I decided to write a blog post about this particular topic today
because guess what? Last night, it hit me - the creeping, crawling sensation that is Restless Leg Syndrome. It's miserable, sleep disturbing, and just overall annoying. I can't recall the last time I suffered with restless leg-like symptoms. This episode seemed to spring up out of nowhere and I needed it to go away as rapidly as it had appeared.
What is Restless Leg Syndrome anyway? The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines it as "a neurological disorder that causes unpleasant or uncomfortable sensations in your legs and an irresistible urge to move them." (https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/restless-legs-syndrome)
As the picture above states, it can be a feeling of pulling within the leg muscles, itching, electrical-like impulses shooting through the legs, sensation of bugs crawling underneath the skin, aching, or even painful throbbing. The symptoms run the gamut. For me, it was this irresistible urge to stretch my legs as far as I possible could and then, when you think they can't stretch any farther, keep stretching. My legs also felt extremely sore to the touch. I tried pulling my toes toward me, massaging my thighs, pulling my legs into my chest, actually sitting in the floor and stretching them as I would in yoga practice. For a moment, I felt relief, but as I crawled back in bed ready to sleep, the creeping need to stretch began again ad naseum.
As someone who specializes in (and is innately intrigued by) the mind-body connection, I knew there must be more to my sudden, unexplained bout of RLS. I flipped on the bedside lamp and pulled out my worn copy of Heal Your Body by Louise Hay. If you don't have a copy and are interested in this sort of topic, I highly recommend the read. It is incredible. Louise Hay states that the root cause of health problems, like restless legs, are subconscious self-limiting beliefs that are stuck on repeat and lead to unhealed emotional wounds, which then manifest as physical issues. So why now, at midnight, did my subconscious decide to start running a negative pattern?
Digging deeper into her book, leg problems are usually associated with not being able to move forward in life. That didn't really resonate with me. As I continued reading, I was reminded that internal restlesness is often caused by energy and emotion that need to be dealt with regarding a specific person and are being repressed. Bingo! It was like a lightbulb went on in my head. THAT is why I'm having these restless legs!
Not to belabor the details, but there is a relative that I have recently been feeling a lot of pent up feelings toward (resentment, controlling behaviors, general dislike, feeling underappreciated or used, that type of thing,) but for reasons that are too much to go into here, I am unable to bring them to the person's attention because they would react poorly and it would just not be an ideal situation. I have been repressing my emotions for a long time now, honestly without realizing how much, and it was manifesting as restlesness in my legs.
Thankfully EFT works great for this type of thing, so I immediately started in with a tapping script, using my "sore spot" instead of the karate chop point because this issue felt particularly emotionally responsive.
Sore Spot: "Even though I am feeling this restless energy in my body, I choose to love, forgive, and accept myself and anyone else that is contributing to these negative feelings.
Sore spot: "Even though I am experiencing restless leg syndrome and cannot sleep or stop needing to stretch my legs, I choose to forgive, love, and accept myself and (person's name) who is causing me this discomfort.
Sore spot: "Even though I am experiencing restlessness because I am repressing my true feelings, I choose to love, honor, and forgive myself.
Top of the Head: "This restless energy."
Inner Brow: "I am repressing my feelings."
Outer Eye: "It is not safe to express my feelings to this person for fear of their response."
Under the Eye: "I always have to bite my tongue."
Under the Nose: "I can't ever state my true feelings."
Under the Mouth: "I am sick of holding my emotions in and feeling so restless!"
Collarbone: "I am tired of feeling controlled. I am tired of feeling inhibited."
Under the Arm: "I would love to give this person a piece of my mind."
Back of the Neck: "I didn't realize how angry I am toward this person for the way they behave and the way they treat everyone."
I did two full rounds with these type of statements followed by the 9-Gamut Technique and took a few deep breaths. I could tell my energy had shifted and to be honest, I was focused not so much on my legs at the moment, but more on the frustrated energies I was feeling toward this person. I did another set-up statement with the sore spot and moved through two more rounds of tapping on the repressed emotions and the inability to speak my mind that I have when around this individual.
To my surprise, after three full rounds, the restless leg syndrome was gone and with it, a lot of my ill feelings toward this relative. I generally felt more at ease. This is a powerful example of just how the mind and emotions or traumas you may be holding onto subconsciously can have an impact on your physical well-being. Hope this article helps anyone else dealing with a difficult family member, RLS, or any combination of the two. Happy Tapping!
Mountain Bird Mindfulness & EFT
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