Health Indicators in Your Chart – Part 1: The Five Types 

Use Your Human Design Chart to Help You Stay Healthy and Vibrant – Introduction

There is no shortage of theories and advice for addressing health issues and challenges, and for attempting to maximize our well-being.

Here is a very different approach:  use your Human Design Chart!

[When you’ve read this article (Part 1),
Click here to read Part 2 about the Nine Centers
Click here to read Part 3 about Significant Gates and Channels ]

Your Human Design Chart contains information about the energy configuration you carry—it shows the energetic structure you were born with. (Click here if you don’t have your Chart yet.)

This set of energies interacts within you, influencing your behavior and your ability to handle stress and pressure, and determining the most effective way for you to operate in the world.

Your set of energies also interacts with the people around you, influencing them and being influenced by them.

The energies you carry (your “definition”) are colored in on your chart. These are energies you experience consistently and broadcast out to the world.

The Centers, gates and channels that are white (your “openness” ) are areas where you take in the energy of others. The inconsistency and intensity of these open areas can be confusing and overwhelming, but our openness is also our greatest source of wisdom in life. This wisdom comes from experiencing the full range of human expression in each area where we are open.

How Your Chart Affects You

The Human Design Chart is a bit like a circuit board. Energy flows through completed (“Defined”) channels, which are the colored-in bars between the geometric shapes on the chart (which are called Energy Centers).

A completed channel activates, colors in, and energizes the Centers at either end of that channel.

The channels and Centers that are colored in on your Chart determine your Type, which describes your overall role and nature and which gives you the decision-making and action-taking strategy that is specifically correct for you.

The Centers also determine many of your behavior characteristics and behavioral patterns.

Understanding and using this information about YOU can help you not only actively work with your natural tendencies so you maximize and leverage your full potential, but also allow you to deliberately transform behaviors and patterns that are not aligned with your natural energies.

Our “Systems”

Our health and well-being are determined by the proper flow and functioning of the many systems in our body, including circulatory, endocrine, and immune systems, to name a few.

There are also electrical and energy flows through and around our bodies (auras and our etheric body, for example) that affect us as well. Many believe that healing and optimizing these systems is the first step to changing our physical bodies.

The energetic structure shown in your Human Design Chart gives you a specific way to understand and work with some of this energy.

The “Not Self”

Using Human Design as a tool for your well-being gives you access to recognizing and shifting some of the core issues around your own health tendencies and patterns.

The number one cause of illness may turn out to be the “Not Self.” This means living a life that does not align with or express our Authentic Self—which is our Human Design “definition” and the energetic structure we were born with. (For more information, see this article on the Not Self.)

When we’re out of alignment with our true nature, especially with our Type, we tend to have more pain (emotional and physical), more suffering, and a greater chance for physical illness.

Part 1:  The Types

In this first part of a three-part series of articles on the topic of using Human Design to improve our well-being, we look specifically at the five Types in Human Design. (Your Human Design Chart shows which Type you are.)

Manifestors
Configured specifically to “get things started,” Manifestor Types have the energy for initiating but not the sustainable energy for “doing” all of it. They are designed to start things but not necessarily finish them… and definitely not to do all the work of implementing them.

Their correct approach is to get in, get something started, and get out. When they don’t operate this way and/or when they try to do too much, they can burn out (often around age 50) or shut down their energy, and possibly have health issues.

Here are a few ways that Manifestors negatively impact their health:
•    Doing too much “doing;” not letting others do the implementing
•    Trying to do the follow up, maintenance and ongoing management of anything
•    Trying to keep up energetically with the Generators and Manifesting Generators (who do have sustainable energy for doing)
•    Not initiating enough—some Manifestors shut down their initiating capacity which bottles up their energy and makes them angry or numb (or both)
•    Not informing the people who will be impacted by their actions before they take those actions.

Any of the above qualifies as living the “Not Self” for a Manifestor and could negatively affect their energy levels as well as their physical health. Read more about being a Manifestor here.

