Starting today…

1. Get your priorities straight. – Twenty years from now it won’t really matter what shoes you wore today, how your hair looked, or what brand of jeans you bought.  What will matter is how you loved, what you learned and how you applied this knowledge.
2. Take full responsibility for your goals. – If you really want good things in your life to happen, you have to make them happen yourself.  You can’t sit around and hope that somebody else will help you; you have to make your own future and not think that your destiny is tied to the actions and choices of others.  Read Quitter.
3. Know your worth. – When someone treats you like you’re just one of many options, help them narrow their choice by removing yourself from the equation.  Sometimes you have to try not to care, no matter how much you do.  Because sometimes you can mean almost nothing to someone who means so much to you.  It’s not pride – it’s self-respect.  Don’t expect to see positive changes in your life if you surround yourself with negative people.  Don’t give part-time people a full-time position in your life.  Know your value and what you have to offer, and never settle for anything less than what you deserve.
4. Choose the right perspective. – Perspective is everything.  When faced with long check-out lines, traffic jams, or waiting an hour past your appointment time, you have two choices:  You can get frustrated and enraged, or you can view it as life’s way of giving you a guilt-free breather from rushing, and spend that time daydreaming, conversing, or watching the clouds.  The first choice will raise your blood pressure.  The second choice will raise your consciousness.
5. Don’t let your old problems punish your dreams.  – Learn to let go of things you can’t control.  The next time you’re tempted to rant about a situation that you think ended unfairly, remind yourself of this:  You’ll never kill off your anger by beating the story to death.  So close your mouth, unclench your fists, and redirect your thoughts.  When left untended, the anger will slowly wither, and you’ll be left to live in peace as you grow toward a better future.
6. Choose the things that truly matter. – Some things just don’t matter much – like the kind of car you drive.  How big of a deal is that in the grand scheme of life?  Not a big at all.  But lifting a person’s heart?  Now, that matters.  The whole problem with most people is, they KNOW what matters, but they don’t CHOOSE it.  They get distracted.  They don’t put first things first.  The hardest and smartest way to live is choosing what truly matters, and pursuing it passionately.  Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
7. Love YOU. – Let someone love you just the way you are – as flawed as you might be, as unattractive as you sometimes feel, and as unaccomplished as you think you are.  Yes, let someone love you despite all of this; and let that someone be YOU.
8. Accept your strengths and weaknesses. – Be confident being YOU.  We often waste too much time comparing ourselves to others, and wishing to be something we’re not.  Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses, and it is only when we accept everything we are, and aren’t, that we are able to become who we are capable of being.
9. Stand up for YOU. – You were born to be real, not to be perfect.  You’re here to be YOU, not to be what someone else wants you to be.  Stand up for yourself, look them in the eye, and say, “Don’t judge me until you know me, don’t underestimate me until you challenge me, and don’t talk about me until you’ve talked to me.”
10. Learn from others, and move on when you must. – You can’t expect to change people.  Either you accept who they are, or you start living your life without them.  And just because something ends, doesn’t mean it never should have been.  You lived, you learned, you grew, and you moved on.  Some people come into your life as blessings; others come into your life as lessons.
11. Be honest in your relationships. – Don’t cheat!  If you’re not happy, be honest, and move on if you must.  When you’re truly in love, being faithful isn’t a sacrifice, it’s a joy.
12. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. – Life as we know it can change in a blink of an eye.  Unlikely friendships can blossom, important careers can be tossed aside and a long lost hope can be rekindled.  It might feel a little uncomfortable at times, but know that life begins at the end of your comfort zone.  So if you’re feeling uncomfortable right now, know that the change taking place in your life is not an ending, but a new beginning.  Read The Power of Full Engagement.
13. Be who you were born to be. – Don’t get to the end of your life and find that you lived only the length of it; live the width of it as well.  When it comes to living as a passionate, inspired human being, the only challenge greater than learning to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, is learning to walk a lifetime comfortably in your own.  Follow your heart, and take your brain with you.  When you are truly comfortable in your own skin, not everyone will like you, but you won’t care about it one bit.
14. Never give up on YOU. – This is your life; shape it, or someone else will.  Strength shows not only in the ability to hold on, but in the ability to start over when you must.  It is never too late to become what you might have been.  Keep learning, adapting, and growing.  You may not be there yet, but you are closer than you were yesterday.

Reblogged from www.marcandangel.com

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That experience is often not communicable except in the language of human transformation associated with spiritual traditions, so it is given names like enlightenment, illumination, transcendental experience, self-realization, and others. These are life-changing events when they occur in one’s inner life and the processes surrounding these experiences–let’s refer to them collectively as spiritual process–are among the perennial themes of energy work.

Though it has applications in every sphere of life and healing, energy work is a decidedly psycho-spiritual undertaking. Whether it takes the form of personal meditative practices or treatments with another person, it can bring long-forgotten and repressed material from our personal subconscious to the surface of our awareness, but it goes further than that.

The practices of energy work contain within them the seeds of spiritual practice. They are the not-so-distant cousins of the classic disciplines of the inner life: prayer, meditation, and contemplation. These are all practices that invite experiences into our consciousness from what is beyond our individual spheres of awareness and personal biographies, from what Swiss psychologist Carl Jung called the collective unconscious, and beyond, into ecstatic dimensions of pure consciousness and revelation. This is not to say that each energy work session results in enlightenment, any more than every prayer is met immediately by an intelligible answer from God. Still, it behooves anyone who makes use of energetic practices to develop an appreciation for the patterns of spiritual process.

What Is Energy Work?
All of this might sound a trifle strange if you have been involved with energy healing mainly in the context of therapeutic bodywork and are accustomed to thinking in terms of therapeutic outcomes, symptom management, and basic health care. To grasp the connection between energy work and spiritual process, it is important to gain an understanding of what energy work is at its most essential level. Begin by taking an inventory of the subtle energetic practices you are involved with already–maybe without even thinking of them as energy work–either as part of your healing work or in your efforts to become a more conscious individual.

In your subtle energy practice inventory, include all hands-on and hands-off energy work modalities like Therapeutic Touch, reiki, and polarity therapy, subtle energy therapies like acupressure and homeopathy, spiritually oriented practices like meditation, prayer, chakra exercises, toning, breathing exercises, chanting, and singing spiritual hymns, practices that slow down and intensify your perception of the energy movement in your body and around it, such as yoga, t’ai chi, and qi gong, all forms of spiritual ritual you might be involved with, such as sweat lodges, vision quests, ritual movement, and sacred dance and walk, and massage, which often helps you shift into deep relaxation, essentially an altered state of consciousness.

What all of these practices have in common–and the reason they stimulate spiritual process–is that each of them steps up the interaction between your energy field and your body, and enlivens the interplay between your conscious and non-conscious processes.¹ If there are differences among energy work practices in their usefulness as holistic healing tools, those differences lie mainly in the conscious awareness, beliefs, orientation, and intention of the one using them. There is a difference, for example, between a bodywork session in which the practitioner is consciously aware of, and intentionally working with, the energy field of his client while doing the session, and a session in which he might be doing the same set of physical maneuvers, but without that awareness, presence, and set of intentions. It could be said that some practices are more explicitly geared toward facilitating psycho-spiritual processes than others. In reality, though, each healing modality and each meditative style is potentially a holistic, energy-active form of healing work with the potential to activate what psychologist Robert Johnson calls the “source of our evolving character,” and “the process whereby we bring the total self together.”

Glimpses of the Inner Pilgrim
Many people come to an energy healer because of an emerging spiritual process, though they probably don’t call it that. They run into something discontinuous with their usual consciousness. Spiritual process can emerge spontaneously. It can be small, quiet, and simple. I remember my brother telling me that once, while riding on the train, he looked out the window and realized that everything was perfect, and a profound peace arose within him. Other times, spiritual process is jarred into action. Sudden loss of a job, illness, the breakup of a relationship, and the birth of a baby are examples of this. A longtime student of mine dates her spiritual awakening back to a head-on collision in which she could easily have lost her life. When the timing is right, our deep psyche will use just about anything as tinder to ignite change. These experiences can be both exhilarating and upsetting.

If you are a practitioner, bear in mind that under the influence of an energy treatment, your client’s body and symptoms often serve as a doorway into his or her deep inner world. Next time you give a healing treatment, keep in mind that the person you are working on might be experiencing, to one degree or another, elements of dream, memory, emotion, or insight. They might be nursing an inner wound, or piecing together a broken sense of humanity. A healing session with you can help them slip a bit more gracefully into a new world of experience.

Spiritual process may or may not be obvious at first, but as you awaken to your own spiritual process, you will, with increasing frequency, find yourself encountering a pilgrim, or spiritual traveler in others. When it comes to pilgrims, it typically takes one to know one. Becoming intimately and courageously aware of the spiritual process active in you is what prepares you to discern spiritual process in others and work purposefully with it. Your personal growth and development is therefore crucially important if you want to use the tools of energy healing responsibly with others.

