This technique is a step by step guide that combines self-hypnosis and some self-inner guidance with the idea of balancing your chakras. Now it is not really important to know what your chakras are - in brief, they are regarded as central energy points in your body in Eastern medicine and philosophy. They have certain colors associated with them that are going to be integrated into this technique within your mind.

I know it made me feel wonderfully energized, refreshed and very well balanced afterwards.

Step One:
Find a place where you are not going to be disturbed for a while and allow you eyelids to close. Imagine that as you close your eyelids, they melt and relax into your face and begin to send relaxation throughout your body.

Create some expectation; we all know how hypnotic expectation is, don’t we? Tell yourself that in a few moments you’re going to enter one of the most relaxed states that you’ve ever known.

You can take yourself into self-hypnosis (if you don’t know how, go get my book) or use any good meditation technique or relaxation strategy that you know. Take a few moments to focus on your breathing and engage in the moment. Notice what you are thinking and feeling.

Step Two:
Using your imagination, begin now to sense that you are floating on a soft cloud, almost like it is a mist that is gentle, soft, and completely supportive. It melds and molds itself to the exact contours of your body, imagine that you settle deeply into it and take sufficient time to really develop that comfort.

Imagine that the cloud is a beautiful, soft yet strong, strawberry red color. Imagine that the wonderful red mist gently envelops your entire being. Sense that it is bathing you in a soft and gentle relaxation.

Let that red mist move throughout your body, drawing away anything unwanted, leaving you in a soft, peaceful state. Imagine that red color in each and every cell of your being. Let that red mist sink into the very depths of the center of your mind.

Spread that red all through you, reaching all the way down to the tips of your toes, all the way down to the very tips of your fingers and feel yourself in harmony with this natural red color as your body is feeling more and more balanced and alive.

Let the red mist focus around the base of your spine. Maybe you can even imagine that your spine vibrates in harmony with red and the entire area of the lower back and spine goes into a total relaxation. When you really engage in doing this, you can create some magnificent sensations.

Imagine and sense that you are in tune with nature and all of nature is in tune with you. Breathe that red, gentle mist in and now allow a little, tiny red bird to gently glide around you, wrapping your body in a soft, red, blanket of balance and relaxation.

If you are not a fan of birds, then you can of course imagine anything else - angels or a loved one, or that the blanket wraps itself around you unaided. Choose what suits you personally.

Step Three:
Having done this inside your mind, next up imagine floating on a soft, almost peach-like orange color. Allow yourself to be in harmony with this orange (just as you were with the red) and right around the area of your abdomen there is an energy center that vibrates with this color of orange.

Allow this orange mist to bring this gentle softness, this natural awareness to your body and feel it almost like a sponge, absorbing and releasing anything you might need to let go of, bathing you in a soft mist of peace, relaxation and comfort. Feel and sense anything unwanted being absorbed into the mist from all the parts of your body.

Allow this orange to penetrate your body and give you peace and comfort, feel the freedom as you do this. Feel yourself relaxing more and more as this orange mist flows in and around all the parts of your abdomen. Then in whatever way you feel resonates with you the best, imagine a little orange ribbon gliding gently and gently carrying the mist over and around and through your body, your body wonderfully at ease and relaxed. Take enough time to really enjoy doing this.

Step Four:
Now in your mind’s eye imagine yourself floating on a yellow mist, the soft color of lemon, beautiful, lemon yellow right there in the center of your chest.

Take all the time you need to really be in harmony with this color of yellow and the middle area of your body and the center of your chest is relaxing more and more as you can imagine that area has an energy center that vibrates to the color yellow. Breathe in the soft yellow mist, the comfort of that gentle softness with each breath that you take really let it flow throughout you now, let it move through your entire being.

Allow your body to be at peace as the yellow mist eases and soothes your body.

Imagine that all of nature is in tune with this yellow and you are in tune with nature. Feel the freedom of the atmosphere that you are creating in your mind.

As we did previously, now imagine a silky ribbon of yellow, floating gently around you, wrapping the mist of balance and awareness around your body with a blanket of gentle, soothing tranquility.

Breathe in the yellow velvety mist as it bathes you in a sea of peace, taking all the time you need to sense deep comfort.

Step Five:
Imagine that you are floating on a green mist, actually begin to see, sense, imagine and feel a green mist all around you, absorbing into your skin, feeling immersed, enveloped in that green mist, a beautiful color of green. Green as lush grass.

And as you breathe in this soft, green mist the gentle softness is all around your heart, and you feel your heart begin to relax all around that area, all the way up to the area of your throat. As you relax imagine that you can feel your heart opening, opening and connecting with the world around you.

