Emotional Self-Healing and the Journey to Authentic Belonging

Tenya Eickenberg explores the profound journey from emotional self-care to energy healing, illuminating how personal boundaries, self-awareness, and authentic belonging serve as catalysts for holistic transformation and lasting inner healing.

In episode 180 of The Inclusion Bites Podcast, Joanne Lockwood is joined by Tenya Eickenberg to explore the critical link between healing and the sense of belonging. The conversation is deeply personal, with Tenya sharing her journey through emotional upheaval, self-medication, and eventual self-discovery through energy healing and self-care. Joanne and Tenya discuss how modern society still struggles with stigma around mental health, highlighting the importance of safe spaces and honest dialogue. They expertly weave in practical insights on how individuals can start to identify emotional blockages, connect with their bodies through muscle testing, and begin the journey of self-healing without judgement or shame. The episode emphasises the power of intentional self-care, the necessity of setting boundaries, and the value of leaning into personal responsibility when nurturing wellbeing and inclusion.

Tenya is a mind, body, and energy facilitator, renowned for empowering individuals to release what no longer serves them and step into their most authentic selves. With a background steeped in both traditional therapeutic approaches and a progressive embrace of energy healing, Tenya brings a unique perspective shaped by her lived experience and professional expertise. She shares how growing up with family mental health challenges—and witnessing the limitations of conventional talk therapy and medication—led her to seek alternative modalities, such as the emotion code and muscle testing. Tenya’s work focuses on guiding others to heal emotional and energetic blocks by employing tailored techniques that respect each person’s journey. Her commitment to fostering self-awareness and personal agency makes this episode particularly resonant for anyone seeking holistic transformation and sustainable wellbeing.

Throughout the discussion, Joanne and Tenya highlight that genuine healing begins with self-recognition and a willingness to embrace vulnerability. The key takeaway is that belonging is not simply about fitting in, but about honouring oneself, setting boundaries, and cultivating environments where emotional safety and authenticity can flourish. Listeners are encouraged to reflect on their own self-care practices and recognise the small steps that ignite meaningful personal change. This episode will leave you inspired to prioritise your own healing and help others do the same by amplifying compassion and inclusion within your circles.

Published: 23.10.2025 Recorded: 14.04.2025 Duration: 0:55:51

• AI Extracts and Interpretations
• The Inclusion Bites Podcast - #180 Healing Begins with Belonging — app.castmagic.io
• Other Links
• SEE Change Happen: The Inclusive Culture Experts — seechangehappen.co.uk
• Inclusion Bites Podcast on YouTube

Clips and Timestamps

Marriage Longevity and Foundation: “we always made it a point to, to put our relationship kind of the main focus of our foundation because we knew that one day our kids were going to move out and it was gonna be him and I that were gonna be left holding up the fort and we wanted to make sure that we had a good foundation for when we went into that, that space that we could support each other just as a couple.”
— Tenya Eickenberg [00:03:30 → 00:03:54]

Viral Topic: The Struggle to Cope with Stress and Suppressed Emotions: “I knew that things were getting bad when I would start driving home from work and I would imagine what would happen if I just let my van run into a telephone pole. How would that make me feel? Could I get a few days off?”
— Tenya Eickenberg [00:09:19 → 00:09:37]

The Toll of Overwork on Mental Health: “And so I got to the point where I was like, I, I’m thinking about hurting myself. I need, I need help.”
— Tenya Eickenberg [00:10:30 → 00:10:35]

Viral Topic: Growing Up Without Mental Health Guidance: “she didn’t have the capacity to, to teach us kids how to handle our own emotions, our own mental health.”
— Tenya Eickenberg [00:11:08 → 00:11:14]

Breaking the Cycle of Inherited Trauma: “Because through energy healing you can clear out those inherited energies, those, those things that are passed down from generation to generation to generation.”
— Tenya Eickenberg [00:17:42 → 00:17:52]

Viral Topic: The Search for a True Cure for Mental Illness
“I was looking for a cure. I was not looking to manage my mental illnesses. I was not looking to survive through my mental illnesses. I wanted them gone.”
— Tenya Eickenberg [00:18:39 → 00:18:50]

Viral Topic: Changing Your Mindset
“It can take a long time to shift your mindset into whatever it is that your, your, your goal is, when will you bring energy healing into it to help to clear away those emotions or those stuck trauma energies.”
— Tenya Eickenberg [00:23:48 → 00:24:05]

Mind vs. Body Cravings: “But my mind still likes the taste of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, so I will still eat them because I’m human and I enjoy them.”
— Tenya Eickenberg [00:33:48 → 00:33:56]

Viral Topic – Boundary Setting with Family: “So people will not cross your boundaries if you set them, but if you do set them, make sure you have a consequence and uphold that consequence.”
— Tenya Eickenberg [00:48:11 → 00:48:18]

Viral Topic: Overcoming Invisible Barriers
Quote: “That is when you realise that there are things in you that probably need to be healed.”
— Tenya Eickenberg [00:49:11 → 00:49:17]

Definition of Terms Used

What is Energy Healing?

