Working with the movement of the body we can begin to see patterns develop in what presents as chronic aches and pain. All things are in a constant state of change and movement but we often use the physical body as a way to hold a idea of something we believe to be inherent about ourselves and the world around us. Beliefs that we acquire from our life experiences can become fixed and inherent such as; “everyone is out to hurt me”, “no one loves me”, “I am a bad person”. To make this delusion part of our reality we will hold tension in certain muscles to mirror the state of mind, literally making the physical body and its movement an open book to our attitudes and beliefs. Over a long period of time these patterns of muscular holding become second nature and we are no longer aware of the constant state of tension. We have no idea why we have that lower back pain, frequent headaches, etc. This segmental armoring interferes with the natural movement of energy, including emotions and is the internal cause for distress in our body.
Looking at the Tibetan view of the Five elements we can get a deeper understanding of the five delusional states of mind that cause distress in our bodies and our lives as well as the antidotes they provide. Ultimately the antidote they provide is the wisdom of the impermanent nature of all things, that all phenomena is interdependently arising and empty of any independent, inherent nature.

Conventionally we can see how the five delusional states of mind cause distress in the body by looking at general and basic patterns of armoring that can often relate to them. Working with the body, ideas and attitudes that feel fixed and “real” will change and soften making way for new experience.