Mind Body Healing for Thyroid Patients

By Mary Shomon, Best Selling New York Times Author & Patient Advocate for Thyroid Disease

New York-based Demo DiMartile is a spiritual teacher and healer. He has a long history working in holistic healing, developing and leading guided mindfulness meditations for health and wellness in mind, body and soul. He has recently launched a new enterprise, One Light One Spirit, and one of the first products is a 30-minute guided meditation focused on women with thyroid disease. I had an opportunity to review the meditation, and learn more about Demo’s thoughts and motivations in creating the meditation.

Mary Shomon: Can you share what inspired you to create a guided meditation on thyroid health and wellness?

Demo DiMartile: When I first conceived One light One Spirit, my intention was to identify the fear based beliefs that keep us from owning our power and realizing our spiritual potential. I began to lay out various guided meditation methods that would assist in healing the splits in consciousness as well as integrate body, mind and spirit. All the while, in the back of my mind was a persistent voice saying ” For Women Only.” When I followed the voice, it brought back memories of my mother and evoked in me my deep empathy and respect for the needs of women.

My mother was the first-born in an Italian family of ten children that survived and five more that died at child birth. She was the oldest child and the surrogate mother, co-provider and caretaker for her siblings as well mother to her own three children. In her day there was nothing called thyroid disease although she had all the symptoms: deep depression, heavy mood swings, feeling overwhelmed and many emotional and hormonal upsets.

For me it was heart breaking that for all she carried for everyone else, she never felt validated. Often she said how ashamed of herself she was, and she lived in total denial of her emotional needs, believing that they would never be met. She would have coughing spells that came on when she was overwhelmed or in a state of high anxiety, and when she couldn’t ask for what she needed.

She was a model teacher for me to understand the emotional nature of women. I started to see and hear aspects of my mother echoed in women with thyroid conditions, and I instinctively understood their struggle.

From a holistic point of view, symptoms point the way to the root cause of imbalances. I intuitively believe that shame is the emotional root cause of thyroid disease and that shame suppresses both the will (intent) and the voice. The thyroid gland sits on the voice box, and there is a direct relationship to emotional needs, communicating them and suppressing them.

So it was my mother who was the real inspiration behind the Thyroid Meditation, and to honor her and the many women struggling with the effects of thyroid issues, I created a tool for self empowerment and well being–designed specifically for women.

Mary Shomon: Why do you feel that the mind-body component is an important part of an approach to self-care?

Demo DiMartile: Because it moves our consciousness out of codependency and fear and fosters both self reliance and self empowerment. The mind-body connection forges a belief in yourself that is crucial to being in control of your life with greater freedom of choice. Choice is an exercise of free will.

When you infuse the power of your will with emotion (charged beliefs) into your body-mind component, you’ll begin to shift your consciousness in ways you never dreamed possible. Also the body-mind synchronization is essential to trusting yourself, and exercising this trust is honoring your belief in yourself.

The body-mind equation is powerful, but I would also add spirit: body-mind- spirit. Then it is truly holistic as it embodies the trinity of oneself. This model encompasses a complete fusion of consciousness working together harmoniously toward a more integrated psychological state of spiritual wholeness.

Mary Shomon: Sometimes, it feels as if an oversimplified holistic view of thyroid disease — the idea that thyroid disease reflects a blockage of the throat chakra, and is due to an inability to speak one’s truth — is essentially “blaming the victim.” As in, if a woman just spoke out more, we wouldn’t develop thyroid conditions. How does your view differ from this?

Demo DiMartile: This is not about blame. This is a profound and complex issue and it requires a spiritual understanding of our human condition.

The throat chakra is related to the expression and the voice of your soul. It’s here that thoughts and intentions are transformed into words so you can communicate both personally and spiritually. This chakra represents your personal logos or the “right understanding” of yourself as a co-creator with the Creator. Your truth evolves from this understanding, and it defines who you really are through the integrity of your word and will. This chakra is the turning point in the soul’s evolution that goes beyond your human identity and moves toward spiritual integration. The thyroid gland is the physical counterpart of the throat chakra which is etheric or energetic in nature.

