Bridging the Mind and Body for Profound Change
Some symptoms live in the body. Others live in the mind. Most are rooted in both. When we work with the emotional and physical together, healing runs deeper and lasts longer.
A Long History of Pelvic and Hip Pain
A woman in her late twenties came to see me with pelvic pain she had carried since her teens, especially during menstruation. Her hip pain had worsened over the years, and she had long felt limited in her mobility. Intense mood swings often left her drained and worried about the future..
She had been seeing a psychologist for emotional support and a physiotherapist for her physical pain. Both had helped, but she was ready for a different approach..
How the Nervous System Holds On to Stress
From a Western perspective, the nervous system governs our fight or flight response and can become stuck in a state of chronic activation. This prolonged stress response reduces the body’s capacity for both physical and mental functioning.
In Chinese medicine, this state is seen through the Kidneys. The Kidneys store the essence and govern the balance of yin and yang energies that support our resilience and vitality. When this energy is depleted or held in protective contraction, the body’s natural wisdom and flow of qi are blocked.
When qi is locked away in this way, healing slows down and the body remains stuck in survival mode instead of moving toward restoration.
Releasing Qi and Opening the Body’s Gates
The emotional storehouse can strongly restrict the free flow of qi and movement. When emotion is held tightly in the body, especially around the hips and pelvis, it creates blockages that ripple through every system the menstrual cycle governs — affecting a woman’s whole health.
In her case, the pain stored in her hips and pelvis was more than discomfort. It was a clue to her power, waiting to be accessed. Becoming more in touch with her emotions brought her a new sense of safety and ownership of her body, something that she and most women don’t realise, until it’s restored.
We cannot fully account for how deeply emotions influence so many bodily processes. Often, we don’t consciously realise these emotions are there, but we feel that something is not quite right. Talking can only go so far, the body itself needs to shift.
Over twelve weeks, we worked with body-based processes, Chinese medicine principles through the channels, and gentle emotional inquiry. Together, we released qi that had been held for years, moved trapped emotions, and reopened the internal gates that allow life force to circulate.
As qi began to flow freely again, her body shifted out of storing and moved toward healing.
The Transformative Power of Somatic Work
Somatic approaches teach us that when the body is met with respect, patience, and curiosity, even long-standing imbalances can change. Whether from illness, injury, or chronic stress, releasing stored patterns allows the nervous system to settle and the body to find its own path toward repair.
Bit by bit her body softened. The pelvic and hip pain eased until she realised she could jog without discomfort. She learned to meet her menstrual cycle with awareness instead of dread, adjusting her lifestyle to support each phase.
More Than Physical Change
The transformation went beyond the physical. She began to feel safe in herself, trusting her choices, her intuition and creativity in ways she never had before.
When she first arrived, menopause was not on her radar. By the time we finished, she had developed a deep understanding of her menstrual cycle, appreciating it not just as a monthly rhythm but as part of a larger life cycle that stretches from puberty through post menopause.
Respecting and tuning into her body’s natural cycles at any stage creates a foundation of support that eases every transition in a woman’s life. After all, they are cycles — ongoing, evolving, and deeply connected to her wellbeing now and into the future.
Mind and Body Are One
Her story reminds us that mind and body are not separate. They meet in the nervous system, in the rhythms and cycles, and in the stories we carry. When we work with both, anything is possible.
With Love,
Anny
