The 7 Gateways & 33 Access Points: Understanding Spinal Flow's Roadmap to Healing
Your spine is more than a structural column supporting your body. It's an information superhighway, a storage system for life experiences, and a gateway to profound healing, both physical and emotional.
Within your spine lie seven major gateways and 33 specific access points that Spinal Flow practitioners work with to facilitate nervous system release and whole-person transformation. Understanding these gateways helps you appreciate why Spinal Flow creates changes that extend far beyond just physical relief, touching your emotional wellbeing, mental clarity, stress resilience, and even your capacity to heal from past trauma.
We work with these gateways daily, witnessing how releasing blockages at specific spinal locations creates ripple effects throughout a person's entire being. Let's explore this fascinating roadmap to healing and discover how your spine holds the key to physical, emotional, and energetic wellness.
Understanding the Seven Spinal Gateways
The seven gateways correspond to major nerve plexuses and energetic centers along your spine. Each gateway governs specific physical functions and also relates to particular emotional patterns, life themes, and ways you experience and interact with the world.
When stress, trauma, or overwhelming experiences occur, your nervous system creates protective patterns. These patterns often become lodged at specific gateways, creating blockages, what Spinal Flow calls "ease-ways", that prevent optimal flow of information between your brain and body.
Gateway 1: The Base Gateway (Sacrum & Coccyx)
Physical Location: The sacrum and tailbone at the very base of your spine
Physical Associations: Foundation and structural support, lower body function, elimination, reproductive organs, legs and feet, root stability
Emotional & Life Themes: Safety and survival, feeling grounded and secure, basic trust in life, financial security, physical vitality, connection to family and tribe, sense of belonging
When this gateway is blocked:
Chronic lower back or tailbone pain
Leg or foot issues
Elimination problems (constipation, diarrhea)
Feeling ungrounded or disconnected
Anxiety about basic survival needs
Difficulty feeling safe in your body or the world
Restlessness or inability to settle
When this gateway is flowing:
Strong foundation and stability
Feeling grounded and present
Trust in life's ability to support you
Physical vitality and healthy elimination
Sense of belonging and connection
Security in meeting basic needs
At Vital Spine Wellness, we often see that people with significant Base Gateway blockages have experienced disruption to their fundamental sense of safety—whether through financial stress, family trauma, physical injury, or early childhood experiences that undermined their basic trust in the world.
Gateway 2: The Pelvic Gateway (Lower Lumbar Spine)
Physical Location: The lower lumbar vertebrae (L3-L5)
Physical Associations: Hip joints and pelvis, reproductive organs, bladder, lower digestive system, creative and sexual energy
Emotional & Life Themes: Creativity and self-expression, sexuality and sensuality, emotional flow and fluidity, pleasure and enjoyment, relationships and connection, ability to "go with the flow"
When this gateway is blocked:
Lower back pain and stiffness
Hip problems or limited hip mobility
Reproductive or sexual dysfunction
Difficulty experiencing pleasure
Emotional rigidity or numbness
Creative blocks
Relationship challenges
Difficulty expressing emotions
When this gateway is flowing:
Creative inspiration and expression
Healthy sexuality and intimacy
Emotional fluidity and balance
Ability to experience joy and pleasure
Comfortable in relationships
Flexible and adaptable
The Pelvic Gateway often holds trauma related to sexuality, relationships, or emotional expression. Many people carry shame, guilt, or unprocessed emotions in this area that manifest as physical tension and pain.
Gateway 3: The Solar Plexus Gateway (Mid-Back/Thoracolumbar Junction)
Physical Location: The thoracolumbar junction (T12-L2), roughly behind your navel
Physical Associations: Digestive system (stomach, liver, pancreas, gallbladder), adrenal glands, mid-back muscles, core strength
Emotional & Life Themes: Personal power and confidence, sense of agency and control, self-esteem and self-worth, ability to take action, healthy boundaries, digestion of life experiences, relationship with authority
When this gateway is blocked:
Mid-back pain and tension
Digestive issues (bloating, indigestion, ulcers)
Adrenal fatigue and burnout
Feeling powerless or victimized
People-pleasing and poor boundaries
Difficulty making decisions
Fear of judgment or criticism
Chronic stress and overwhelm
When this gateway is flowing:
Strong sense of personal power
Healthy self-esteem and confidence
Clear boundaries and ability to say no
Taking effective action toward goals
Healthy digestion (physical and emotional)
Appropriate relationship with authority
Balanced giving and receiving
At Vital Spine Wellness, we frequently see Solar Plexus blockages in people who've experienced powerlessness—whether from controlling relationships, workplace stress, childhood experiences of having no voice, or situations where they had to suppress their true selves to stay safe.