Generators
This Type has sustainable energy for doing, and doing, and doing. This is powerful life force and work force energy. Generators are designed to have a “full tank of gas” every morning and to use up that energy before they go to bed.

Although their energy is sustainable, it is not inexhaustible. Generators can and do burn out if they’re not living true to their Type.

Here are some ways that Generators can lose energy or burn out:
•    Not loving the work they do, or the people they’re with
•    Not getting enough physical activity during the day (sedentary lifestyles are hard on Generators)
•    Not following their Sacral guidance (gut feelings) about what to do and when to do it
•    Pushing themselves too hard and not resting when their energy needs recharging

Generators are designed to do work they love and to master it. Read more about being a Generator here.

Manifesting Generators
This Type also has sustainable life force and work force energy for doing. Like Generators, they are designed to start with a “full tank of gas” every morning and use up that energy before they go to bed.

They are also designed to be fast processors (the fastest of the five Types), have a lot going on, and be good at multi-tasking. They may skip steps in their speed to get things done, and that’s actually correct for them.

Although their energy is fast and sustainable, it is not inexhaustible (even though they often think they are inexhaustible!).

Here are some ways that Manifesting Generators can lose energy or burn out:
•    Not loving the work they do, or the people they’re with
•    Not getting enough physical activity during the day (sedentary lifestyles are really hard on Manifesting Generators)
•    Not following their Sacral guidance (gut feelings) about what to do and when to do it
•    Pushing themselves too hard and not resting when their energy needs recharging
•    Feeling frustrated and impatient (even angry) when others don’t move fast enough or things don’t happen fast enough for them.
•    Not informing the people who will be impacted by their actions before they take those actions.

Manifesting Generators are designed to do work they love and to master it, and also to find the fastest way through things. Read more about being a Manifesting Generator here.

Projectors
This Type is designed to manage, guide and direct the energies of others. They do not have sustainable energy for doing all of the work themselves. However, they are very powerful when using their energy correctly.

Some Projectors burn out around age 35-45 if they have pushed themselves too hard and lived their “Not Self.” I’ve seen many who have (or have had) autoimmune or “mystery” illnesses. But I’ve also seen many Projectors who do not burn out or get sick.

Here are some examples of Projectors not living according to their energy configuration:
•    Pushing to make things happen (Projectors need to wait for invitations into the big things in life, like jobs, careers, relationships, moving)
•    Offering opinions, guidance or advice without being asked
•    Not waiting for the right timing; not allowing things to unfold naturally
•    Trying to keep up with Generators or Manifesting Generators (who DO have sustainable energy)
•    Not taking time to recover after an intense effort (Projectors can work very intensely for finite periods of time, then need time off before they can bounce back)
•    Feeling guilty, embarrassed or bitter about not easily being able to make things happen (which is the Manifestor’s role, not the Projector’s)
•    Feeling that life isn’t fair; blaming themselves or others

Once a Projector burns out, recovery can take a while (sometimes years). It’s best for them to manage their energy pro-actively, and avoid burnout. Read more about being a Projector here.

Reflectors
These rare people (less than 1% of the population) are here to reflect back to us the health of our communities. They help us to see ourselves more clearly.

Reflectors are very Open beings, energetically, having no Defined (colored in) Energy Centers. Their energy is not sustainable so, like Manifestors and Projectors, Reflectors need to manage their energy and not try to keep up with the energizer bunnies of the world (Generators and Manifesting Generators).

Here are a few ways that Reflectors operate from their “Not Self”:
•    Trying to function with sustainable energy, and not taking rest and recovery time
•    Being exposed to too many people at once – Reflectors are sensitive to others’ energies
•    Leaping into decisions, and possibly regretting those decisions – Reflectors need 29 days to make important decisions
•    Not talking with others about their important decisions while they wait
•    Not surrounding themselves with trusted, loving and consistent friends and family
•    Feeling deep disappointment.

Reflectors are great gifts to the world and deserve to be supported in taking good care of themselves. Read more about being a Reflector here.

In Part 2 of this article we’ll look at the nine Energy Centers, and in Part 3 we’ll look at some specific Gates and Channels.

I welcome your comments!