Once you get an eye for spiritual process and a feel for its shapes and patterns, it is not uncommon to witness the drama and beauty of spiritual initiation right there on your massage table or in your therapy room. Your challenge is to catch on to where your client is in the arc of her inner pilgrimage. She might be moving along quite well on her spiritual quest, and coming to you as something of a “pit stop.” Or she might be in one or the other of the predicaments that spiritual travelers get into. She may arrive in a state of disarray as she comes to realize she is being led out onto a dimly-lit path, away from the world she has known and the company she has heretofore kept. She might be lost, sick, injured, in a trance or a state of suspended animation, buried deep in stone or ice, or incubating in a deep wintry slumber, awaiting what poet Denise Low called “the searing call of one hot star.”

The pilgrim on your massage table, or the one in your own body, might come in need of refuge, she could be making the first rustlings of awakening from a long sleep, needing nourishment, or demanding breathing room. She might be ready to take wing into realms of discovery in the worlds of the spirit. Or she might find herself on a path of return to the everyday world after a time of absorption in the spiritual realms. Other pilgrims might be facing some life-altering task or ordeal, or even death, in the form of life’s inevitable losses, the death of a former worldview, or even literal death. The upshot is that, in the early stages of this inner pilgrimage, she might not be conscious of any of this. All she might know at the time she comes to you is that something hurts.

If you are a practitioner, this does not mean you are abandoning your treatment of the client’s aches and pains in favor of going for spiritual process. On the contrary, the aches and pains are probably the very things that brought her to you in the first place and you are using your skills to alleviate unnecessary suffering, while at the same time recognizing that symptoms are part of something larger. On most days, you are a companion, hopefully, a wise and compassionate one, having swum the waters and hiked the inner terrains of your own soul. On occasion, you play the role of spiritual midwife.

Signs of Spiritual Process
Marilyn Ferguson, founder of the Brain/Mind Bulletin, articulated a principle from quantum theory that gets to the heart of emerging spiritual process. She says, “Things fall apart, so they can fall together at a higher level of order.” What this says about the constant organization, break down, and reorganization of the stuff of the universe also applies to our work with energy and consciousness and the way our inner and outer lives change and grow. Here are some hallmarks of that process:

Disruption.
In big and small ways, something interrupts the continuity of a person’s life. In some people, it can be the breaking in of external events, such as a sudden loss, or input from other dimensions of consciousness, perhaps in the form of a profound insight, dream, or inner awakening. In other people, it’s not a case of something breaking in, but rather it is the person who breaks out of the status quo.

Reshuffling.
This is a fluid phase, marked in many people by uncertainty, disorientation, and vulnerability. A person might feel lost and directionless without their old orientation, but these are also times of new opportunities to shape the world they live in.

Reorganization.
Sooner or later, new patterns crystallize out of the chaos. Remember Ferguson’s statement that things fall apart, so they can fall together at a higher level of order. That new, higher level of order will, in its turn, fall apart and give rise to what comes next. That’s the way things progress in nature and in us. Our spiritual process is no different.

What can you do if you work with other people and detect this pattern? Work on yourself. Your inner work is what you do to tend your own fire and your own inner garden. It’s what you do to become more conscious and it can take any number of forms: daily meditations, retreats, spiritual practices, therapy, and energetic practices. Whatever the form, your inner work is an indispensable ingredient in anything you would undertake to cultivate and express your spiritual qualities.

I have found that people who get involved with energy healing strictly in order to “fix” others, without working in a parallel way on their own inner growth and development, tend to hit a wall early on. Without active participation in your own pathways of spiritual growth and personal healing and development, it is easy to restrict your notions of what energy work is about. In addition, whatever your path or discipline, your inner work is how you unlock your potentials, become comfortable with processes of inner change, and gain a wider perspective on life, based on your own experience. Your inner work is the basis for compassionate work with others.

Integration-Living One Life
Your energy work practice delivers a changed person to the world and, in its small way, changes the world. The journey of energy healing has the potential to carry you out of the mass mind and your everyday world, if only for a moment at a time, into encounters with the numinous background of life. There, the pilgrim in your body might find an opening to ecstatic, ineffable states, unfiltered by anything institutional, undefined by psychology, religion, or middle-class values. At times, new perceptions come cracking through–you sit bolt upright and shout, “Eureka!” and rush out to rearrange the world. Other days, less bombastically, an internal practice might draw you with gentle magnets into deep stillness, after which you calmly re-enter your world with renewed clarity and purpose. Similarly, a client might have a profound experience under your hands and come out of a treatment transformed and inspired. Still other times, change happens in imperceptible shifts, below the radar. You go forward on faith and the occasional unnamable tingle and cultivate an eye for the unseen ways that your work in the world of energy and consciousness silently sifts into the world of everyday. Whether quietly or noisily, energy work practice promotes the renewal of the age-old experience of your most essential nature and this renewal does something to you. Sooner or later, your spiritual growth becomes as undeniable as winter’s turn into spring and with it comes the need to integrate this change into your life.

Much is made in spiritual circles about the best ways to transcend the body, find heaven within, and enter bliss or nirvana, but as long as we are in this life, this is only two-thirds of the path. At some point we come back into the world we inhabit–the ordinary world of washing the dishes, earning a living, visiting Uncle Harold and Aunt Gladys on Sunday, bearing the qualities of our transcendent, ecstatic moments, and the gifts we have cultivated in our soul’s work and travels. No longer internally split up into spiritual and worldly domains, the pilgrim’s task becomes one of integration. Integration means learning to live one life.

The energy healing practitioner who works at the cusp of the physical structure of the client’s body and the energy that enlivens it is in a unique position to promote the integration of deep inner experiences with the world of everyday. While energy healing works to open the way to transcendent experiences, it also honors the need to come back into the world.

Off The Table, Back In The World
As an energy healer, it is important to help your client absorb the changes brought on in your energy work session. We typically underestimate the power of the subconscious and it is easy to forget that subtle but powerful forces have been activated. As you conclude a session, try to discourage the client from hopping up from the table immediately and rushing out into the traffic of life without first integrating their experience. They may not know it, but they have been in an altered state of consciousness and they stand to gain something important by making the transition slowly. By intentionally slowing down this re-entry phase, you are wordlessly teaching your treatment partner an appreciation for spiritual process by honoring the need we all have to integrate what we have experienced into our everyday lives. The nice thing about it is that, in most cases, this integration will happen all by itself when you create the right context for it.

In my practice, I invite the client to stay on the table and simply “simmer,” relax, and feel what is moving within her. I leave the room for a few minutes, wash my hands, check my schedule, and give her space and a bit of time alone. This is part of the session. I frequently come back to find that her process has taken a step in my absence in the form of insights, memories, tears, and reflections. It is often in this short interlude that the arc of the treatment comes full circle.

It’s also important to alert your client to the fact that she will be in a slightly altered state after the treatment and that this is perfectly normal. I often give my client a bit of homework following an energy treatment as a way for her to integrate her experience and attend to the heightened energetic and psycho-spiritual activity. In my experience, this window is open for about 36 hours.

- Dreams can be very accessible. Freud called dreams the “royal road to the subconscious” and in the period immediately following an energy healing session, they can suddenly be quite active, vivid, and instructive about your process. Whether you are aware of them or not, dreams are always part of the interplay between your conscious and non-conscious worlds, and in the aftermath of treatments, it’s not uncommon for this important function of dreams to be stepped up. Keeping a dream journal is an excellent way to help this side of your life become more conscious.

- Long-forgotten memories can come into the foreground. Energy work affects the etheric storehouse of the subconscious. Energy work that integrates your physical body with your energy field will bring forward held memories. Include a section of your journal for this.

- Acute and chronic conditions are likely to shift. For example, a pain might come suddenly and then leave, a sleep pattern might change.

- Emotional release is not uncommon during this period, as excess buildups of energy discharge from your body and psyche.

- You might suddenly connect some previously unconnected dots in the form of insights, outer events, in the form of synchronicities, might trigger some significant inner process.

With experience, I believe you will come to see that your involvement with energy work delivers a healthier, more grounded, centered, expanded, and spiritually aligned person to the world. Sending your client out the door in a bit better shape to face her personal challenges contributes positively to her family, society, and the world. Likewise, the step taken by the pilgrim in your body raises our collective consciousness and makes you more ready to step more fully into your deepest calling. It is no small thing.

By Jim Gilkeson a bodywork therapist and the author of A Pilgrim in Your Body: Energy Healing and Spiritual Process (IUniverse, 2009) from which this article is adapted. He teaches meditation and energy-oriented healing in Northern California. Contact him at jgilkesn@earthlink.net.

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, May/June 2011. Copyright 2011. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

Note
1. I have decided to use osteopath John Upledger’s word “non-conscious” because, as he points out, it does not seem to have the limitations that cling to words like “unconscious” and “subconscious” from various psychological schools of thought. By “non-conscious,” I mean everything that is not (currently) accessible or available to one’s conscious awareness.

