FIRE HELD WITHIN THE NECK
Balancing fire in the body-mind
Inner fire. We have all felt it one way or another. It goes by many names depending on which level of the self it is described. From the emotional level we might call it anger, rage, irritation, agitation, frustration and even excessive joy. From the physical level it is called redness, inflammation, heat, blistering, acid reflux and digestive fire. From the mental level it can manifest as a piercing rigidity, fierce intensity or passion. Fire can burn us, cause us to overheat and is the fuel of transformation. Some people love fire, while others fear or avoid it. It is neither a good or bad thing, but rather simply an element of nature.
When it is utilized and balanced it creates harmony within, but when it is repressed or unbalanced it can be destructive. It needs to work in synergy with all of the other elements. Water cools of fire, earth gives fire something to burn and air enlivens the spark. Water without fire is excessive wetness and drowning, earth without fire is dense and overgrown, and air without fire is unexpanded and stagnate. All of the elements work together, even though we might have propensities towards one or the other.
Fire is dynamic.
It is the aliveness principle of life that is manifested through movement. Think about how the flames of a fire dance. This is its function in your body too. When our fire is squelched we can’t digest or move our food properly through our intestines, our immune response is weakened and our metabolic functions slow down. On an emotional level when our fire is low we don’t feel passion or joy, not knowing what excites us it is hard to move forward and it feels like nothing ever changes. We are slow to take action even when action needs to be taken.
On the other side of the spectrum when our fire is excessive or out of control we might have constipation, our heart rate and pressure increase, our joints might become tight and our muscles inflexible as heat burns up the inner water needed for smooth movement. We also tend towards inflammation. When our fire is high we might find it hard to stop and sit down, burn ourselves out easily, get grandiose about our ideas and overly focused on doing rather than relating to others. We are quick to take action and react, sometimes too quick.
Some people have an aversion to fire because of its intensity.
They may have felt the burn of their own or someone else’s fire, which has created an avoidance or suppression of it. For others their fire defines them. They think those without fire are weak or lazy and can’t understand why everyone isn’t more like them. As you can see we need fire, but we need it in balance. It is nearly impossible to have defined boundaries, know who you are and make change and transformation in your life without it, however too much fire starts to burn down your body and your life.
SPINAL CORRELATIONS
Lower neck & upper back tensions
While any emotion can impact and be held anywhere within the body there are areas within the spine that have a propensity to store certain emotional information. The lower neck from the 5th cervical vertebrae down to the 2nd thoracic vertebrae is an area that often holds the tension of anger. This can be a place where we, 1) represses our inner fire, not letting it move or express. This will create rigidity in the area, along with tension in the upper trapezius muscles that might extend into the shoulder areas and sometimes down into the arms. There might be sharp pains that radiate if it is more of an acute situation or a dull constant ache if it has been going on for some time.
On flip side of the coin this can also be an area where, 2) excess anger is expressed. With this we might see the head jutting out far forward of the body almost as if a person is speaking from this area. There isn’t an issue with expression here, in fact it is more often that the expression is not tampered or tamed and consideration isn’t taken for the whole of one’s self or others involved. There may or may not be tension, but there is often an increased density of tissue in this area. It might feel hot to touch, swollen, inflamed or just irritated.
Let’s talk about fire and the heart.
Fire has a special affinity for the heart. Think about this through the lens of fire being passion, joy, direction, movement and expressiveness. Fire brings with it a sense of mission and purpose. It guides us, directs the way and shows us the path movement by movement. Fire knows where it is going even if it doesn’t know how it will get there exactly. When un-interfered with there isn’t much that stops fire. Same is true for the heart. When we don’t feel like we know what we desire or feel stuck in taking action it may be because our fire is smothered, held back or we are avoiding it. When this is the case we might feel tension or stiffness behind the heart area in the middle of our thoracic spine. There might also be a general sense that this area is out of our somatic or body awareness, meaning it is hard to feel, find, move or breath into it.
A beauty occurs as we move into regulation of our inner fire.
When we start to express it where it needs to be expressed, while taking action in the direction of our calling, and also cooling it where it is out of control and learning to lean into relational connection rather than doing and dominance, we rest more and more into the natural expression of the heart. There is an honesty that comes from getting in touch with our repressed fire and a humility that comes from regulating our untamed fire. Again neither is better or worse, they are simply polar expressions of the same core element, an element which is part of each of our constitutions and which we can’t live without.
Because the mind and body are intimately woven it is helpful to remember that as you walk this path of regulating your inner fire, your body can’t not but respond in some way. Whether it is learning to express your inner fire or tame it, the cells, tissues and their communications within your body will be impacted. It could be that your muscles relax, your joints become more flexible or your digestion and elimination improve. It could also be that your glands secrete their communication with more regulation and your heart and its pressure and strength find variability and balance.
Nothing happens in isolation. Everything is interconnected. Each person’s story and journey is unique to them for how they have arrived here in this moment in relationship to their inner fire and how their body has learned to respond it. This is a constantly moving ride. Nothing is set in stone and nothing ever stays the same. Fire teaches us this power of rapid and complete transformation that can occur at any moment and which can completely revolutionize the experience we have in our life and of our body.
Dr. Amanda Lalita Love, DC, MSAc, L.Ac
Network Spinal Chiropractor & Heart Coherence Specialist at the Sanctuary for Heart Magic, a Mentor for Heart-Led Healers at Soul Luminaries & the Writer of The Everyday Divine.
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