Below are articles and information taken from various sources. I have included many topics ranging from Pregnancy Massage, Sports Massage, Ayurevda, Deep Tissue Massage, Hot Stone Massage, Sound Healing, Crystal Therapy, Polarity Therapy, and Energy Work. I hope this information will help and assist you in your journey to health and wellness.

Pregnancy Massage

Pregnancy is a beautiful and natural condition -- nine transformative months full of excitement, planning and peering at the awesome unfolding of life. But this transformation also brings inevitable side effects, sometimes making a woman feel like her body has been taken over by an alien force. In the early months, there are mood swings from ecstasy to unpredictable crying, in later months, there are aches and pains more common to the domain of the elderly. Physical changes, such as nausea, back pain, heartburn, raging hormones, breast pain, and swollen legs and ankles affect many women during this time. But you don't have to suffer in silence. The gentle, noninvasive approach of pregnancy massage can ease your discomfort, help you prepare for labor and give you the emotional support of a caring practitioner. Massage sessions can also bring back a sense of body-mind integration, putting you into a state of relaxation and calm acceptance of your continually evolving physical form.

According to Lynne Daize, with the National Association of Pregnancy Massage Therapy, training for this specialty includes learning specific techniques for each trimester, as well as those required for labor and postpartum massage. A certified pregnancy massage therapist is well-acquainted with the physical and hormonal effects of pregnancy and has the skills to counterbalance these changes. You'll find the therapist uses a lighter touch and concentrates on those areas most vulnerable to changes in your body. She will also give you deep breathing exercises and tips on how to improve your posture to adjust to the added weight and shifting center of gravity.

Massage has many scientifically proven health benefits such as stimulating the blood and lymph systems, thereby increasing immunity and removal of toxins, stabilizing hormonal levels, and adding tone and flexibility to muscles -- all of which enhance the health of both you and your baby. As pregnancy progresses, your body adjusts to a changing alignment caused by the baby's increasing weight. This puts strain on your back and legs and increases stress on weight-bearing joints. Massage increases flexibility, enhancing the ability to carry this extra weight while also relieving aches and pains, leg cramps and muscle spasms. The effects of relaxation and tension release add to improvement in the physical state of muscles and joints, and assist in balancing emotions.

Recent studies from the Touch Research Institute (TRI) in Miami, Fla., indicates that pregnancy massage provides more than just symptom relief for the mother. A group of 26 pregnant women were given either massage or relaxation therapy during a five-week study. In addition to experiencing a reduction in symptoms of anxiety, stress, sleep problems and back pain, the massage group had fewer complications in their delivery. Their newborns also had fewer postnatal complications. Another TRI study reported massage during labor resulted in shorter labor times for the mothers, shorter hospital stays and less postpartum depression.

Obstetrician Bonita Kolrud of Westside Women's Care in Wheat Ridge, Colo., is an avid proponent of bodywork, although she cautions women to make sure their therapist is experienced with pregnancy massage. Kolrud praises the physical benefits of massage, noting it relieves tension and pain caused by changes in body alignment. "The biggest thing is so many women still look at massage as a luxury. But it has so many physical health benefits and is more of a necessity for some patients. Emotionally, it's really beneficial for women to be touched when they're pregnant. I think a lot of pregnant women don't necessarily get as much physical touching as they would like. It's a very nurturing thing having someone taking care of you, and it's a great bonding experience with the baby when you're both receiving massage."

What to Expect When Expecting
During the first trimester of pregnancy, a primary goal of massage is to provide relaxation and increase flow of the circulation systems. Stimulating the blood system pumps more energy-giving oxygen and nutrients into your cells and increases blood flow to the placenta. Muscle tension can slow down lymph flow, leaving you fatigued and at risk of toxemia. By stimulating this system, massage speeds up elimination of toxins and excess fluid, boosting your immunity and energy level.

And when it comes to morning sickness, Daize indicates that while bodywork won't completely relieve nausea, it can certainly diminish the queasiness.

In the second trimester, increasing weight of the baby can cause muscle soreness. "The mother starts going through more changes," says Daize, "so massage is used to relieve muscle spasms and ease structural changes." The therapist works to loosen joints, keeping them aligned, and soften the connective tissues, relieving backaches and leg cramps.

As pregnancy progresses and the abdomen enlarges, special positioning is required during massage. Up to the 24th week of pregnancy it is acceptable, according to Daize, for moms to be on their back with the right hip tilted up, taking pressure off the nerves and arteries. Pressure on the arteries in the back, she notes, will diminish blood flow and oxygen to the fetus. Another position that decreases stress on the back is side-lying, with the belly supported by a small wedge pillow.

During the final trimester's "home stretch," the baby begins to gain weight more rapidly, pressing against inner organs and shifting them about. Discomfort increases and the impending due date can cause added stress and anxiety. At this stage, Daize says, the therapist focuses on trigger points to relieve pain while continuing to elicit relaxation throughout the body. Generally, during the last two weeks before mom's due date the therapist concentrates her techniques on preparing the mother's body for delivery.

Before initiating massage, consult your obstetrician, especially if you are high-risk. While massage is a safe treatment, there are certain conditions that require your physician's approval and careful monitoring by the therapist. Notify your therapist immediately of any changes in your physical health, and consult your obstetrician about continuing the treatments should complications arise. Some physicians may be unaware of the benefits of pregnancy massage and hesitant to recommend it. In these cases, the therapist can help by providing information that explains her specialized training and experience.

Spouses and partners can be included in the massage experience as well. As your due date nears, you can bring your labor coach into your session to learn basic massage techniques. Kolrud notes that massage during labor is especially beneficial if the woman "prefers to do it as naturally as possible." You might consider hiring a doula or massage therapy birth assistant to comfort and guide you through the entire labor and delivery process. These professionals are trained to provide both physical and emotional support. They act as a liaison with medical staff and as the mother's caregiver, using their expertise to create a stress-free and positive environment. By giving massage, suggesting alternative positions for labor and tending to minor details, they relieve fathers and family members of much of the pressure and responsibility in the labor room.

Sports Massage

Sports Massage & Recovery Time
Re-examining the Role of Lactic Acid

By Shirley Vanderbilt

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, October/November 2001.
Copyright 2003. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

Sometimes a "truth" is not what it seems. Take lactic acid. For years, many massage therapists have been taught that lactic acid can and should be flushed from the muscles of athletes after intense activity. This truism has been passed on to clients who have also accepted it as fact. Both therapist and client thus have established and perpetuated a mutual belief system that purging of lactic acid is not only necessary, but also efficiently accomplished with the assistance of massage. Some beliefs die hard. This one and others related to lactic acid have been holding their own, not only in some massage schools and practices, but also in the community at large, despite emerging research to the contrary. Pass the word. There's no need to mess with Mother Nature.

Lactate accumulated from intense exercise actually fuels the body, according to Dr. Owen Anderson, exercise physiologist and editor of Running Research News. In a recent interview from his office in Michigan, Anderson explained the facts.

Lactic acid levels will return to homeostasis quickly post-exercise without any "hands-on" assistance. "Muscles don't need help from massage in removing lactate," said Anderson. "Massage will probably have the biggest effect on venous blood," and by the time massage is administered, lactate has already left the muscle. This is not to say massage isn't beneficial to the athlete. "Massage is good for relaxing," said Anderson, "and provides help increasing flexibility of muscles."

Whitney Lowe, owner and director of Orthopedic Massage Education and Research Institute and author of Functional Assessment in Massage Therapy concurs with Anderson's statements.

"Lactic acid is a natural by-product of any muscular activity. There are elevated levels of lactic acid in muscle tissues after exercise, but that is going to subside either with time or with any type of movement activity, even just walking around the room."

In addition, lactic acid does not cause muscle soreness, fatigue or the "burn" of intensive exercise, noted Anderson. His comments and those of Lowe are backed by valid scientific research. Several studies conducted in the 1980s by exercise physiologist Dr. George A. Brooks ushered in a new perspective on this supposed "demon." Brooks noted that lactic acid is a key substance for providing energy, disposing dietary carbohydrate, producing blood glucose and liver glycogen and promoting survival in stress situations.1

Nature's Magic Tricks
Just as the body's intelligence keeps our hearts pumping and our intestines digesting without any intervention on our part, in like manner it maintains the chemical process of glycolysis to provide energy on a 24-hour basis. In Anderson's book, Lactate Lift-off, he writes, "Glycolysis is actually a series of 10 different chemical reactions...that break down glucose, the simple six-carbon sugar which is your body's most important source of carbohydrate fuel, into something called pyruvic acid."2 From pyruvic acid, with the help of the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase, we get lactic acid. But it's not quite that simple.

The process of glycolysis converts each glucose molecule into two pyruvic acid molecules, releasing energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). From there, pyruvic acid enters the mitochondria, where more ATP is produced through the Krebs cycle.3 "In addition to 'handling' the pyruvic acid produced from glucose," states Anderson, "the Krebs cycle also metabolizes fats, over all, it furnishes more than 90 percent of the energy you need to exercise in a sustained manner."4

As exercise intensity increases, glycolysis speeds up and pyruvic acid is produced at an increasing rate. When it can no longer be processed through the Krebs cycle as quickly as it is generated, some of the pyruvic acid is converted to lactic acid, which rapidly dissociates into a lactate anion and a free hydrogen ion (H+). Lactate can then be quickly transported from the muscle into the blood, where it is circulated throughout the body. If an excessive amount of pyruvic acid were allowed to build up, glycolysis would come to a halt, thus blocking energy production. The conversion to lactic acid allows the body to continue its exertion of energy. Once the lactate enters other tissues, it can be converted to pyruvate, which is processed by the Krebs cycle into ATP for even more energy. Lactate can also be converted by the liver and other tissues into glucose, boosting depleted stores of glycogen needed for future activity.5,6,7

Although the focus here is to examine excessive lactic acid accumulation during intensive activity, it's important to clarify that lactic acid production is a normal and continuous part of the body's energy cycle. According to Anderson, lactate is produced even at rest and "...its concentrations can rise rather dramatically whenever you take in a carbohydrate-containing meal." Lactate plays an important role in processing carbohydrate and facilitating its availability to the liver and muscles.8

Lactic acid reaches excessive levels when the body can no longer clear it as quickly as it is being produced. "When you begin a moderate to difficult workout," states Anderson, "lactate levels in your blood initially rise, simply because glycolysis is working away to provide quite a bit of the energy you require." At this point, there is minimal blood and oxygen flow to the muscles. This limits the breakdown of pyruvate in the Krebs cycle and increases its conversion to lactate. With continued activity, heart rate increases and oxygen becomes more readily available to the muscle cells, allowing pyruvate and lactate to be oxidized for energy. The entry and exit rates of lactate then become stabilized and will remain so even with gradually intensified activity.9

"However," states Anderson, "once you get up to a point (actually a speed) at which glycolysis is tearing along so fast that your leg muscles have problems converting most of the pyruvate and lactate being formed to carbon dioxide and water, the lactate-spilling process may accelerate so much that lactate levels in the blood may really begin to lift off." This can be a result of oxygen debt inside the muscle cell, inadequate concentrations of enzymes necessary for oxidation at high rates or a lack of sufficient cell-mitochondria, where the Krebs cycle takes place. The point at which this occurs is referred to as the lactate threshold (LT). According to Anderson, the LT is simply an indicator of how effectively your tissues utilize lactate as an energy source. For athletes, a high LT means increased endurance - the longer the athlete can perform before reaching this point, the longer lactate production and extraction is kept in balance and energy is maintained.10

At the completion of exercise, lactate levels will return to normal within 30-60 minutes, being quickly converted back to pyruvate or glucose.11 Research supports the claim that active recovery (light exercise) is the most effective approach to speed up this process,12,13 and that massage is no more effective than passive rest.14 This does not discount other potential benefits of massage in sports recovery. A study by Monedero and Donne showed while active recovery proved best in removing lactic acid, a combined approach (active recovery and massage) did increase recovery rate during short intervals between maximal efforts and was most efficient for maintaining maximal performance time in subsequent performance. Recovery rate was determined by blood lactate levels and heart rate during recovery, and performance times in tests of maximal efforts.15

For post-exercise recovery, Anderson recommends a cool-down of about 10 minutes or running a few miles followed by stretching and strengthening exercises, nutrition (carbohydrates) to restock energy and a good night's sleep. Improving the body's ability to break down pyruvate, use oxygen and extract lactate from the muscle during activity will raise the LT and increase an athlete's endurance. This can be accomplished with proper training, such as methods recommended in Lactate Lift-off.16 An effective training approach can increase the supply of mitochondria, enzymes and capillaries needed to enhance the body's ability to rapidly use lactate as an energy source.17

Soreness, Fatigue and the 'Burn'
Is lactic acid to blame? "There has been a strong suggestion," said Lowe, "that delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) occurring 12-24 hours after exercise is caused by excess levels of lactic acid, but the onset of soreness does not at all coincide with the levels of lactic acid. This is still a very rampant misconception."

Anderson indicates there are two likely causes of muscle soreness: tears in the muscle associated with the stress of exercise and free radical attack on the muscle membranes. According to physician Dr. Gabe Mirkin,"Next-day muscle soreness is caused by damage to the muscle fibers themselves. Muscle biopsies taken on the day after exercising show bleeding and disruption of the z-band filaments that hold the fibers together as they slide over each other during a contraction." Mirkin suggests ceasing exercise when muscles start to burn and hurt as this is likely an indication that DOMS will occur.18

The free hydrogen ions produced in dissociation of lactic acid can present a problem. Biscarbonate buffers H+ to maintain homeostasis in pH, but an increase of H+ during intensive exercise can overwhelm the buffering system, resulting in acidity (low pH) of muscle and blood. If the pH goes below 7.00, the athlete may experience nausea, headache, dizziness and pain in the muscles. But with cessation of exercise the pH, like lactate, returns to normal.19 "The muscle will slow down if there is a great enough lowering of pH," said Anderson, "and this may cause fatigue." He noted there can be a lowering of pH in muscles even while sedentary. "We don't know if it can cause burn," he added, "but burn is the nervous system's way of telling you you're exercising at too high intensity and you need to cut back. There is nothing wrong. It's just a message."

Heavy legs or fatigue can occur in an all-out sprint, said Anderson, but if it occurs at the 20-mile point in a marathon, it's a sign the muscles are running out of energy. To combat these problems, Anderson emphasizes the importance of training. "If you are really strong," he said, "you have less stress and damage."

So What About Massage?
Although the effectiveness of massage to flush out lactic acid after exercise has been disproven, there are benefits to validate its use in sports. "In my own experience," said Keith Grant, head of Sports and Deep Tissue Massage Department at McKinnon Institute, "I've seen that massage is effective. How our body reacts to things depends on both the state our body is in (state of memory), as well as the input." Grant combines his knowledge as a scientist with personal experience as a massage instructor and runner to support his conclusions.

Pointing to a study by Tiitus and Shoemaker (1995) in which effleurage did not increase local blood flow, Grant said, "This is a mechanistic way of looking at what's going on." The difficulty, he noted, in interpreting research results comes from looking for direct, mechanical effects. "Clinically, we see a different story," he said. "Through our techniques we work with the nervous system to relax muscles, but that's not a direct mechanical effect. "I believe the effects of massage also involve the neurological and emotional. My reason for that is the neurological side controls the current (base) state of the muscle activation. The emotional controls the chemical messengers that affect the immune system. What seems likely is massage acts as a new input to a system with a memory. Massage stimulates the mechanoreceptors and can gate off pain receptors. It floods the body with new sensory input. We are using the nervous system to reset the muscle to greater relaxation.

"In my observation, fatigued muscles tend to remain hypertonic and shortened. When we cajole specific muscles to relax and lengthen via mechanical and neurological input, we reduce their metabolic activity. When the muscle relaxes, it's not using energy as much, not metabolizing as fast, not producing waste products and because it's more relaxed, it's not compressed and not exerting pressure on surrounding tissues. This means circulation is better. It's not because we're pushing fluid around. It's because we've put the body in a more optimum state, so the body naturally increases circulation on it's own. By massaging muscles and adding input to the nervous system, we are facilitating the body in recovering faster from exercise. It's not the massage that's doing the healing, it's the person's body."

In a British study of boxers, massage was reported to have a significantly positive effect on perception of recovery, giving scientific credence of its benefits as a recovery strategy. According to the authors, their results support arguments by some researchers that "the benefits of massage (in sports recovery) are more psychological than physiological."20 Grant takes that a step farther. "As a trained scientist, I use what I observe and what I know about physiology to come with a hypothesis. From my own experience in running, when you exert to the point of substantial fatigue, you come back feeling more fragile, in an emotionally vulnerable spot. To have the sense that someone is nurturing, in a sense taking care of you, is a very psychologically emotional thing. In supporting the person, we improve their immune function and their ability to heal, by influencing the chemical environment of their body. It has to do with psychoneuroimmunology, the whole chemical homeostasis of their body -- neurochemicals and the relationship between mood, or feelings, and the immune system.

"There is some evidence that following heavy exercise, both L-glutamine (an amino acid manufactured by the body) and the immune system take a dip. I look at the healing effect of massage as, in some way, counteracting that dip. When you provide support it has a positive effect on immune function. If the person doesn't feel supported and nurtured, it will have a negative effect on the chemical environment, opening them more to catching colds, not healing as fast and decreasing their ability to train. It ties into the whole emotional state of a person. The athlete has to stay healthy in order to continue training. With massage, they can train harder because they are able to recover faster."

