Why Your Spine Hurts as a Sensitive or Empath
Photo by Shiva Smyth
We talk a lot about nervous system healing these days.
One of the terms you may have heard is polyvagal theory, a way of understanding how our body responds to stress, safety, and connection. It’s become a powerful framework for sensitives who are learning to regulate their systems and come back into their own energy.
But I want to talk about the spine.
Because in Chinese medicine, the spine is everything.
And to me, it’s the highway to the soul.
It traffics our energetic communication to the brain and the body. It’s the messenger, the middle man, the channel.
And it knows.
It knows when we’re off.
It knows what we’re holding, how long we’ve held it, and what it’s doing to us.
The Alignment We Ignore
As sensitives, we’re often praised for how much we notice—but rarely asked how much we’re carrying.
Most of us are wildly out of alignment.
And we don’t even know it.
We’re trying to manage the constant flood of other people’s energy, emotions, expectations.
We’re absorbing stimuli from every direction—people’s moods, the pressure of performance, the tension in a room—and our spine is screaming: warning, warning.
But we override it.
We adapt. We bend. We keep going.
Until the aches show up. The stiffness. The weight.
Until we can't find a comfortable way to sit or stand.
Until we feel like something is wrong, but we can’t name what.
The Spine as Messenger
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) teaches that the spine reflects the overall health of the body.
But I believe it also reflects the health of the empath.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the spine is deeply connected to the Kidney meridian, which stores our Jing—our fundamental life force. According to TCM, this essence governs growth, vitality, and resilience. When Jing is depleted (often through stress, overwork, or chronic energy leaks), the spine and nervous system show the strain.
The spine also houses the Du Mai, or Governing Vessel—an extraordinary meridian that runs from the tailbone up the midline of the back, over the head, and down the face. Often referred to as the “Sea of Yang,” this channel has a profound influence on the brain, spinal cord, and the overall nervous system. In TCM, it’s understood to regulate not just physical posture but mental clarity and spiritual alignment.¹
In other words, the spine isn’t just a structure.
It’s a spiritual superhighway.
It holds memory, energy, instinct, and truth.
It’s our live wire. The vagus nerve doesn’t run inside the spine, but it’s deeply connected to everything the spine holds and carries.
If we listen closely, the spine will tell us the truth about ourselves and about the world.
Photo by Shiva Smyth
Letting Yourself Come Forward
Maybe, just for today, instead of stuffing yourself into a version of you the world approves of,
Instead of performing the job you dislike, the smile that feels fake, the role that fits but suffocates,
You allow yourself to come forward.
Wholly.
Sensitive.
Raw.
Vulnerable.
Maybe today, even for a moment,
You let your spine breathe.
You let your body tell the truth.
And you show up—just as you are.
Because your spine knows.
And it’s been waiting for you to listen.
For more content like this…
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Source: ¹ Maciocia, Giovanni. The Foundations of Chinese Medicine: A Comprehensive Text for Acupuncturists and Herbalists. Churchill Livingstone, 2005.