How to Decipher the Secret Language of Your Body
- May 28
- 12 min read
Written by Jazmina Mba Gonzalez, MD, MIP, Jungian Coach
Jazmina Mba Gonzalez is a former aspiring surgeon turned medical intuitive specializing in chronic pain unresolved by conventional medicine. She bridges science and soul through her Shadow Alchemy Method, helping clients release pain and awaken their body’s innate ability to heal.
Your body is always speaking to you, but most of us were never taught how to listen. When symptoms appear without a clear medical cause, it can feel frustrating and isolating. In this article, you will learn what those symptoms may actually be communicating and discover practical tools to begin a conversation with your own body that can open the door to deeper healing.
When medicine doesn’t have the answers
The mysteries of the human body have gradually, over time, been solved thanks to the miracles of modern medicine and science. However, there remains an elusive area that often baffles medical experts, the moments when a patient comes in with symptoms, and all the tests, the scans, and the physical drivers that might reveal the origin of that symptom come back normal. The patient insists that something is wrong. They feel it. But the physical mirror says otherwise. There is no “real” reason why the symptom exists, but it is there nonetheless.
Research confirms just how common this experience is. According to a 2024 article in Psychology Today, medically unexplained symptoms account for 40% of primary care visits in the United States, yet a biological cause is identified only 25% of the time. This is not a new phenomenon. Research published over two decades ago showed that among the most common reasons people visit their primary care doctor, only 10 to 15% of those symptoms are ever traced back to an underlying organic cause within a year.
Various factors can contribute to these numbers, everything from the experience of the clinician to the rarity of a disorder that requires an array of additional tests to find a physical cause. But regardless of the physical root, every symptom carries a message. A message that comes from a language the body speaks, which most of us are never taught to learn. That language comes from a space that speaks about our inner world, our mental, emotional, and spiritual state, regardless of our spiritual beliefs. The parts of ourselves that we may subconsciously push away because it is not the right time to deal with them, because we fear the changes we must make, because it is too traumatic to remember, or because the thing we most desire feels too intangible to hold onto.
Even when we believe we are doing all the “right things” and still experience illness, the body remembers these truths about the parts of the world that cannot be seen physically. Since the body has no other way of communicating, it presents us with symptoms that have an uncanny similarity and representation to what is going on in our inner lives.
As a physician and medical intuitive, I walk both worlds simultaneously, seeing how the physical responds to the energetics behind it all, to the stories and experiences that my clients have lived and are living. A beautiful dance is constantly happening in their lives, often unbeknownst to them. My clients ask, "What does this all mean? Why aren’t my symptoms going away? What is my body trying to tell me?" In this article, we are going to explore some of the answers to those questions so that the body feels heard and healing is on the horizon.
How your body speaks to you
In the world of medical intuition, every single symptom has an origin, not just a physical one, but an energetic source of information. That source tells us about a person’s journey and how it has caused the body to manifest illness in a specific way, at a specific time, and why it may not have responded to treatment, or why everything continues to come back as normal when the person clearly does not feel that way.
When you begin to learn the language of your body, the number one thing to understand is that nothing is separate. The mental, physical, and emotional parts of your life are all one, communicating consistently at all times, providing feedback to each other and responding in turn. An impactful event in childhood can affect the mental and emotional state, which then causes a physical response to similar situations later in life, which further affects the mental and emotional state, and the cycle continues. With this in mind, when we are dealing with symptoms that are unresolved or mysterious in nature, we must always ask, "What else is going on underneath it all?" It is no coincidence that those hives appear every time you go to work, or that you experience severe gastric distress before or after a family reunion. The symptoms are not random. They are a message sent by the body to look at a deeper layer that feels unheard and unseen.
Ways to speak with your body
There are a multitude of ways that your body can communicate beyond physical symptoms. The key is to understand the message behind the symptom by understanding that you are having a dialogue with the body instead of demanding answers. See this as a dialogue between two friends who haven’t seen each other in a long time. These practices are perfect initiations that anyone can use in order to start hearing the whispers underneath it all.
The mirror practice
This practice is great for seeing what life events, relationships, or environments are related to the symptom. Writing everything down as you go is highly recommended, as reading your responses back to yourself deepens the practice.