Facts vs. Myths
Remember the old theory about the earth being flat? The more we learn, the more we realize how much we don't know. That's why research in massage is so important. "These concepts and ideas are firmly entrenched in our early training, and in the medical profession, said Lowe. "Things that have been disproved continue to persist. It takes a long time to trickle down. If we say there is no research that supports massage works for inflammation, there may not be research - or it may not be true. We don't really know yet and we need to investigate that further. This lactic acid concept illustrates the perpetuation of misinformation that can happen if we don't have the research base. When we are looking for credibility with others in health care, they want to know on what we base our opinions. A lot is passed along on hearsay, not on scientific information. What we need to keep our eyes on is how to reduce that as much as possible so we do have accurate information."

Healing with Stones, Crystals & Energy

The Breath Within the Stone
Understanding the Healing Power of Rock

By Karyn Chabot, LMT

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, February/March 2003.
Copyright 2003. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

Some of the most progressive healers in the world have begun using stones in their massage work -- not to replace healing hands, but as an adjunct to traditional massage, facials and healing treatments of all kinds. Stone massage is an ancient, enduring form of therapeutic bodywork using heated and cooled stones as extensions of the hand. It is a harmonious collaboration of healing energies between the client, the therapist and the stones. Be mindful that the beauty of this therapy, and all therapies, is manifested by the transference of deep compassion and trust between the therapist and the client. This compassion becomes imprinted within the matrix of each stone.

Pointed, textured stones are used as tools for deep sports massage. Round, flat, warm stones are laid as balancing agents upon specific energetic points along the body, otherwise known as chakras. Smooth, velvety stones are heated in water, then glided with firm pressure along oiled, sore muscles. Cooled white quartzite stones refresh the face (especially after waxing), refine the pores and soothe inflamed skin. For some people, stone therapy can bring deep tissue release and alignment between body, mind and spirit. For others, it means gently allowing the heat of the stones to soften tension and melt worries away. The experience of an eloquent, deep, structurally restorative and spiritually uplifting stone massage is unsurpassed in its transformational potential. The key is in finding a skilled stone therapist who incorporates highly textured and charged stones at a comfortable room temperature with traditional hand and elbow massage. Add in just enough patience and healing intent
ion and the stage is set for bodywork bliss.

Most people who have experienced good stone massage work will typically use the adjective "grounded" somewhere in the description of how they felt as the stones were glided across or laid upon their body. Skilled stone therapists are taught to work with the Earth energy, which follows the downward flow in the body called apana vayu, a Sanskrit term. The purpose of stone massage is to anchor the root (muladhara) chakra and the second (svadhisthana) chakra of the body. These chakras help our bodies stay connected to the Earth. Many people in our technological society feel disconnected, rushed, high on coffee, over-stimulated and stressed out. The quietude we are in search of comes from within. The warmth, energy and texture of the stones help distract us from our busy, scattered minds, imparting a quiet focus. This is especially true when using sea stones, as they soothe the body on all levels, similar to the waves of an ocean. When a stone therapist works with the downward flow in the body and anchors the lower chakras, the client experiences an oasis which restores wholeness and balance in a world where people eat their lunch while they are driving and read their e-mail while listening to their voicemail.

According to the principles of Ayurveda, we are microcosms of the macrocosmic universe. Within the universe exist five basic elements: ether, air, fire, earth and water. Ayurveda classifies these five elements into three aspects referred to as doshas. In order to function, all three doshas must exist within the body. What makes us unique is the preponderance of the doshas within the body when we are conceived and then born into the world. Keeping these doshas in balance is the key to staying healthy. Stress, negative thoughts, feeling disconnected, wrong food choices and lack of exercise are just some of the things that throw us out of balance.

What are the three doshas? First, vata means "what blows." It represents the ether and air elements (wind) within the body. These elements are high on cold, windy days during the fall and winter. When vata within the body is out of balance, people tend to experience anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, paranoia and loneliness. Second, pitta means "what cooks." It represents the fire and water elements within the body. These elements are high on hot summer days. When pitta within the body is out of balance, people tend to experience self-condemnation, jealousy, anger, competitive thoughts and aggression. Finally, kapha means "what sticks." It represents the earth and water (mud) elements within the body. These elements are high in the spring and on cold, snowy days in the winter. When kapha is out of balance, people experience greed, lethargy, apathy and heaviness.

After carefully observing clients and friends, the most common complaints I hear are stress and anxiety, which consequently derange the vata dosha within the body. When the vata dosha is out of balance, it can blow the other doshas around causing an overflow of these other energies. That's why keeping vata in check is crucial. There are specific bodywork techniques and lifestyle choices that pacify and calm the vata dosha.

I have implemented these principles into the art of stone massage and esthetic bodywork called Sacred Stone Therapy.

Shakti Factor Within the Stones
In the Vedic tradition, Shakti can be described as the feminine vibration of prana in the cosmos. It is the counterpart to Shiva, the vibration of the male aspect. Prana, in Asian medicine, refers to ki or chi -- life force. It is also a Sanskrit word meaning "before breath." The Shakti factor in stones is literally the divine breath of the Mother within the stone. We know that atoms are made of swirling microcosms of energy, of life. Holding a stone is analogous to cradling a living stone galaxy within the palm of your hand. It is a microcosmic house of energy we can call divine. It tells us that life really matters since matter has life. In Latin, the word "matter" is cognate to mother (mater).

There are some things which greatly reduce the Shakti in the stone. Mechanically tumbled stones have less healing power than stones that have been naturally tumbled by ocean waves. Polishing a stone can be akin to sunburning human skin. It is a mechanical process that weakens the stone. When a stone is polished, the surface undergoes a sealing process, greatly reducing or even eliminating its frequency altogether. A stone's chemistry, the frequency at which it vibrates and its geometrical form will determine its healing potential.

The Stone Radiance Variable
Stone massage is a form of thermal hydrotherapy. If you integrate cool stones, then it's a form of cryotherapy as well. When you alternate the temperatures, it's called contrast hydrotherapy. This will expand and constrict the blood vessels, stimulating vascular gymnastics and supporting lymphatic drainage. Consequently, the skin will appear rosy and firm, pain and swelling will be reduced, and vitality will be restored.

Stones radiate heat at various intensities. According to clinical research, the term stone radiance variable can be described as the measured length and rate of time in which a stone gives off heat. Professor Don Hermes at the geology department of the University of Rhode Island said, "New England sea stones can be classified as metamorphic, igneous or sedimentary. In Rhode Island, the stones are mostly igneous." Stones are rated in terms of high, medium and low thermal radiance. New England sea stones tend to give off heat at a slow, steady rate for an enduring period of time. They would be considered to have a high stone radiance variable.

Stones found along the inland rivers, near dormant volcanoes, tend to get hot very quickly, increasing the burn factor. The rate at which they give off heat is intense, accelerated and sometimes unpredictable. Basalt stones would be considered to have a low to medium radiance variable and are typically the stones available by mail order, over the Internet or used in popular spas.

Sacred Geology 101
Practitioners who wish to use stones for massage can find them within close proximity to their homes, healing centers or spas, and along beaches or riverbeds. New England beaches are blessed with an abundance of smooth and textured stones of all colors which are ideal for heated and cooled stone massage. Stones found along the coastlines reflect the kind of bedrock at their source (usually not too far away). Since the local bedrock can be quite diverse, the stones at the coast can also vary from one locale to another. Along the west Rhode Island coast, for example, most of the stones are various granites and metamorphic gneisses derived from nearby stones to the north.

New England stones were made from bedrock several million years ago. Hermes said, "The volcanic igneous stones were erupted, the intrusive igneous stones were intruded into the crust. Both were derived from molten magma in the mantle or the more shallow crust." Without getting too technical, we can simply call New England sea stones mineral composites. "These stones consist mostly of igneous and metamorphic minerals, the most common of which are quartz, feldspars, micas and some accessory magnetite amphibole," he said. These stones consist mostly of granitic, metamorphic minerals. Some granites even contain small amounts of magnetite, which make them slightly more magnetic. Magnet therapy is a highly effective way to realign the electromagnetic field of the body, reduce pain and accelerate healing. Stones act like magnets on a subtle level, drawing out repressed emotion, deep sorrow and pain, and transforming them if the client is ready for transformation. They help reorganize the structure of the energetic human anatomy and assist in polarizing imbalances within the physical body. Nearly all minerals possess some magnetic character.

Darker stones tend to get hotter and stay hotter for longer periods of time. These have the most iron and the highest magnetic intensity. The grayish stones can get very hot too, but they don't get as hot as the darker ones. The differences are subtle. Be aware that using the hottest stones can also increase the potential to burn. The gray stones are safe, predictable and easy to work with. Therefore, it is best to use a mixture of many different colors, shapes, textures and minerals.

Textural Distinction
Some stones have a slightly more velvet surface with some non-abrasive edges, while others are silky smooth and perfectly round. It's like the distinction between velvet and silk. The textured, velvet surfaces are perfect for deep massage as they grip the connective tissue. Their high skin-gripping factor means they don't slip off the body. The silky stones tend to slide along with greater ease, making them ideal for gliding on sensitive areas of the face. The textured stones slightly exfoliate the skin, gently increasing kinesthetic awareness, bringing the client back into their skin, so to say. The textured stones are more porous by nature, giving them a sponge-like action. This sponge action soaks up energetic debris, negativity and bacteria. As a result, textured stones need more recharging and physical cleaning than silky ones. Silky stones are less porous and wonderful for a light, refreshing massage. But when they begin to cool down, they can be confused with the smooth surf
ace of the palm of a hand. Their radiance variable is low, which means the rate in which they give off heat is fast, intense and sometimes unpredictable -- especially if they are basalt. Consequently, silky stones can be too hot and slippery to place directly on the skin. While some New England sea stones are silky smooth, the majority of them have a velvet textural distinction.

The Dosha-genic Color of Stones
Some stones have subtle color variations that help with the bodywork process, as each color corresponds with one of the three doshas. A greenish hue is indicative of oxidized parts of copper sulfide deposits. This muted green soothes the attribute of oiliness and edema in both the pitta and kapha doshas. Some stones may have foliation or stripes of muted reddish colors or burnt orange, colors which soothe the oily attributes of both pitta and kapha. These colors have a balancing effect on the copious amounts of oil that abyhanga (oil massage) indicates.

A clear pink color can soothe the attribute of heaviness in the kapha dosha, which is responsible for deep-seated grief and sadness. A clear rose quartz is very effective when it is placed on the heart marma point. If a client is experiencing heavy grief due to the loss of a loved one, then a raw, unpolished ruby would be appropriate at the heart marma point. A ruby may also be placed on the third eye as it amplifies the energy of the pituitary, promoting mental concentration and sharp intuition. This is why many yogis and gurus choose to wear a red bhindi or mark between their brows.

Stones that are muted blue gray can soothe the attribute of heat and lightness in the pitta dosha. This color instills peacefulness, removes anger and nourishes the auric field. Blackish brown stones soothe all the doshas, since black is a mixture of all colors.

Personality Shapes the Stone
Basalt stones are the hardened residue of volcanic eruption, so their personality and energy is eruptive, stimulating and activating. Anyone searching for a new direction in life or in need of a change would do well with an active-stroking basalt massage. This will also help alleviate stagnation on all levels. The shape of a stone is something to consider as well. Herbalists know the shape of an herb, bush or plant can often resemble the part of the human body that it would have an affinity to heal. We can incorporate this principle into stone healing, too. Hence, a stone placed under the sacrum would ideally resemble the shape of the sacrum bone. A stone placed on the heart would ideally have the shape of a heart. Stones placed along the erector spinae would ideally have the long shape of those muscles and so forth.

Many of the stones found in New England are round and flat. They simulate the feeling of an old-fashioned flatiron smoothing over the surface of the muscles, covering a lot of space with one stroke. We can call them nature's flatiron and they are easy to grip and manipulate.

Ultimately, stones are not just conductors of heat or magnetism, they are radiators of the vibration, disposition and personality of the therapist. The geological constituents within a stone are valuable pieces of information, but more importantly, the therapist behind the stone is what will determine the overall benefits of the massage.

Precautionary Guidelines
Children, pregnant and menopausal women, and the elderly should be treated more gently and with less extreme temperatures in a stone massage. People with skin conditions such as eczema, rashes, acne and psoriasis should avoid the heat. People with numb skin due to skin graphing or neuropathy should be extra cautious. Anyone on medication that causes skin hypersensitivity (i.e., antibiotics, Accutane) should wait until they are off the medication. People who are extremely obese, perspire profusely, or have a fever or swollen glands should avoid thermotherapy. People with heart conditions should avoid the extreme contrast between heated and cooled stones so as not to shock their delicate systems. Therapists should avoid working on varicose veins, open wounds or areas with infected skin conditions. Ask clients to take off any bulky jewelry during stone massage, as it interferes with the work of the stones.

In the presence of a ruptured, herniated or deteriorated disk, bony protuberances or osteoporosis, heavy stones should not be used directly over the spine. Avoid micro-dermabrasion, waxing, glycolic acid peel or any other professional peel within one week of a heated stone facial. A therapist should never put cold stones and crystals in the client's hands, as the hands are extensions of the heart. Cold temperatures constrict and repress emotions, shutting down the heart chakra. An exception to this guideline is people with high pitta conditions, since pitta represents the fire element in the Ayurvedic tradition. If a client is in an angry mood, therapists should turn down the temperature of the heating unit or do a traditional massage without heated stones.

For the angry client, practitioners should consider using cool white quartzite stones on the face. If a stone slips off an area more than once, it may be an indication the stone doesn't need to be on that body part. Stones have consciousness and awareness. A particular stone that has fallen or slipped off should possibly be removed because it needs to be recharged or it should be placed on a different area of the body.

Stones can offer entirely new levels of therapy. Bringing cohesion to the body, mind and spirit, infusing pranic energy, offering magnetic health properties, increasing vitality and circulation, and decreasing inflammation are just a few of the avenues stone work can address. And that's not even taking into account the benefits of stone work to the therapist. Many therapists turn to working with tools, especially stones, after injuring their own hands. Stones can attack knots efficiently and quickly without hurting the therapist. Bodyworkers also reap the rewards of the warmed stones as they work not only on the client, but by default, on the therapist's own hands.

There is much to be understood about working with stones, including the spiritual element they bring to the table, but by the reaction of clients and therapists alike, there is great promise to be realized.

Energy Work -A Primer for Plugging Into Your Own Energy

By Barry Kapke

Originally published in Body Sense magazine, Fall 2002.
Copyright 2003. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

Energy healing is often discussed as a new, somewhat unexplainable therapy. Truth is, energy work is an effective bodywork that is as ancient as healing itself.

The body is, after all, bioenergetic and seeks to maintain balance. Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, called the body's natural capacity to heal itself vis medicatrix naturae -- the healing power of nature. We are not separate from nature, in fact, we are intrinsically a part of the energetic web of all life and all things. Modern science is slowly catching up with this basic understanding, historically common to cultures the world over.

Almost all cultures share a fundamental belief that life is more than just physical processes in a body, life is a unity of the physical, mental and spiritual, and is infused with a special energy or force that gives it vitality. Energy healing, or energy work, seeks to restore, promote, and maintain health and wellness to all those elements by influencing and supporting the body's bioenergies. These energies are variously referred to as qi (pronounced "chee"), prana, vital force, life force, élan vital, mana and more. When disease hits, it's understood as a disruption or distortion of these energies.

Hands-on Therapeutic Modalities
The specific views of bioenergies, and the practices for working with them, vary from culture to culture and from system to system.

Asian medicine is forthright in its focus on energy. Working from a philosophy that energetic currents interconnect all aspects of the body/mind/spirit continuum, systems like shiatsu, acupressure, Jin Shin Jyutsu, Thai massage, Breema and Insight Bodywork seek, in their individual ways, to facilitate unobstructed energetic flow and balance.

Acupressure operates much like acupuncture, but uses direct pressure instead of needles to calm, disperse or tonify energy through energy portals called pressure points.

Shiatsu uses pressure through palms, thumbs, fingers, elbows, knees, and sometimes even feet, to stimulate the free flow of energy through the body. Yet, unlike acupressure, it is focused more on the pathways themselves and less on individual points.

Jin Shin Jyutsu focuses on combinations of points that are gently held for extended periods to unblock stuck energy and to harmonize energetic flow. Thai massage, Breema and Insight Bodywork, similarly use manual pressure to facilitate energy movement and balance, but also involve more physical movement from the recipient's body, including deep stretches, joint mobilizations and specific holds.

Western energy practices also recognize the bioenergetic matrix for health and vitality but differ more widely than the Asian forms in their philosophies and approaches to working. Reflexology is based on a view of the body as having 10 vertical zones and utilizes firm thumb pressure to feet, hands and ears to reflexively stimulate body energies and optimal organ functioning.

Polarity therapy works from a view of positive and negative polarities existing in every cell of the body, and through the use of gentle holds and the energetic principles of attraction, repulsion and neutrality, it seeks to balance these energy relationships.

Even though reiki has origins in Asian systems, its contemporary practice has developed largely in the West. The reiki practitioner is a conduit for channeling life energy into the recipient by means of a series of holds (hand positions) on the head, chest, abdomen and back.

Therapeutic Touch directs the practitioner's bioenergy through their hands on or above the recipient's body to promote self-healing and energy movement, while Zero Balancing utilizes the practitioner's hands as fulcrums for pressure, while gently pressing, stretching and bending the recipient's body in order to align body energy with body structure.

These are but a sampling of the kinds of work being offered in this ever-growing field.

Non-Touch Modalities
Energy medicine also includes therapies that may be employed on their own or combined with hands-on approaches.

Acupuncture, perhaps, belongs at the top of this list, given its several thousand years of practice. Acupuncture is a medical practice of treating disease through the insertion of needles into the skin at points along energy channels to restore balance to the energetic pathways and organ systems of the body.