Imagine that your chest and your heart area vibrates now to the color of green and feel the peace and the relaxation that that brings. Begin to feel this green bringing the relaxation all through your body, gentle softness, this wonderful green color.

Anything unwanted around your heart is being absorbed by that green, floating it away, drawing it away, leaving only peace, balance and comfort in its place. Each time that you breathe in the mist of the green, imagine and feel your body becoming even more limp, loose, safe, and comfortable.

Feel the green cleansing and freeing you, allowing your body to work in perfect harmony with nature just as it was intended to do. Then imagine a soft, silky green ribbon, floating around you… as with the previous steps.

Step Six:
Ok, so now just imagine yourself floating on a mist of blue. Just engage your mind in that idea that you are gently floating peacefully on this beautiful blue color. While doing that, allow your throat and your neck relax all the way up through the back of your neck and your throat and your neck are feeling calm and relaxed.

Breathe in the blue air and feel it drifting and floating throughout your entire body. Allow this gentle blue mist to draw up and soften and balance all the muscles in your body. Think that your body is at peace as the blue mist works through it and soothes it.

Imagine that the blue mist carries takes away anything unwanted, leaving only comfort, ease and safety.

Once again, imagine that all of nature is in tune with blue and you are in tune with nature. Your body has been perfectly designed to work in harmony with nature and so let all the natural processes of just ‘being’ occur for you while you are doing this.

Feel the comfort increasing within you as the blue mist fills every cell and every muscle and now imagine that silky ribbon, floating around your body, gently touching your body with a blanket of blue mist, bathing you in a sea of total relaxation.

Step Seven:
Finally, imagine yourself floating on a misty cloud of violet, a beautiful violet-rosy color, a very soft combination that creates a nice lavender color.

Imagine that the soft color of violet, that very soft purple, penetrates your body and allow yourself to go deeper into your own mind. Imagine that you draw this purple into your body. Feel that beautiful color bringing you serenity and peace.

Ensure that you feel safe and comfortable on this beautiful soft purple mist. Tune into nature, tune into this natural feeling with this violet color you are in and begin to breathe in the gentle violet mist. Breathe it in and feel the muscles of your mind working in harmony with the way that nature intended.

Feel yourself totally relaxed, feeling the wonderful things that are happening within your body at this moment.

Step Eight:
Now inside your mind, imagine a combination of all the colors you have been thinking of throughout this technique form a rainbow and surround you. Imagine that they combine to form a beautiful white light, purifying, cleansing, filling your body and your mind with the glorious sense of comfort, rejuvenation and balance.

Right there at the top of your head, bring that light in, a beautiful clear bright light, floating all the way down through your entire body, filling all the spaces between all of the cells, bringing you the comfort of knowing that you deserve to have the experience of a peaceful, balanced, energized life.

Step Nine:
Now allow yourself to be completely immersed in this beautiful rainbow of the energy of life, you allow your mind and your body to be very receptive, very open to creating the experience that you want and that you deserve.

Bask in the colors for as long as you like.

Step Ten:
When you are ready, you can allow yourself to come back to the awareness of the place that you are in. Tell yourself that when you open your eyes, you feel very balanced, very balanced and energized. Then open your eyes, wiggle your fingers and toes, reacquaint with your surroundings and enjoy being more balanced and refreshed.

Take some time to really balance yourself and get recharged in this way - it is so lovely to do so. Even if you think that chakras are nothing more than new age hocus pocus, this is still a wonderful exercise that is very relaxing and energizing. You don’t have to believe in something for it to be real.

Author: Adam Eason
About the author: Adam Eason is a UK based, renowned consultant, speaker and best-selling author. Please visit his website for a vast range of personal development resources and to receive your amazing free, instantly downloadable hypnosis session for ultimate relaxation and the sensational free ebook ‘The Happy Brain Manual’ filled with techniques, tips and strategies to make more of your brain: http://www.adam-eason.com Thank you.

The term naturopathic treatment covers a broad range of modalities that come under the umbrella of alternative medicines. All natural therapies aim to work with the body in treating the cause of illness, not just the symptoms. Naturopaths treat people holistically, taking into account not only their physiology, but also psychology and lifestyle.

Some examples of healing methods that come under this umbrella would be acupuncture, both Chinese and western herbal medicine, Indian ayurvedic medicine, chiropractic and massage, macrobiotics and energy work such as reiki and thought field therapies. Some are more accepted by doctors as having something to offer patients in assisting with maintaining their health, while others are frowned upon as being useless scams.

