What is our Body telling us

Some months back, I attended a two-day Weiterbildung in Zurich with Gunther Schmidt, founder of the hypnosystemic approach and director of the Milton Erickson Institute in Heidelberg. And honestly, some of the ideas discussed there have stayed with me ever since.

What fascinated me most was this simple but profound shift in perspective:

Instead of asking “Why do I have this symptom?” Schmidt often asks:

“What purpose might this symptom serve?”

Not in a blaming way.

Not in a “your illness is your fault” way.

But in a deeply respectful way toward the intelligence of the human system.

Because what if many of our symptoms, tensions, reactions, or even chronic patterns are not random defects — but learned adaptations? Attempts by the nervous system to protect, regulate, cope, survive, or communicate something important?

One thing that really struck me was the connection between imagination and the body.

We often think imagination is “just in the mind.” But our brains constantly react to imagined experiences as if they were partly real. A simple example:

Imagine cutting open a fresh lemon. Smell it. See the juice dripping. Imagine biting into it.

Most people immediately begin salivating.

That alone shows how deeply connected inner imagery and physiology actually are.

Another example shared during the training involved migraines. A woman imagined the pain in her head like tightly screwed bolts creating pressure. Through guided imagery, she slowly imagined loosening them one by one and creating more space and release.

The fascinating part was not “magic healing,” but the realization that inner images, language, focus, and attention can influence tension, stress responses, breathing, perception of pain, and the nervous system itself.

And somehow, I found that incredibly hopeful.

Because it means we are not completely powerless inside our own minds and bodies.

It also made me reflect on how often we fight ourselves internally.

How quickly we label reactions as weaknesses instead of asking:

What is this trying to do for me?

What is my system trying to tell me?

To me, that perspective feels deeply human.

Not denying suffering.

Not romanticizing pain.

But also not reducing people to diagnoses or dysfunctions.

Maybe healing is not always about “fixing” ourselves.

Maybe sometimes it begins by learning to listen differently.