• Definition: Energy healing refers to a range of therapeutic modalities based on the premise that emotional, psychological, and physical wellbeing is influenced by subtle energies within the human body. Practitioners use techniques to identify and release ‘energetic blocks’ to promote healing, transformation, and thriving.
• Relevance: The episode centres on the power of energy healing as an alternative or complement to traditional talk therapy and medication, particularly in overcoming anxiety, depression, and inherited trauma.
• Examples: Modalities such as Reiki, Emotion Code, chakra balancing, and kinesiology (muscle testing) are categorised under energy healing practices.
• Related Terms: Reiki, Chakra, Meridians, Muscle Testing, Subconscious Healing
• Common Misconceptions: Energy healing is often misconstrued as pseudoscientific or exclusively spiritual. While not universally accepted within mainstream medicine, many people report subjective improvements in wellbeing and functionality.

What is the Emotion Code?

• Definition: The Emotion Code is a specific energy healing modality developed by Dr Bradley Nelson. It uses muscle testing (kinesiology) and a chart of emotions to identify and release ‘trapped emotions’, believed to cause psychological distress and physical complaints.
• Relevance: Tenya discussed how discovering the Emotion Code provided a route to self-healing without medication, supporting her recovery from anxiety and depression. The practice is highlighted as facilitating personal empowerment and clearing emotional baggage.
• Examples: A practitioner might muscle test to identify a trapped emotion such as ‘anxiety’, determine its origin, and release it via a gesture (swiping the governing meridian or other symbolic actions).
• Related Terms: Muscle Testing, Energy Blocks, Kinesiology, Governing Meridian, Emotional Release
• Common Misconceptions: Many assume the Emotion Code to be based purely on placebo or unscientific principles, whereas proponents view it as a holistic tool for emotional and energetic health.

What is Muscle Testing?

• Definition: Muscle testing, also known as applied kinesiology, is a technique that assesses the body’s response to specific stimuli or questions. Proponents believe that incongruence or stress will show as muscle weakness, while congruence produces strength.
• Relevance: Muscle testing is introduced in this episode as a foundational skill for self-healing and intuition development. Tenya suggests using it for food choices, emotions, and to discern energetic states.
• Examples: Holding a food item and asking oneself, “Does my body want this?”; fingers locking or releasing when asking about a trapped emotion to indicate ‘yes’ or ‘no’ responses.
• Related Terms: Kinesiology, Intuition, Sway Test, Energetic Block, Emotional Release
• Common Misconceptions: Skeptics often dismiss muscle testing as unreliable and not evidence-based, while practitioners argue that, with training, it can be a robust technique for accessing somatic wisdom.

What are Trapped Emotions?

• Definition: Trapped emotions are described as residual emotional energies from distressing events or trauma that become lodged in the body’s energetic or physical systems. They are thought to influence both mental and physical health, sometimes at a subconscious level.
• Relevance: The discussion emphasises the process of identifying and releasing trapped emotions as transformative, especially when conventional therapies prove ineffective or incomplete.
• Examples: An individual may hold a trapped emotion of ‘anxiety’ in their shoulder, or ‘loneliness’ inherited from a previous generation, both of which may be found and released through energy healing practices.
• Related Terms: Emotional Blockage, Trauma Energy, Inherited Trauma, Somatic Healing, Subconscious Mind
• Common Misconceptions: Some believe trapped emotions require reliving the original experience to release, whereas the Emotion Code and related approaches focus on energetic identification and symbolic release.

What is the Governing Meridian?

• Definition: In Traditional Chinese Medicine and energy healing modalities, the governing meridian is a principal energetic pathway running along the spine and considered to ‘govern’ other meridians. It is often used as a channel for energetic clearing or emotional release.
• Relevance: The episode introduces the governing meridian as central to emotion release rituals in the Emotion Code, notably by physically or symbolically ‘swiping’ along the meridian to effect change.
• Examples: During emotion release, a practitioner may swipe a hand from forehead to back of neck (along the governing meridian) as a ritual of energetic clearing.
• Related Terms: Meridian System, Energy Pathways, Acupuncture, Swipe Technique, Emotional Release
• Common Misconceptions: The governing meridian is sometimes mistakenly equated with anatomical features, whereas it relates to energetic mapping from eastern medicine and holistic practices.

FAQ for Episode Niche Terminology

1. What is Energy Healing?
   Energy healing encompasses holistic therapies that employ subtle body energies to support emotional, physical, and psychological recovery, often leveraging practices like the Emotion Code and Reiki.
2. What is the Emotion Code?
   The Emotion Code is an energy healing system utilising muscle testing and emotional awareness to identify and release trapped emotions, purportedly improving mental and bodily health without medication.
3. What is Muscle Testing?
   Muscle testing (applied kinesiology) is a technique that assesses the body’s energetic response to queries, helping to distinguish between congruent and incongruent choices and emotions.
4. What are Trapped Emotions?
   Trapped emotions are unresolved emotional energies, believed to be stored in the body and impact wellbeing. Releasing them is seen as a route to healing and transformation.
5. What is the Governing Meridian?
   The governing meridian is an energetic pathway from Chinese medicine, used in energy healing for releasing emotional blockages through physical or symbolic gestures along the spine.

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Brought to you by your host

Joanne Lockwood SEE Change Happen

A huge thank you to our wonderful guest

Tenya Eickenberg Design Your Existence

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