Healing

Calm yourself in a few minutes

Energy Healing, Healing, Healing Touch, Health Tips, Wellness Tips

Are you feeling anxious? 

Here’s an easy way to relieve stress. All you need are your hands, your heart and your voice.

pink water lily

Find a quiet comfortable place where you won’t be interrupted. Put both hands on your heart and breathe deeply from your belly. Soften and relax your body. Let any tension in your belly, chest, shoulders, neck and jaw and face melt away with each out breath. If you are frowning, let the muscles of your brow relax. This helps calm your mind.

Now tune in and ask your heart what it wants and needs today. The answer may come in the form of a picture in your mind, a memory, a song title, a sudden inspiration, an emotion, a feeling, an insight, a knowing. You may know right away what the answer is, or it may take a little longer for that to be clear. Listen deeply, don’t rush. Your heart is wise beyond the intellect and will never steer you wrong.

After a few minutes begin making an AH sound, keeping your hands on your heart chakra at the center of your chest. Let the sound resonate there. You might have to adjust the pitch up or down to feel it in the heart. Continue making the sound and feeling the vibrations in your heart until you feel calmer and more peaceful. (Do this step silently, or leave it out if you need a quick stress reliever at work.)

Making sounds that vibrate in the body, also called toning, helps calm and relax the mind, body and spirit. It’s fun to experiment with toning for each chakra, and for areas of your body that are tense or uncomfortable. Sound is energy, and it can be directed to any part of your body. Play with the sound of your voice and allow it to relax you.

For more information about toning see Jonathan Goldman’s books about sound healing including:  The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing (2011), The Divine Name (2015), and Healing Sounds (2002).  Also, check out his website at healingsounds.com.

6 Tips for Getting Centered

Healing, Healing Touch, Health Tips, Life Tips, Wellness Tips

Do you live in your head? Do you sometimes feel spacey and disconnected from reality?

Getting centered can help you feel more present and alive in your own body with a sharper focus and clearer mind.

I hate to admit it, but I had a car accident once because I wasn’t present in my body. My 7 month old granddaughter was in the hospital, and I felt anxious and worried. I left the hospital after dark, trying to find my daughter’s apartment, driving a rental car in a strange city, and got turned around. My mind was churning with anxiety about the baby. I realized I needed to go in the opposite direction and made a left turn from the wrong lane… while someone was passing me on that side… When I heard the metal crunching, I felt a sick, horrible feeling. No one was hurt, thank goodness.

That accident taught me a valuable lesson about making sure I’m centered and fully in my body every single day, especially while driving or doing other things that require my full attention and presence.

leaf water

Here are my top 6 tips for getting centered in your body.

  • Sit in meditation for several minutes.  Pay full attention to your breath or other sensations in your body.  Let your thoughts drift in and out like clouds across the sky.
  • Do a simple yoga routine such as sun salutations. I also like the poses legs up the wall and rotated stomach pose, for relaxing and getting centered. Try yogajournal.com for more information and instruction or check out local yoga studios for classes. Also find instructional DVDs at your local library.
  • Imagine you’re a tree and send your roots down to the center of the earth. See your roots coming from your root chakra at the base of your spine and from your legs and feet. Feel the magnetic pull of the earth. Breathe in the earth energy through your roots into your lower body.
  • Make the lowest pitched sound possible without straining your voice. Use a vowel sound and see if you can feel the vibrations of the tone in your lower body.
  • Go for a nature walk without any electronics. Enjoy the beauty around you. Pay attention to the sensations that move through your body. Let your busy mind rest.
  • Live in your feet. This means to drop your awareness from your head and all the busy thinking and worry, and pay attention to the physical sensations in your feet. Try it for several minutes as you go about your day, and see how you feel afterward.