Migraines and Your Feminine Soul
Dear Life Practitioners,
Did you know June is migraine awareness month?
“Our bodies are a map of the universe, a holographic anatomy that contains the whole of existence within each of its parts.”
Even if you have never had a migraine this blog offers you Soulful wisdom. One billion people or 1/8 people suffer from migraine worldwide. Chances are, you know one of them. Migraines are both invisible and extremely life-altering. I can say with honesty that there has been no bigger influence in my life than living with migraine. They have and continue to impact every decision I make from what I eat to when I exercise, socialize & sleep to how I use screen time, perform in the world and think of myself. No matter what the plan migraine management is always front and centre.
Migraines are at the forefront of research and the hunt for a biomarker is strong. What used to be brushed away as a headache or a ubiquitous "stress response," is now recognized as the world's second-largest neurological disease. Dr. Elena Gross is blazing the way with metabolic research indicating that in addition to neurovascular & neurochemical routes, migraine is also a metabolic deficiency. Dr. Elena says, "When the body doesn't produce enough energy for the migraineur's excessive brain function the brain shuts down. It is literally the perfect storm." In this way a migraine attack also becomes a lifesaver.
While I support and follow the latest bio medical research I believe migraines tell an even bigger story. The story of the feminine Soul. Here are some of the ways I see that happening:
Migraines challenge the ego’s persona and break down its need to feel separate from the body. Through limitation, pain and disability migraines create a deep connection with the body. The body and the feminine Soul are intimately interconnected.
Migraines force stillness, slowness and silence. These are the feminine Soul's top three love languages.
A migraine-conscious life keeps the body close to what comes from Mother Nature. Processed foods, additives, chemicals, alcohol, late nights, excess, not eating on time or enough, poor sleep hygiene & dehydration are all known migraine triggers (to name a few). The body, the feminine Soul and Mother Nature are intimately related.
A migraine-conscious life keeps the mental and emotional bodies pure. Emotional drama, anger, fear, false guilt, shame, lies and delusion, etc (lower egoic functions) and the inauthenticity that follows are known migraine triggers. The feminine Soul and the emotional body are intimately connected. The feminine Soul craves authenticity.
Migraines teach acceptance, patience, tolerance, balance, honesty, compassion and Self-love. These are all soulful ways of relating to oneself and others.
In looking more deeply at the energetic or subtle body. A migraine attack is primarily felt in the 5th and 6th energy centres or chakras. These centres, located in the head and neck relate to the movement of sound and light. According to the energetic laws of the natural world, the soul is considered a vibration, resonance, pulsation or sound and spirit is considered a light wave. In the body these translate neurochemically through food, drink, environment, feeling or sensation, tone and light. When these two primal life forces (sound and light) are not biologically balanced and in harmony, a migraine will attack.
If you or someone you know suffers from migraine I encourage you to look at the energetic patterns giving rise to the body's "perfect storm." Similar to nuclear medicine, in energy medicine it is understood that the subtle body informs the physical and mental bodies. While a pain pattern, such as a migraine attack, is felt in the physical body AND there are physical changes that mark the onset of a migraine, a disruption in the subtle body is the origin point. Research shows that in the earliest stages of migraine onset, there is a slow wave electrical impulse called, “cortical spreading depression,” which starts at the front of the brain and moves toward the brainstem. If this electrical charge reaches the brainstem, migraine symptoms become systemic making the attack near impossible to treat. Early intervention is essential for treating a migraine attack.
Migraines have been a part of documented medicine for thousands of years. While we don’t want to take migraine treatment back to the dark ages of evil spirits and bloodletting not all of what was understood about migraines back then was off base. For example, in the mid-1880s, physician and author Dr. Edward Liveing referred to migraines as nerve storms. As someone who lives with migraine and studies them, I agree with the experience of nerve storms completely.
The two biggest nerve influences in a migraine attack are the vagus nerve (12th cranial nerve) and the trigeminal nerve (11th cranial nerve). The vagus nerve runs up from the gut to the brainstem. It is part of the parasympathetic system responsible for communication with the digestive system, the heart, the lungs, the immune system and mood. The trigeminal nerve runs from the brainstem into three branches in the face and is responsible for sensory motor communication to the face, sinuses, jaw and head.
In a migraine attack, these nerves are hyper-excited, agitated, over-firing, or inflamed. When a nerve is agitated, it releases neurochemicals that enhance the body’s inflammatory process. These chemicals include calcitonin-gene related peptides (CGRP), acetylcholine and substance P, to name a few. While the terminology of a “nerve-storm” might be outdated, it sounds like Edward Liveing was providing an accurate description of migraine pain today.