Gateway 4: The Heart Gateway (Mid-Thoracic Spine)
Physical Location: The mid-thoracic spine (T4-T7), behind the heart
Physical Associations: Heart and circulatory system, lungs and respiratory system, shoulders and arms, rib cage, thymus gland (immune function)
Emotional & Life Themes: Love (giving and receiving), compassion and empathy, grief and loss, forgiveness, connection and relationship, breath and life force, emotional expression
When this gateway is blocked:
Upper back pain between shoulder blades
Chest tightness or heart palpitations
Shallow breathing or respiratory issues
Shoulder tension and pain
Difficulty giving or receiving love
Unprocessed grief
Inability to forgive (self or others)
Feeling closed off or emotionally guarded
Loneliness or difficulty connecting
When this gateway is flowing:
Open heart and capacity for love
Deep, full breathing
Healthy relationships and connections
Emotional expression without overwhelm
Compassion for self and others
Processed grief and loss
Forgiveness and letting go
Feeling connected to life
The Heart Gateway often holds grief, heartbreak, and disappointments in love or connection. Many people unconsciously close this area to protect themselves from further hurt, but this protection becomes isolation and emotional numbness.
Gateway 5: The Throat Gateway (Cervicothoracic Junction)
Physical Location: The cervicothoracic junction (C7-T1), at the base of your neck
Physical Associations: Throat and vocal cords, thyroid gland, neck muscles, jaw, ears, upper shoulders
Emotional & Life Themes: Communication and self-expression, speaking your truth, being heard and understood, authentic voice, creative expression, listening and receiving
When this gateway is blocked:
Neck pain and stiffness
Jaw tension or TMJ issues
Thyroid dysfunction
Frequent sore throats
Difficulty speaking up or expressing yourself
Fear of judgment for your words
Feeling unheard or misunderstood
Excessive talking (to be heard) or silence (to stay safe)
Creative expression blocked
When this gateway is flowing:
Clear, authentic communication
Speaking your truth with confidence
Feeling heard and understood
Healthy listening and receiving
Creative expression flows easily
Balanced throat and thyroid function
Comfortable expressing needs and boundaries
Many people develop Throat Gateway blockages from experiences of being silenced, criticized for their expression, or having their truth dismissed or invalidated. This often begins in childhood but continues through relationships and work environments where authentic expression feels unsafe.
Gateway 6: The Third Eye Gateway (Upper Cervical Spine)
Physical Location: The upper cervical spine (C1-C3), at the base of your skull
Physical Associations: Brain and neurological function, eyes and vision, pituitary gland, sinuses, head and face
Emotional & Life Themes: Intuition and inner knowing, clarity and insight, imagination and visualization, mental focus and concentration, perception and awareness, connection to higher consciousness
When this gateway is blocked:
Headaches and migraines
Neck tension and restricted movement
Vision problems or eye strain
Sinus issues
Brain fog and mental confusion
Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
Disconnection from intuition
Overthinking and mental loops
Difficulty seeing the "big picture"
When this gateway is flowing:
Mental clarity and sharp focus
Strong intuitive sense
Clear vision (literal and metaphorical)
Ability to see patterns and connections
Balanced thought processes
Trust in inner knowing
Imaginative and insightful
The Third Eye Gateway often becomes blocked in people who've learned to distrust their intuition, who've been told their perceptions were wrong, or who live primarily in analytical thinking disconnected from inner wisdom.
Gateway 7: The Crown Gateway (Base of Skull/Atlas)
Physical Location: The atlas (C1) and base of the skull
Physical Associations: Central nervous system, brain stem, pineal gland, overall nervous system integration
Emotional & Life Themes: Connection to something greater than self, spiritual awareness, life purpose and meaning, integration of all other gateways, consciousness and enlightenment, divine connection
When this gateway is blocked:
Chronic headaches at the skull base
Nervous system dysregulation
Sleep disturbances
Feeling disconnected or lost
Lack of purpose or meaning
Spiritual disconnection
Depression or existential anxiety
Difficulty integrating life experiences
When this gateway is flowing:
Sense of connection to something greater
Clear life purpose and direction
Integrated nervous system function
Spiritual awareness and peace
Ability to integrate and make meaning of experiences
Feeling guided and supported by life
Deep rest and restoration
The Crown Gateway integrates all the other gateways and represents your connection to higher consciousness, purpose, and meaning. Blockages here often reflect existential struggles, disconnection from purpose, or trauma that shattered your sense of meaning.