Homeopathy is another elder in the family of healing practices. Based upon the principle of "like cures like," homeopathy is a system of natural remedies utilizing minute doses of a substance so distilled that only the vibrational imprint of the original substance remains. It is interesting to note that prior to 1900, most hospitals throughout the United States were homeopathic hospitals. Homeopathy remains a significant and vital part of health care in Europe.

Many other healing systems employ the vibratory (energetic) aspects of nature to influence and enhance our own vibratory well-being. Flower Essences, such as the well-established Bach Flower Remedies, are particularly useful for emotional disharmonies. Flower Essences impart the vibratory signatures of plants to resonate with similar vibrations in the subtle energetic bodies of the individual. Flower Essences typically are absorbed under the tongue in a diluted solution, or sometimes through a bath.

Similarly, aromatherapy works with vibratory energies of plants, but unlike flower essences, the essential oils of aromatherapy are highly concentrated and potent. Whether dispersed in the air or absorbed through the skin via a carrier oil, aromatic oils please the senses while they impart their vibratory synchrony to the body.

All things in nature vibrate and these vibrational frequencies resonate with, or otherwise impact upon, the energetic harmony of the human being. To this end, crystals, color, light, sound, and even thought or prayer can be powerful healing tools.

Practices of energy cultivation, such as yoga, qigong, t'ai chi, aikido and meditation, should also be considered forms of energy work. These are important ways of promoting strong vital energy in the body and mind, improving both health and the quality of life.

Energy work is a valuable ally to good health -- whether as preventive maintenance, a holistic approach to addressing imbalance and disease, or as a complement to allopathic medical care. No one method is better than any other method. To find what works best for you, explore. See what approach holds the greatest affinity for you. Discover what your body/mind/spirit responds to and discover the health that awaits within.

Polarity Therapy
Interfacing Subtle Energy with Massage

By Shirley Vanderbilt

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, February/March 2004.
Copyright 2003. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

"The problem of healing involves the harmonious relationship
of man's inner energies to those of the without."
-- Randolph Stone, osteopath, naturopath and chiropractor

Polarity therapy (PT for the purposes of this article) is a four-part approach to balancing the energetic patterns of the body. Based on principles developed by Randolph Stone, an osteopath, naturopath and chiropractor, PT combines bodywork, nutrition, stretching postures and attitudinal counseling to free energy blockages and establish a natural energy flow for self-healing. In his early years of practice, Stone noted that while manual manipulations provided some relief for his patients, effects were not long-lasting and did not get to the root of the problem. He surmised there must be some deeper solution and set about finding it.

Traveling to China and India, Stone spent decades investigating ancient healing methods, studying the inherent commonalities of these approaches. In his book Polarity Therapy and Its Triune Function (1954), Stone writes, "For 40 years I searched for a principle in the healing arts which would include all forms of therapy and act as a common denominator, an intelligent answer, to all the numerous contradictory theories and claims existing today. Results which are obtained in all the various fields of medical, drugless and psychological applications indicate that a hidden agent -- a principle in man and the forces of Nature's energies -- is the active factor overlooked by schools of science and theories taught today."

Drawing from Western manipulative techniques, naturopathy, Chinese energy medicine and Ayurvedic medicine, Stone formulated his therapy based on the underlying principle of wireless currents in, around and through the body. According to Stone, it is this subtle energy flow that gives life and through which the soul functions. Quite simply, disease occurs when the flow is disrupted. Polarity therapy, rather than treating disease, is focused on reestablishing the natural balance of this flow, which in turn allows healing to take place. Stone writes, "The problem of healing involves the harmonious relationship of man's inner energies to those of the without."1

Polarity therapy practitioners concern themselves with the positive, negative and neuter states of the energetic wiring, flowing vertically and horizontally, and spiraling from the top of the body downward and from the center outward.2 In this triune function, Stone notes the outward flow or positive pole "is expressed as motor currents, while the necessary return flow, the centripetal current or the negative pole, is expressed as sensation." The center (or neuter) from which the energy flows and to which it returns, is considered the source of the energy and this triune action is what is required to keep the flow in motion.3

According to Stone, this circuitry flows in all aspects of life and is a basic principle in nature. Everything has a middle with opposing ends, in constant communication and relationship. In this law of relationship, there is attraction (pleasure/sensory) and repulsion (pain/motor). Blockage is more likely to occur in the negative (outgoing) flow. It is when the outgoing force is unable to remove from the system "unassimilable physical, emotional or mental material" that disruption in the circuitry occurs and the system becomes dysfunctional.4

Eleanora Lipton, polarity therapist and owner/director of Atlanta Polarity Center in Georgia, says of polarity, "We approach the body as this complex system of inherent Divine Wisdom. That's why all the parts grow where they need to. Energy moves along its freest route, tension is an energy blockage. Release and open that pathway, and when there is a free flow, the body can sustain and nurture itself."

Lipton is also a certified massage therapist and blends polarity into this modality. "One of the primary reasons for interfacing this work," Lipton says, "is so clients who are accustomed to massage can get introduced to energetic work without feeling alienated from their original feeling of nurturing with massage." While acknowledging her clients' need for touch, she was convinced they could benefit even more from the energetic work. In the early 1980s, when she first began introducing her clients to a full treatment of PT, some were a little reluctant. After the first session, they were coming back saying they preferred a massage. But then following a massage session, they would point out that their previous benefits from polarity were more long-lasting. Thus, she began blending the two in her treatments.

Although massage and polarity therapy each stand firmly on their own merits, in combination they can raise the healing relationship, for both client and practitioner, to a higher level. Before examining this interface further, we take a brief, albeit simplified, look at the basics of the polarity approach.

The Four Components
Regardless of an individual's chosen focus in practice, the two levels of polarity training -- associate polarity practitioner (APP) and registered polarity practitioner (RPP) -- cover basic required topics and modules, says Leslie Korn, Ph.D., of the Center for Traditional Medicine (CTM) in Olympia, Wash. In addition to her 26 years of polarity practice and teaching, Korn is founder and director of CTM, which provides training in polarity, massage and various forms of natural medicine on-site in rural Mexico.

Korn notes that polarity therapy "incorporates the principles of using all of nature for healing." This is "the essence of polarity -- the polarity of day and night, of hot and cold, of bitter and sweet (foods or experiences). In this regard all natural methods can be integrated, or focused upon, much like someone who does infant massage may not do lymphatic techniques and someone who does sports massage may use hydrotherapy where others may not.

"Dr. Stone emphasized that while he developed, or more correctly created, a profound integrative synthesis called polarity therapy," she adds, "he had a great sense of humor and always left some information out of his teachings, saying, 'Find out for yourself, prove it to yourself if this works. Don't rely on everything I say.' In my own work I understood this to be a driving philosophy in which there is no one final truth, but one of process with oneself and each client one has the honor to work with. This makes polarity a dynamic process, not a static one."

Polarity Bodywork
In Stone's mapping of energy currents of the human body, each side of the body has five currents relating to the five elements (ether, air, fire, water and earth). In this model, each finger and toe correspondingly is named for the element/current running through it, and also has either a positive or negative designation. These are not static designations, but rather an indication of constant flow, with positive beginning at the top of the head to negative at the feet, and alternately positive on the right side of the body, negative on the left.5

The spiraling energy of the chakras, for which the elements are named, generates the flow for these currents. Within Stone's triune model, positive and negative flow are also always in relationship with a third, neutral pole. Working with these concepts, when a blockage is identified the therapist uses bipolar contact, placing hands or fingers simultaneously on the negative and positive areas to effect the release of flow. Additionally, practitioners can stimulate specific reflex points and their corresponding body part, effecting a release along the associated current.6

"In polarity we focus on three different levels or qualities of touch," Lipton says. "Each of those levels of contact relates to a different approach to massage." Satvic touch is neutral and balancing, rajasic touch, a moderate, more stimulating pressure, and tamasic, a deeper pressure to disperse resistant tension.

"Polarity therapy is the study of the law of relationships," Lipton says. "It starts with understanding the energetic patterns of the body. Energetic patterns do not necessarily release with muscle massage." The work has to go beyond where the pattern gets repeated in order to effect a shift, she says. By going deeper into stress patterns, the body's unconscious holding patterns are released.

"Stone said energy in the body is like a hand in a glove," Lipton says. "Without the hand, the glove is not animated. Without life force, the body has no animation. Life force begins from a universal divine source." The energy centers of the chakra system are the vortexes through which universal force manifests and is in continual connection. "We can affect those qualities of all of those bodies through clearing of energetic patterns" creating enlivening of bodies and also an energy field around the body.

"The thing we know about polarity therapy is that we can only take someone as far as we have gone," Lipton says. "My perspective as a practitioner in my work is to create the safest and most dynamic aura around myself and in my center so that when clients come they walk into that energy. When I work on someone I am absolutely bringing my energy present, making myself known by my energy field: My presence and the quality of my contact with my voice, hands, face, everything. I touch them with my energy. That coupled energy is where we have potential for creating healing.

"By (the client) receiving and perceiving my presence, we create something together that allows energy to be even stronger. All this energy comes from Source but we take responsibility for what we ourselves project or put out there. We have to be responsible for clearing our own energy fields. My experience is to pray and attune to the inspiration and presence of Source that opens me and allows me to be my best with my client."

Stretching Postures
As a part of stimulating and releasing energy flow, Stone developed a series of polarity yoga exercises that include gentle rocking movements once the position is attained. Practiced several times a day, the exercises are variously aimed at clearing blockages from head to toe. This series of movements can be found in Stone's book, Easy Stretching Postures for Vitality and Beauty.7

"These postures are not necessarily traditional hatha yoga," Lipton says, "but I like integrating them with yoga and qigong." While yoga is a passion for Lipton and remains a high priority in her work, not all PT practitioners share her enthusiasm for this discipline. "A lot depends on what the practitioner is interested in themselves. There is always a pathway related to polarity. You don't have to stay in a box." But, she notes, it is in the best interest of the client to "get that piece somewhere."

Energetic Nutrition
Air, sunlight and food -- all that we take into our bodies -- are assimilated to replenish our energy. Here, polarity theory also incorporates the five elements, classifying foods according to their elemental nature. Noting that "all things have polarity, and either attract or repel," Stone says, "Diet also is based upon this fundamental law of polarity."8 The body will crave certain foods to balance out the elements and enhance the assimilation process, such as high-protein foods (fire) for warmth and power, or fruits (air) that enhance oxidizing in the bloodstream and nervous system.9 In contrast, an overindulgence of a certain food, or its consumption in the presence of disease, can have the reverse effect of throwing the energy system even more off balance.

As a component of the polarity approach, guidance in diet changes may be suggested by the practitioner, but the responsibility remains in the client's hands. Along with attentiveness to the elemental properties of foods, Stone recommends simple meals of limited food variety and thorough chewing to activate proper digestive processes.10

Mind and Spirit
Attitudinal healing and self-awareness, a precept of new thought and transformational psychology, has its roots in traditional healing, such as the law of karma and the teachings of Jesus. What we think and speak, we become. "To learn to control our own mind is the real purpose of all experience," Stone writes, "because the mind is the neuter agent of the very Essence of all matter in motion. All training, all experience, and even the suffering in life, have only one objective and that is to enable us to learn to control the mind substance within ourselves."11

Like seeds planted in the earth, thoughts planted in consciousness root and grow to become our reality. "Our mind conditions our experience," Stone says.12 Inner balance requires mindful attention to what we are sowing, whether productive plants or destructive weeds. Negative thought can block the energy system in much the same manner as a physical injury. An imbalanced viewpoint of one's world creates an imbalance in energy flow.

To achieve attitudinal healing, Stone emphasizes the importance of tolerance, nonjudgment, forgiveness and embracing the wholeness of life in both thought and action. At the base, this work should be a deep spiritual connection to the Creator, the essence of this energy system and all that is. "The higher we set our vision toward Unity and Causes of Life, the greater will be the uplift of our mind and thinking process," Stone writes.13

Within the context of the client/practitioner relationship, acknowledging connection to Spirit may be a part of the verbal counseling process or a subtle holding of intention by the therapist. "One's role is to help the client achieve a state of balance and to undertake change in their lives that furthers their health and well-being," Korn says. "When I do my intake I ascertain the role spirituality plays in someone's life. If they say it does then we can explore the role of spirit. I usually take the lead of the client in this process in order to avoid imposing a belief. Hence, polarity encourages us to hold the highest good in mind, intentionality, on behalf of the well-being of the client. So this is done by bringing ourselves into a quiet mind state and not thinking about a grocery list while giving a session."

Interfacing Polarity with Massage
What is the added value in combining polarity work with massage? Addressing this question, Korn says, "Polarity is a comprehensive system that incorporates bodywork, nutrition, attitudinal healing and specialized yoga exercises. It is also a philosophy of life and bringing balance to complementary forces. It is also a way of life that encourages natural lifestyles such as limited alcohol, no smoking or drug use. Massage therapies are not rooted in these approaches but are more oriented toward a musculoskeletal change based on mechanism of function.

"Polarity complements massage and it often facilitates a deep, spiritual and emotional change resulting from the awareness of energy. Awareness is a key word here, and while massage may support growing awareness of ergonomic factors, or postural influences (as does polarity), polarity extends the awareness to the one of self and the relationship to the cosmic forces as it were.

"Conceptually, all modalities should serve as methods within a repertoire of choice that is isomorphic to the client. Not everyone will respond to polarity, nor to massage, and likewise just as people may train in the same method it doesn't mean they practice it the same way. Helping someone is so much about interpersonal chemistry between the practitioner and the client."

As one trained in a variety of manual, psychological and energy therapies, Korn not only practices but also teaches within a multi-modality framework. "It is common," she says, "that as we develop as practitioners in any discipline that we transcend any one dogma and identify what the client needs and whether we are the ones to provide it or refer them. One example of interface is how some polarity techniques may be taught to other practitioners to use in their own repertoire. I have developed a protocol for diabetes treatment that integrates polarity therapy and lymphatic massage that we are now teaching to massage therapists. They may choose to continue their study of polarity or not, but the few techniques they learn enhances their results."

Lipton's goal in developing an interfaced approach has been two-fold. From one perspective, her purpose is to increase her clients' awareness and acceptance of polarity therapy. From another, she says, "The idea is to have polarity more understood in its relationship to massage, and massage more understood as not only muscles and tissues but also energetic patterns." Polarity deepens the perspective, for both practitioner and client, of seeing stress patterns in the body from an energetic point of view.

Giving an example, Lipton recounts a client with a year-old chronic knee problem, unresolved after visits to physical therapists and a massage therapist. In a polarity session, Lipton began with soft contact on the knee, then moved into the verbal process of exploring with the client the onset of her condition and accompanying life events surrounding that time. "Don't just think about it, but also feel it," she directed the client. "Feel the energy of it." At this point the client realized the injury was actually three years old and related to her husband's diabetes onset and her accompanying emotional reaction. "The knees relate to where we might be stuck in our lives," Lipton says. "Every place in the body has relationship with somewhere else. What polarity added is this ability to have a pathway into the emotional and mental patterns that were co-creating stress patterns in the knee.

"To do polarity with some massage techniques gives someone a very wonderful feeling of being loved and contacted." The interfacing goes both ways. Some of Lipton's clients come to her just for polarity, but if she feels neck tension she might add a little neck or foot massage. Generally her clients are face-down and disrobed, allowing for both massage and polarity techniques. After applying long strokes, she goes deeper to locate stress or pressure points, then proceeds in connecting them to other reflex points and on to polarity points, both stroking the area and holding the point. In this way, she combines the best of both modalities

Healing With Sound, Part I
Tuning the Human Instrument

By Kondañña (Barry) Kapke

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, August/September 2005.
Copyright 2005. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

Existence is a song. Everything vibrates, from the smallest of molecules to the very universe itself. Where there is vibration, there is sound.

The human auditory system is limited in its perception of the "cosmic symphony." The human ear can hear sound vibrations in the range of 20 to 20,000 cycles per second (cps), whereas elephants can hear the very low (infrasound) frequencies we cannot detect, and dolphins and mice can hear frequencies up to 100,000 cps. Our perceptual apparatus and thresholds determine our experience of the world, and what is "real," in different ways. While literally everything is vibrating, different things vibrate at different rates or frequencies. Some frequencies are perceived as light, some as sound, some as color, and some as solid matter. The rate at which something vibrates determines how dense it is and what we perceive it to be.

The earth has its own vibrational frequency. Although it varies slightly depending on geographic location, the earth's "sound," called the Schumann resonance, is measured at 7.8-8 cps, which is in the range of the alpha wave rhythms of the human brain. Alpha wave activity is associated with meditative states. It is suggested that individuals in deep relaxation and in meditation may attune to and harmonize with the earth's own electromagnetic field. The vibratory frequency of the individual accelerates as they become stressed or ungrounded.

The human body is a symphony of sounds. Every chakra, every organ, every bone, every tissue, every cell has its own resonant frequency, its own sound. Together, they create a unified or composite frequency, with its own sound, like the instruments of an orchestra coming together. Ideally, the individual sounds and frequencies comprise a harmonious whole. That is when the body is functioning as it should, in health. However, when an organ is out of time or out of tune with the rest, then the entire body is affected. This disharmony leads to states of disease and disintegration.

University of California at Los Angeles nanotechnologist Jim Gimzewski is pioneering a new science he calls sonocytology, the study of cell sounds. His first experiments began with yeast cells, using a nanotechnology tool called an atomic force microscope to detect sound-generating vibrations and then using a computer to enhance the volume. The yeast cells were heard to produce harmonics, around 1,000 cps. In musical terms, they were "singing" in the range of C-sharp to D above middle C. Killing the yeast cells with alcohol, the pitch rose dramatically as if the cells were screaming. Cellular harmonics were also affected by temperature, speeding them up or slowing them down, genetic mutations were found to make a slightly different sound than normal cells. Dead cells emitted a low rumbling like radio static. Distinguishing between the sound signatures of healthy and diseased cells may be a part of the medicine of the future.