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Energy pulsed through this conference, both in terms of the people it drew, the topics being discussed, and the environmental stage in which it was set. After experiencing everything from Biosonic Repatterning to experiential movement (where people both writhed and cried) to good, old-fashioned polarity, I indeed felt like I had tumbled down the rabbit hole. Once I’d swallowed that pill, I knew there was no going back.

What still amazes me today is that even with the skepticism ingrained in me during my years as a newspaper reporter, I felt immediately at home in this world of energy. Though I couldn’t begin to understand all that I was witness to that weekend, I took away from the experience a vibrational energy that has stayed with me even today.

It really was a gift I was given — to be able to open my mind to the possibilities of energy even as I was only just discovering what effluerage and tapotement were. I feel very fortunate that I was so quickly exposed to this aspect of bodywork. I believe it gave me a personal insight into the potential that exists in bodywork, and it certainly gave me a respect and appreciation for these therapies, even if I didn’t understand them.

I think of the energy experiences I’ve had, I’ve witnessed, or I’ve written about since that first exposure. I vividly remember the reiki session where I had so much release, that barely hours later I felt as if I’d been to the chiropractor. I still recall the distinct visual images that swam through my quiet mind as my craniosacral therapist held my head in her hands.

When a dear family friend was given just a year to live after the discovery of an inoperable tumor, her daughter learned reiki training as a means to help them both traverse the difficult road ahead. While it helped with the dying woman’s pain, it also created a peace between mother and daughter, as one lovingly nurtured the other through the stages of death.

It was hope that I felt when I wrote about a newly pregnant mother who, after learning her fiance had been tortured and murdered, was able to rely on and be rescued by a house full of energy workers who had come to her side.

And when I placed my hand on the tummies of my newborn babies and watched them calm with my simple touch, I knew it was an instinctual application of energy held in the palm of every parent’s hand.

In many ways, energy medicine is still very much a mystery to me. And then again, its intrigue, power, and potential create a warm, safe place to call home — a place where possibilities are endless, just like the rabbit hole itself.

By Karrie Osborn contributing editor to Massage & Bodywork magazine.

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

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Defining CAM

Defining CAM is difficult, because the field is very broad and constantly changing. NCCAM defines CAM as a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine. Conventional medicine (also called Western or allopathic medicine) is medicine as practiced by holders of M.D. (medical doctor) and D.O. (doctor of osteopathic medicine) degrees and by allied health professionals, such as physical therapists, psychologists, and registered nurses. The boundaries between CAM and conventional medicine are not absolute, and specific CAM practices may, over time, become widely accepted.

Complementary medicine” refers to use of CAM together with conventional medicine, such as using acupuncture in addition to usual care to help lessen pain. Most use of CAM by Americans is complementary. “Alternative medicine” refers to use of CAM in place of conventional medicine. “Integrative medicine” combines treatments from conventional medicine and CAM for which there is some high-quality evidence of safety and effectiveness. It is also called integrated medicine.

Types of CAM

CAM practices are often grouped into broad categories, such as natural products, mind and body medicine, and manipulative and body-based practices. Although these categories are not formally defined, they are useful for discussing CAM practices. Some CAM practices may fit into more than one category.

Natural Products

This area of CAM includes use of a variety of herbal medicines (also known as botanicals), vitamins, minerals, and other “natural products.” Many are sold over the counter as dietary supplements. (Some uses of dietary supplements—e.g., taking a multivitamin to meet minimum daily nutritional requirements or taking calcium to promote bone health—are not thought of as CAM.)

CAM “natural products” also include probiotics—live microorganisms (usually bacteria) that are similar to microorganisms normally found in the human digestive tract and that may have beneficial effects. Probiotics are available in foods (e.g., yogurts) or as dietary supplements. They are not the same thing as prebiotics—nondigestible food ingredients that selectively stimulate the growth and/or activity of microorganisms already present in the body.

Historical note: Herbal or botanical medicines reflect some of the first attempts to improve the human condition. The personal effects of the mummified prehistoric “ice man” found in the Italian Alps in 1991 included medicinal herbs. By the Middle Ages, thousands of botanical products had been inventoried for their medicinal effects.

Current use: Interest in and use of CAM natural products have grown considerably in the past few decades. The 2007 NHIS found that 17.7 percent of American adults had used a nonvitamin/nonmineral natural product. These products were the most popular form of CAM among both adults and children. The most commonly used product among adults was fish oil/omega 3s (reported by 37.4 percent of all adults who said they used natural products); popular products for children included echinacea (37.2 percent) and fish oil/omega 3s (30.5 percent).

Mind and Body Medicine

Mind and body practices focus on the interactions among the brain, mind, body, and behavior, with the intent to use the mind to affect physical functioning and promote health. Many CAM practices embody this concept—in different ways.

• Meditation techniques include specific postures, focused attention, or an open attitude toward distractions. People use meditation to increase calmness and relaxation, improve psychological balance, cope with illness, or enhance overall health and well-being.
• The various styles of yoga used for health purposes typically combine physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation or relaxation. People use yoga as part of a general health regimen, and also for a variety of health conditions.
• Acupuncture¹ is a family of procedures involving the stimulation of specific points on the body using a variety of techniques, such as penetrating the skin with needles that are then manipulated by hand or by electrical stimulation. It is one of the key components of traditional Chinese medicine, and is among the oldest healing practices in the world.

Other examples of mind and body practices include deep-breathing exercises, guided imagery, hypnotherapy, progressive relaxation, qi gong, and tai chi.

Historical note: The concept that the mind is important in the treatment of illness is integral to the healing approaches of traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine, dating back more than 2,000 years. Hippocrates also noted the moral and spiritual aspects of healing and believed that treatment could occur only with consideration of attitude, environmental influences, and natural remedies.

Current use: Several mind and body approaches ranked among the top 10 CAM practices reported by adults in the 2007 NHIS. For example, the survey found that 12.7 percent of adults had used deep-breathing exercises, 9.4 percent had practiced meditation, and 6.1 percent had practiced yoga; use of these three CAM practices had increased significantly since the previous (2002) NHIS. Progressive relaxation and guided imagery were also among the top 10 CAM therapies for adults; deep breathing and yoga ranked high among children. Acupuncture had been used by 1.4 percent of adults and 0.2 percent of children.

¹ Acupuncture is considered to be a part of mind and body medicine, but it is also a component of energy medicine, manipulative and body-based practices, and traditional Chinese medicine.

Manipulative and Body-Based Practices

Manipulative and body-based practices focus primarily on the structures and systems of the body, including the bones and joints, soft tissues, and circulatory and lymphatic systems. Two commonly used therapies fall within this category:

• Spinal manipulation is performed by chiropractors and by other health care professionals such as physical therapists, osteopathic physicians, and some conventional medical doctors. Practitioners use their hands or a device to apply a controlled force to a joint of the spine, moving it beyond its passive range of motion; the amount of force applied depends on the form of manipulation used. Spinal manipulation is among the treatment options used by people with low-back pain—a very common condition that can be difficult to treat.
• The term massage therapy encompasses many different techniques. In general, therapists press, rub, and otherwise manipulate the muscles and other soft tissues of the body. People use massage for a variety of health-related purposes, including to relieve pain, rehabilitate sports injuries, reduce stress, increase relaxation, address anxiety and depression, and aid general well-being.

Historical note: Spinal manipulation has been used since the time of the ancient Greeks and was incorporated into chiropractic and osteopathic medicine in the late 19th century. Massage therapy dates back thousands of years. References to massage appear in writings from ancient China, Japan, India, Arabic nations, Egypt, Greece (Hippocrates defined medicine as “the art of rubbing”), and Rome.

Current use: According to the 2007 NHIS, chiropractic/osteopathic manipulation and massage ranked in the top 10 CAM therapies among both adults and children. The survey found that 8.6 percent of adults and 2.8 percent of children had used chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation, and 8.3 percent of adults and 1 percent of children had used massage.

Other CAM Practices

CAM also encompasses movement therapies—a broad range of Eastern and Western movement-based approaches used to promote physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Examples include Feldenkrais method, Alexander technique, Pilates, Rolfing Structural Integration, and Trager psychophysical integration. According to the 2007 NHIS, 1.5 percent of adults and 0.4 percent of children used movement therapies.

Practices of traditional healers can also be considered a form of CAM. Traditional healers use methods based on indigenous theories, beliefs, and experiences handed down from generation to generation. A familiar example in the United States is the Native American healer/medicine man. The 2007 NHIS found that 0.4 percent of adults and 1.1 percent of children had used a traditional healer (usage varied for the seven specific types of healers identified in the survey).

Some CAM practices involve manipulation of various energy fields to affect health. Such fields may be characterized as veritable (measurable) or putative (yet to be measured). Practices based on veritable forms of energy include those involving electromagnetic fields (e.g., magnet therapy and light therapy). Practices based on putative energy fields (also called biofields) generally reflect the concept that human beings are infused with subtle forms of energy; qi gong, Reiki, and healing touch are examples of such practices. The 2007 NHIS found relatively low use of putative energy therapies. Only 0.5 percent of adults and 0.2 percent of children had used energy healing/Reiki (the survey defined energy healing as the channeling of healing energy through the hands of a practitioner into the client’s body).

