Digestive complaints, fatigue, anxiety and back pain are conditions most of us have experienced on their own or simultaneously. In the Western world, we have been conditioned to phone a doctor or seek out medical care for our ailments, hoping that an over-the-counter pain pill will cure all. Often times it will-but only temporarily-and reactive treatment to heal our physical body is actually problem-based healthcare. Instead, we need to retrain ourselves to maintain an ongoing awareness and balance of mind and body, generating a higher sense of well-being and overall satisfaction with our health.

Seven Senses is an approach to looking at health and illness as a practice of self-exploration, as opposed to a problem in need of a solution. Through retreats or private consultations, patients learn how the chakra system of the subtle body influences their physical health and gain tools to achieve a greater sense of well-being and prevent future illness. When we start to approach our health through this lens, there are no limits to how we can feel. Well-being becomes more than the absence of physical ailments, but rather optimizing our physical, emotional, mental and energetic experiences. We can create the kind of health that radiates into all areas of our lives, transforming our careers, relationships, communities and beyond.

After decades of experience as a Naturopathic Doctor, nurse practitioner, Reiki Master, massage therapist, clairvoyant and yogi, I developed Seven Senses to work with patients in a more integrated and empowering way. As opposed to approaching our health as a series of physical ailments requiring medical attention, it becomes a gateway to understanding the self and true wellness. Below is an overview of the Seven Senses philosophy, which anyone can adopt simply by developing a deeper understanding of the chakras.

So how does it work? Most people come to see me with physical or mental complaints which can be addressed with physical tools, such as medications, nutrient supplementation, dietary changes or botanical medicine. However, if we want to ensure that these issues do not recur we need to understand the energies that preceded them. Those physical symptoms guide us toward a particular chakra, where we begin the exploration of how and why the dysfunction began. So if you have a persistent medical condition or complaint, it may be time to look toward the subtle body for a deeper level of self understanding. This is the foundation to create a new and sustainable state of health.

Here is an overview of the developmental path of the subtle body:

• The root chakra develops from conception through about 7 years old. It is our foundation and associated with our survival needs.
• The sacral chakra develops from age 7-14 when the emotional body develops. We learn to express feelings and creative expression.
• The solar plexus chakra develops from age 14-21 when the mental body develops. This is the source of our confidence, power, self-trust and will. In this phase of our lives we develop self-limiting beliefs about what we are and are not capable of.
• The heart chakra develops from age 21-28. This is where love lives and we learn to cultivate love for ourselves and others.
• The throat chakra develops from 28-35 and we deepen our ability to express ourselves. Keep in mind that what and who we express relies on the healthy development of all the previous layers of the subtle body.
• The third eye chakra develops from 35-42 and we gain the transpersonal understanding that we are all playing a variety of roles in our lives. This is also where our foresight develops.
• The crown chakra is the last part of the subtle body to develop at 42-49 years old. Here we develop the awareness that we a part of something so much bigger and greater than ourselves.

The chakras are not physical structures but they are associated with locations on the physical body and can be correlated with physical ailments. Before anything comes into form on the physical plane it exists as energy, which is why the chakra system can provide great perspective for preventative health. With the sensitivity to understand the subtle sensations of the energetic body, we can respond to our needs before those subtle vibrations become illness, dysfunctional relationships or poor life decisions.

In the coming months, we’ll explore each of the chakras and the associated physical ailments, so stay tuned to learn more about the Seven Senses approach and how you can apply it to your own health and life.

In the Western world, the concept of energy is still quite foreign and few of us are familiar with the concept of the subtle body. The subtle body is the part of ourselves that yogis, Chinese medicine practitioners and traditional eastern practices often reference. It is the part of ourselves that can be felt but not seen. It’s like walking into a room and feeling a certain vibe; the subtle body is full of vibration, emotion and information, and many of us can feel it but do not know how to use it to actually change our experiences.

Just as our physical bodies develop throughout the lifespan, our subtle bodies have their own developmental path. The energetic body begins developing when we are conceived and grows in its own dimensions as we age on the physical plane.