Dissonance and Rhythm
In the same way that the frequencies of the body seek to coordinate together to form a harmony, so the body ideally is in harmony with the vibrations of the surrounding world of which it is a part. Increasingly, this is becoming harder to do.

Living in a city, unfortunately, means living with noise. The etymology of "noise" derives from the Latin "nausea." We are bombarded by these upsetting, stress-inducing sounds -- road traffic, subways, airplanes, emergency vehicle sirens, garbage trucks, car alarms, construction equipment, cell phones, workplace machinery, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, hair dryers, boom boxes, the din of chatter in crowded restaurants and coffee shops, and on and on. Noise pollution is among the most pervasive pollutants to which we are exposed.

Toxic noise is literally poisoning to our health and well-being. When hair cells in the ear, the sensory organs that allow us to hear, are injured by noise, they cannot be regenerated. The result is hearing damage and, in some cases, permanent hearing loss. Noise-induced hearing loss can be caused by a one-time exposure to loud sound, such as an explosion, or by repeated exposure to sounds at various loudness levels over an extended period of time. Problems related to noise include hearing loss, stress, high blood pressure, peptic ulcers, degradation of the immune system, sleep loss and fatigue, distraction and poor work performance, impairment of learning, increased aggression, depression, withdrawal, and a general reduction in the quality of life and opportunities for tranquility.

Dissonant sounds create disharmony -- rifts between the individual and her environment, as well as within the body's own frequencies. If 10 tuning forks tuned to the same frequency are lined up together and one is struck, they will all begin to reverberate together. This is resonance. However, if you strike a tuning fork of a different frequency and place it near the others, they will all stop. This is dissonance. When you're feeling irritable or "not yourself" and you don't quite know why, pay attention to your environment. Quite often you'll find that nearby is some sound -- machinery, music, voices -- that is creating discord in your own frequency. If the offending sound is not something that can be eliminated, try to create a stronger vibration that has a positive resonance. One on-the-fly solution is humming. It doesn't need to be loud, but just enough to feel its vibrations in your own body. You will find the resonant frequencies that will make you feel better, and the disson
ant sound you can't escape from will cease to bother you.

While we are repulsed by noise, we are drawn to rhythm. We are rhythmic beings. Our bodies are overlapping rhythmic patterns -- the throbbing beat of the heart, the circulatory pulsation, the craniosacral pulse, the rise and fall of the breath, the brainwave activity. In the sixth fetal month, life inside the womb is full of sounds that the ear is capable of hearing. The uterus resounds with the sounds of the heart beating (approximately 50-60 beats per minute) and the blood swooshing through the arteries, the wavelike cadence of the breath (approximately 1,215 cycles per minute), and the external sounds and voices muted by the amniotic fluid. Before we are even born, we are attuned to the rhythms and sounds around us.

The drum is the first musical instrument -- other than the voice, of course. Drumming is an extension of that first sound -- the beating of the heart. Even before our ears could hear the heartbeat, our cells organized around, and we developed into a human being to, the pulse of that sound. The pounding of the drum connects us with the pounding of our heart, and its rhythm and pace directly affect the heart rate through what is called "rhythmic entrainment." A low, steady beat can create calmness, or even a trance, whereas a stronger upbeat can stir us into action or ecstatic frenzy. Long ago, before men stole the drum away, drummers were women. Women historically, and archetypally, represent the connection to the primal beat.

In every shamanic culture throughout the world, the shaman has a drum. Drumming is used to alter consciousness, to entrain the shaman's brain waves to the alpha state (8-13 cps). This is usually accomplished by way of a monotonous, repetitive rhythm. In many African traditions, drummers are healers. There is no separation between music and medicine, or between music and any aspect of life. According to writer and ceremonial drummer Michael Drake, "The sound waves produced by the drum impart their energy to the resonating systems of the body, mind, and spirit, making them vibrate in sympathy. When we drum, our living flesh, brainwaves, and spiritual energy centers begin to vibrate in response. The various frequencies of the drum interact with our own resonant frequencies, forming new harmonic alignments." Recent scientific experiments have shown the therapeutic effects of drumming in enhancing the immune system. Other studies have demonstrated the calming, focusing, and healing effects of drumming on Alzheimer's patients, autistic children, emotionally disturbed teens, substance abusers, trauma patients, and prison and homeless populations.

Resonance and Entrainment
All things are energetic and all things are affected by energy. As energetic, vibrational beings, we are affected by the vibrations of other people, animals, plants, structures, geometries, sounds, light rays, colors, electromagnetic fields, and other energy sources.

Everything has its own characteristic vibrational frequency. When we feel drawn to a certain person and we feel good around that person, we might say that we resonate well together. Resonance is defined as the frequency at which an object most naturally vibrates. In the earlier tuning fork example, one tuning fork vibrating at a certain frequency can set in motion another tuning fork of the same frequency without any physical contact -- merely by being within each other's fields.

When a singer shatters a glass with her voice, this is resonance at work. The singer's voice matches the resonant frequency of the glass, which sets the glass into vibration. The singer then increases the amplitude, which exceeds the forces holding the glass in that formation and it shatters. In this same way, resonant frequencies can be used to break up kidney stones and gallstones in the body.

Entrainment is an aspect of resonance. Being near someone who is agitated accelerates our own vibrations. Conversely, being in the presence of someone who is very calm and grounded has a reciprocal calming effect. This is a common example of entrainment.

Entrainment was first elucidated as a concept by the Dutch scientist Christian Huygens in 1665. He noticed that when two pendulum clocks were placed in close proximity, the swinging of the pendulums would eventually synchronize. In physics, entrainment is defined as the tendency for two oscillating bodies to lock into phase so that they vibrate in harmony. It is also defined as a synchronization of two or more rhythmic cycles. A classic medical example of entrainment is when separate cardiac muscle cells are brought close together and they begin pulsing in synchrony. Women who live in the same household will commonly find their menstrual cycles coinciding. Subtle energies are also affected by sympathetic resonance with similar energy fields. A couple who has lived together for many years will often not only take on similar mental and emotional attitudes and behaviors, but may begin to have similarities in physical appearance as well -- this can also be observed with a single person and her pet. Within our own bodies, heart rate, respiration, and brain waves entrain to one another. Slowing down your breathing will slow down your heartbeat and brain waves, and slowing down your brain waves will correspondingly slow down heart rate and respiration.

Entrainment is an active process, whereas resonance is more passive. Entrainment changes the vibrations (the frequency or rhythm) of one object to another rate. The powerful oscillatory patterns of one source cause the less powerful vibrations of another source to lock into the frequency of the first source. There is a natural tendency in nature toward harmony and it requires less energy to entrain and vibrate harmoniously, than it does to remain out of step. Put another way, it is easier to cooperate than to oppose.

"You bring out the best in me" is indicative of resonance. "You make me a better person" is indicative of entrainment.

Tuning the Instrument
Our energetic being is an aggregate of harmonious resonant frequencies that cohere as a harmonic with its own vibratory signature. When an organ or energy channel or some other aspect of the body/mind is vibrating out of tune with the whole, creating dissonance, we call this "disease," and we want to restore harmony.

Sound is a powerful tool. Different frequencies, tones, and sounds -- through drumming, chanting, or toning, or the use of pure sounds or healing music -- can induce different states to promote healing for the body, mind, emotions, and spirit. On a molecular level, our bodies are systems of vibrating atomic particles. We are living receivers and transmitters of sound vibration. We can use sound frequencies to vibrate matter and promote healing and regeneration of the different body systems. These frequencies also shift etheric patterning to heal the emotional and mental causes of disease.

Through the principles of resonance and entrainment, sound therapy can be used for the person in need of physical healing, as well as for mental and emotional transformation. The correct frequency reminds the body's energy field of its original blueprint and works to realign it into harmony. Each individual has their own vibrational frequency, in sickness and in health, and energetic or vibrational medicine can restore and support harmony in the body and mind.

Healing With Sound, Part II
The Power to Create, The Power to Heal

By Kondañña (Barry Kapke)

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, October/November 2005.
Copyright 2005. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

Sound has the power of creation. In the Bible, the world is created by way of sound: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" and, further, "And the Lord said, Let there be light: And there was light." According to Hopi myth, the Spider Woman sang the song of creation over all the inanimate forms and brought them to life. In the ancient Mystery Schools of Egypt, Athens, and Rome, sound was understood to be the fundamental creative force of the universe. Modern cosmologists have posited a "big bang" theory of creation, they point to a basic vibration, a constant background sound detected on all radio telescopes, which they believe is the sound of the universal explosion itself still reverberating through the cosmos. In Hindu Shaivism the universe is created in an explosive burst of sound, followed by the arising of light and matter. The primordial sound or vibration is present in all of creation, since creation is sustained by that sound. Sufi
master Hazrat Inayat Khan writes, "All things being derived from and formed of vibration have sound hidden within them, as fire is hidden in flint, and each atom of the universe confesses by its tone, 'My sole origin is sound.'"1

Hans Jenny, M.D., a Swiss medical doctor and scientist, conducted experiments for more than a decade observing the effects of sound on shape and form. He would place materials, such as glycerin, mercury, gel, powder, and iron fillings, on metal plates, which would then be vibrated with sound, and he would photograph the patterns created by the sound vibrations. Low frequency sounds formed simple geometric shapes -- for instance, the sound "OH" would produce a perfect circle. As the sound frequency increased, the simple shapes would reform into more complex patterns. The sound "OM" created a pattern resembling the Shri Yantra, the mandala representing OM that has been used for thousands of years. From his work, which he called cymatics,2 the study of wave-form phenomena, Jenny concluded that sound creates form, different sounds create different forms, and harmonious shapes and harmonic frequencies are interrelated. Further, he asserted that the entire human body has its own unique sound comprised of all the sounds of its cells, tissues, and organs.

Another fascinating study by a Japanese scientist, Masaru Emoto,3 examines the effects sound, and even thought, have on water. In one experiment, he placed distilled water between two speakers and played a complete selection of music at normal volume. The water was frozen and then inspected and photographed under a microscope at magnifications of 200-500 times. Classical music produced delicate crystals of slightly different colors. Beautiful crystals also formed in response to healing music, a Tibetan mantra, and folk music. Heavy metal music produced a shattered pattern, like a crystal that had exploded into a thousand pieces. Japanese pop music created unattractive square-shaped crystals rather than the normal hexagonal ones. Emoto also found that water that was prayed over or blessed, or programmed with such thoughts as "I love you" and "Thank you," formed symmetrical jewel-like structures. Conversely, water exposed to negative thoughts such as "I hate you" resulted in ugly, chaotic-looking shapes. Since our bodies are 78 percent water, and our blood is 95 percent water, this has serious implications in its demonstration that we are constantly being influenced by the sounds around us, by the thoughts we think, and by the information stored in the water we consume.

In the early 1980s, Fabien Maman, a French composer and bioenergeticist, and Helene Grimal, a biologist at the French National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, explored the impact of sound waves on healthy blood cells and malignant uterine cancer cells. The sounds of acoustic guitar, flute, bass, xylophone, and gongs produced noticeable changes in the cells, even at 30-40 decibels, but the most dramatic results occurred with the human voice. The diseased cells became disorganized when he sang musical scales to them. "Near the end of the scale, usually around the seventh interval, the cancer cells exploded," Maman reported. "It appears that the cancer cells were not able to support a progressive accumulation of frequencies."4 In another experiment, a sample of blood was drawn and the donor was asked to sing a major diatonic scale while Maman recorded changes in the electromagnetic fields around the cells using Kirlian photography. The cell's energy field changed its shape and color with each musical note. As an "F" note was sounded, the blood cells resonated harmoniously with the voice, producing a balanced, round shape and vibrant colors of magenta and turquoise. Maman concluded, "The cells are completely bathed in light and alive with full resonance, clear evidence that this 'F' is the fundamental sound of the singer
Fundamental sound can be very helpful for the physical body through its harmonizing and regenerating effect at the cellular level."5

Matter clearly is affected in subtle and profound ways by sound. In the ayurvedic/yogic view, life energy circulates in the body through a network of some 72,000 channels, or nadis. The word nadi is derived from the same root as nada, and connotes an expansion through vibration. Prana (breath), qi (energy), nada (sound) -- these vibratory frequencies shape, permeate, and sustain the world we experience.

The Sound of Silence
To notice sound, it is important to notice silence. In silence, we can learn to listen. Listening is an active process, as compared to hearing, which is a more passive activity. Listening involves really using our ears as an organ of consciousness.

Nada Yoga originated in India around 200 B.C.E., developing out of the Vedic tradition of Sabda Yoga, or the "yoga of sound." Nada Yoga stems from the belief that the primordial sound (sabda) is a root vibrational energy from which ultimate reality is created. Everything in this world, including human beings, vibrates with this "sound within sound." A differentiation is made between inner and outer sound. Audible sound is the result of vibration in the physical world and is sometimes referred to as "struck sound" (ahata nada). Anahata nada refers to the inaudible inner sounds that are not the result of some physical vibration, but are "unstruck" or unconditioned. Nada Yoga explores the relationship of sound to consciousness, using sound and rhythm as a path to healing, awareness, and spiritual understanding.

Ajahn Sumedho, a senior Theravada Buddhist monk and teacher, suggests that the all-pervasive universal sound is readily available to our active listening and that in fact it can serve as a very practical and powerful object for meditation. He calls this unstruck sound the "sound of silence." It is a high-pitched background sound that is not dependent on the ears. Sumedho explains: "The sound of silence is heard as if it were a buzzing in the ears because the impression of sound is always connected with the ears. But you can plug your ears up and you can still hear it. When you're swimming underwater you can still hear it. So what is it? Then you start to realize that it's everywhere and not just in the ears. That perception of the sound of silence being heard in the ears is the same misperception as thinking that the mind is in the brain."6

Listening to the sound of silence can help focus the mind, but in a very expansive way. Relax into the sound. Don't try to grasp it. It is an inclusive awareness. It is like infinite space. In the stillness of this bare awareness you can be conscious of any emotions, memories, sensations, sounds, or thoughts that arise and not be carried away by them. The observing mind is not judging them, resisting them, or being seduced by them. In the sound of silence, there is equanimity. Listening to the sound of silence is not limited to silently sitting on a meditation cushion. It allows us to integrate mindfulness into everyday activity. It allows us to be fully present with what we are doing. When hearing the nada sounds, focus on the highest pitched one. Ven. Jotipalo reminds us: "All I have to do is think about the nada sound and I can hear it, much like all you need to do is remember to watch the breath and there it is."7

The Healing Purr
One important capacity of sound, which we are beginning to understand, is to heal. Elizabeth Von Muggenthaler,8 a researcher at the Fauna Communication Research Institute, investigated the question "Why do cats purr?" All smaller felids, including the domestic cat, caracal, serval, puma, ocelot, and even larger cats such as the lion and cheetah, purr. Obviously they purr when they are content, but they also purr under stressful conditions -- when giving birth, injured, sick, or frightened. Furthermore, the purr is nearly identical across species. The cats' purr therefore must serve some survival function.

Harmonics are geometrically related sounds that occur whenever a natural sound is created. Nearly all tones created by musical instruments, voice, or other sound sources are not single tones but combinations of pure tones called "partials." The lowest frequency is called the fundamental and all partials higher in frequency than the fundamental are called overtones. These harmonics are a 2-to-1 multiple of the fundamental frequency. Harmonics are the sounds within all sounds. While normally we can't differentiate the individual overtones, these harmonics are responsible for the overall sound color or "timbre" of an instrument or voice.

Muggenthaler's recordings of cheetahs, ocelots, pumas, servals, and domestic cats revealed that all cats that purr9 share a common frequency range of 25-150 hertz.10 Vibrational frequencies between 25-150 Hz, at low decibels, are known to be beneficial to healing. Within this range, 25 Hz would be the fundamental frequency of a cat's purr, and the first harmonic would be 50 Hz, the second harmonic would be 75 Hz, the third at 100 Hz, and so on.

There is an adage among veterinarians: "If you put a cat and a bunch of broken bones in the same room, the bones will heal." Veterinary studies report11 that cats rarely suffer bone or joint related diseases, including hip dysplasia, arthritis, and ligament problems. Even bone cancers, such as myeloma or osteosarcoma, are almost nonexistent among cats. In a study with rabbits,12 it was found that exposure to frequencies between 25-50 Hz strengthens bone density by 20 percent and stimulates both the healing of fractures and the speed of that healing.

Substantial documentation also indicates that low frequency vibrations induce pain relief and the healing of muscles and tendons. The cat's purr has five harmonics in the range that have been shown to best benefit tissue regeneration and repair. It would seem that the cat's purr is an internal healing mechanism, providing a built-in "kitty massage" to keep muscles and ligaments in prime condition and less prone to injury, to strengthen bone and prevent osteodiseases, and, following injury, to reduce inflammation, help heal the wound or bone associated with the injury, and provide a measure of pain relief during the healing process.

Also remarkable is the cat's ability to heal by association -- to sympathetically alleviate pain and illness in people merely by being around them. Cats seem to sense when their human housemate is not feeling well or is in pain and gravitate to that area of distress -- and purr, purr, purr. Cats are often used as "therapy animals" in convalescent hospitals and in retirement residences. It is an established fact that cat owners, especially older people, have lower blood pressure and will generally live longer than people who do not have pets.