Finally, whole medical systems, which are complete systems of theory and practice that have evolved over time in different cultures and apart from conventional or Western medicine, may be considered CAM. Examples of ancient whole medical systems include Ayurvedic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. More modern systems that have developed in the past few centuries include homeopathy and naturopathy. The 2007 NHIS asked about the use of Ayurveda, homeopathy, and naturopathy. Although relatively few respondents said they had used Ayurveda or naturopathy, homeopathy ranked 10th in usage among adults (1.8 percent) and 5th among children (1.3 percent).

Source: http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam

Bodywork education is more than simply learning a set of techniques, especially if one wishes to be other than just a technician. It is a process of awakening, opening, unfolding, not unlike a spiritual path. From contemplative spiritual traditions, many useful tools can be found to assist in the bodyworker’s journey. In Buddhist practice, there is much focus on the skillful cultivation of attention and intention.

Dependent Origination
The principle of dependent origination (paccayakara) explains the interdependent nature of things as a chain of causal factors. Looking at one link in this 12-fold chain, intention (cetana) determines, or conditions, consciousness. What we see, hear and experience is influenced by our intentions.

In a crowd, an anatomist sees muscles and bones. An esthetician sees skin. A merchant sees potential customers. A pickpocket sees only pockets. The context from which we experience is also influenced by intentions. Looking at the same object at different times, in different mental states, and thinking different thoughts, it happens that different features of that same object will predominate. Moreover, consciousness, conditioned by intentions, goes on to condition body and mind. In an angry mood, the world feels negative, confrontational or irritating. The body consequently takes on a hostile appearance, the jaw clenches, muscles tense and blood pressure rises. According to P.A. Payutto, “When consciousness takes on any particular feature repeatedly and habitually, the subsequent mental and physical properties will become the corresponding bodily and mental traits of bearing and character.”¹ Once we understand the relationship between intentions, consciousness and embodiment, we can begin to develop skills for “choiceful,” or discerning, living.

We have universities to train our minds, but no such institution exists to help us train our hearts. Ayya Khema, a German-born Buddhist nun, often said that “to train the mind only is like hobbling along on one leg. You need to develop both heart and mind.”

In the Pali language, heart and mind are not separated. The term used for these mind-states or mind-feelings is citta. “Citta refers not just to thoughts and emotions in the narrow sense of arising from the brain, but also to the whole range of consciousness, vast and unimpeded,” writes meditation teacher and author Sharon Salzberg. “As we open to the experience of citta, we come to an understanding of who we are, with an ability to care for ourselves. Through the force of love, the presumed boundaries between ourselves and others crumble into ash as we touch them.”² Metta bhavana, the cultivation of living intent, is one tool the bodyworker may use in the education of the heart.

Cultivation of metta is of benefit personally, as well as having positive benefit for the client and for all beings. “Intention (cetana) and sustained attention (manasikara) produce the experience of conscious motivation,” said Ajahn Sucitto, abbot of Chithurst Buddhist Monastery. “Motivation in terms of giving and love and intelligence will incline consciousness toward more positive states.”³ The more regularly the mind is inclined toward positive states, the more this becomes the norm, the new habit. These Divine Abidings (Brahma Viharas) are attainable here and now. When your mental state is one of boundless love (metta), you are living where the gods live. The four Brahma Viharas are metta (loving kindness), karuna (compassion), mudita (appreciative joy) and upekkha (equanimity or evenness of heart).

Understanding Metta
There is no equivalent word in the English language for metta. It is often translated as friendliness, goodwill, unconditional love or loving kindness. Ayya Khema referred to it as impersonal love, distinguishing it from the love between persons, in favor of a conditionless love for all beings, a natural generosity of the heart. Karuna and metta go hand-in-hand. “Metta sees the good in beings and wishes for their happiness. Compassion is the kind of love that sees the suffering of beings and wishes for their release from it.”⁴ Ajahn Sumedho talks about metta as simply being the state of non-aversion. You do not need to like someone in order to feel compassion and love toward them. According to Sumedho, “Metta is not a superman’s love — it is the very ordinary ability to first be kind and not dwell in aversion toward something or someone.”⁵ Dhamma teacher Joseph Goldstein said, “Metta makes no distinctions among beings…Unlike desire, metta has the capacity to embrace all, no one lies outside its sphere.”⁶

The classical teaching on metta bhavana is to begin by wishing yourself well. It is difficult to genuinely extend love to others unless you are loving and accepting of yourself. May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be safe. May you be peaceful and free. This formula is extended next to a being who has been good to you, a benefactor to whom you feel gratitude and respect. It can be any being — an animal or a person. Picture the being in your mind. Allow the natural feeling of gratitude and love to well up in the heart. May they be happy. May they be healthy. May they be safe. May they be peaceful and free. Contemplate each phrase, allowing yourself to feel the warm abundance of the heart. Next consider a neutral person, someone for whom you have no particular feeling, and finally contemplate a person with whom you have some difficulty. Each new contemplation takes the feeling of love from the personal to the more unconditional. Finally, you can wish for the happiness and well-being of all beings.

Putting Metta into Practice
Learning to cultivate this feeling, we can include our clients in our well-wishing. It is important to stress that in radiating metta toward one’s client, one is wishing them well from a loving state of mind and heart. It is not directing feelings of love at them or filling them with love, which can feel invasive and inappropriate. There is no doing involved, no force. It is simply allowing the natural, radiant quality of the heart to arise.

You can also practice metta walking down the street. Rather than avoiding eye contact and being absorbed in getting where you are going, slow down and simply wish for the well-being of each person you pass. It is a dynamic and transformative force.

In the beginning, it may feel like a catechism, a rote recitation, but continue to practice. It is planting seeds which will mature and blossom in their time. Goldstein points out, “Metta is a factor of mind, not some mysterious thing we have or don’t have…If you practice, it gets stronger, if you don’t practice, it gets weaker.”⁷ If you don’t notice immediate feelings of boundless love, don’t give up. “Thoughts aimed in the right direction eventually produce the feelings,” said Ayya Khema. “All our sense contacts produce feelings. Thoughts are the sixth sense, and even if we are only thinking metta, eventually the feeling will arise.”⁸

When someone prays for the welfare of another, it is love, compassion and empathy that is being extended. According to Larry Dossey,⁹ almost all types of spiritual healing make use of a prayerful, meditative consciousness, wherein the practitioner dissolves in a pervasive feeling of love and compassion. The well-known Spindrift¹⁰ studies have documented for over a decade the effectiveness of prayer with a variety of beings, from microorganisms to humans. While both directed and non-directed prayer provide beneficial results, it has been shown that non-directed, open-ended prayer works more reliably than prayer which is specific in its intended result. In non-directed prayer, the outcome is always in “what is best for the organism.” This may not always be what we would personally like the outcome to be. In some cases, what is best may be death. Metta meditation functions in the non-directed mode, wishing for the being to be happy and peaceful, whatever that may be.

In Thailand, the practice of Nuad Bo’Rarn (traditional Thai massage) and other healing work is considered to be a practical application of metta. Considered a form of meditative practice, with benefit to both the practitioner and the recipient, Thai massage embodies mindfulness, compassion and loving kindness. “Every movement, every procedure, every breath, every posture and every position is an opportunity for the practitioner and recipient to achieve clear intent and mindfulness. Working toward and in this state of awareness opens the perception and intuition of the practitioner. This allows for an acute sensitivity to subtle shifts of energy and change in the client’s body and mind. This can lead to a deep therapeutic effect.”¹¹ It is also typical to begin a Nuad Thai session with a short prayer of gratitude to the Father Doctor Shivago, and for the well-being and happiness of the client and all beings. Similarly, in Insight Bodywork¹² this conscious intention of metta is an integral factor. While it may seem more natural to think of meditation or metta in relation to Asian bodywork, such practice would enrich any bodywork.

Integrating metta bhavana as a conscious intention in one’s bodywork practice is bound to produce positive results. Even if you’re not convinced of the healing power of prayer, it will do no harm. In so inclining your mind toward positive thoughts and mind states, your consciousness becomes conditioned as loving consciousness, and the nature of loving consciousness will be of happiness. As the consciousness becomes habitually one of loving kindness, the body becomes radiant as well. The traditional list of the benefits of metta bhavana include: sleeping and waking easily, having pleasant dreams, having the love of people, devas (celestial beings) and animals, protection (by the devas) from external dangers and harm, having a sense of radiance and serenity, and experiencing an unconfused death and a rebirth in happy realms. With metta consciousness, you truly live in the heavenly realms, the Brahma Viharas, here and now.