First, we locate the symptom in the body, and if it is in a generalised area, we simply expand our awareness around it. We then notice how we feel when we first notice that symptom in our lives. Is it anger, frustration, hopelessness? What thoughts arise whenever you think about this symptom? For some, it may be that no one understands what they’re going through. Others may feel that they aren’t being heard when they tell others about how this symptom makes them feel. Or maybe they wish that they could have some time alone to themselves to process it all. Be very attentive to what comes to mind. Ask yourself how this symptom has affected your life. Does it make you feel like you’re limited in your choices? As if you are feeling stuck? Go really deep here.
After writing everything you can, we hold up the mirror to our responses and point it across various areas of our lives, relationships, childhood experiences, career, and physical environments. We start to ask ourselves where in our lives we feel, or have felt, in a similar way. Where do we feel angry, unseen, limited, like our life isn’t or wasn’t our own? With whom do we feel that the interaction has always given us a feeling of being stuck or unheard? What part of our passions or career choices holds patterns of being pushed away?
The goal of this practice is to see ties between the emotional, mental, and environmental parts of our lives and how our body is actively responding to those areas. We see that the body isn’t responding just to some unknown force, but to a pattern that keeps showing up in our lives that we may not have been aware of before. We may even begin to notice people or environments that show up before or after our symptoms flare up. This practice provides a beautiful breadcrumb into the realm of where we need to start the next step of our healing journey.
Your friend, the symptom practice
This practice is ideal for those who are more into the visual aspect of their intuitive talents or are visual learners. For this one, it may also help to write down the responses so that you can have notes to revisit on ways to work with the internal world as the body begins to process the work that you’re doing.
Begin by sitting or lying comfortably. I recommend sitting so that you don’t risk falling asleep. Close your eyes. Locate the symptom in the body and sit with it. Notice the feelings, sensations, and thoughts that arise when you focus on it. Then, begin to form an image in your head. This image represents the symptom as a person in front of you. Imagine them sitting in front of you, ready to have a conversation. What do they look like? What are they wearing? How does this personified version appear to you as they sit before you now? How do you feel with them in the room with you?
From there, you ask them questions, and you await their response, as if you’re having a conversation with them. I like to start by asking them about their origin, where they are from, or when they decided to appear in your life. Asking them why they chose that exact moment and what was going on in your life is an incredibly powerful question, as often it will reveal the pattern hiding behind the physical. Remember to treat this as a conversation between two people, staying open to what they have to say. Don’t be afraid to ask about what they’ve been wanting to say for the longest time, what they are here to do for you, and so on. Get as creative as you feel in the moment.
Treat this practice with curiosity and notice if their appearance changes as you continue the conversation and they answer. See if you notice any shifts that happen in your own body as they speak to you. Whenever you are complete, thank them for showing up today, slowly come back to your body, and write everything you recall from the conversation, the insights, and how your body feels.
The language of the body
Everyone’s personal body language is different. However, there are some overarching themes I’ve seen consistently across my clients that can help point you in the right direction if you’re feeling stuck on what yours is trying to say. Each body part, down to the cells, carries an energetic significance, so this list isn’t an exhaustive one, but it aims to point you in a direction that makes sense to you. And, as always, please seek appropriate medical advice first, and then look into the meanings behind these areas alongside that care.
Head and neck
This is the space of conscious connection to the mind. The eyes carry the inner sight you have with the world, in addition to physical sight. The ears carry what you hear or what you refuse to hear, while the mouth, in conjunction with the ears, speaks to communication, both how it’s received by others and how we reject the information that we may intuitively know is true for us. Similarly, our voice is where we hold our intuitive centre and how we communicate that to those around us. Do we feel safe in our sense of expression, or do we mute ourselves for the comfort of others?
Heart and lungs
These areas contain the vitality of our essence. When we talk about a breath of fresh air, it goes beyond the physical sense of breathing. We look to the areas in our lives where we feel suffocated or stifled. Where have we felt drained of our sense of vitality or our internal battery? This is also an incredibly powerful centre for how we process grief and how we’ve allowed grief to show up in our lives.
The gut and digestive system
This is a huge area where many clients experience symptoms related to their sense of self, how they feel in terms of acceptance, especially from close friends and family, and how they allow themselves to process strong emotions, such as anger, in their lives. Often, when we feel that certain boundaries are crossed, especially when we feel that we cannot express who we are as individuals, it will show up in the gut. Sometimes, if we are holding on to emotions that we feel are unsafe to process, our body will mirror this mechanism, creating an environment that is sluggish or slow to move. Anger is an incredibly intense emotion that is closely held in the liver and gallbladder, with resentment being a close second that lives in this space.