The Human Voice
Throughout time and world cultures, the human voice has been used for healing the spirit, mind, and body. Australian aboriginals and Native American, African, and Central American shamans use vocal toning and chanting to bring balance to disharmonies of spirit, emotions, or physical being. The priests of ancient Egypt used the applied energy of vowel sounds to resonate their energy centers, or chakras. Chanting is often applied in spiritual contexts and traditionally has been used to deepen one's state of consciousness or to awaken consciousness. Vocal sounds directly resonate through the skull, chest, and body. Through chanting, we can harmonize the different frequencies in our bodies, attune the chakras, and balance the right and left hemispheres of the brain.

Alfred Tomatis, M.D., a French physician specializing in otolaryngology, found, in his studies of sacred sounds throughout the world, that many such sounds are rich with harmonics. He believes high-frequency sounds (3,000 Hz and above), which he calls "charge sounds," activate the cortex of the brain and affect cognitive
functions such as thinking, spatial perception, and memory. Listening to these charge sounds increases attentiveness and concentration and stimulates health and peace of mind.

It was normal for the monks of a Benedictine monastery in France to chant for six to eight hours a day, with only three or four hours of sleep. When a new abbot decided there were better uses of time than such extensive chanting, the monks quickly deteriorated into a state of utter exhaustion. When other physicians were unable to help, Tomatis was called in and he immediately encouraged the monks to resume their daily chanting. According to Tomatis, one of the functions of the ear is to provide, by way of sound, a charging of the brain's cortex and of the body. Bone conduction of sound, particularly in the 2000-4000 Hz resonance, stimulates the stapes muscle of the ear, which he believes is the key to stimulating and charging the brain. Tomatis claims that four hours a day of either listening to sounds rich in high harmonic frequencies or creating those sounds is sufficient to charge the brain. Within a few months of the monks' resumption of daily chanting, they were able to return
to their normal 20-hour workdays.

Everything in the phenomenal world, including our body, and each chakra, organ, tissue, and cell, has its own natural vibrational frequency. Through directed application of sound, using the principles of resonance and entrainment,13 disharmonies can be "sung" back to balance.

Toning is defined as "to make sound with an elongated vowel for an extended period, for the purpose of healing." Toning has a neurochemical effect on the body, reducing stress, harmonizing emotions, strengthening the immune system, and triggering the release of endorphins. It massages the viscera and promotes good breathing and posture. Don Campbell, an educator and composer in the field of sonic healing, states, "Sound is created not only with the mouth, but with the bones and skin. The vibrations made through toning actually stimulate the central cortex of the brain. Chanters receive a literal 'brain massage.'"14 Regular toning helps to energize the body and mind and restore and sustain wellness.

One accessible and very practical application of toning can be to balance the chakra energy system of the body. Working with sound and chakra resonance, it is quite easy to experience the direct relationship between specific vowels and different parts of the body. The following vowel set is one used by sound healing educator Jonathan Goldman:15

1. UH (pronounced as in "huh"). This is the deepest sound you can make, focused at the genitals and the base of the spine. Tone for a minute or two, but no more than five. The associated color is red.

2. OOO (as in "you"). Three inches below the navel. The associated color is orange.

3. OH (as in "go"). The navel and solar plexus. The associated color is yellow.

4. AH (as in "father"). Middle of the chest. The associated color is green.

5. EYE (as in "I"). Throat. The associated color is blue.

6. AYE (as in "say"). Third eye, between and slightly above eyebrows. The associated color is indigo.

7. EEE (as in "me"). Crown of the head. The associated color is purple.

8. You may return to UH, to ground energy in the physical body.

Goldman points out that toning is safe and works with the natural resonance of the individual. You cannot force a chakra to open. Toning will allow an individual to go only as far as she is vibrationally prepared to go in terms of chakra energy activation.

Healing Intention
Fabien Maman suggests, "The human voice carries something in its vibration that makes it more powerful than any musical instrument -- consciousness." Healing music pioneer Steven Halpern insists, "Sound is a carrier wave of consciousness."16 The sound a person creates, whether it is words or music, will disseminate the mood or state of consciousness that person is in. Anger, for example, will be perceived on some obvious or subtle level by the person receiving that sound, even if the sound was disguised to appear pleasant. The studies by Emoto on the effect of music and words offer evidence to support this.

Goldman emphasizes the causative influence of intention, represented clearly by the equation, Frequency + Intention = Healing. The intention of the person working with sound is as important as the frequency being projected to create resonant frequency healing. Healing as a practice relies on a basic level of intention involving the conscious mind -- is there an intent to heal or to harm, or is there no specific purpose at all? The human voice is the easiest instrument through which intention can be focused and directed. Everything in creation is vibrating and sound affects matter, in subtle and profound ways.

Wheels of Light
Clearing, Balancing & Connecting Chakras

By Barry Kapke, ACST, CI

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, December/January 2001.
Copyright 2003. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

If you've never felt energy before, this is a good place to start. Rub your hands vigorously and firmly together until some heat is generated. Then, as if you were washing your hands, spread the warmth of this hot qi (energy) over the backs of the hands and the fingers. Close your eyes and allow the hands to soften, the fingers gently together and curved, and allow the palms to face each other some three or four inches apart. Notice any sensation that may exist in your hands. Very slowly, move the palms together and apart, paying attention to the sensations you experience. Continue this oscillation for a few minutes. Change the orientation of your hands and notice the different feelings when your hands mirror each other and when they are slightly rotated as if to clasp together. Notice what happens if you straighten the fingers, making the palm flat and rigid, still continuing the to and fro movement. If the mind becomes too analytical or clouds with skeptical doubt, bring the atte
ntion back to what you feel.

Our bodies are constantly sensing and responding to energy fields. In the same way that we develop tactile sensitivity for palpation or that we can develop greater acuity with any of our senses, through practice and awareness we can cultivate a refined sensitivity to energy fields and energy fluctuations. Sensing energy is nothing magical, or even extraordinary. Everything is energy -- some dense, some subtle. If we use this ability to be aware of subtler forms of energy, our skill grows. If we don't use it, it remains an undeveloped potential.

The energy of chakras is relatively easy to feel. Chakras are powerful, concentrated movements of energy which have an almost tangible quality. In "Body Maps: Chakras, A Structural View" (Massage & Bodywork, Oct/Nov 2000), I discussed the locations of the seven major chakras and their relationship to spinal curvature and energy flow along the vertical axis of the body. There are also 122 secondary chakras, according to clairvoyant Rosalyn Bruyere1, the exact number varies depending upon the authority cited, but these minor chakras exist wherever bone touches bone (joints) or at a nerve plexus. The hands contain many of these minor chakras and as such are a fitting tool for sensing energy and for healing.

These "wheels of energy" draw energy to the body from the surrounding environment, inclusive of the energies of other beings, as well as spinning energy outward. Bruyere refers to these two energetic movements as intake chakras and output chakras. Intake chakras are associated with the female, yin, negative polarity, and the tendency to attract and to draw inward. Conversely, output chakras are considered male, yang, positive, and push energy out or through the system. The first, third, fifth, and seventh chakras are output chakras, while the second, fourth, and sixth are intake chakras. Chakras of common polarity automatically interconnect. This relationship can be utilized to support and facilitate change and the processing of information and experience by focusing on the output chakras, or to soothe and calm by connecting the input chakras.

According to Bruyere, the processing of life experience can be viewed as a dialectic of energetic transformation. The strongly yang, male vitality of the root chakra is catalyzed by the yin, emotional character of the second chakra. Sensation and experience, infused with feeling, lead to the mental realm (thoughts, opinions, judgments) of the third chakra, which is androgynous (yang), both male and female. The yin, transformative potential of the heart finds expression with the masculine throat center, culminating in the wisdom and insight of the third eye -- the sixth chakra, which is androgynous (yin). This evolution in experience potentially leads to realization, enlightenment and nonduality. Bruyere suggests "in the seventh chakra we are exogenous, we are out of the system. We are neither male nor female, nor are we androgynous, we are transformed, we are realized, we are complete."2 This provides another set of relationships that can be focused upon in devising a strategy for chakra balancing.

There are numerous ways of connecting chakral energies, supporting them to interact and benefit from each other's qualities. One way is to hold two energy centers, allowing the hands to act as a bridge. In making such a connection, there is no "doing" involved. One is not sending or channeling energy. The bodywork therapist makes this basic contact, providing the avenue for these two energies to meet and to interact. The therapist simply waits, staying present, open and available. One of the most valuable things a bodyworker has to offer a client is non-directed, open attentiveness. Usually it takes about three minutes for this meeting of energies to begin to deeply connect.

A common and intuitive way of ending a bodywork session is to connect the intake chakras. The therapist places one hand on the lower abdomen or second chakra and the other on the sternum, the heart chakra. After several minutes, or when it feels appropriate to move on, the heart hand moves to the forehead, the sixth chakra. Another variation would be to then move the hara (abdomen) hand to the heart and the heart hand to the brow. Such an ending to a session, or this sequence as a mini-treatment on its own, connects emotion, transformation and insight.

Clearing and balancing chakras is another way of working with chakral energies. It is important to understand the spinal chakras as an interconnected system, with a flow from one center to the next. Imbalance anywhere in the chain will affect the entire chain. As a chakra spins, its energies are drawn upward to the next chakra. The root chakra is often likened to the pilot light. If the root chakra's energies are dissipated or closed down, there is little energy to fuel the other chakras. Balancing even one chakra, particularly the weak link, will strengthen and energize the entire system.

The clarity and overall functioning of a chakra can be assessed in several ways. With experience and practice, one develops the "clear seeing" to intuit what is happening with a chakra. Some develop the ability to see, and interpret the color of a chakra. Others may use muscle testing techniques. My own preference is the use of a pendulum. By suspending a crystal, an effective transmitter of energy, over a reclining client's chakra, the spinning energies of the chakra will be amplified in the visible movements of the pendulum. According to Bruyere, "the direction of rotation, shape and diameter of a chakra indicates the state of its energy and the health of the corresponding or adjacent physical organs."3 The movement of the pendulum will correspondingly be clockwise, counterclockwise, circular, elliptical, flat (back and forth), strong or weak.

Energy medicine educator Donna Eden4 claims chakras are multi-layered, with each of its seven layers capable of spinning in its own direction. The method she suggests for balancing chakras is both simple and direct. Hold the left hand (or both hands) some inches above the chakra you are focusing on. There will be a sensation of engagement or contact. Begin making counterclockwise circles over the chakra. This movement goes against the typically-clockwise rotation of a chakra, sweeping up all seven layers in its unidirectional wake. "The hand can act like a magnet, pulling stale or toxic energies up and out with its motion."5 Continue this counterclockwise "clearing" of the chakra for three minutes. Then reverse directions, using the right hand (or both hands) to integrate and reharmonize the chakra by moving all seven layers together in a unified clockwise spin. This method can be practiced with a client as described, or performed as a self-care routine, and it can address all seve
n chakras or focus on just the one or two that are in need.

Chakra balancing helps to remove toxic energies, bring hormones and emotions into balance, and support the smooth and integrated functioning of the chakra system and the unfoldment of one's life potentials. Clearing and balancing chakras has a cumulative effect when practiced regularly, more profoundly clarifying and harmonizing the core layers. Health, Bruyere claims, is more than the mere absence of disease. "Vitality, appropriate feelings, appropriate thought process, a willingness to embrace change in our lives, creative self-expression and responsibility, intuitive understanding and a healthy spiritual relationship with the 'Ultimate Creative Force' are all essential if we are to be full of light and full of life and well-being."6

Subtle Therapies With Big Impact
A Doctor's Perspective

By Brian Dailey, M.D.

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine. Copyright 2003. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

We all have natural energetic healing abilities. My earliest recollection of this came from my mother Margaret. Whenever my brother or I had a "booboo," she would rub it with her hands, and if it was really serious, kiss it. Somehow it always made us feel better. Of course neither she nor I understood about energetic techniques, but I learned from these experiences that touch could make people feel better.

My knowledge of energy was unknowingly intensified by my father who was growing crystals at his place of employment to use in the development of laser technology. As a child of 5, my father showed me how to grow crystals in our "basement lab." I grew alum, sodium nitrate, sulphur and others. Three years later, he gave me a gallium arsenide crystal so we could polish the ends and build a laser. Neither of us understood this synchronicity would germinate into a use of crystals in my healing work, or a position at LaserSurge, Inc., where I researched and developed surgical applications of lasers.

As I evaluate my education in energy, it's obvious my brother Kevin was one of my greatest teachers. Throughout his life, he had serious congenital heart and kidney problems. He held a blue skin color, was small in size and had low set ears. In medical slang, he was a FLK (funny-looking kid). But he was the kindest, gentlest spirit imaginable, and people were drawn to him. Despite his enormous challenges, Kevin was always focused on helping others. Every Labor Day he solicited money for the Jerry Lewis Telethon. He required major multiple surgeries, but was never heard to complain. He taught me about love, caring and compassion. At age 14, he died five days after open-heart surgery, and gave me one of my greatest lessons -- that our energy persists beyond physical death, even if our physical body does not. Energy is neither created, nor destroyed. For me, this is an understanding rather than a feeling. He has been perhaps the biggest influence on why I chose to dedicate my life to
healing.

I began to live that dedication in 1981 when I graduated from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. I trained in surgery, served in the National Health Service Core, and eventually became board certified in emergency medicine. For the past 16 years, I have been an attending physician in emergency medicine at Rochester General Hospital, and for 10 years an assistant professor of emergency medicine and clinical instructor of surgery at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

In addition to traditional Western medicine, the opportunity came to learn Reiki I and II, and to eventually become a third-degree Reiki Master. At the Monroe Institute in Virginia, I was introduced to the use of Hemi-Sync sound frequencies, a patented process developed to self-induce specific altered mental states. It was there I was first introduced to remote healing, and the Dolphin Energy Club (DEC), a group of healers who attempt to heal and assist others from a distance using guided imagery, reiki and remote viewing. Western medicine would think this unlikely, but quantum physics and energetic medicine suggest it is possible. Now, having participated in many remote healing exercises over the years, I understand it is possible, too.

Energy as a Complement
Energy, or vibrational, medicine is based on the concept there is an energetic body that is the scaffolding or architecture from which the physical body arises. When Einstein proposed E=MC2, he was claiming energy and matter -- such as the human body -- are interchangeable. Energy effects are mediated through the chakra system, a system linking outside energy with the physical body. There are seven major chakras of the human body that allow energy to be used to affect physical, emotional and spiritual changes. Each chakra is a spinning vortex of energy associated with a specific location, function, color, emotion and tone (see References for additional information on chakras). If we understand that energy consists of different frequencies of vibration, we can begin to understand how many seemingly disparate therapies may have effects on the human body. Color, sound, X rays, flower essences, homeopathic preparations, medicines and each individual human being all have their own frequency of vibration. Your frequency is dynamic, varying with your mood. It changes with foods, chemicals, medications and other substances we ingest. Just as tuning forks may vibrate and resonant with other tuning forks vibrating at the same or harmonic frequencies, outside energies may be used to "tune" the human body back into health.

Energy medicine and traditional Western medicine are wonderfully complementary therapies. Energy healing often works at levels beyond the physical -- areas inaccessible to more traditional forms of medicine. And it's what patients demand: last year people spent more cash out-of-pocket for nontraditional forms of therapy than was reimbursed by insurance for all forms of traditional medicine.

With practice, many people can perceive energy fields. For most, this will be primarily a kinesthetic perception, often "felt" with the hands. You may feel a sensation of hot or cold, tingling, pressure changes, or emptiness or fullness. Some people may perceive energy visually, or have intuitive feelings or "knowing."

Working With Cancer
In addition to my work at Rochester General Hospital, I offer energy work to patients outside the hospital as well. These have included a wide range of problems -- migraine headaches, backaches, anxiety, asthma, etc. One day it occurred to me to do an affirmation: "Please bring those patients to me that I may help." Almost overnight, large numbers of cancer patients crossed my path. I am not an oncologist, and I will not see a patient unless they are working with one. I am a big believer in conventional medicine, and advocate its use. But energy therapies are wonderfully complementary to more traditional forms of medicine. Energetic techniques may possibly help with side effects of cancer therapy, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss and anemia. Traditional chemotherapy (unlike newer, more targeted chemotherapies) has been aimed at killing fast-growing cancer cells. Inadvertently, it may affect other fast-growing cells such as hair (hair loss), the gastrointestinal tract (
nausea, vomiting, diarrhea) and blood cells (anemia, low white blood count). The side effects may be so severe as to necessitate discontinuing chemotherapy.

Aside from the traditional physical/chemical changes that occur after significant rounds of chemotherapy, the body also produces a thick mucoid energetic discharge surrounding the body. This may depress the third chakra energy, at the top midline of the abdomen, resulting in nausea and vomiting. In addition to traditional therapies for nausea and vomiting (Prednisone, Zofran, etc.), this problem may be treated energetically. Using reiki or Therapeutic Touch, you simply place your hand on the third chakra and visualize energy infusing the area. I have found visualizing a rose-colored light particularly effective. Hematite, rose quartz and fluorite crystals can be beneficial when placed on the third chakra as well. The change is often quite dramatic, in as little as 5-15 minutes. Normally it takes the body 7-10 days to clear the "energetic debris" surrounding the body. If one is getting chemotherapy every seven days, it is easy to see why some patients may feel more ill as their therapy progresses. Clearing this debris with reiki can take 20-30 minutes, and the patient often remains feeling well long after the treatment. At the close of the session, I always show the patients how to treat themselves.

Epsom salt baths are another easy way to remove energetic debris from your field. Add two cups of Epsom salts to a tub of warm water. You may add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to enhance it (rose, lavender, chamomile and jasmine are some of my favorites).1 It is very effective for chemotherapy patients, particularly on the day after chemotherapy when the field may become quite dense. If you have had a particularly stressful or emotionally draining day, you may feel dramatic improvement after a 20-minute soak. To feel refreshed and ready, I always soak before I work in the stressful environment of the emergency department.