By Barry Kapke, ACST, CI, the program director of Asian Bodyworks at San Francisco School of Massage and the founder of Insight Bodywork. He can be reached via e-mail at insight@bodhiwork.org.

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, June/July 2000.
Copyright 2003. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

References
1. Payutto, P.A., Dependent Origination: The Buddhist Law of Conditionality (Bangkok: Buddhadhamma Foundation, 1994), 45.
2. Salzberg, Sharon, Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness (Boston: Shambhala, 1995), 21.
3. Bhikkhu, Sucitto, The Dawn of the Dhamma. (Bangkok: Buddhadhamma Foundation, 1995), 40.
4. Goldstein, Joseph, Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom (Boston, Shambhala, 1994), 147.
5. Bhikkhu, Sumedho, Cittaviveka: Teachings from the Silent Mind (UK: Amaravati Publications, 1984, 1987, 1992), 99.
6. Goldstein, 144.
7. Goldstein, Joseph, The Experience of Insight (Boston: Shambhala, 1987), 130.
8. Khema, Ayya, When the Iron Eagle Flies: Buddhism for the West (UK: Arkana, 1991), 23.
9. Dossey, Larry, M.D., Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine, (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1993).
10. Spindrift can be contacted at Spindrift Inc, PO Box 3995, Salem, OR 97302-0995.
11. Gold, Richard, Thai Massage: A Traditional Medical Technique, (Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 1998), 11.
12. Insight Bodywork is a bodywork system based upon Buddhist, yogic and Ayurvedic principles, originated by Barry Kapke.

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• a million hoodies, a million hearts: metta behind the movement for trayvon martin (dhamma4mama.com)
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Muladhara chakra is shown as having four petals, bearing the Sanskrit letters va, scha, sha, and sa. The seed sound in the center is lam. The tattwa of Earth is shown (here in outline) as a yellow square. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In ayurvedic medicine, we are taught the physical body has a matching energy body. This energy body, as many of you know, is represented by a set of chakras. I’d like you to begin to think of your business as its own energy system, too. Author Caroline Myss introduced this idea in The Science of Medical Intuition. She says any business or project has its own set of chakras.

How is this helpful? Well, energy healers use the chakra system to understand how the body is out of balance. They can make changes to the body by rebalancing the energy systems, often helping physical symptoms in the process.

This concept means we may be able to diagnose our business problems by visualizing the business’ energy body and looking for weakness and imbalance. Once we find a chakra that needs help, we can work on it energetically and physically, perhaps by forging ahead in new directions with our plans, activities, and partnerships.

The Chakras of Your Business
Let’s examine each chakra from the ayurvedic system and see how it relates to a business.

The root chakra shows how grounded your business is. This chakra almost always points back to a good business plan and a clear vision for the practice. Do you know what you want to accomplish with this business? How you want to change the world? A well-grounded business is one that is true to its purpose and role in the universe.

The second chakra in the abdomen is about feelings and creativity. When a business grows stale, this chakra can have problems. Often, businesses that seem quite successful have a weak second chakra, because the business owner is content to ride the waves of the current situation and not inject any creativity into it. The second chakra is a great early warning system for this problem.

The third chakra, in the solar plexus, is about power. The power of a business lies in its connections. As they say, “It’s who you know.” A business must be connected to other businesses in order to be powerful. For instance, strong connections to doctors who refer their patients to you will help this chakra. Networking with fellow bodyworkers will strengthen this chakra as well.

The fourth chakra is about compassion and relationships. This chakra also needs to be strengthened with connections to other people and businesses. However, this chakra is especially sensitive to how the business reacts to the pain of others. For instance, when the executives of a large company like Enron purposely took money away from its customers, its employees, and its stockholders, that was a big fourth chakra issue. A business that is involved in charity work, in partnerships with nonprofits, and donating money to other organizations will be strong in this area.

The throat is the seat of the fifth chakra. This chakra is about the voice of the business and often has a lot to do with marketing. It can also be about connecting the business to solving a true problem in society — not just “in it for the money.” Your business’ fifth chakra problems may be related to connecting the business with the problem it solves and then broadcasting that message to the right people.

The third eye, sixth chakra, represents insight and vision. It is also connected with the brain and self-image. Some businesses (and businesspeople) seem to have an intuitive ability to succeed. When that occurs, we have a strong third eye. There are a few different things to do when this chakra is weak, but the best place to start is to strengthen the other chakras first, because until the business plan is clear and the problem well-articulated, the third eye will have problems. Once the other chakras are in good shape, we can work on making the insight and business intuition of your practice more intense and focused.

Finally, we look at the crown chakra — the center of divinity. For an individual, this chakra is her connection to spirit — the same can be said for a business. And this connection relates to the people who participate in the business — owners and employees. If they are meditating or practicing spirituality in their everyday lives, they will have a fighting chance of pulling this level of spirituality into the business. If not, the individuals need to work on their own connections first, then focus on the business. Is the business accomplishing a spiritual goal? With many bodywork practices, the spiritual connection is quite strong because many bodyworkers go into this business to express their love, humanity, and spirituality.

Diagnosing Business Problems — A Meditation
Here’s a short process to allow you to diagnose the problems of your business. So often, when I talk to bodyworkers, they lament, “My practice just isn’t busy enough.” But what does that mean? Why is it occurring? The following meditative exercise can help give you some clues to the underlying reasons.

First, find a comfortable chair, and put your body at ease. Take five deep breaths, and feel yourself relaxing. Imagine a human body representing your business lying horizontally in mid-air. The body is alive, but seems to be asleep or resting. The figure may be a man or woman. Now, see the chakras begin to appear slowly in each of the seven places in the body. They slowly melt into place, and you can see the energy revolving inside the body and out in front as well.

Now, look for problem areas in the energy flow. All your business’ chakras should be colorful and bright. The root chakra should be pulsing a beautiful red. The second chakra should give off an orange light. Third: yellow. Fourth: green. Fifth: blue. Sixth: purple. The crown chakra might be a little harder to see — it may be white or clear.

Problem areas might be reflected as discoloration, or they might be weakness in energy. As Caroline Myss says, use your own intuition to determine what colors or signs signify problems. For one person, a gray chakra might mean big problems, but for another, it might mean little.

As you can visualize problems in particular areas, note them in your mind, and bring yourself back to an awakened state. Then, diagnose them in detail. If you noticed a weakness in the third chakra, does this mean you should join the Chamber of Commerce or that you should call a few chiropractors to discuss referrals? Go through the chakras one by one and determine what you might be able to do — physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually — about the problems.

This exercise is meant to be a fun process for you when you’re tired of looking at spreadsheets and thinking about money, client load, and expenses. Use it to complement the business practices you already use, not to replace them. And have a good time reenergizing your business.

By Daryl Kulak president of the Simplicity Institute, an online business school for the holistic healthcare community. His goal is to help holistic practitioners overcome the fear of the “business side” of their practices. He can be reached at 614/306-3477 or by e-mail at daryl@simplicity-institute.com.

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Our abdominal center, which the Japanese call hara, is quite literally our physical and energetic core. Energetically, our first three chakras reside here, focusing on grounding, physical embodiment, basic needs and drives, and directed action. Physically, it is the locus of our power, gravity and bodily organs. Our legs extend the hara in connection with the earth, establishing rootedness as well as enabling mobility. Further, hara is understood as our life source and spiritual umbilicus, and through its cultivation comes mastery, strength, wisdom and tranquility.

Children quite naturally are connected with their haras. Their bellies are relaxed and their breath is deep. They glow with an abundance of vitality, spontaneity and playful curiosity. As we move toward adulthood, we learn to distrust and to distance ourselves from the lower body, and we are taught to privilege and develop the mind. Western culture equates a tight “six-pack” abdomen with vigor and health, and a soft belly with laziness. The adult belly must be disciplined and constrained. “Chest out, belly in.”

Culturally, we are taught to think of strength and power positioned well above the navel — in our arms and shoulders, and in our brains. In the Asian view, it is the opposite. Taoist yoga often represents the lower abdomen as a fiery cauldron which cooks up the energy needed to open and liberate the rest of the body. Kundalini, the coiled serpent at the base of the spine, is potential energy awaiting stimulation to rise up and energize the upwardly cascading power centers. The root chakra, at the perineum, functions much like a pilot light for the other chakras and when its energy is weak or blocked, the energy of all the other chakras is correspondingly weakened. Westerners tend to be rigid, tense and overactive in the upper body and empty in the lower body, resulting in a top-heaviness which throws them off balance.