As you know, the thyroid gland is shaped like a butterfly, a symbol of both transformation and transcendence. So if there is thyroid imbalance, it does not mean one is incapable of speaking her truth or that by just speaking out, it will prevent thyroid imbalances. It does mean that the thyroid gland has to come into an alignment with a spiritual perspective, and that there is work to be done to change the psychological outlook behind the condition. By asking, “What does this condition have to teach me?” Or what is the value of thyroid disease in my life?” women can begin to shift the dynamic.

You’ve heard the expression, We are spiritual beings having a human experience, not human beings struggling to be spiritual. And we should never get the two mixed up.

Every soul is a cell in the body of humanity. Every soul that incarnates in the human experience takes on a psychic wound to heal within itself so that the karma associated with that wound can be healed in the collective soul. This is known as group karma, where many courageous and compassionate souls are working out the same issue within themselves for their own awakening and the evolution of humanity.

The wound is a pre-birth agreement or choice to evolve your soul so that you can overcome the struggle and awaken to your spiritual nature. The wound is not a punishment, bad karma or bad luck. It is a noble choice and your teacher. It informs your life purpose and your reason for being here. so you must embrace it.

When you embrace the wound, it becomes a gift and the very thing that will heal you, liberate you and make you whole. That is what is meant by you are a spiritual being having a human experience. You are endowed with spiritual power to learn the lessons of you soul and evolve beyond them. If you see the wound as a stigma or fall victim to it, then you are operating out of the belief that you are a human being struggling to be spiritual and stuck in the struggle. That belief does not allow you to belong to yourself or anyone else.

Ask yourself, “What is the lesson in thyroid disease?”, and begin soul searching. When there is a willingness to wholeheartedly accept any condition as part of your spiritual growth, then there can be a momentous shift.

Thyroid disease is prevalent among women and millions suffer from it worldwide. Patriarchal dominance has oppressed women for ages using shame to belittle, harass, intimidate, and silence women. Much had been done to weaken their will and repress their voice. But the Women’s Movement has been a turning point in all this.

We are now in the age of awakening and the liberation of the mind. The male cycle of power is coming to an end on the Winter Equinox of 2012 and it is the beginning of the end. This is a monumental turning point in our human evolution, and a major transformation in consciousness is about to take place. Collectively women will embrace their spiritual power and voice it fearlessly. Even now, women are poised to rise into prominent positions of power, particularly in government to put an end to the war on women’s rights. They will have their equality and the final freedom of choice.

They will stand side by side with men as equals, with equal footing, equal voice and equal respect. It will no longer be a “man’s world.” And women will be honored as the bringers of life and the caregivers to sustain life. Women have carried so much, and have innate wisdom and love to restore peace and balance to our world.

Mary Shomon: If a woman wants to incorporate mind-body approaches like guided meditation into her overall self-care approach, how would you recommend getting started, and going about it?

Demo DiMartile: Here’s a powerful exercise for manifesting what is needed. Sit in a quiet space. Close you eyes. Begin breathing in and out – slow full deep breaths, stilling your mind. Then bring your attention to your heart. Breathe the breath of life into your heart. Open it and surrender deeply within. Affirm: “I now choose to manifest the teacher who most resonates with my highest good to assist me in my healing process.” Send that thought form forth and trust you will manifest your heart’s desire. Express your gratitude by giving thanks. Do the exercise when you are feeling positive and just before sleep.

Learn and practice self-hypnosis and meditation. They are similar in that they both move you past the intellect and analytical mind into the subconscious mind where all beliefs and psychological patterns are stored. Self-hypnosis can be very effective in making attitudinal changes, and healing physical, mental, and emotional issues. It is an empowering body-mind tool to have. Meditation is more suited for spiritual development but not exclusive to it. They are both extremely powerful tools for healing, growth and well-being.

Mary Shomon: What do you hope a listener takes away from a session doing your thyroid meditation?

Demo DiMartile: I trust listeners will get back in touch with the peace, the power and the profound presence of the healing force within themselves and know from their experience, that over time, they can self-heal and self-correct the imbalances of their thyroid dysfunction. I hope the meditation opens a door in the female psyche to embrace feminine power which is more soulful than intellectual; that women own their incredible compassion, nurturing instincts and their innate wisdom that will eventually help assist them to reclaim their inner and outer voice as they walk their walk into their true power as one light one spirit.

A free preview of Demo DiMartile’s Thyroid Meditation is available on the One Light One Spirit site. You can get the Thyroid Meditation CD or MP3 at the One Light One Spirit online store.