often returns, even after surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, is that the underlying cause — the precipitating emotion or attitude — has not been removed.

Body Language

Medical intuitive and author Louise Hay rarely mentions chakras or energy centers. Instead, she associates the various parts of the body with emotions. Each part of the body and each ailment has a distinct meaning.

In Hay's system, the throat “represents our ability to ‘speak’ up for ourselves, to ‘ask for what we want,’ to say ‘I am’ etc. When we have throat problems, it usually means we do not feel we have the right to do these things. We feel inadequate to stand up for ourselves.” Even so-called accidents provide insights into emotional conditions. “If you cut your index finger, there is probably anger and fear that has to do with your ego in some current situation,” Hay writes in You Can Heal Your Life.

For example, a few years ago, Meredith's thumb suddenly became very painful, swollen, and stiff, a condition that lasted for several weeks. It felt like her thumb was broken, although she hadn't actually injured it. At the time, she was holding on to a lot of anger toward her ex-husband. One afternoon they were arguing, and a bruise began spreading rapidly across her thumb and hand, even though she was sitting with her hands loosely folded in her lap. When a medical intuitive pointed out that humans need thumbs to “hold on,” she realized the connection. Instantly, the pain and stiffness subsided and she could bend her thumb again.

Magical Healing

Many common health problems, especially chronic ones, get better without any outside medical intervention when the person changes his way of perceiving or responding to circumstances. Asthma, for instance, is connected with unexpressed anger. Lower back pain often goes along with relationship difficulties.

The nasal passages, says Louise Hay, often pinch-hit for tears. Nosebleeds indicate sadness at not being loved and recognized. A runny nose substitutes for inner crying. Joel had a painful argument with a woman he loved. They didn't speak or see each other for nearly a week. Being a tough guy, he couldn't express his sadness, but during that week, his nose ran constantly. Once they made peace, his “allergy” magically disappeared.

In the healing modality known as homeopathy, the practitioner treats the patient's emotional body to relieve a physical complaint. The patient ingests a miniscule amount of a substance — usually derived from plants or minerals — whose vibrational quality is similar to the nature of the ailment. Symbolism plays a key role in homeopathic diagnosis and treatment. This like-cures-like method of healing baffles conventional, allopathic physicians because the dosages are so small they contain no measurable substance. Only the essence or vibration of the healing material is present, which is all that's necessary to treat the subtle energy body.

Acupuncture, massage therapy, yoga, and other forms of energetic healing achieve results by enabling the body's vital force to flow smoothly through the system; the body heals itself. Laying on of hands and spiritual healing inspire a shift in thinking that breaks down blockages related to old beliefs and patterns. New thought forms can then create healthier physical conditions.

As you work with your own energy centers, using healing spells or some other method, listen to what your body tells you. Learn to recognize the meanings behind your own symptoms. Pain is always a cry for help. Visualization, affirmations, and other magical techniques can relieve all sorts of ailments and enable you to manifest the physical well being you desire. The more you understand about yourself and your own body language, the better equipped you'll be to maintain your health.