The Hara Attitude
There is much benefit to reconnecting with the simplicity and directness of the hara. To begin to develop our center, it is essential to first find it. Asian bodyworks, such as Shiatsu, Thai massage and Insight BodyworkTM, are strongly oriented toward cultivation of this consolidated body center, as are internal development practices such as aikido, t’ai chi, qigong, yoga and various types of meditation. “Concentration from hara and relaxation of the whole body is natural,” according to Shizuto Masunaga, the originator of Zen Shiatsu. “All Japanese culture,” he says, “is based on this principle. If you tighten your shoulders or extremities, your movement becomes clumsy and awkward. Training in the arts is simply how to eliminate this distorted tension.”¹

The composure of the Japanese way of sitting is “as if he were resting in himself rather than on the furniture,”² writer Karlfried Drckheim observes. He goes on to say: “The bodily center of gravity is not drawn upward but held firmly in the middle, in the region of the navel. And that is the point. The belly is not pulled in but free — and yet slightly tensed. The shoulder region instead of being tense is relaxed but the trunk is firm. The upright bearing is not a pulling upwards but is the manifestation of an axis which stands firmly on a reliable base and which by its own strength maintains its uprightness.”³ Upright, firm and collected signify the presence of hara.

Sitting meditation is one way to drop down from the rooftop chatter of the mind to the embodied center of the belly. By bringing the focus of the mind to the breath and allowing the breath to descend deep into the lower abdomen, and feeling the weight of the body, the mind becomes calm and there is a relaxed (that is, not forced) concentration. In these moments we are unified, the split between body (hara), feeling (heart) and thinking (mind) dissolves. In these moments, there is no conflict, nothing is lacking. We are aware of breath and of feelings of weight, softness and alertness in our bodies, and there is an internal sense of focus, clarity and ease. Sometimes we quite naturally drop into this “attentional” state, such as when we give or receive a massage.

When we shift from the mind-centered experience to one where we start to feel our bodies and our wholeness, it is not at all uncommon to experience a deep joy and at the same time a profound sadness. It is the recognition of our split, the realization of how far away we have been from our bodies. In the Persian language, this ennui of recognition is called durie, or homesickness. In the hara, we come home to our unity.

Grounding (The Balance of Center)
From our hara, we find our center. To be centered is to be fully in the body, fully in the moment. “Center is a basic bodily presence,” writes bodyworker and psychotherapist Richard Strozzi Heckler, “and it is on this presence that the other bodily states are built. It is a bodily and energetic base camp.”⁴

The hara is a place of action where we manifest desire or thought, but it is also a place of stillness and depth, simply being with what is. It contains both these masculine (yang) and feminine (yin) aspects. From the belly, we move with confidence. Our body wisdom guides us. There is no need to think about what to do or to comprehend what is to be done. We just do it — awake, moment by moment. Action executes itself, with no doer to get in the way. “Doing” arises from the fertile ground of being and the emptiness of no thought. The power of the feminine aspect is to simply hold space, to be, to not do. Without the judgmental mind to intervene, the feminine aspect of hara accepts how things are, not wanting them to be different, not interfering to fix or change them. Aikido master Wendy Palmer points out that it “takes training, courage and concentration to stay right in the middle of the present unfolding moment. Instead, what frequently occurs is that we try to take back control of the situation and shift our attention into the future.”⁵ Cultivation of the hara develops the depth to include and integrate both the mastery of the masculine and the mystery of the feminine in the embodied “now.”

The founder of aikido, Morihei Uyeshiba, when asked if he ever lost his balance, responded, “Yes, all the time, but I regain it so fast that you do not see me lose it.”⁶

Working from Hara
“A strong hara confers not only physical stamina, but also the ability to sense and transmit ki,”⁷ says Shiatsu practitioner and author Carola Beresford-Cooke. She goes on to suggest one of the best ways to increase the energetic abilities of any part of the body is by simply bringing attention there, since awareness is a form of energy. Where thought goes, energy will follow.

Working from the hara, leaning rather than pushing, ensures maximum longevity and vitality for the practitioner, as minimal energy is being expended and there is no application of force. Rather, the practitioner will often find an enhanced sense of vitality and aliveness after working in this way. At the same time, recipients will experience the safety and security to surrender to your deeply penetrating, but non-invasive contact. Your own openness and clarity will invite their body to openness and clarity.

The hara-based principles listed below are intended for floor-based bodywork, such as Shiatsu, Thai massage or Insight Bodywork, but certainly are applicable to table work as well.

- Be Attentive to Feeling. Feeling is always in the present. Thoughts, memories, comparisons and judgments take you out of the body and out of the moment. Stay with what you feel. Register the breath, register the feeling of weight, notice sensations as they arise. Maintain deep, natural breathing. Grounded in your own experience, awareness can expand to include the client, or other stimuli, without losing your center.

- Relax — Be Comfortable. It is essential to be relaxed and comfortable. If you are tense, your energy is not flowing and you are not going to be of help to your client, or yourself. Take the time to find a comfortable posture. Tension and relaxation are both contagious.

- Use Your Whole Body. Tension and effort occurs as the body is fractionalized into parts. Moving from your hara will involve moving the whole body. Relax into the ‘shape’ you are holding and initiate movement from your belly.

- Don’t Force, Don’t Hold Back. Lean with relaxed weight. The amount of weight is less important than the quality of the contact. Allow your partner’s body to support you. Mutual support is a mutual benefit.

- Have a Solid Base. The lower body needs to be open, flexible and wider than the upper body. When kneeling, keep the knees apart and the groin open. Make full use of the ground for support. Always maintain at least two points of contact with the body of the recipient.

- Feel Connected to the Ground. Establish deep roots into the earth. Stand, or move, with confidence. If you lose a sense of groundedness, stop and breath into the hara, feel your weight.

- Direct Energy From the Hara. Maintain balance and control by directing the hara between the two hands, or toward the area on which you are working. Imagine the hara moving you, rather than you moving the hara. Feel hara moving through stable hands and thumbs, rather than focusing on hands and thumbs as points of pressure.

- Get Out of Your Way. Trust the instinctive wisdom of the body. Keep it simple. Be guided by intuition, which is limitless, as opposed to intellect, which is limited.

The Fruition of Hara
In Japanese culture, Drckheim points out, one who has cultivated hara is the measure of inner maturity and accomplishment. Hara no aru hito literally means a man with “center” or a man with belly. Such a person is always balanced, tranquil, magnanimous and warm-hearted. With calm, unprejudiced judgment, he knows what is important. He accepts things as they are and maintains a balanced sense of proportion. He is ready for whatever comes his way. When, through persistent discipline and practice, such a man reaches maturity, like a tree that bears ripe fruit effortlessly, he is said to be hara no dekita hito, the man who has finished his belly.

It is no coincidence that Buddha statues typically represent a soft, relaxed belly and solid foundation in the lower body. The imagery of the Buddha represents the total achievement of what is possible for everyone — to be awake. To awaken is to come home. Home is where we start from.

By Barry Kapke, A.C.S.T., C.I., the program director of Asian Bodyworks at San Francisco School of Massage and the founder of Insight BodyworkTM. He can be reached via e-mail at insight@bodhiwork.org.

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

 References
1. Shizuto Masunaga with Wataru Ohashi. Zen Shiatsu: How to Harmonize Yin and Yang for Better Health. (Tokyo: Japan Publications, 1977), 50.
2. Karlfried Graf Drckheim. Hara: The Vital Centre of Man. (London: Unwin Hyman Ltd, 1962), 23.
3. Ibid, 24.
4. Richard Strozzi Heckler. The Anatomy of Change: East/West Approaches to Body/Mind Therapy. (Boulder: Shambhala, 1984), 79.
5. Wendy Palmer. The Intuitive Body: Aikido as a Clairsentient Practice. (Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 1994), 125.
6. Morehei Uyeshiba, cited in Heckler, 82.
7. Carola Beresford-Cooke. Shiatsu Theory and Practice. (Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 1996, 1998), 15.

Zentao symbol as evolution of the Tao (Yin Yang) and the Five Elements of Feng Shui. Italiano: Zentao è un simbolo come evoluzione del Tao (Yin e Yang) e dei cinque elementi del Feng Shui. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The power and importance of place often goes unrecognized. For a moment, close your eyes and imagine receiving your ideal massage. If it could be anywhere, where would it be? What would that place look like? How would it smell? What would you hear there? How would you feel in this space?

Environment is but one piece of the healing experience we call massage, and it is the piece that tends largely to be ignored. In my massage trainings I ask these same questions of my students and overwhelmingly their “dream locale” is somewhere in nature, often near flowing water, gently colored with living sounds and pleasing smells. Some prefer the warm touch of sunshine on their skin, while others imagine a cool caressing breeze. For most, it is the land of no worries, a place to surrender to feeling and sensing.

Almost no one envisions their ideal massage in the kinds of places where it is typically practiced. As massage therapists and body-workers, we tend to work in small, enclosed spaces, with artificial light and stale air. Of course, with only limited space to work from, we try to make it more appealing. We dim or soften the lights, and perhaps accentuate the mood with candles. We might have an aromatherapy diffuser breathing sweet smells into the air. We try to have soothing music or relaxing soundscapes as an unobtrusive backdrop. We accentuate the feel of this self-contained world with the addition of plants, fresh-cut flowers, an inviting “escape” poster of a beach in Bali, warm tapestries and rugs, and, if there is room, perhaps several large pillows on the floor for sitting and talking.