Radiation splinters the energy field through which it is focused, like broken glass, and can result in burns to the skin, anemia, and fatigue. By using your hands to "smooth out" the energy field of the treatment area, the impact of the radiation may be minimized. My mother-in-law, Tessie, had a scalp lymphoma surgically excised, followed by radiation therapy. Because the entire dose of radiation was focused on the skin, her radiation oncologist advised she would have potentially severe burns on her skin. I washed her head every day, visualizing smoothing out her energy field as I applied reiki to her scalp. Her surgical wound healed well, and the skin healed without any burn whatsoever. Her radiation oncologist was pleasantly surprised. All her hair eventually grew back as well.

Delores Krieger has shown that Therapeutic Touch can increase hemoglobin blood levels in patients.2 This can be helpful for cancer patients who may be anemic (low red blood cells) or neutropenic (low white blood cells that help fight infection) as a result of their illness or therapy. Fortunately, Epogen and Neupogen injections may be given to these patients to help improve their blood counts, at approximately $800 for both injections. Some of our patients using energetic techniques have been able to decrease the frequency of these injections, and in rare instances, have been able to stop them. This can result in significant cost savings. Ironically, if you want the insurance industry to cover a specific therapy, you need to show them how it saves them money, not just improves patient care. Reiki therapy is now partially reimbursed by HMOs in Rochester, N.Y.

Other Benefits
Energetic treatment for anemia benefits more than cancer patients. I was contacted by a family member to see Kelly, a teenage passenger severely injured in a motor vehicle accident three days earlier, and now a patient in the surgical intensive care unit. I had been in emergency that night when she came in, but I cared for the driver who was also severely injured. Kelly had a liver laceration and a compression fracture of her first lumbar spine (lower back bone). Her liver laceration caused her to bleed from a normal initial hematocrit, (blood level) of 40 percent, down to 14%, normally a lethal level. She was aggressively resuscitated with fluids and transfused four units of red blood cells (RBC). Three days later, her hematocrit had stabilized at 27 percent. We did four 30-minute sessions over five days, and afterwards, her Hct had risen to 36 percent, the equivalent of a transfusion of three units RBC. She also had an improvement in fracture pain, anxiety and fatigue.

Energetic techniques may shorten the healing time of fractures, as well as decrease swelling and pain. Initially, energy can be removed at the fracture site (visualizing blue color is helpful) to decrease swelling and pain. Energy may be added to promote fracture healing (green and orange colors are helpful). One patient I saw, Zach, had a distal radius (wrist) fracture that was anticipated to take 6-8 weeks to heal. After several reiki/crystal sessions, his cast was removed at four weeks, with normal healing.

Meeting Gretchen and Ardith
During a visit to Atlanta last year, I had an opportunity to explain to Laurie Monroe of the Monroe Institute my use of the Hemi-Sync exercises with cancer patients, and how I found Metamusic (music embedded with Hemi-Sync frequencies) beneficial for those undergoing chemotherapy -- often reducing or entirely eliminating their nausea and vomiting. Having lost her stepmother to breast cancer, Monroe agreed to produce a tape for chemotherapy patients to reduce their fatigue and improve their well-being.

The project was helped along by the impetus of two people, one being Gretchen, a student at St. Bonaventure who was diagnosed with lymphoma. She went to Roswell Cancer Center where she was able to complete only four of the 12 scheduled chemotherapy sessions because she had such severe nausea and vomiting. She had also lost all her hair. She opted to turn to an organic diet in keeping with her holistic beliefs. One year later, her symptoms had only worsened. Her chiropractor suggested we talk, and after speaking, she flew out for an evaluation at Rochester General Hospital. Her chest CAT scan showed the tumor next to her heart had quadrupled in size. I suggested an especially compassionate physician at our oncology center who she immediately liked and trusted. But she was unhappy when he recommended chemotherapy again, even though it was the best treatment for her type of cancer. Fortunately, she trusted his judgment. We discussed her misgivings, including the nausea, vomiting and hair loss that was sure to come, and that "chemo was a poison," not in keeping with her holistic beliefs.

As a result of her feelings, I suggested the use of guided imagery to think of chemotherapy as a "love potion." Her chemotherapy drugs were chosen by an oncologist especially for her, mixed by an oncology pharmacist especially for her, and were made especially for her to make her well, not ill. She was receiving an infusion of love, not a toxin. We discussed the energetic implications of chemotherapy. If she became ill, it meant the chemotherapy was working (looking for the positive). In addition to her regular medication for nausea, we could use reiki and crystals to assist her, reminding her it would not last forever. All of this we recorded along with Hemi-Sync frequencies to induce relaxation on a CD, called Chemotherapy Companion. I was near the end of my night shift in emergency when I received a call from her mother. Gretchen had her chemotherapy the previous morning, and had been vomiting for 12 hours, the last four of which were spent kneeling in the bathroom in front of a toilet. I took the Metamusic for Gretchen with me to the home where she was staying. When I saw her, she literally appeared drained, her arms supporting her head above the toilet. I knelt beside her, placed my hand on her third chakra and infused rose energy for several minutes to allow the vomiting to stop so we could lay her in bed. I slipped the headphones on Gretchen, placed crystals on her chakras, and did reiki during the 45 minutes the CD played. When it was finished, she took the headphones off, said, "That was awesome," got up and ate lunch.

The second person to use the Metamusic was Ardith, a patient having a difficult time with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea due to the effects of chemotherapy for colon cancer diagnosed a year earlier. It had recently spread to her liver, so doctors initiated a new chemotherapy regime to which she again reacted violently. She immediately began vomiting during the 90-minute infusion, and the nurse caring for her said Ardith had experienced three episodes of diarrhea that hit without warning. She remained ill for 10 days, necessitating cancellation of her second chemotherapy scheduled a week later. A family member contacted me and asked if we would be present to assist her in the oncology center for her second chemotherapy, scheduled three weeks after the first. I contacted her oncologist who readily agreed. We started Chemotherapy Companion 15 minutes before her 90-minute infusion of chemotherapy started. We placed a few crystals on her third chakra and did 30 minutes of reiki. When the
CD ended 45 minutes later, halfway through her infusion, she told the nurses she was hungry and ate half a baloney sandwich. When her infusion was completed, Ardith left saying, "I feel better than when I came in." Two ladies receiving therapy on either side of her, who had been present three weeks earlier when Ardith was so violently ill asked, "What was that, and where can we get some?" I explained the process to both and gave each a CD before leaving.

Energy Work for Hospice Patients
Energetic therapies are a natural for hospice patients who are approaching their end of life transition. It can be used to reduce or eliminate pain, decrease anxiety, promote sleep, increase well-being and promote spirituality.

Bob had been a hospital volunteer at Rochester General for more than 40 years and was a ray of sunshine in our lives. His cancer had spread to his ribs, causing him a great deal of pain left unrelieved by radiation therapy or intercostal nerve blocks. His wife Hazel found it amazing he could fall asleep within five minutes of beginning bodywork therapy (reiki, Therapeutic Touch and massage all induce a relaxation response within minutes), and would remain pain-free for 3-4 days. By seeing him every three days, we were able to improve his comfort and decrease his need for narcotic medication. Toward the end, I would see him every day for shorter, 20-minute sessions. You can fit a lot of love in 15-20 minutes, and we would sit afterwards and admire the view of the creek and the birds at the feeder outside his window.

Another patient, Fran, was also able to find benefit from energy therapy during her fight with cancer. Fran was a wonderful respiratory therapist at Rochester General Hospital. She had lung cancer that had spread to her brain, causing her severe headaches. A co-worker had found reiki could relieve her own migraines in minutes, even after narcotic injections had failed. She introduced Fran and me in hopes of relieving Fran's headaches. Fran did become free of her headaches, although she eventually succumbed to the cancer. She was able, however, to markedly improve the quality of her life as she transitioned and was able to share a parting gift with those of us at her bedside.

Fran's family gathered around her bedside for the last time. She was too weak to talk, her respirations were labored and noisy from the fluid in her lungs. The family watched as my hands moved fluidly above Fran, without touching her, while her breathing became easier. They asked if it was hard to do. I explained it was simple to do and gave them this visual: "Picture love-like rays of sunshine entering the top of your head and flowing out your hands." Her brother and sister-in-law said immediately they felt their hands grow warm. Shortly all the family members could feel the energy moving. Fran's breathing slowed slightly and became easier. Too weak to talk, she spoke loudly without words -- smiling and looking radiant. She passed a short time later, surrounded by loved ones.

The More Sensitive Clients
There are so many ways that energy therapies can help. Infant colic is one example of a malady often easily treated with energetic techniques in as little as 3-5 minutes. Simply place your hand gently over the infant's third chakra, either from the front or back, and infuse a soothing rose energy for a few minutes. A physician friend, who had placed his two children in car seats at 2 a.m. and drove for two hours to get them back to sleep the night before, used this technique the next night with great results. "They both quickly fell asleep in their beds as I rested my hands on each of their stomachs. If I had learned this earlier, I could have saved a lot of car mileage."

Like children, animals have a natural affinity for energy work, too. For those people who can perceive energy fields, it is fascinating to watch the interaction between humans and their animal companions. As cats and dogs are petted, their energy field starts to expand almost immediately. We all know cats and dogs love to be stroked, now we know why -- it increases their energy and well-being. Animals tend to be very sensitive to energy work and often do not tolerate having energy directed to one site for prolonged periods. For this reason I often use a petting motion, with my hands moving constantly, or pausing only for brief periods.

Mickey is a hyperthyroid cat, who is generally shy with people, often hiding out of sight. I was seeing his owner, Jackie, a 30-year-old mother who was 34 weeks pregnant when she discovered a breast malignancy. Mickey continued to lose weight while on thyroid medication. He had a large "energy bloom" over his thyroid area, which I treated with reiki while holding a lapis crystal over his thyroid. I ended up treating them both. Not only did Mickey gain weight, but he thoroughly enjoyed the therapy, often insisting on his treatment before Jackie's. She had to put Mickey in the basement and close the door in an attempt to get privacy for her own session. The constant knocking on the basement door would cause us to stop, invite Mickey back in, and rub his head and neck. He then allowed us to continue.

People often wonder how accepting my more traditionally-trained colleagues are of my use of energetic techniques. It surprises even me sometimes how accepting they have become. Most of my referrals come from colleagues I work with, the rest from patients I have treated. These techniques are not new, some having been around for thousands of years. I still use traditional techniques -- pain medications, antibiotics for infections, etc. But as I examine a patient for hip fracture, and lightly feel their hip, they might notice my hands "feel warm" and their hip "hurts less," before the nurse can pick up my written instructions for the Dilaudid or Demerol painkillers I will surely order. A gentle hand placed on the head of a child before a painful procedure will almost assuredly reduce anxiety and calm them. And a light touch to help a cancer patient grow their hair back, stop their nausea, improve their blood counts and improve their well-being is strong medicine. Who in their right mi
nd wouldn't want some of these methods used? These are extremely easy techniques that are easily learned by anyone.

When people ask "why energetic medicine?" I reply "why not?" When learned in a competent setting, energy medicine is remarkably free of adverse effects. It interfaces wonderfully with traditional medicine. It requires no expensive technology, just a loving heart and a desire to help. These energies are subtle, but like ripples in a pond, their effects may be far-reaching, bringing us closer to our natural state of perfection.

The Art of Ayurvedic Stone Massage
by Karyn Chabot

Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word meaning the science of life and the art of being or living in harmony with nature. What does the term shila abyhanga mean? In Sanskrit, shila means stone, abhy means to rub and anga means limb. Together, they form the word for stone massage. Heated stone massage is a form of thermotherapy, otherwise known as a form of swedhana, a modality used during pancha karma (internal and external rejuvenation and detoxification of the body, mind and spirit). Shila abyhanga dates back thousands of years and can be traced to the ancient healing traditions of almost every culture. One of the most popular ways to use heated stones in India is to wrap them, along with herbs, in a warm, moist cloth, creating a poultice. This poultice can be applied locally for joint or muscle pain. Large, flat warm stones, used with warm oil, can be glided across tight muscles. The ingestion of specially prepared ashes of specific gemstones can be used for healing and reducing
all three doshas. Diamonds, rubies, and emeralds were crushed, heated, prepared, and ingested exclusively by the royalty of India long ago as part of pancha karma.

During an interview with of Dr. Naina Marballi, BSAM, DAC, I discovered Shila Abyhanga was part of the doctoral curriculum at Bombay University in India. As a Ayurvedacharya graduate of Bombay University, Dr. Naina runs Ayurveda's Beauty Care in NYC along with her gifted partner Amita Banjeree. When Dr. Naina visited Sacred Stone in Rhode Island and saw all the heated massage stones lined up in my 18 quart turkey roaster, she smiled and said, "I recognize this stone for the belly, and this stone for the and so on! "

Dr. Naina explains, Stones push the oil deeper into the tissue, opening the pores and relaxing the tissue, making it more receptive. The heat from the stones is detoxifying and the snehan (oil massage) is rejuvenating.

The purpose of heated stone massage can be for cleansing, toning, conditioning, moisturizing, hydrating, detoxifying, rejuvenating, exfoliating and beautifying. Medically, heated stones can help burst and relieve boils and abscesses, reduce vata-type of pain in the body, nervine disorders, gas and bloating, sciatica and spondlylitis.

Every ingredient in the cosmos has a healing effect every plant, flower, stone, leaf, bark, aroma and even vastu shastra
.we just need to learn how to use them properly. Ayurveda simply uses natural ingredients from the kitchen and the garden for healing. Pills are not always the only remedy. Breath, sleep, diet and yoga are the four pillars of nourishment for the body, mind and soul. Ayurveda gives importance to beauty because the body is a sacred temple of the soul. Heated and chilled stones can be used on the face to impart a radiant glow and the marmas can be activated by firm pressure with small stones and crystals.

Why spin a warm stone on the body? "Energy travels more intensely as it spins." Richard Gordon, founder of Quantum Touch.

Velocity and intensity of energy is heightened when a stone is spun firmly on a body part, such as a chakra, which is a spinning wheel of light and energy center within the body. Spun slowly and with meaningful intention, a vortex can be created and healing can be activated within the physical and pranic body. Depending on the intention of the therapist and the direction of the spin, energy, thought, prayer, color or emotion can be delivered and/or released from the body more intensely. Knots in the muscles can be released effortlessly. Electricity spins as it travels. Bullets spin as they travel. Frisbees spin as they travel.

"Everything that exists has Being, has God-essence, has some degree of consciousness. Even a stone has rudimentary consciousness; otherwise, it would not be and its atoms and molecules would disperse. Everything is alive." Eckhart Tolle

Shirodhara Therapy Explained

By Karyn Chabot

Originally published in Body Sense magazine, Spring/Summer 2005.
Copyright 2005. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

Q. What is shirodhara therapy? I've seen it on several spa menus lately, and it sounds so exotic.

A. Karyn Chabot from Sacredstonehealing.com says, "Shirodhara is a profound, mind-melting treatment using ayurvedic oils poured in a steady stream over the forehead and scalp typically followed by massage. In Sanskrit, 'shiro' means head and 'dhara' means flowing like a thread.

"From a small copper pot, warm oil flows on the brow and in the region between the eyes. It cleans both the mind and the senses, which allows the body's natural healing mechanisms to release stress from the nervous system.
This, in turn, improves mental clarity and comprehension.

"The experience of shirodhara is available as a treatment by itself, but it's also often combined with other treatments such as body wraps and facials."

Chabot says those who practice shirodhara believe it heightens the senses, stimulates the chakras which regulate breathing, contributes to facial rejuvenation, smoothes fine lines, and relaxes the mind and nervous system.

The treatment may also be called The Himalayan Experience or the Pancha Karma Treatment and is available through practitioners and spas nationwide.

Shirodhara and its Benefits

By Dr. Satyendra Kumar Satyapal, BAMS
Published 08/9/2006
Pancha Karma

Dr. Satyendra Kumar Satyapal, BAMS

Researcher, presented research at ntl/intnl conferences. Current research: shirodhara & mental disorders. Looking for research facility to continue my studies.
View all articles by Dr. Satyendra Kumar Satyapal, BAMS
Shirodhara and its Benefits

Modern lifestyles lead to poor health in many ways. However, the use of simple and natural methods can significantly improve health and vitality. Purification therapy is a unique feature of Ayurveda involving the complete cleansing of body and thereby eliminating vitiated doshas. The technique effectively treats doshic balances in their advanced stages. Vitiated doshas causing blocked channels in a system, which needs purification, approach.

Ayurveda - the science of life - applies ancient Indian wisdom to restore and maintain good health, based on the belief that wellness depends on a balance of five elements: space (or sky), air, fire, water, and earth. The five elements intermingle with each other in a definite proportion to form three distinct doshas i.e. Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Their balance in the body is required for healthy body, happy mind and for proper functioning of the sense organ. Because, all three types can be thrown off balance and produce ama (toxins). To stop this, we need a proper diet, an appropriate lifestyle, exercise and a cleansing programme such as panchakarma - that is, five therapeutic measures.

The five procedures involve a medicated emesis (vamana), purging (virechana), nasal medication (Nasya), an enema (vasti) and bloodletting (raktamoksha). These all five measures collectively called Pradhankarma. The Pradhankarma undergoes Poorvakarma i.e. deepan, pachan, snehana (oleation) and swedana (sweating) and is followed by Paschatkarma i.e. sansarjanakarma, rasayanadikarma and shamana Chikitsa. Besides these body purificatory measures of cleansing, massaging steam treatment of whole body, Panchkarma also ensures the mental health by which the vitiated doshas of the head can be settled to normal for the proper functioning of the mind. Shirodhara is one of them. It's a divine and relaxing method - a great rejuvenating therapy that gives a healthy glow, radiates from skin. This therapy is meant for 'shodhana'- the eradication of the basic cause of the disease. 'Shodhana' or purification therapy is not only meant for elimination of disease-causing toxins but also to replenish the tissues with nourishment. Rejuvenate literally means 'to make young again'.