The 33 Access Points: Precision in Healing
Within these seven gateways lie 33 specific access points corresponding to vertebrae, nerve plexuses, and fascial connections along your spine. These access points provide precise locations where practitioners can facilitate release.
Think of the seven gateways as major cities along a highway, and the 33 access points as specific addresses within those cities. By working with these specific points, practitioners can address particular patterns, traumas, or blockages with precision.
The access points include:
7 cervical (neck) points related to brain function, communication, and upper body
12 thoracic (mid-back) points connected to organs, breathing, and emotional holding
5 lumbar (lower back) points associated with foundation, power, and lower body function
5 sacral points governing survival, safety, and structural foundation
4 coccygeal points at the very base, connected to grounding and primal safety
During a Spinal Flow session at Vital Spine Wellness, we assess all 33 access points to identify where blockages or ease-ways are present. Some points may have surface-level tension that releases quickly. Others may have deep, long-held patterns that require multiple sessions to fully release.
Each person's pattern is unique—like a fingerprint of their life experiences, stresses, traumas, and nervous system adaptations. This is why Spinal Flow is never a one-size-fits-all approach but rather a personalized journey guided by your body's unique roadmap.
How Gateway Releases Create Transformation
When a gateway releases during Spinal Flow, the effects often extend far beyond the physical location. This is because each gateway is connected to specific emotional patterns, life themes, and ways of being in the world.
A typical release progression might look like this:
Physical Sensation: During the session, you feel warmth, tingling, or waves of energy at a specific gateway. Muscles might twitch or tremor as tension releases. Your breathing naturally deepens.
Immediate Effects: Right after the session, you notice physical changes—less pain, easier movement, a sense of spaciousness in your body. You feel deeply relaxed or energized (or both simultaneously).
Emotional Release: In the hours or days following, emotions may surface—tears, laughter, anger, or simply a profound sense of peace. This is your body releasing what was stored at that gateway, often connected to experiences you may not even consciously remember.
Behavioral Shifts: As the gateway continues to integrate, you notice changes in how you respond to life—more confidence after a Solar Plexus release, easier communication after a Throat Gateway release, deeper connections after a Heart Gateway opening.
Life Changes: Sometimes gateway releases coincide with significant life shifts—ending toxic relationships, changing careers, setting boundaries you couldn't set before, pursuing dreams you'd suppressed. When your nervous system releases what was keeping you stuck, your life often shifts to reflect this new internal freedom.
Mental and Emotional Benefits: The Mind-Body-Spirit Connection
While many people come to Spinal Flow for physical symptoms, the mental and emotional benefits are often the most profound and life-changing. This is because your spine doesn't just hold physical tension—it stores emotional experiences, traumatic memories, and mental patterns.
Stress Reduction and Nervous System Regulation
Chronic stress keeps your nervous system in sympathetic (fight-or-flight) activation. When gateways release through Spinal Flow, your nervous system shifts into parasympathetic (rest-and-restore) dominance. This isn't just temporary relaxation—it's a recalibration of your baseline nervous system state.
Clients consistently report feeling calmer in daily life, less reactive to stressors, better able to handle challenges, improved sleep and rest, reduced muscle tension and chronic pain related to stress, and lower anxiety levels overall.
This happens because we're not just teaching stress management techniques—we're releasing the nervous system patterns that maintain chronic stress at a somatic (body-based) level.
Anxiety Relief and Emotional Regulation
Anxiety often has a strong somatic component—it lives in your body as much as your mind. Shallow breathing, chest tightness, muscle tension, digestive upset, racing heart—these physical symptoms both result from and maintain anxiety.
As gateways release, particularly the Heart Gateway (affecting breath and chest), Solar Plexus Gateway (affecting gut and personal power), and Base Gateway (affecting grounding and safety), the physical holdings that maintain anxiety dissolve.
Clients describe this as finally being able to breathe fully, feeling grounded and present rather than constantly anticipating threat, experiencing emotions without being overwhelmed, the constant background hum of worry quieting, and trusting themselves and life more deeply.
Emotional Release and Processing
Your body stores emotional experiences, particularly those that were too overwhelming to fully process when they occurred. Trauma, grief, fear, rage, shame—these emotions don't just disappear when we suppress or avoid them. They become held in your tissues, encoded in your nervous system, lodged at specific gateways.