Naturopathy as a label has only been around for about one hundred years, but most alternative healing methods it covers are tradition-based medicines that have been used for much longer than we can prove. Ancient Egyptians, Native American Indians and Aborigines, to name a few, have used what they find in nature to heal their people and some of their recipes are successfully used today.

It is important to remember that all potent and potentially harmful medicines that are pharmaceutically produced have some plant derived ingredients. They are simply concentrated to the point where they are very powerful and sometimes damaging. Naturopaths have a motto that has been used since the 1800’s and that is to “do no harm”. Where prescription medications can have long-term side effects and even cause short-term discomfort, Naturopathic medicines are subtle in assisting. They work with the body, not against it and positive results can be felt quickly.

A Naturopathic medicine for a common cold for example will be ingredients to enhance the immune system, to help the body decongest and reduce inflammation, and probably something that is antiviral and antibacterial to eradicate germs more quickly. The medicines they use only encourage the bodies own ability to do all these things itself. If you buy an over the counter pharmaceutical treatment, it may cover your symptoms, but can deplete the immune system, dehydrate you and give you a false impression of health so you don’t allow your body the rest it needs to recover.

If your immune system is able to beat any illness on it’s own, it will be more robust and capable next time it is faced with similar circumstances. Seeing a Naturopath when you are in good health can also be a great idea. You can discuss things like Naturopathic medicines for energy levels, sleeping patterns, moods and even homeopathic mixtures to prevent generic diseases which may run in your family.

There are many different ways they can help with general health, and the less stressed you are and the stronger your immune systems, the less likely you will be to get sick in the first place. Visits to the Naturopathic center are usually covered by health insurance, so you can get similar insurance benefits as you would going to any other doctor.

Disclaimer - The information presented here should not be interpreted as or substituted for medical advice. Please talk to a qualified professional for more information about naturopathic treatment.

Author: Heather Colman
About the author: [Copyright © 2007, Heather Colman. Find more of Heather’s articles at eBook Palace. Her articles are available for syndication. Reprinting individual articles is permissible provided no changes are made.

Image: Vancouver Acupuncture on Flickr.com

My Experience as A Reiki Client

One of my dearest friends found her way to Reiki and trained to become a Reiki Master Teacher. I am fascinated, as she has shared much of her learning with me. In fact, I am fascinated by all forms of Holistic Healing. I am so fascinated I took on the project of creating a website for my friends who are very involved in all types of Reiki, Children’s Reiki, Shamanism, Archetypes, Healing Soul Work and Spiritual Therapy.

As with my other three websites, I have vowed to try my products. I am constantly trying out new sheets and duvet covers on my bed for one of my sites and carrying the classiest green laptop bag in town for another. Talk about a sparkly purse-yes, it is mine. It’s also from my second site. So now to truly be able to give a testimonial to Reiki, I had to really understand it and try it.

Actually, I never really experienced a true Reiki treatment until last Wednesday. Yes, I have had a mini treatment and wrote down all the information my clients handed me about Reiki, but I needed that full “I’m the client treatment.”

I had to renew in my mind what Reiki is, and do some reading to feel even more comfortable with the idea of it. No-it’s not a massage. No-it’s not a religion. No-it doesn’t take the place of medical treatment for disease and ailments and no-it is not a belief system. It is pronounced Ray-Key. It comes from the Japanese words: Rei meaning “God’s Wisdom” or the Highest Guiding spiritual consciousness and Ki (”Chi” in Chinese) meaning “life force energy.” So it is actually “Spiritually guided life force energy.”

It is a noninvasive gentle type of energy work. It has been known to treat all illnesses from a simple headache to cancer. It works beautifully with all medical and therapeutic techniques for promoting recovery. Reiki is done by a gentle placement of the practitioner’s hands on the client who is fully clothed and lying down in a comforting environment. The hand positions are held for several minutes from the crown of the head to the feet, focusing on areas to get energy flowing evenly that may have become restricted by negative thoughts or habits which may be subconsciously causing stress, illness or weakness. Reiki relaxes, rejuvenates and calms the emotions by strengthening and re-balancing the body’s energy centers (chakras) promoting healing on the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual levels. It leaves one feeling calm and well-balanced. I studied, I understood and I was ready.

Here is what I experienced. First, I entered a lovely office setting with several individual rooms housing Reiki, massage, reflexology and more. The office was professional and soothing with soft colors, a comfortable sitting area, and quiet restful music. As I entered my friend’s office, it was also peaceful and calm with lovely pictures, more calming music, and a small bubbling fountain. It was inviting, and I felt warm and at peace and ready to begin.