In Ayurveda, rejuvenating therapy is the golden way to attain longevity, as it is aimed at the preservation of health. Ayurveda says that rasayana or rejuvenating therapy optimises the circulation of nutrients to both body and mind. Shirodhara eradicates the root cause of the disease and a rejuvenating therapy as well.

In Sanskrit language Shirodhara is composed of two words Shiro + dhara, shiro means head and dhara means flow. In Ayurveda pouring of a liquid such as decoction, medicated milk and its products, sugarcane juice, medicated oils, etc. on the forehead between the eye brows in a continuous stream for a specific period is called shirah-sheka. It is also known as sirodhara.

Benifits of Shirodhara:
Regular shirodhara enhances blood circulation to the brain, improves memory, nourishes hair and scalp, assists in providing sound sleep and calms the body and mind. Shirodhara is one of the most effective treatments for reducing stress and nervous tension.

1. Ultimate mental and emotional relaxation therapy

2. Beneficial for many diseases connected with the head, neck, eyes, ears, nose and throat

3. Beneficial for many diseases of the nervous system like nerve disorders, facial palsy, paralysis and ptosis (drooping) of the eyelids.

4. Beneficial for curing long standing insomnia and schizophrenia

5. Beneficial for fits in epilepsy when used in conjunction with other medicines

6. Prevents hair lose, premature graying and cracking of hair

7. Relieves headache and burning sensation of the head

8. Nourishes and rejuvenates the body

9. Stimulates the nervous system giving sturdiness to the body

10. Improves digestion

11. Sharpens the sense organs

12. Improves the quality of voice

13. Gives strength to the neck and head

14. Improves the health of the skin

15. Cools the body and relieves pain.

16. Invigorates the body and mind and stimulate cognitive memories

17. Helps relieve fatigue, tension, anxiety, anger, chronic headaches, rheumatism, hypertension, asthma, hair problems and stress

18. Disperses negative electrical impulses that accumulate at the skull and hairline from stress.

19. Renews the sweetness of life

20. Rejuvenates the entire face and softens worry lines

21. Opens the third eye

22. Activates the pituitary gland

23. Increases spiritual awareness

24. Regulates mood and depression disorders

25. Activates the memory & stimulates the 6 & 7th charka which regulates our breathing patterns.

26. Increases intuition

27. It improves concentration, intelligence, confidence and self-esteem

External links: www.ajaraskincare.com , www.sacredstonehealing.com

Marma-Point Massage: A Gift From India
By Catherine Guthrie

In the ongoing evolution of massage techniques, sometimes it pays to stop peering into the future and, instead, unearth hidden treasures from the past. Marma-point massage, stemming from Ayurveda, the ancient healing system of India, is just such a gem.

Although marma-point massage has been utilized for thousands of years, it's just recently been introduced to the Western world. Now, spas worldwide are offering marma-point massage. With training, this therapy can be added to a spa's menu, or offered as a spa-type therapy by a massage therapist in private practice.

Where consciousness meets matter
The guiding principal of Ayurveda is disease prevention by harmonizing the body's rhythm with nature. One way to create this balance and align the body's healing energies is through marma-point massage.

"Marma-point therapy is a mind/body/spirit massage," explains Elaine Molloy, an instructor of Ayurvedic medicine in Salem, massachusetts. "It goes way beyond the physical to penetrate the body on a deeper level. It's on that level that true healing takes place."

Marma is a Sanskrit word meaning hidden , or secret. By definition, a marma point is a juncture on the body where two or more types of tissue meet, such as muscles, veins, ligaments, bones or joints. Yet marma points are much more than a casual connection of tissue and fluids; they ar intersections of the vital life force and prana, or breath.

"The marma points are where consciousness meets matter; where deep silence resides in the body." says massae therapist Pamela Haynes, former owner of Ayurveda Plus Rejuvenation Center in Portland, Oregon, and now an Ayurvedic massage therapist at the Barefoot Sage Spa, also in Portland. In Ayurveda, marma points are thought to house the three pillars of life, otherwise known as the doshas.

According to Ayurvedic philosphy, doshas make up a person's constitution. The trinity includes vata (air), pitta (fire) and kapha (earth). Everone is born in a state of balance, or prakriti. During the aging process, factors such as anxiety, lackluster diet, or poor sleep habits cause disharmony among the doshas. Over the years, doshic imbalances begin to block the movement of free-flowing energy in the body. Eventually, the stagnation opens the door to physical and mental discomfort and disease. Enter marma massage.

The idea behind massaging the marma points is to cleanse blocked energy, also called chi, by either arousing or calming the doshas. Like a television with three channels, each marma point has three receptors that align with the three doshas. During a marma-point massage, the points are stroked in a deliberate sequence using specific essential oils.

"Strictly speaking it's not a massage as defined by hands kneading tissue," explains Molloy. "Marma massage is more like a very light stimulation of points on the body."

In all, 107 marma points cover the human body. They range in size from one to six inches in diameter. The points were mapped out in detail centuries ago in the Sushruta Samhita, a classic Ayurvedic text. Major marma points correspond to the seven chakras, or energy centers of the body, while minor points radiate out along the torso and limbs. The points cover both the front and back body, including 22 on the lower extremities, 22 on the arms, 12 on the chest and stomach, 14 on the back, and 37 on the head and neck. (The mind is considered the 108th marma.) Each has its onw Sanskrit name given by Sushruta, one of the founding fathers of Ayurvedic medicine.

Marma points are located and measured by the finger widths, called anguli. Unlike the tiny, pin-pricked-sized points in comparable therapies, like acupuncture, marma points are relatively large and easy to find.

Many historians believe that other point therapies, including acupuncture, acupressure and reflexology, grew out of the science of marma. The key difference is that most other point practices work through the body's network of energetic currents, or meridians. Marma points, on the other hand, bridge the gap between the physical and energetic bodies by carrying energetic information between the mind and the body's organs and tissues.

"A marma point is the junction between physiology and consciousness," says Ed Danaher, director of the Pancha Karma department at the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "They are vital points on the body where vata, pitta, and kapha are present in their subtlest forms."

Battle tested
Marma-point massage dates back to southern India circa 1500 BC. Masters of kalari, an ancient martial art, first discovered the power of marma points. In battle, kalari fighters targeted an opponent's marma points as a way to inflict pain and injury. According to kalari lore, people have 12 marma points that, when hit with a knockout blow, can cause instant death. These areas were so important that soldiers even used armor to protect their horses' marma points while riding into battle.

Along with their ability to kill, however, comes an ability to heal. Wounded kalari fighters were nursed back to health with marma therapy. Practitioners used marma-point massage to stimulate healing in areas that corresponded to the soldier's injuries. If a warrior suffered a blow to the small intestines, for example, the marma point on the back of the calf, which corresponds directly with the upper intestine, would be massaged to trigger a healing flow of energy to the injury. Eventually, Ayurvedic physicians around India learned of the technique's powers and brought kalari masters into hospitals to teach the art. Soon, marma-point training became mandatory for surgeons, who would take great pains to work around specific points lest they risk a patient's life. Today marma-point massage is still a respected component of Ayurvedic healing.

Training
There are no official educational standards for those seeking to call themselves marma-point massage therapists. Some practitioners complete hundred of hours of apprenticeship alongside Ayurvedic masters, while others glean the basics from weekend workshops. Whichever the case, mastering marma massage isn't something that happens overnight.

Haynes spent a five-year apprenticeship with an Ayurvedic physician, studying the technique.

"[It] isn't something you can learn in a weekend workship," she says. "Marma [points] aren't something to play around with.

Haynes' advice to those wanting to learn the technique is to search out an apprenticeship with an Ayurvedic healer, or attend an in-depth training session offered by one of the nation's Ayurvedic schools.

Molloy, on the other hand, feels that most students can learn the necessary basics in a few months. For massage therapist interested in marma-point therapy, she recommends getting a solid foundation in Ayurveda. In her 12-week Ayurveda class for massage therapists, she waits until week eight to introduce marma-point therapy. The wait ensures that her students have a sure footing in the teachings of Ayurveda. "You can learn marma massage without knowing the doshas, " she says, "but you wouldn't have a true understanding of what you're doing.

Among the first things to learn are the locations and qualities of the basic marma points. While the thought of memorizing the position and width of 107 points may be daunting, one can easily start by learning the names and qualitites of the most apparent ones. Many marma points are naturally sensitive areas that most massage therapists are familiar with, such as the temples, the base of the skull, and the backs of the knees. Eventually, you can expand your knowledge to include a wider breadth of points.

Also important is the ability to discern what imbalances may be present in a client's doshas. This can be as simple as having the client complete a questionnaire on diet, ailments and behavior patterns, or as complex as teaming up with an Ayurvedic physician who can provide a full doshic evaluation. Typically, this evalution includes an in-depth questionnaire, examination of the tongue, eyes and nails, and taking wrist-pulse measurements. (In Ayurveda there are multiple pulses measured in the wrist.) The final preparatory step is to choose one or more essential oils that either complement the client's doshas or brings her back into balance. For example, a marma-point massage therapist may use oil that is high in pitta energy, such as sunflower oil, for a client whose pitta dosha is low.

"A knowledge of essential oils is helpful," says Molloy. "You need to know the differences between oils that are stimulating versus those that are relaxing. Your body instinctively loves the smell of what heals you, so you don't want to use an oil that aggravates the doshas."

A subtle technique
When it comes to massageing the marma points, the subtlety of the technique cannot be overstated. Using one or more fingers (depending on the size of the point), the massage therapist starts with a light touch, becoming increasingly firm over the course of one to three minutes per point. Working only as deep as the client feels comfortable, the therapist's motions can be either direct or circular. Clockwise movements stimulate and energize a marma point, while counterclockwise motions break up blocked energy held within a point.

"I could feel each point releasing," says client Rick Doak, of Portland, Oregon. "The flow of energy in my body was very dynamic, not subtle at all."

Doak had tried many different styles of massage before discovering marma-point massage. "Normally, after a regular massage, I feel good for a day or two and then it wears off," he says. "With marma massage, something happens that makes me more in tune with my own energy, like a built-in reminder of how to relax. It gave me a long-lasting sense of calm."

Although some massage therapists may weave marma-point stimulation into other techniques, purists will argue that it is best done on its own. A typical marma-point massage session lasts between 60 to 90 minutes, during which the therapist either covers all 107 points briefly or concentrates her attention on a handful of key points. The difference lies in the expertise of the practitioner and the needs of the client. Either way, the experience can be deeply relaxing and rejuvenating.

"Marma massage had a tremendous effect on the energy moving inside my body," says Donna Selby, a chi-going instructor and client of Haynes. "It was like a winding down thta went to the root, to a stillness. I went deeper into the experience than I ever went with deep-tissue massage or acupuncture, and the feeling lasted for days."

Thanks to a growing thrist for holistic health care, Molloy predicts that the surge in interest for both marma-point massage and Ayurveda will continue to climb.

"Its popularity will grow as more and more people look beyond Western medicine for ways of healing," she says. "Besides, when I teach my students marma massage, they fall in love with it."

Realizing Energies Answers for the Taking*

By Karrie Osborn

She knew it was out there she felt it in herself and, later, in her clients. There was an answer, a possibility, waiting.

I felt strongly there was some other potential that was untapped,says Nancy Risley, founder of the Polarity Realization Institute in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

From working through past traumas to releasing somatic pain, the energy potential is there to help us in so many ways, Risley says. We just need to tap into it and use it. And that's what she did in creating RYSE Realizing Your Sublime Energies, a process that facilitates the full realization of our innate energy systems for better health and well-being.
A Seeker Seeks

From the beginning, Risley knew there was more to this world than what most perceived. She says children have a gift of insight, but it's usually lost with age and time. For some reason I kept it, she says. As an intuitive child, Risley's desire to understand that part of herself kept her looking for answers. I had some wonderful teachers, she recounts today. I was a seeker and I had an opportunity to seek.

In the 1970s, Risley studied everything she could on energetic patterns, although most of the information at that time focused on chakras and the aura. When she came upon the work of Randolph Stone creator of Polarity therapy which further developed these other energetic concepts, it became the perfect vehicle for the path Risley was traveling. Dr. Stone taught that these were moving and dynamic energetic patterns. Risley says. Health was experienced when healthy energy moved through these patterns unimpeded, illness or disease when the pattern was blocked.

Risley says it was Stone's melding of ayurvedic medicine and philosophy that helped her understand the laws of motion and the attraction of energy to create form.

Simultaneously, I was intrigued with and rigorously practiced meditation to move energy. In meditation, my perception of the energetic systems was heightened, as well as my understanding of the way the energy moved through blocks. If energy got stuck in a block, it produced an uncomfortable physical or emotional pain which could last indefinitely until the energy or rather the consciousness of a certain level of clarity was moved. Risley says she realized early on that by focusing on the energy itself, there was a direct and precise way to touch and move or change the energy to get it flowing freely. There was no need to wait for it to build and maybe push through the block or not.

The process for this explorer involved building her own psychic muscle, she explains, which, like anything else, took practice and development. When Risley would go back to her thriving private practice and translate this knowledge, she found new insight. Any area of stuckness a client experienced physical, emotional, or in the realm of manifestation in their lives showed up clearly in their energetic patterns. Changing the pattern alleviated the pain and created a forward motion in their lives. Simple.

By viewing the energy pattern through the right paradigm, Risley says the pattern was easily perceived and changed. She began changing her work to meld with this higher intention of health.

I wanted success for my clients in all areas of their lives, she says. Even though our professional relationship started out because of their neck or back pain, it would then grow to the personal empowerment issues and personal empowerment always touches on what is working and not working in all areas of life. And I would soon learn that all of that showed itself clearly within the energetic systems of the body.

Every session I had with new clients, I would tell them that this is the way I work. My goal is to bring you to where our mutual goals are, but I need the freedom to do that. For those who only wanted a back rub, Risley would refer them on, knowing both would be missing an opportunity. Instead, she focused on those clients who were hungry to find answers.

The Birth of RYSE

Risley considers herself an energy researcher. It's what thrills me, she says. So the journey that culminated in the birth of RYSE was, for her, an adventure.

She began to see a bigger energetic picture after she tied Stone's polarity and ayurvedic philosophies and the natural laws of energy to some of her own perceptions. I could not have developed RYSE without Stone's principles, Risley says in homage.

The drive to push harder to find her answers came about because of three things, Risley says. The first was a desire to take her clients to their next level of accomplishment and well-being and knowing it was possible.

The second was my own personal choice to keep stretching and finding an effective truth in the work I was doing and creating. I was following a feeling that there is a way to get this all to another level. I just needed to find out what it was. Every session drove me closer to what I needed to find.

The third motivation for Risley was knowing that tying these things into her bodywork sessions would be fantastically results-based for her clients.

And so RYSE was born. Its unique quality is that it identifies how to use your systems, Risley says. If used correctly, it is akin to identifying an extra arm that you can use to create in your life. The basic premise of RYSE is simple, she says: We can perceive and affect our sublime energy systems through focused awareness.

In her 1999 book, RYSE: Tools for Life, Risley says sublime energetic systems are the anatomy of the spirit, a phrase she credits to best-selling author and medical intuitive Carolyn Myss. These systems are the anatomy of the life force, Risley says. Healthy, energetic systems feed creativity, excitement, passion, and joy. Unhealthy systems do just the opposite.

These energy systems include the chakras, aura, the ida and pingala (ayurvedic concepts of the positive and negative currents that flow between the chakras and work as a cleansing system of the sublime energy anatomy), and the air pattern, which also provides balance and cleansing in the larger energetic system.

When we utilize these innate systems within us, it connects us to our highest potential, Risley explains. These systems are the map of our life-force expression, the expression of our truth, she says. When these energy systems are healthy, everything in our lives vibrates or resonates in line with them. When these systems are in disarray, our life force is in disarray, too. RYSE gives us the opportunity to put things back in order again and live fully. Whether it be a somatic, emotional, or spiritual hurdle, Risley says RYSE offers the opportunity to overcome it and move on.

She explains it this way: The proper management of this system adds great clarity and insight to your life. For example, it puts you in the zone if you are an athlete, or it puts you on if you need to be present and working with people. And more importantly, she says, it aids you in your own personal transformation process.

Part of that comes from the empowerment felt after these energy patterns are cleared and restructured, a critical piece of the RYSE work.

Clearing and Restructuring

Unbalanced energy systems reflex into the rest of the body and have a huge impact on the nervous and glandular systems, Risley says. This is why, after first identifying the health of the energy systems, the clearing and restructuring process is crucial to regaining health.

Risley says clear energy systems work to keep unwanted energy from entering our being. In the same vein, they keep our necessary life-force energy from draining or leaking out.

If were not in a balanced, aligned place, disruptions in the energy pattern occur and the creative process is taken over by discomfort, Risley says. This discomfort may show itself as a lingering depression, a stuck feeling, guilt, or an inability to act. Looking into an energy system, Risley says problems show up as disruptions, damage, dirt or murkiness, leaks, and misalignments in the chakras, aura, and other subtle energy patterns.

From the energetic perspective, we ask how do you attract more of what you want and less of what you don't want, Risley says of the clearing and restructuring work. You change the pattern that is attracting what you don't want. You enhance the pattern that is attracting what you do want. This change is physical and stems from a physical knowledge base. The comprehension of this pattern is being able to perceive through a different lens that we all have within us. It simply needs to be identified.

