Emotional Anatomy of the Neck and Chest

Heart and soul—the center of courage and self-love

The breastbone starting at the center point at the base or sternum—this is the area where bravery, courage, and pride tend to manifest themselves. What’s also there is self-love. You’ve heard—“Mary has a warm heart to do such a thing.” Or… “Barry has the courage to take on a big challenge in life.”— The energy of courage manifests itself in the ribcage right behind the sternum bone, sometimes referred to as the heart chakra.

By contrast, when a person has a depressed or compressed ribcage, that person decreases their capacity to experience not just self-love, but feeling cared about. Even though other people may care about them, one lowers their capacity for experiencing and feeling that love by closing the ribcage down. They limit their capacity to express caring and courage in life.

Here’s more: You will find that a person has a greater capacity for self-confidence if their ribcage is higher and fuller. As you go higher to the upper part of the breastbone you discover the part of the body that one holds the energy to stand up for one’s self. This is different from speaking up for yourself, which is higher, at the base of the throat, but standing up for one’s self. The energy of courageous compassion is what I’m talking about.

Picture a mama bear with her cubs and how protective she is over them. Imagine the unbridled fierceness that the mama bear has if some other predator or intruder gets near her cubs. She’ll kill that person, that other animal, to drive them away even if it means the cost of her life.

For you and me, this manifests itself in our willingness to take a stand for what we believe in for our, a cause, or for a person we really care about. That energy comes from this part of the ribcage—open it and you’ll expand. Compress it and you’ll be hesitant to speak, or stand, up for yourself, your loved ones, your livelihood, your cause.

The next area is just above the breastbone at what is referred to as the suprasternal notch, at the base of the throat. That is speaking up for one’s self.

When this area is open and free, you’ll be much more willing to say what’s on your mind, to express your truth, and you’ll be able to say it without hesitation. Certainly, tact and talent are part of how the delivery occurs, but the willingness to make the communication in the first place—that shows up at the base of the throat. Open it and you’ve got freedom. Close it and you’ll notice constriction and hesitation.

In fact, the chest and throat tend to close down when a person is making an uncomfortable communication. Imagine someone clearing their throat, coughing and facing down slightly. They’re trying to open this area so that their truth can come out. When this area is open and free, your message becomes much clearer, especially to yourself.

The ego gets stored in the neck. When the neck is rigid, short, pulled down, stiff, and pitched forward, the energy flow for that person gets constricted. When it’s constricted, it prevents the person from being realistic about who they are to themselves and to others. In the absence of a realistic self-view, people tend to paint a picture about themselves to camouflage the absence or confusion their self-esteem.

When you open this area and bring freedom back to your neck, not only your self-confidence, but also your self-perception is much more likely to be accurate, give you a sense of confidence, and one that is compatible with how other people actually perceive you. It’s likely to also complement how you fit into the universe you’ve built around yourself.

In conclusion: Self-love, self-confidence, courage, caring, and compassion are close cousins in the emotional body. The healthier you become, the more open and free your body will want to become. Today, make the commitment to stand up and speak up for yourself or someone or something you care about. You just might change the world!

Emotional Anatomy of the Face and Jaw

The face stores a wide variety of emotional energy. Stress, worry, joy, gladness, and passion—you can see it in a person’s face. What happens in a person’s history, or if the person doesn’t allow themselves to experience those feelings resulting from events, is, stress or something else builds up in particular muscles… Then you can see anger, un-cried tears, grief, stress. You can even “see” un-communicated thoughts when a person has pursed lips or clenches their teeth.

Anger and resentment, seething and vengefulness are stored in the jaws. Many of us know someone who seems angry most of the time. Look at their jaws. Are they tight? Bulging with veins? Short temper? Is that person overly reactive to the slightest provocation?.
The stress we store in our face and jaw can be harmful to us. Facial stress can age us prematurely. It can rob us of the sparkle in our smile, affect our speech and breathing, and send confusing messages to our friends and loved ones.
Many times, emotional stress can work the other way around as well. We can resolve a personal issue with a professional therapist. Sometimes, however, the person, or the negative energy from the issue may remain stored in the muscles of their body. So, in a sense, the emotions keep re-creating themselves because they haven’t been released from the body.
When a person is experiencing a Facial Reposturing® treatment, sometimes, a person may emit a tear when the facial muscles are stimulated and release latent emotional energy. Some people notice a dramatic and visible result when they come out of their Facial Reposturing treatment. They have a bigger, brighter smile that comes from the new freedom of movement they feel in their cheeks.

When you release the old tension patterns from a person’s face, what happens is the natural authentic self begins to shine and radiate from the person. Their smile looks more authentic. Their eyes are brighter. There’s a quiet confidence that comes to the countenance of a person’s face. Even if the person still has some unresolved issues—they come to a point when they, at least, no longer store it in their face.

There’s a natural, unforced mirth that shows in a person’s cheeks as a result of releasing the tension patterns that get stored in a person’s face. It becomes physically and structurally possible for them to experience authentic joy. Aliveness, peace of mind, radiance, and enthusiasm is the proof on the face of a person whose soul is free.

Introduction to “Journey Through Your Emotional Body” series

Different parts of the brain control and respond to different parts of the body. In a similar way, different parts of the body store and transmit different types of emotional energy.

Many of the phrases that exist in our language testify to the type of emotion that is stored in different parts of the body. Such as “pain in the neck” when someone is bothersome. “Weak in the knees” when a person feels like they have trouble confronting the truth, especially when it comes to an authority figure. “Shouldering responsibility” the shoulders happens to store authority. Or when someone has the guts to do something, courage comes up from the abdomen and moves through the chest into the center of bravery, courage and pride.

There are different aspects of our emotional-selves that deserve as much attention as we pay to being fit and looking good. Consider the energy required to heal your body when it is wounded or has a condition.

Starting at the top of the head, face and jaw, The “Journey Through Your Emotional Body” series will be an analysis based on observations from my clinical practice over 20 years and commentary from my clients and my discussions around each area.

Welcome to the world of Reposturing where the mind, body and sprit are considered as one. On Friday November 20th, look for “Heart and soul—the center of courage and self-love” the emotional anatomy of the neck and chest.