Margret’s table looked like a massage table covered with sheets and a pillow. Unlike a massage, I did not undress before lying down: I just removed shoes and jewelry and lay on my back to begin. I felt a little apprehensive. What if I felt nothing?

Since I am very open to holistic healing, I asked Margret to be open with me. She gets visual messages as she works on a body, and I wanted to know what she saw or felt as she worked on me. She said that not everyone wants feedback, and many just want the room to be totally quiet. From my reading and Margret’s sharing, I know that Margret is like a channeling system, and that her energy has nothing to do with mine. Reiki is guided by a Higher Intelligence and this works through Margret. She “picks up” messages, images and thoughts, and I find this interesting while others may find this frightening or too extremes. I wanted to know everything, so she began my treatment.

Margret held on to the crown of my head as she sat behind me. I closed my eyes and relaxed as she held the position for several minutes. She told me my energy was “scattered” as I knew it was. I felt scattered that day. She said she could visualize me at my desk and that I had papers scattered and I needed organization. Amen to that one! She has never seen this mess, and I don’t want her too! She went on to say in a very quiet voice that I have a novel waiting to be written, and my calling is to write it. This has been on my mind so much recently, and I have been writing but have not been persistent about it. In fact I began this novel seven years ago and have been waiting for retirement to finish it. Now I am retired and it is time. She said fear was holding me back.

Soon I felt myself capturing deep breaths and sinking into more heavy relaxation. Margret would take in my energy and cough and yawn to eliminate my negative energy and disperse my good energy.. She moved to my face, neck and arm, holding my hand for a small period of time. She told me what she saw and felt and about the conflict and sadness I have with my sister. I found myself feeling some emotion and continuing to have to breathe deeply and evenly. I felt extremely relaxed as I sunk into the massage table. As Margret moved to my energy centers, (chakras) she gave me excellent examples of what each chakra is for and how it must be moving in a clockwise manner. I was surprised when she questioned my digestive system and asked if I ache in my stomach. She said I had old memories and worries and she would help release those. Seriously, I felt nothing, but then there was a pop of pressure released from my stomach. I felt like the baby had suddenly burped, and the feeling was relief.

I continued to breathe hard, and suddenly, I started to cough. She said I was releasing negative energy and thoughts that were harbored in my second chakra.

I loved this: the music, the quiet information, the whole calming effect.

As I turned onto my stomach, I suddenly felt some new lower back pain. Where was that coming from? As Margret pressed on my back, she felt heat rising depicting tension and pain and questioned it. Yes, it hurt, but just starting a few minutes back. Margret left her hands positioned on my back, stating that lower back pain comes from financial concerns and worries, either past or present. She released the tension there.

The only thing that did not ring true to me was as Margret placed her hands on my feet and saw me spinning on my toes as a ballerina. Ballet has certainly not been in my cards although I do love to dance. (maybe not as gracefully as a ballerina!)

The beautiful spiritual side of this was Margret seeing several angels protecting me with my dearest grandmother at the forefront saying things to me she always said as I grew up in her presence. (She read tea leaves and attended a Spiritualist Church sometimes) I felt a glow and a warm inexplicable connection to light, warmth, energy and God. Margret said my energy was in tune at this point as she finished where she began: at the crown of my head.

As we finished, Margret asked me to remain lying down and to get up slowly as I was ready. I felt as though I had just had a massage. I was rejuvenated yet a little worn out and very quiet. As I got up, I was given water to revitalize me and wash out released toxins. As with a massage, I was told to drink lots of water that day.

I was left feeling whole and refreshed the whole day, and of course, I have an appointment for next week.

I am pleased to have experienced one on “my products,” and I would recommend it to everyone with an open mind and heart. If you doubt, leave this alone or read more about it. I found the experience amazing and very spiritual, but doubt would cloud the experience.

I truly feel that maintenance is so necessary to our lives, and Reiki is great for that. With routine care, we can eliminate the negative flow of energy and create a positive flow throughout our bodies. We can rid our bodies and minds of the negative impact of stress even though sometimes we do not feel the tensions. Rei
ki is a positive experience to fight illness and depression. There is definitely a strong place for Reiki in dealing with pain, injuries and illness combined with modern medicine and many other alternative therapies.

About the Author:

Diane Willbrandt lives in Western Michigan and loves to travel to new places. She has started webmarketing and writing since she retired from teaching. Her site http://www.spiritenergyhealers.com is based on energy healing forms of Reiki, Children’s Reiki, Distance Reiki, Shamanism, Spiritual therapy and Women’s healing soul groups. Exploring this new avenue has been fun for Diane. She also enjoys the beach, golf, tennis, skiing and reading.

Buy the Book: Essential Reiki
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