Other massage therapists may intentionally eschew the casual and intimate ambience of such a healing womb in favor of a cooler atmosphere of professionalism and clinical competence. Such a space may be brightly lit, with anatomical charts on the white walls. There is the massage table as the central feature and a stool with wheels. If there is not a separate waiting room or interview room, the work space may also include two chairs — simple, upright no-nonsense chairs for communicating, not for relaxing. It’s the kind of space we’ve become accustomed going to when a problem needs “fixing,” but not the kind of space we’d choose to linger. “Move them in, move them out.”

Some massage studios have tried to integrate aspects of a more natural environment into their workspace. One such attempt to balance inner and outer environments is to build a garden sanctuary inside the commercial structure and to perform massage within the orderly calm of a Japanese meditation garden or the lush richness of a tropical rainforest. In my own practice, weather permitting, I often work with clients outside in my garden, surrounded by greenery, chirping birds, herbs wafting in the breeze, and usually at least one of my cats lounging nearby, supervising.

Since we seem to overwhelmingly intuit the healing power of a natural environment, why do so many of us settle to work in a lifeless box of concrete and steel?

The Art and Science of Space
Feng shui (pronounced “fung shway“) is the art and science of place. Originating in China more than 3,000 years ago, feng shui was concerned with discerning the most favorable location for building homes and other structures, as well as how to blend harmoniously with the surrounding physical environment. Proper placement of one’s home or business aligns one’s life with the natural flow of energy and helps to promote success, health, wealth, love and happiness. In modern times, most of us do not have the luxury of choosing the most auspicious site for our home or business. Contemporary applications of feng shui therefore tend to be most useful in optimizing harmonious energy flow in and around the existing dwellings in which we work and reside.

The subtle flow of electromagnetic energy called qi (or chi) interconnects all things. Jing Meridians, the 12 vertical channels of energy flow in the body, and the finer horizontal web of collateral Luo Meridians, together form a “continuously interconnected semiconductor electronic network”¹ affecting and affected by every molecule in the body. This energetic matrix is a continuous vibratory network, communicating with every part of the body, even to the level of the nuclei of every cell. James Oschman, in Energy Medicine, suggests “Each component of the organismis immersed in, and generates, a constant stream of vibratory information. This is information about all of the activities taking place everywhere in the body.”² In reference to bodyworkers, they are working, knowingly or not, with energy flow and vibratory information in the body, feng shui looks at the home much as we might look at the body, and in very similar ways works to bring about balance.

Bodily health, or balance, corresponds to the harmonious interconnection of all parts of the body. The qi of the body is also in communication with and interconnected to the qi of the surrounding environment — plants, animals, buildings, communities, mountains, wind and water. “Wind-water” is the literal meaning of feng shui, suggestive of the way qi moves — like the ebb and flow of tides and air circulating in and around things. The qi of one’s immediate environment influences moods, emotions, physical energy, and, over time, health. In the same way we learn to discern the energy of the body, we can develop sensitivity to feel the energy of dwellings and of place. Applying feng shui principles to create better energetic communication and harmony in a physical space is similar to helping restore the unobstructed flow of qi in the body through acupuncture or Shiatsu.

Imbalance clearly affects body, mind and emotions. It affects what we are capable of doing, both now and in the long-term. It affects our interactions with people and how we are perceived by others. Imbalance in the environment in which you live or work affects you in these same ways, no less profoundly than an imbalance in the body. Through seeking to balance yin and yang, harmonizing the five elements, supporting the energetic grid, clearing congestion, and clarifying and focusing intention, we can begin to create healthier bodies, homes, workplaces and communities.

Balance Yin and Yang
Take a walk through your home or workplace and note the energetic feelings you sense from different areas. Some areas may feel intense and busy, while others may seem quiet and comforting. These latter areas we call yin in comparison to the former, which would be yang. Yin and yang describe relationships of opposing, yet complementary, energies. Other yin qualities might include dark, cool, empty, spacious, interior, receptive, small, low and moist. By contrast, light, hot, full, congested, exterior, active, large, high and dry, all describe more yang tendencies. Yang areas tend to be more productive, stimulating and engaging, while yin areas might incline toward conserving or resting, nourishing or introspection. Notice whether the space overall has a predominant yin or yang character or whether the two aspects seem to be in relative balance.

Where there is an imbalance in a particular room or space, a simple remedy is to add and subtract yin or yang elements until more harmony is felt. If the walls are painted a cool color (yin), choosing furniture of a warmer color will help. If the furniture is sharp and straight-sided, bringing in plush cushions, thick rugs and simple tapestries will soften the space. By nature, yin and yang attract one another, seeking completeness. The areas that tend to feel good and nurture you will usually have equal measure of both.

Harmonize the Five Elements
The five elements — wood, fire, earth, metal and water — are the basic building blocks of all constituted things and arise from the interplay of yin and yang. Human beings, too, are comprised of the five elemental energies. It is no surprise then that we are most comfortable when our homes and workplaces have a proportionate balance of elements.

You may find the elemental energies present in their basic or represented forms. Wood, wicker, bamboo and paper are pure forms of wood (sometimes, called “tree”) energy, columns and tall, thin green objects also can represent the wood element. Fire, heat, candles, stoves, fireplaces, sunlight and lighting embody fire energy. Fire can be represented by the color red, pointed objects, animals and animal objects, like fur, leather, bone, feathers and wool. Yellow or brown colors, long flat surfaces and low, square or rectangular objects represent earth. Earth energy is present in soil, plaster, china, clay, ceramics, bricks, tiles, soft stone and natural fibers, such as cotton or linen. Metal appears in round, silver, gold, or white objects, as well as in stainless steel, brass, silver, iron, bronze, copper, gold, or hard stone like marble or granite. Lastly, water energy is conveyed by sinks, bathrooms, aquariums, fountains and pools, as well as glass objects, cut crystal, mirrors and things which are black or dark blue or wavy or irregular in shape.

It is perhaps simplest to work with the elements on a room-by-room basis. Look at the objects in each room. Is there an equal representation of all five elements, or are some missing? Does one element dominate? Generally, a room will feel most harmonious where all five elements are present and in relative balance. Explore creative and personally satisfying combinations.

Support the Energetic Grid
The bagua (pronounced “bah-gwah”) is a useful map or template which correlates nine basic gua, or energetic aspects of your life, with areas of your home or work space, much like a reflexology chart. Each gua corresponds to a particular “treasure” in life, such as love, wealth, family, health, etc., as well as to specific attributes such as colors, elements, compass directions, areas of the body and individual family members.

To use the bagua, draw a floor plan of your house or work space and fit the entire building within the ba-gua grid, aligning the bottom edge of the grid with the wall through which you enter the dwelling. If the building is irregularly shaped, missing sections will become evident and will need some energetic therapy. You can also use the ba-gua to map out the areas within any given room, again orienting the bottom of the grid with the wall through which you enter that room.

As qi circulates through the home or workplace, its flow is directed and shaped by the space itself and by all the objects in its path, causing certain energy patterns to develop. These energy patterns condition and mold the qi of our bodies. The bodily qi communicates with the qi of the world, drawing resonant life situations (people, relationships, jobs, etc.) to it like a magnet. These life situations, in turn, return energy to the world at large. Through the bagua it is possible to influence energetic flow, and thus life situations, by simple alterations to things in the environment and coming into balance with the natural flow of life.

Work first with the gua associated with areas in your life you’d like to enhance. Look for things which may be adversely affecting these energies. Draw qi into this space. Add items which will support and strengthen the energies you wish to affect. You can follow your intuition in creating “cures” for your ailing space, but also reading some of the books listed at the end of the article or hiring a feng shui consultant will be money well spent.

Clear Congestion
In the same way congestion and blocked energy flows within the body create a cascading progression of problems, stagnation and obstruction of energy flow in the home or workplace can create similar problems. One of the main causes of energetic congestion is clutter which blocks and distorts the natural flow of qi. Clear it out. You’ll feel immediate results.

Clarify and Focus Attention
The space in which you reside and work is a reflection of yourself. Is it an accurate reflection? Why are you there? What do you want this space to support in you and for you? What do you want it to communicate?

By crystallizing our intentions, we regain some power over the forces that shape our lives. The feeling of always swimming against the current is no more normal than a cold. Our bodies are temples, our homes (and ideally our workplace) are sanctuaries. This is sacred ground.

Feng shui is a powerful system for working to restore proper energetic alignment and flow in all aspects of our lives — in our bodies, our environments, our relationships, and our personal growth and evolution. For bodyworkers, it provides useful tools for seeing the larger patterns of dysfunction which may be contributing to our clients’ (and our own) illnesses and difficulties, and practical ways to bring about solutions. “For better or worse, qi connects you to everything,” says feng shui consultant Terah Kathryn Collins, “making all things in your life important.”³ Don’t settle for anything less.

By Barry Kapke, A.C.S.T., C.I.,  program director of Asian Bodyworks at San Francisco School of Massage and the founder of Insight BodyworkTM. He can be reached via e-mail at insight@bodhiwork.org.

