What's The Root Cause of RLS (Restless Legs Syndrome)? A Fascinating Perspective
Quick Overview: In this article, Stephen dives into the root cause of RLS (restless legs) according to the spiritual meaning and shares his own experience with resolving restless leg symptoms from a holistic approach.
Internal restlessness (whether chronic or not) signifies conflict within the emotional realm. When I was dealing with painful restless legs, I knew I needed to address my emotional side. When I did, the physical restlessness resolved completely.
Hello and welcome! My name is Steve, and I’m honored that you’ve found this space. If you are seeking a deeper answer to your pain, you are not alone! There is another way, and I hope that my experiences are illuminating for you.
My name is Stephen, and I help individuals treat the emotional root of illness through spiritual somatic therapy. Working in partnership with the body, mind, and spirit is how we create the relief and change that people are seeking.
Whether improving self-confidence, stepping beyond trauma, relieving mental anxiety, or healing decades-long chronic health challenges, my goal is always to help individuals experience empowerment, growth, and connection within themselves. This is what vibrant health and expansive well-being is founded upon.
I’m happy you were led here.
Most of us are unaware that your emotional side profoundly impacts your health & well-being…for better or worse.
On that note, how would you describe your relationship with your emotional side? (a very real part of yourself!) And how is that side of you being treated?
Most of the people I work with tend to answer those questions with, “not so great, could be better, or I don’t go there.” Repression is usually the main culprit.
We don’t often learn that repressed emotional pain has the power to create physical symptoms. Power that we cannot use our minds to outthink or take a pill to get rid of it.
When My Restless Legs Showed Up
I remember that moment like it was yesterday. There I was...it was 11pm on a weeknight, and I couldn’t sleep a wink. Why? Because my legs were KILLING me.
It felt like the bones in my legs were expanding, but couldn’t expand because there was nowhere for them to expand to. So because of that, they felt restricted, like I had compression bands around my legs...and it was so so painful.
And then a new phenomenon began — what felt like buzzing sensations all through my legs from my ankles all the way up into my hips. I was in agony, rolling back and forth, flopping all over the bed trying different positions to find some sort of comfort all the while trying not to disturb Anne too much. But inevitably she was awake too from all the jostling and groaning.
Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels
II watched the minutes and hours tick by...11:41, 12:32, 1:11… Finally at 3am, I decided to go out to the couch in our living room. Maybe a change of scenery and surface would do the trick? (I’m sure you know the answer to that already...a solid no.)
I was the epitome of restless that night. There I was...fidgety, on edge, agitated...and debating whether I would ever sleep soundly again.
I wouldn’t wish restless legs like that on my worst enemy...not that I really have enemies to my knowledge...but you get my drift.
Later that morning...yes morning...because I didn’t get to sleep until sometime in the 4 o’clock hour, I decided to investigate my resources to understand the root cause of restless leg syndrome.
As someone who guides healing work, this new phenomenon of restless legs intrigued me. What I have come to understand over years is that the root cause of health symptoms, like restless legs, is emotional.
The internal state of restlessness and physical pain that’s now coming out is mirroring the emotional pain sitting within. Imagine shaking a bottle of soda vigorously and then opening it...THAT is like what’s happening inside your body.
Why does it happen? To bring the inner pains to your attention. So they can be addressed. So you can benefit from them and feel better!
Want a guided practice to help?
Restless Relief Somatic Meditation
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If you’re looking for relief from restless symptoms, I created this guided healing meditation as an approachable tool to get started with somatic processing.
Spiritual Meaning of Restless Legs
You probably arrived here through a search typing in ‘restless leg syndrome spiritual meaning,’ so let’s dive a bit deeper.
Humans have souls…we have spirits that can feel low or high. The spirit is critical to overall health. The spirit is defined as “the nonphysical part of a person that is the seat of emotions and character.”
Emotions are expressions of the spirit,. Think about these statements: “He's in low spirits. Her spirit is broken. My job is soul-crushing.” If we are disconnected from our spirit, we experience pain…physically, mentally, and emotionally.
The spiritual reason for any illness is rooted in the emotional.
In my experience, the physical body responds to and expresses the pains/traumas within the emotional body.
People tend to run away from the pain or try to eliminate it, but unfortunately that doesn’t work. In fact, running away from the pain can manifest as restless legs.
The spiritual cause of restlessness is an issue of feeling stuck, trapped, or not being able to escape a place or an uncomfortable situation. Oftentimes, it's tied to emotional expression or suppression.
So how could this look? Well, let’s take me for example.
When I experienced the restless legs symptoms that I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I was going through a tough time with one of my family members where we didn’t see eye-to-eye on things. (I’m pretty sure just about everyone has been there before, right?)
At that time, there was a world event going on, and this member of my family was telling me about how they didn’t agree with their friend’s, so-and-so’s, viewpoint on the situation. It got pretty charged energetically, (I am very sensitive to energy) and he was criticizing so-and-so saying things like, “How can a person be so stupid to think…” and “I just don’t understand at all how you can’t see it this way.” Well, as it turns out...I had a very similar viewpoint to so-and-so! *cue the awkward silence*
I was in this situation where I felt really uncomfortable...and in fact, I can remember feeling agitated, fidgety, and...you got it...restless. I just wanted to walk away, but I couldn’t...I felt trapped in that conversation, and in essence, I felt stuck!
Instead of voicing my thoughts and communicating how I felt hearing what they were saying about someone who had a similar viewpoint as me...I shut down. I didn’t feel safe expressing myself, and I beat myself up about it later. I remember thinking to myself afterward, “Why couldn’t I just say something! I’m kicking myself for not telling him how I feel and how I see things.” Notice the words kicking myself.
Anytime you suppress your emotional side, it creates a state of stress (and restlessness) inside the body. You feel it as deep tension (or RLS) because a whole part of yourself is being shut off! Which is the same thing as spiritual disconnection.
When I addressed these inner tensions, my painful restless symptoms disolved!
This is what I help people address in the body, mind, and nervous system. We allow the emotional energy to express, process, and release. In doing so, the pain and restlessness finally have an outlet. 👏
I have helped individuals experience the grounded strength, balance, and unity that comes from being in connection with their spiritual-emotional health.
And if you are seeking to feel lighter and at ease in your body, I would be honored to help you too. ↓
Ready to heal your restlessness & feel lighter within?
I would be honored to help. Let’s connect in an intro meeting to begin.
This introduction call is a space of self-discovery, “aha’s,” and initial emotional processing that I will guide for you. We’ll talk about what you are going through, what your body is trying to communicate, and how to help bring resolution to the issue. We can also discuss investment options to support you if you are interested in working together deeper.
Use the scheduler below to choose your space and fill out the form to provide me with some context of your situation before we meet. ↓
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Sources
Brill, Michael Richard. (2008). Numerology for Healing: Your Personal Numbers as the Key to a Healthier Life. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books.
Romero, Joman. (2016). Knowing Ourselves: What Does The Body Want To Tell Us With Diseases? CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