Risley explains that sublime energetic systems belong to all of us, and all energy is connected. Sometimes the connections are nourishing and healthy; other connections drag you back into old patterns, or tie you unproductively to old relationships. These energy systems need aligning and clearing and attention. She says you can change the patterns by introducing new energy system habits. With conscious habits you are actually aligning your energy system to be the way you want it to be ... When your energetic systems are in repair, you will begin to resonate with your highest potential.

When people get to this point, a world of possibilities opens up. Risley shares a client's story as an example of RYSE in action. June had suffered from a low-level lingering depression, and described herself as being stuck, although she couldn't identify the reason why. When she was creative, she was very creative. But often she was unable to express her creativity. In addition June had sugar cravings and low self-esteem. All of these symptoms were important, Risley says. The depression was a signal of being blocked from creating her life or full potential. While working with June at a RYSE workshop, Risley says she saw that her heart chakra was clogged and pressed open. It is through the heart chakra that we experience the signal of the soul or the life force, she says. This can also be seen as the signal that we are not fulfilling our blueprint or highest potential. With June's heart chakra in this condition, she was unable to get the signals strongly enough to recognize them. Risley worked on June's heart chakra to remove its block and helped her begin the healing process.

Along the same lines, Risley says to imagine a client who is having trouble standing up for herself or is unable to commit to who she is. By identifying the health of the client's energy systems, the practitioner will likely see a center chakra that is either broken, blown out, clogged, or going backward. This client might have spent years in therapy or assertiveness training working on the issue, yet she will always fall back into the old pattern. When the chakra is cleared and repaired, Risley says the client almost immediately will be able to stand up for herself and hold her power better than she could before. She can then apply her previous trainings and work more effectively.

The reason most people hang on to their faulty patterns is they don't know how to fix them, Risley says. RYSE not only fixes them, but does so quickly. An adept RYSE practitioner is able to move the block differently and faster than it is moved in the body. In fact, unlike other forms of bodywork that might elicit an emotional release from clients, Risley says RYSE will usually make clients feel euphoric, putting them in a deeper, more secure inner state. When the block is moved, it is replaced with a far better quality of energy. RYSE can move emotional blocks without emotional releases, she says.

RYSE allows the practitioner to do major work on the various patterns that make up human lives and then give the experience of what it feels like to be in an aligned and clear space from which to manifest our highest potential. Risley says just as she built her own psychic muscle, to reap the fullest benefits from RYSE, it's important to use it on a regular basis. Don't wait until you need it, she says, it will be much harder to do. Once you have dropped into the lower vibrational state associated with blocked or unclear energy patterns, it is extremely hard to get things working without assistance.

With practice and development of that psychic muscle, Risley says the RYSE exercises will eventually become spontaneous with life's ebbs and flows. While some people find balance checking in on their energetic selves once or twice a day with RYSE exercises, others clear themselves eight times a day. It's all about what each person needs. These energetic components are very deep and their removal is generally significant, Risley says. When these patterns are dysfunctional, they take energy; when healthy, they give energy.

When the energy systems are clear, balanced, and healthy, Risley says life force comes pouring in through the chakras, as well as all the other subtle energy systems, and blueprints are realized.

Putting RYSE in the World

After successfully using this technique with her own clients for years, Risley knew she needed to teach RYSE to other practitioners and started doing so in the late 1980s. In fact, RYSE was developed, in part, as a burnout prevention tool, she says. In her own practice, Risley says she was a healer's healer, attracting doctors (especially cardiologists), counselors, acupuncturists, massage therapists, polarity therapists, etc. They came to me because they saw that this can protect them, she says. Risley's clients were able to see how their own clients and patients were affecting them and their energy systems, and wanted to learn how to best allay those effects.

The benefits of putting RYSE into the world were two-fold therapists could use RYSE to clear their own energy systems, keeping them fresh for each day's battery of clients/patients, and clients could benefit when RYSE was incorporated into their sessions for maximum empowerment and realization.

For those who practice RYSE, Risley says they gain an awareness of themselves. They see the energetic blocks and are able to fix them and prevent things from getting caught. The more someone does RYSE work, the more adept they become at quickly identifying their issues and moving them through the energetic system. Then they can learn to go into more depth and use this in every aspect of their lives.

Since it is done with awareness, Risley says RYSE can easily flow into any bodywork session be it traditional Swedish massage, reiki, or anything in between. It can be easily integrated into a massage or bodywork session for spot problems,she says.

It is very powerful to end any session with an overall RYSE clearing and repair, which takes about two to three minutes when performed by a competent practitioner.

In her own life, Risley says RYSE has done everything from helping her grow from one school to five, to realizing that teaching this work is her passion and blueprint for life.

For the timid, this energy researcher reminds us that the process is naturally simple. The sublime energetic systems are either in the condition to hold and enhance your life force, give you energy, and activate your creativity, or they are creating a negative pole which is draining your energies into it. Through the work in RYSE, your energetic systems are being cleared to give you energy and allow you to realize your full potential and have the life you want.

Karrie Osborn is the contributing editor for Massage & Bodywork magazine. Contact her at karrie@abmp.com.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it For more information on RYSE, visit www.ryse.com.

Principles of Energy

Forming the underpinnings of RYSE are what Risley calls the principles of energy. Here are a few of those principles and their relationship to the RYSE process.

* The Principle of Resonance. Like attracts like. The principle of resonance is fundamental to energy system understanding, Risley writes. The energetic systems act by resonance, which is similar to the concept of magnetism. Resonance is another way of referring to the fact that like energy attracts to itself. She says just as a magnet will attract to metal, energy attracts to resonance. Heavy, clogged energy attracts more heavy energy, and clear, vital energy attracts more clear, vital energy.

* You Have a Blueprint of Your Highest Potential. Just like the blueprint of our physical bodies being held in our DNA, Risley says we also hold an energetic blueprint of our highest potential. When we can no longer access that blueprint because of clogged energy, our need for wholeness, growth, and transformation can't be realized.

* Energy Comes Before Form. Risley says that change happens in the energetic spectrum before manifesting in the physical spectrum. The energetic systems are a blueprint of our nervous system, emotions, and physical body. Before change can occur in these areas, energy must shift first.

* The Law of Entrainment. This principle is what allows the chakra system and other energetic systems to change instantly, Risley says. Everything naturally follows and takes on the qualities of the strongest energy. For example, imagine a room full of people asked to clap in rhythm. By the third clap, everyone is in tune to the same rhythm. The strongest energy wins out, she says. This is something we all instinctively know, and it becomes very important in energy work. When the strongest energy is that of alignment and balance, it will win out over hurt energy, she explains. However, if it is not (the strongest), we can entrain with hurt energy and we do, providing we have some level of resonance with this energy. This is why it is important to remove the resonant blocked energy from our system, so that it does not draw more blocked energy into itself and pull us down.
Perceive Your Energy

In addition to being in your highest vibrational state to do RYSE exercises, you must also be able to perceive your sublime energetic systems. Nancy Risley offers this exercise:

1. Close your eyes and think of a rose.

2. Open your eyes.

Did you imagine a rose? Did you see it in your mind's eye? If so, you are visual and this is how you will perceive your chakras. At first, it may seem as though you are making these up. However, it is how your subconscious communicates with you. If you did not see a rose in your mind's eye but felt the rose, you are kinesthetic. You will feel your energetic system. If you heard the rose, you are auditory. When doing the RYSE exercises, you may hear things click into place or into clarity, or you may hear an inner voice telling you, you're done.

http://www.ryse.com (external link)

AYURVEDA
The Cleansing Season: Ayurvedic Wisdom for Body, Mind and Soul

By Jonathan Glass, M.Ac.

The Cleansing Season: Ayurvedic Wisdom for Body, Mind and Soul The practices and principles of Ayurveda are increasingly more visible in the fabric of today's holistic health community. This is largely due to the rising popularity of yoga, Ayurveda's enduring universal principles, and the sharing of information by leading Ayurvedic authorities such as Dr. Deepak Chopra, Dr. David Frawley, Dr. Vasant Ladd, Nimai Nitai Das and others. Still, many people remain unclear about basic Ayurvedic wisdom, particularly its emphasis on seasonal cleansing for the body, mind and soul, with spring and early summer marked as peak cleansing times. What is Cleansing?

We clean our homes, our cars, our skin. We have a tendency, however, to neglect our internal body and our minds. Never before, in recorded history, have we been so consistently exposed to biological, chemical, heavy metal, electrical, emotional, psychological, and even spiritual stressors. In addition, the nutritional quality of our produce has significantly diminished in just the past 40 years. The synergistic effect of stress, toxicity, and nutritional depletion can be devastating. That's the bad news.

The good news is that synergy works even better in a positive direction. Cleansing is an opportunity to relieve the burden imposed on the body and mind due to externally and internally derived toxins. By making simple dietary and lifestyle changes, reducing stress, eliminating toxins, and improving our nutritional intake, wonderful shifts take place. It is remarkable how positively the body responds when we give it a chance. After a balanced cleanse, people often experience less aches and pains, improved digestion, a deeper connection with themselves and a sense of empowerment that comes from taking their health in their own hands.

Cleansing was originally taught as part of India's ancient system of medicine known as Ayurveda. Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word which means knowledge of the totality of life. It is the sister of the yoga system. While there are many health benefits from practicing the various forms of yoga, the goal of yoga is to experientially realize who we are in truth. Ayurveda is said to be a gift from the devas (divine beings) to assist us in maintaining health while living our lives to the fullest and growing to our greatest potential. Specifically, Ayurveda addresses improving our quality of life, strengthening our resistance to disease, eliminating disease and increasing our awareness. The basic, simple principles of Ayurveda serve as a foundation for safe, healthy, balanced cleansing and rejuvenation programs. The First Cause of All Health and All Disease

The many spiritual paths from India and religions throughout the world all express the awesome and inconceivable intelligence that so perfectly maintains this living universe. This intelligence in Sanskrit is called buddhi, or universal life intelligence. Every thing is working in perfect order. All the planets are floating in space in perfect harmony. For example, if the Earth paused for just a moment in its rotation, we would likely freeze or burn in an instant. The laws of nature, the seasons, natural cycles, the interconnectedness and dependency of all living beings, and even natural disasters, while beyond our comprehension, are all guided by buddhi, or divine intelligence. This same buddhi is what organizes and manages the functioning of our bodies.

If this vastly intelligent buddhi controls the workings of our body, then what is the cause of premature illness, distress or disease? If buddhi is so intelligent, why does it stop working so well? The Ayurvedic answer to this is contained in a very interesting Sanskrit word: prajnaparadha. Prajna means wisdom and aparadha means to offend. Prajnaparadha means, to offend our own inner wisdom, intelligence and experience by ignoring (not listening to) the wisdom that lies within each and every one of us. For example, as babies and as children we know when we have had enough to eat. When regularly forced to eat more than we want, slowly we begin to lose connection with our body's wisdom.

Children start out being naturally connected to their inner wisdom and guidance systems. When parents, teachers, friends, religions and society condition them to behave in a way that is unnatural for them, they will eventually lose contact with the simple and innocent inner voice of wisdom. This inner voice comes from our center, our soul, our atma. Ayurveda affirms that we all have this source of wisdom within. As we begin to lose touch with it, day after day, making choices that are not from our center of wisdom, gut knowing and intuition, but rather from outside sources, we are offending or ignoring our own wisdom. The more we do this, the more we block out the same natural intelligence that guides the planets in space and the meridians and cells of our bodies. Fortunately, when we become aware that our deepest suffering is caused by offending our own wisdom, we can become blessed with the desire to free ourselves from suffering. Yoga teachings say this is part of the divine p lan.

The Four Principles
When most people think of Ayurveda they think of the doshas or body-mind types. While this is largely part of the foundation of Ayurveda, there are four other fundamental Ayurvedic principles, often overlooked, that relate to the importance of seasonal cleansing. These simple, yet profound principles can change the way we look at our health forever.

The first principle is Prana. It is often translated as life energy and chi. Prana is the life force which buddhi (divine intelligence) directs through specific channels and directions of our body. Prana carries life force through the body energizing every cell of the body.

The next principle is called Agni. Agni means fire. In this context it refers to the fire of digestion or the power to transform food into the cells of our body. When we eat some broccoli our agni must transform it into all the various organs and tissues of the body. This whole process takes approximately 32 days. Weak agni means poor digestion and transformation, which translates into weak or compromised tissues. Agni is not, however, limited to digestion of food alone. Just as the body must digest food, we must also digest and transform emotions, feelings, sensory impressions, thoughts, ideas, concepts all that we experience through our mind and senses. Consider all that we are exposed to in the unlimited forms of media on a daily basis. The agni of the mind is call tejas, which is associated with the fire-like perceptive and intelligent powers of the mind. When tejas is weak we will tend to experience mental apathy, depression, rumination and unprocessed thoughts and feelings. Strong tejas grants us mental clarity, boldness, creativity, strong intelligence and the capacity to penetrate deeply into any subject or problem.

The third principle, ojas is the essence of our physical being and tissues. Related to the immune system, it is the most distilled substance in our body. Ojas is said to be located in the heart and the ovaries or testes. When our ojas is strong, we have good immunity, resistance to both the onset of disease and to the severity of disease. Good ojas also gives strong mental and emotional resilience and offers potential for good character and spiritual depth.

The fourth principle is called Ama, or toxin. Ama is considered to be the secondary cause of all disease. Ama is caused by incompletely digested food and ingesting low quality foods and toxins such as high sugar junk foods, hormone and pesticide-laden meats, and refined and processed foods. Exposure to external toxins in the environment such as pesticides, plastics, chlorine and fluoride in water, heavy metals, cleaning detergents, air pollution, EMFs, also contribute to excess ama.

When we ignore our inner wisdom and guidance system, we tend to allow five things to happen:

• our toxicity (ama) increases in body and mind
• our fire of digestion and power of transformation (agni) decreases
• our intelligent life energy weakens and becomes blocked (prana)
• our immunity and inner strength decreases (ojas)
• our natural universal life intelligence within (buddhi) becomes blocked by the excess of ama, poor agni, weak prana and low ojas

The Second Cause of All Disease

Ayurveda says the other original cause of all disease begins in the digestive tract. Our digestive system turns out to be similar to the roots of a tree. Imagine a tree with a damaged or toxic root system. Most likely its branches, leaves and fruits will be compromised. This occurs in the body also. All of digestion focuses on breaking our food down enough so that the little roots located in the small intestine can absorb nutrients. Once absorbed, all the various tissues of the body can be fed and developed. When the roots of the body become clogged and dysfunctional due to excess ama (toxicity), poor diet, stress or inherited weakness, the early stages of disease begin.

Cleansing gives the body (and the roots of our body), mind and senses a break from constant challenges and the chance to eliminate excess ama. This gives the roots of our inner tree the opportunity to heal and regenerate. So often we unknowingly cause ourselves distress in body, mind and soul. When we regularly challenge our body and mind with toxic substances and foods, our immune system perceives these toxins as little emergencies that have to be handled as priorities before it can create inner balance and handle potentially more serious immune challenges. In other words, toxicity can become a chronic distraction to the immune system. When we remove the burden on the digestive tract, nervous system, and mind and senses, our system has the chance to heal and restore itself. As ama decreases, our prana, agni and ojas increase. We begin to feel more like ourselves connected to our buddhi inner wisdom.

The Ayurvedic Cleansing Approach
Ayurveda promotes a very balanced approach to cleansing that does not recommend severe cleanses unless one is very ill. Generally, a gradual, steady approach over a number of days, weeks or even months is most appropriate. Trying to hurry up and cleanse so you can be immediately healthy and balanced is similar to trying to hurry up and meditate. Ayurvedic cleansing should be gradual and incremental to avoid severe detox reactions that can cause too much stress on the body. Sometimes in overly aggressive cleansing, benefits gained physically or mentally are quickly lost.

While the goal of cleansing can be eliminating symptoms of illness or disease, it is also about improving the long-term quality and vitality of our lives. During a cleanse it is of paramount importance to lightly exercise, meditate, and look within. Strengthening and balancing the nervous system is essential to successful cleansing. Pranayama, or full breathing exercises, help to increase prana and decrease ama, which helps to clear energy blocks to buddhi and gives us the energy to make important changes in our lives. Wonderful deep realizations, healings and understandings often occur during a cleanse. It is also vitally important to avoid any shock to the body by coming off the cleanse gradually.

According to Ayurveda and Chinese medicine, spring, early summer and fall are the best times to cleanse. To do a deep cleanse on your own often requires the support of a health practitioner or group, however, anything done to relieve the burden on our body, mind, senses and soul will often bring immediate relief, substantial results, and is always a great preparation for a deeper cleanse. So this spring and summer you can begin your cleansing process by decreasing or eliminating high ama or toxic foods and substances such as refined sugar, refined grains, heavy meats such as beef or pork, and of course, going organic as much as possible. Drink plenty of filtered or spring water. Since spring and early summer is the season most related to the liver, it is a great time to focus on cleansing and rejuvenating this very important organ. Eat lots (70% or more) of leafy green veggies with each meal. It is a great time to add a green phytonutrient drink a couple times a day in water or as a smoothie.

Adding extra vitamin C and sipping dandelion and milk thistle tea benefits the liver and blood. For your mind and senses, try a media fast for a few days or even a week or two! This gives your nervous system and mind a chance to process, digest and eliminate so much of what we have taken into our consciousness over past months. For your body, mind and soul, get massage, do pranayama (yoga breathing), dance, pray, chant, meditate, do yoga and go for walks while consciously breathing. A little cleansing goes a long way in assisting us to align with our wisdom and with the positive, uplifting energies of spring and summer. Remember, when we heal, the world heals.

About Ayurveda (external link)