The womb space
This powerful and intricate place contains some of the strongest processing powers when it comes to what we desire, feel, create, hold, and release. Oftentimes, there is more than one story held in this area, with themes often overlapping and affecting each other. Sometimes, we may stifle our desires because we feel we aren’t being realistic. Therefore, we don’t create for fear of judgement, and we hold on to the dreams that could never come to fruition. This space can sometimes be complex. However, under the right guidance, it can be a powerhouse of information for life changing transformation.
The hips and legs
The hips are often the seat of emotional retention, especially when we notice that we are holding an unusual amount of tightness. We ask ourselves where we feel we are holding back when it comes to emotional expression and what we think would happen if that emotion were to be expressed. Where are we feeling rigid and trying to control the direction in which we are being intuitively led?
Our knees are where we honour ourselves and our boundaries. Do we kneel before others, or do we give ourselves the kindness of listening to what we truly need before making ourselves available to others? The feet speak to the path that we are walking on and how sure we are of the steps that we are taking towards the goal or life we know we are going towards.
The immune system
The protectors of our bodies, and also of our lives energetically. A significant amount of our trauma is carried in the immune system, and the field of psychoneuroimmunology is increasingly finding the science to back this up. When we experience trauma, the body’s instinct is to protect us from reliving it. When we are taught that certain emotions are unsafe to experience, the body remembers that in this space too. This is a place where we intimately look at our childhood experiences and how they shape the way that we protect ourselves, how we feel our emotions, how we express them, and so much more.
A word of guidance, when we are exploring the deeper layers of these questions, we may want to seek the help of a mentor or a mental health specialist to safely find ways to shift these areas of our lives.
Combining the physical with the energetic
Although there are energetic origins to the physical manifestation of our symptoms, this doesn’t mean that we neglect the wonders of modern medicine and the treatments it has to offer. Diagnostic exams help point clinicians in the right direction in the body. A diagnosis helps to give a name to what is happening in the physical body so that proper treatment can be given. You can have a diagnosis and still do this work. They do not have to be exclusive from one another. In fact, healing can become incredibly powerful when they both work together.
When I had my chronic pain, I did everything on the medical side. I had the X rays, the physical therapy, the pain medication, the exercises, all of it. However, with the ongoing pain, it was time to go deeper. So, I looked at the meaning behind the pain, where the pain was located, and worked on that simultaneously after the peak of the pain helped me concentrate enough to go deeper.
We don’t push aside the aid of modern medicine or a chance at a diagnosis just because a symptom has a deeper origin. If anything, we use what medicine has to offer so that we can explore those deeper layers in peace, create resolution from within, and, as a result, don’t need to revisit the doctors multiple times in the future. By understanding the message, the language, that the body is speaking, we create an avenue to decrease doctor visits, find ways to become self sufficient in the ways that we care for ourselves, and shift our lives in a way that tells the body, I hear you, I see what you’re trying to say, and I will take action on this part of myself so that the message no longer has a place in my life.
Continuing the conversation
Once we start to understand and unravel the language of the body, the work doesn’t stop there. We begin to take steps after we understand what our body is trying to tell us that we need to shift or process in our lives. Maybe we begin to express how we feel a little more. Maybe we start to have those tough conversations with a loved one. Transformation can even begin by looking into that art class that has piqued your interest on the way home after work. Everyone’s journey is completely different. The one thing to remember is that we are so incredibly powerful and resilient, as is our physical body. With the right amount of patience and questions, we can decipher the secret language of the body and begin a path of healing.
If you are ready to start on that journey yourself, I invite you to work with me to uncover the mystery behind the symptom and to learn how your body is communicating with you.
Read more from Jazmina Mba Gonzalez
Jazmina Mba Gonzalez, MD, MIP, Jungian Coach
Jazmina Mba Gonzalez is a former aspiring surgeon turned medical intuitive and creator of the Shadow Alchemy Method. After experiencing chronic pain that conventional medicine couldn’t fully heal, she began exploring the deeper connection between the body, mind, and spirit. Through medical astrointuition and Jungian depth psychology, she discovered that every symptom holds a message waiting to be decoded. Today, she helps others uncover the emotional and energetic roots of chronic pain, guiding them back to their body’s natural wisdom and capacity to heal. Her mission is to bring hope to those who feel their condition is forever, because healing is always possible when we learn to listen within.
