In my two decades as a chiropractor, acupuncturist, hypnotherapist, and energy healer, I’ve discovered a profound truth: the pain and tension we carry in our bodies often have roots much deeper than posture or injury. A stiff neck or persistent backache can be the quiet echo of unspoken fears, lingering anxieties, or emotional burdens stored deep within our tissues.
This insight shapes every aspect of my work, where I honor the whole person: body, mind, and spirit. Among the many healing tools I use, one of the most transformative is Feeding Your Demons, a practice developed by Lama Tsultrim Allione, an American Buddhist teacher. Adapted from the ancient Tibetan ritual chöd, meaning “cutting through,” it invites us to compassionately face the parts of ourselves we often avoid: our inner “demons.”
Understanding Your Inner Demons
The demons in this context aren’t supernatural beings but energies within us: fear, limiting beliefs, anxiety, and self-sabotaging habits. These parts often began as protectors, coping strategies meant to keep us safe. Yet, over time, they can harden into patterns that hold us back, such as emotional eating, smoking, or alcohol dependence.
Most people instinctively try to fight or suppress these parts, but resistance only strengthens their hold. Feeding Your Demons offers a different path: meeting these energies with curiosity, compassion, and care. When we listen deeply and give them the nourishment they truly need, they can transform – sometimes becoming allies who bring strength, clarity, and healing.
The Process in My Practice
When I guide someone through this work, we first create a safe, grounded space. Breathwork can help the nervous system shift from a state of stress into one of ease, making emotional exploration less overwhelming.
The practice unfolds in five steps:
1. Find the demon: Identify a troubling emotion, fear, or behavior – whether anxiety, self-criticism, or a destructive habit.
2. Personify the demon: Visualize it as a being with a form, texture, or color. Ask what it wants, and more importantly, what it truly needs.
3. Become the demon: Step into its perspective to feel its emotions and motivations deeply.
4. Feed the demon and welcome the ally: Imagine your body transforming into a nourishing nectar, offering the demon what it craves – often love, safety, or acceptance – until it feels fully at peace. In that moment, an ally may appear or be called upon, offering protection, wisdom, and support.
5. Rest: Allow time for integration so the experience can settle within the body and mind.
Why This Practice Works
I’ve witnessed Feeding Your Demons help people create breakthroughs after feeling stuck for years. Meeting inner challenges with kindness rather than conflict frees energy that was previously trapped in resistance, tension, and pain.
This work also uncovers the roots of destructive habits. When the unmet needs beneath a behavior – such as the comfort sought in overeating or the escape found in smoking – are met with compassion, patients often find it easier to release these patterns and choose healthier ones.
Physiologically, the practice calms the nervous system, easing chronic stress that fuels both physical discomfort and emotional imbalance. Psychologically, it shifts our relationship with ourselves, replacing judgment with compassion and fostering lasting resilience.
The Benefits My Patients Experience
- Inner peace: The relentless inner struggle quiets, making space for calm.
- Emotional freedom: The grip of self-criticism and anxiety loosens.
- Stress relief: Relaxation flows through body and mind.
- Breaking addictive cycles: Meeting emotional needs beneath habits often eases reliance on food, cigarettes, or alcohol.
- Improved relationships: Compassion for oneself naturally extends outward.
- Fear to courage: Facing phobias with support diminishes their power, replacing avoidance with empowerment.
These benefits are more than symptom relief—they mark a new way of relating to yourself and your life.
Whether through chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, energy work, or the gentle guidance of Feeding Your Demons, my work is devoted to helping people remember their innate capacity to heal and grow. This practice is more than a method – it’s a warm invitation to return to yourself, where emotional freedom, spiritual resilience, and a deep sense of wholeness are ready to welcome you home.
Dr. Brian Ruggiero, DC, is the owner of Ruggiero Family Chiropractic & Rehabilitation Center located at 935 Main St., suite b104 in Downtown Manchester. Dr. Ruggiero has been helping patients heal for over twenty years. As a chiropractor, acupuncturist, hypnotherapist, energy worker, and Qest4 bioenergetic practitioner, he takes a holistic approach to uncover and address the root causes of pain and imbalances.
If you’re ready to explore personalized, integrative care for body, mind, and spirit, contact Dr. Ruggiero at: www.ruggierofamilychiro.com, drbrianmanchester@gmail.com, or 860.643.2888.