Spinal Flow creates safe conditions for your body to release these stored emotions. This emotional release might happen during a session—spontaneous tears, unexpected laughter, trembling, or simply waves of feeling moving through you. Or it might occur in the days following, as your nervous system continues processing.
What's remarkable about this release is that it happens somatically—through the body rather than requiring you to mentally relive traumatic experiences. Your body can let go of what it's been holding without your conscious mind needing to analyze or understand every detail.
Many clients describe profound relief after emotional releases through Spinal Flow: "I cried during my third session and didn't even know why, but afterward I felt lighter than I had in years," or "Anger I didn't even know I was holding came up and moved through me. I felt cleansed," or "I've been in therapy for years processing my childhood, but Spinal Flow helped my body finally release what my mind had been trying to heal."
Trauma Healing and Integration
Trauma isn't just a psychological experience, it's fundamentally a nervous system injury. When something overwhelming happens, your nervous system goes into protection mode. Ideally, once the threat passes, your system releases this activation and returns to normal function.
But often, particularly with complex trauma, developmental trauma, or experiences where you couldn't fight or flee (only freeze), your nervous system stays stuck in the protective pattern. Your body continues responding as if the threat is still present, even years or decades later.
This stored trauma manifests as chronic pain, anxiety, hypervigilance, emotional numbness or reactivity, difficulty trusting or connecting, and feeling unsafe in your body or the world.
Spinal Flow offers a gentle, body-based approach to trauma healing. By working with the specific gateways where trauma is held, we facilitate nervous system release without requiring you to verbally recount traumatic experiences (which can be re-traumatizing).
The trauma healing process through Spinal Flow typically unfolds gradually:
Safety establishment: First sessions focus on helping your nervous system feel safe enough to begin releasing. This might involve working primarily with the Base Gateway (safety/survival) and Heart Gateway (feeling safe to feel).
Layer-by-layer release: Trauma is often stored in layers, more recent experiences on top of older ones. As surface layers release, deeper holdings become accessible. This is why trauma healing through Spinal Flow is a process rather than a single event.
Integration: Between sessions, your nervous system integrates the releases. You might notice old patterns losing their grip, triggers affecting you less intensely, or increased capacity to be present without dissociating or overwhelm.
Reclaiming your body: As trauma releases, many people describe finally feeling "at home" in their body, a sense of safety, presence, and aliveness they may never have experienced before or haven't felt since before the trauma occurred.
Client Stories: Gateway Releases and Transformation
Lisa's Heart Gateway Opening: From Grief to Connection
Lisa, 51, came to Vital Spine Wellness with chronic upper back pain between her shoulder blades. She'd tried massage, physiotherapy, and pain medication with minimal relief. During her consultation, she mentioned her mother had passed away three years earlier, but she'd "dealt with it" and "moved on."
As we worked with her Heart Gateway in her second session, Lisa experienced a profound release. Waves of grief moved through her body. She cried deeply, not with distress, but with relief. "I didn't realize I'd been holding this," she said afterward. "I thought I'd processed my grief, but my body was still carrying it."
Over the next several sessions, as her Heart Gateway continued releasing, Lisa's upper back pain completely resolved. But more significantly, she reported feeling more open, more capable of connection, more alive. "I can breathe fully for the first time in years," she shared. "And I'm letting people in again, something I didn't even realize I'd stopped doing."
David's Solar Plexus Release: Reclaiming Personal Power
David, 38, suffered from chronic mid-back pain and severe digestive issues. He described feeling powerless in his work life, unable to set boundaries, constantly overwhelmed by others' demands.
His Solar Plexus Gateway showed significant blockage, the area governing personal power, boundaries, and digestion. As we worked to release this gateway, David experienced both physical and emotional shifts.
His digestive issues improved dramatically within weeks. But more profoundly, he found himself naturally setting boundaries he'd never been able to set before, saying no to unreasonable requests, speaking up in meetings, advocating for himself.
"It wasn't that I decided to change my behavior," David explained. "It's like my body suddenly knew it was safe to take up space, to have a voice, to have power. The boundaries came naturally rather than feeling like constant battles."