Nerves are the body, mind and soul’s main communicators. All sensations and in the case of migraine, pain sensations whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual are communicated through nerves. The nervous system is known to take in millions of bits of information per second. This information comes to us from both the outer world through our skin and sense organs and through the inner world of digestion, heart rate, blood pressure, mood, etc…
According to the subtle body of energy medicine the information that comes to the nervous system can be broken down into smaller bits known as meridians, nadis, and chakras. These subtle body super highways connect us to the elemental or subtle body of the natural world as well as to our own internal subtle bodies. Have you ever wondered how the weather triggers a migraine? The way the elemental subtle body of nature communicates with the internal subtle body of us has been studied for thousands of years. We see it in:
Traditional Chinese Medicine (Qi Gong, Acupuncture, Acupressure, Herbal Medicine, Cupping, Reiki, Shiatsu)
Yoga & Meditation (Prana movement, Embodiment, Breath work, Mantra, Asana, Sound healing)
Ayurvedic Medicine (seasons, weather patterns, herbology, Doshas)
Indigenous and Shamanic traditions (drumming, plant medicine, spirit retrieval)
Energy Psychology (EFT, EMT, Tapping, Biofeedback therapy, Therapeutic touch, Matrix energetics, Quantum & DNA healing)
Our bodies are a map of the universe, a holographic anatomy that contains the whole of existence within each of its parts.
These alternative medical models connect us to the subtle body and the elements of Mother Nature. Our Soul’s subtle body, Mother Nature and the feminine Soul are one and the same.
While migraines are the second leading cause of disability worldwide, their field of study, research and understanding, like Mother Nature, have been historically under-represented. Much of this has been due to the complexity of migraine and to the male-dominated field of medicine. To study migraines is to study the nervous system and women. Eighty-four percent of migraine patients are women. Up until the 19th century when the field of neuroscience developed the function of the nervous system (intimately related to the emotional body) was considered inferior to its structure. Similar to Mother Nature and the feminine Soul, rather than being understood as an essential communicator between all body parts the nervous system was given a less than status in research and medicine. When a complex neurological disease, such as migraine, causes debilitating pain, it was, at one time, easier to dismiss it as “an emotional disorder” rather than recognize and own that the nervous system is the communication hub of the entire body, mind, and soul paradigm. We now know that a properly functioning nervous system is essential for every body function, in the same way that a thriving network of mycelium is essential for a healthy ecosystem.
In my journey with migraine of 50 years, I have found that change on one level of the body, mind, soul triad affects all levels. I have also found that the subtlest understandings have been the most precise and the most influential in changing the pain complex of a migraine attack. For example, during a 9-day intractable migraine with very little sleep, I started to feel many unproductive emotions, including rage. While we may think of rage as part of the emotional body, it is also part of the mental, physical and spiritual bodies. It is also communicated through the nervous system. Remembering that change on one level of the body, mind, soul triad brings change on all levels, I focused on what I could do and began working with energy medicine. Specifically by tapping the meridians designed to reduce rage. I also practiced yin breathing and listened to several guided meditations.
By reducing the neurotoxin of rage I was able to sleep and function at a much higher level for the remaining days of the attack. Before that, I had been bedridden. By seeing the body, mind, and soul as layers a migraine attack becomes an opportunity for greater personal growth, understanding and consciousness. It is another piece of the migraine puzzle.
Migraines are a complex neurological disease. They have hundreds of triggers and are as diverse as the 1 billion people who live with them. The nervous system is as physically tangible as it is metaphysically intangible. Communication is about making sense of information. Communication is the role of the nervous system and it is the role of the subtle body in energy medicine. When information is clearly communicated, there is the opportunity for new consciousness and for healing. Healing is the heart of Mother Nature’s feminine Soul.
If migraines significantly impact your life and you believe you have tried everything or you are curious about how your Soul influences your migraine attacks, I would love to connect with you. I offer a monthly online meeting called The Migraine Alignment Collective. It is Soulful wisdom for painless living for people living with migraine. You can pre-register here.
"Now we enter the kingdom of magic...the Fibonacci series (0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13 etc..) and we approach the golden ratio (1.618..), seashells, aloe polyphylla... the pyramid of Giza...the golden ratio is not only pleasing to the eye, it is built into us; literally an expression of our oneness with nature, a wholeness, a profound connectedness of all living things." Alan Lightman- The Transcendent Brain