Recognizing Gateway-Specific Symptoms
Understanding which gateways might be blocked in your own system can provide insight into your healing journey:
If you struggle with anxiety, insecurity, or feeling ungrounded: Base Gateway likely needs attention
If you have difficulty with creativity, pleasure, or emotional expression: Pelvic Gateway may be blocked
If you feel powerless, have poor boundaries, or suffer digestive issues: Solar Plexus Gateway needs support
If you struggle with love, connection, or have unprocessed grief: Heart Gateway requires release
If you can't speak your truth or feel unheard: Throat Gateway is calling for attention
If you experience mental fog, overthinking, or disconnection from intuition: Third Eye Gateway needs clearing
If you feel purposeless, spiritually disconnected, or can't integrate experiences: Crown Gateway requires work
Often, multiple gateways need attention. Your practitioner at Vital Spine Wellness will assess your entire spine to understand your unique pattern and create a healing journey tailored to your needs.
FAQs
Do I need to understand the gateways for Spinal Flow to work?
No. Your body's wisdom operates independently of your conscious understanding. However, many people find that understanding the gateways helps them recognize and appreciate the changes they're experiencing, both physical and emotional.
Will emotional releases happen during every session?
Not necessarily. Some sessions involve primarily physical releases. Others bring profound emotional experiences. Your body determines what's ready to release in each session. All types of releases are valuable and part of your healing process.
What if I don't want to experience emotional release?
Spinal Flow honors your pace and your nervous system's readiness. You'll never be forced to release more than your system is prepared to handle. If emotional release feels threatening, we can work more gently with physical releases until your nervous system feels safe enough for deeper work.
Can childhood trauma be released even if I don't remember it?
Yes. Your body stores experiences that your conscious mind may not remember, particularly trauma from early childhood or preverbal experiences. Spinal Flow works at the somatic level, allowing your body to release what it's holding regardless of whether you have conscious memories.
How do you know which gateways to work with?
Practitioners assess all 33 access points during each session, identifying where blockages or ease-ways are present. We work with the gateways your body indicates are ready for release, following your system's wisdom rather than imposing a predetermined protocol.
Is it normal to feel emotional or tired after sessions?
Very normal. Emotional feelings, fatigue, vivid dreams, or temporary symptom intensification are all signs that your nervous system is processing and integrating releases. These typically pass within 24-48 hours. Drinking water, resting, and allowing your body to integrate supports this process.
Can Spinal Flow replace therapy for trauma?
Spinal Flow is complementary to, not a replacement for, psychological therapy. Many people find that combining somatic work (like Spinal Flow) with talk therapy creates the most comprehensive healing. Your body releases what it's holding while your mind processes and makes meaning of experiences.
The Gateway to Your Wholeness
The seven gateways and 33 access points aren't just anatomical locations, they're a roadmap to your wholeness. Each gateway holds part of your story, your experiences, your unprocessed emotions, and your unrealized potential.
When blockages release and energy flows freely through all seven gateways, you experience what many describe as coming home to yourself. Physical pain resolves, yes. But more than that, you feel more alive, more present, more capable of experiencing the full spectrum of human emotion without being overwhelmed. You feel integrated rather than fragmented, connected rather than isolated, empowered rather than victimized by life.
This is the true promise of Spinal Flow, not just symptom relief, but genuine transformation. Not just physical healing, but emotional liberation. Not just pain management, but the reclamation of your full, vital, authentic self.
We witness these gateway releases and transformations daily. We see people's faces soften as Heart Gateways open. We watch confidence emerge as Solar Plexus blockages clear. We hear authentic voices speaking truth as Throat Gateways release. We celebrate with clients as they reclaim their bodies, their emotions, their lives from the patterns that have held them captive.
Your gateways hold both your pain and your potential. They store both your trauma and your capacity for transformation. And they're waiting, ready to release, ready to flow, ready to restore you to the wholeness that has always been your birthright.
Begin Your Gateway Healing Journey
Understanding the gateways is interesting intellectually. Experiencing their release and the transformation it creates is life-changing.
If you're curious about which gateways might be blocked in your system, what patterns your spine is holding, and how Spinal Flow could support your physical and emotional healing, we invite you to book a complimentary discovery call.
We'll discuss your symptoms, both physical and emotional, explore how gateway work might address your specific challenges, and answer any questions you have about the process.
Or, if you're ready to experience gateway release for yourself, schedule your first session and begin the journey toward physical ease, emotional freedom, and whole-person wellness.
Your gateways are calling. Your body is ready. Let's begin.
Vital Spine Wellness • Hamilton, ON
Spinal Flow Technique addresses nervous system function and supports overall wellbeing. It is not a substitute for medical or psychological treatment. For serious mental health concerns, trauma, or psychiatric conditions, please work with qualified mental health professionals. Spinal Flow can complement but should not replace appropriate medical and psychological care.