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

References
1. Oschman, James L. Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis. (Edinburgh UK: Churchill Livingstone, 2000), 71.
2. Oschman, 71.
3. Collins, Terah Kathryn. The Western Guide to Feng Shui. (Carlsbad CA: Hay House, 1996), 9.

Related articles

• Clearing the Clutter – Inside and Out (hofholistichealingcenters.com)
• Five Feng Shui Steps To Financial Fitness (openspacesfengshui.com)
• What’s your Kua number? (flyingstarfengshui.wordpress.com)

Now making its way to the West, this seemingly simple health technique is finding new “disciples” eager to use it in their fight against modern-day problems.

From Whence it Came
Also known as shiroabhyanga, Indian head massage is one of at least 40 different types of massage that, along with a host of other diagnostic tools, are utilized by ayurvedic practitioners to address symptoms and conditions of ill health.

According to Amarjeet Bhamra, president of the Institute of Indian Head Massage, ayurveda — which translates as “knowledge of life” — is based on prevention, working with the individual’s particular problem before it “settles in the body.” Indian head massage is utilized in a similar fashion. The intent of this massage is not only to ward off stress, Bhamra says, but also to “stimulate the body to heal itself and to reduce the rate of progress of the prevailing condition.”

According to Indian head massage therapist Suzanne Marie Carter, the gift of touch has long been an integral part of India’s rich traditions of health. “Massage has always played an important role in the everyday life of Indian people,” she says. “From birth to adulthood, family members share the tradition of massaging each other, which lends itself to bonding and caring.”¹

Bhamra says the practice of head massage, in particular, is a weekly ritual an Indian woman bestows on her children while they sit on her lap under the open sky. Oils are typically part of the act, both to soothe the spirit and nurture the skin and hair. “Almost every mother in the Indian subcontinent has practiced scalp massage, which has become both a customary and integral part of her family life,” he says.

Champi is the Indian tradition of head massage that might be more commonly found in the barbershops of India, where a man would go for a morning shave and a head massage. Champissage, created and trademarked by Narendra Mehta, is the modern version of this cultural tradition. Mehta, a physical and manual therapist, took the Indian tradition of family head grooming and massage and added massage of the neck, face, and shoulders, as well as energetic aspects including shiatsu.²

In addition to shiroabhyanga, ayurvedic medicine has other types of massage that involve the head and neck, including shirodhara, where warmed oil flows over the “third eye,” or brow chakra, to create a meditative state and balance the endocrine system.

From the family home to the professional Indian barbershop, Indian head massage made its way into the world of popular culture. But its professional roots today are still footed in the ancient knowledge of ayurveda.

First and Foremost — Energy
We’ve all either had the pleasure of someone rubbing the tension from our scalp or neck or done it ourselves. So what’s so complicated about Indian head massage? The fact is, the massage is not complicated, but the knowledge behind it is.

Indian head massage is said to balance every system in the body,³ and the benefits associated with it make up a lengthy list (See The Benefits of Indian Head Massage, sidebar). Topping that list is its ability to combat stress and anxiety and help us find balance.

“It works on the subtle energy matrix (the prana or life force),” Bhamra explains, by balancing chakras, nadi (prana vessels), and finally the marma points (the nadi junction).

Prana, Bhamra says, means “before breath,” and this is essentially what the ayurvedic physician works with. “He’s tapping into your spiritual DNA,” he says. “All this is subtle ayurvedic physiology.”

In ayurveda, the belief is that we’re first and foremost a being of energy and then a human being, Bhamra says. As such, he says, “We have to address the whole system. In the West we call it the mind, body, and spirit. When you address the whole system, it clears energy blockages (stagnant prana), permitting our life force to resolve disease and achieve higher levels of well-being.”

Since we’re beings of energy first, Bhamra says, certain elements of Indian head massage — such as balancing the chakras — are even more important than the actual massage strokes. “Balancing the chakras equals vitality and health,” Bhamra writes on the Institute’s website. “Assisting these energy centers to remain unblocked is a highly effective way of resisting ill health.”⁴

More Than a Head Rub
Utilizing the knowledge of mind, body, and spirit is what makes Indian head massage so effective, Bhamra says. “With ayurvedic massage techniques, we have certain movements designed to release stagnant prana.” He explains the more physical aspect of Indian head massage this way: “It’s like a door handle that’s broken, and you can’t get out of the room. To fix the problem, to mend the handle, you need a screwdriver. You rotate the screw counterclockwise to remove the problem. When it’s fixed, you put it back in a clockwise direction.” He says the same is true of shiroabhyanga.

To release the stagnant energy, the therapist will use the heel of her hand and rotate it counterclockwise along the shoulder girdle of a seated client and then down between the spine and scapula, like an inverted L. Going back up, she will rotate the heel of her hand clockwise, moving along the pathway from which she came. “This is the actual massage technique for releasing and infusing prana,” Bhamra says.

Most Indian head massage sessions last 60 minutes: 10 minutes of intake time, 45 minutes of treatment, and five minutes of posttreatment advice for continued health. The Indian head massage routine typically begins with the upper back, moving to the shoulder girdle, the arms and hands, up the neck to the scalp, and finally the face and ears. When the massage is complete, many clients report feeling as if they just received a full-body massage.

Oil is traditionally used in shiro-abhiyanga, and the more common varieties include sesame (to balance the doshas), sweet almond, and olive oil. According to author Denise Whichello Brown, the use of oil during head massage has many benefits: it strengthens and nourishes hair, softens the scalp allowing for improved hair growth, increases sebum production which conditions the hair, improves sebaceous gland function, and helps clean the pores.⁵ Brown recommends several essential oils to benefit hair and skin during a head massage: bergamot, carrot seed, chamomile, frankincense, geranium, lavender, lemon, rose, rosemary, and tea tree.⁶ Of course, for on-site and corporate settings, the client will typically remain clothed and forgo the oil.

Bhamra says while others incorporate essential oils into their head massage routines, he does not. The lack of fatty tissue on the head, face, and neck means the potent oils can quickly enter the bloodstream, and “you could be calling 911 for your client.”

Versatility is a huge element of this work, Bhamra says. “You can do it any time, any place, anywhere. All you need is a chair. That’s why it’s become so successful in the West.” Nursing homes, spas, corporations, and salons all are viable venues for an on-site version of this modality.

Bhamra says Indian head massage is safe for all ages and even pregnant women. In fact, he says, it is customary in India for both mother and newborn to receive this work for 40 continuous days after delivery. There are, however, some contraindications and conditions of which to be aware when doing a client health intake before starting a treatment.

Any prevailing conditions, such as fever, migraine, head or neck injury, cold sores, infections, bruising, or weeping eczema dictates if the head massage should take place at another time. Contraindications include alopecia (a hair loss condition), diabetes (because of poor skin sensation), a recent hemorrhage, metal plates, recent operations, thrombosis, dysfunction of the nervous system, and epilepsy. As with all bodywork, clients under the influence of drugs and alcohol shouldn’t receive the work until they are sober.

Learning the Art
Bhamra relates training of Indian head massage to that of student and guru. In India, knowledge is passed down from generation to generation and from teacher (or guru) to disciple (student). “This is the only reason this great art is still living,” he says. “This is the same thought we have in teaching it. One day these students will become the masters.”

While you certainly can’t teach eight years worth of ayurvedic training and Sanskrit knowledge to someone in a weekend seminar, Bhamra says “you can give them deep vertical knowledge so they can be fully aware of the total concept.”

As an aside, Bhamra says the depth of knowledge required for ayurvedic proficiency is one of the reasons this health modality has come so late to the West. “I don’t think the Western psyche is taking the mind, body, and spirit into its embrace,” he says. “On a global scale, they’re still looking for a quick fix … and spirit is often left out.” Bhamra says you can’t change from allopathic to alternative medicine and think it will be a quick process. “In ayurveda, nothing is fixed quick.” In fact, he says, symptoms often get worse with this health system before getting better. But “disciples” would be quick to say it’s worth the wait.

By Karrie Osborn contributing editor to Massage & Bodywork magazine.

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

References
1 Carter, Suzanne Marie. Indian Head Massage. Available at http://mysite.freeserve.com/earcandle/page4.html.
Accessed April 2004.
2 Indian Head Massage. Available at www.health24.co/za/natural/ Massages/17-671,22629.asp. Accessed April 2004.
3 Brown, Whichello D. Indian Head Massage. Chicago, IL: Contemporary Books, 2003: 2.
4 Bahmra, Amarjeet. Available at www.indianheadmassage. org/article.htm. Accessed April 2004.
5 Brown, 42.
6 Ibid., 51.

Related articles

• Chakra Balancing Massage – A Blend of Bodywork, Reflexology, and Energy Work (hofholistichealingcenters.com)
• Traditional Ayurvedic Massage: Healing through Ancient Therapeutic Massage (Abhyanga) (prweb.com)

The Chakra Balancing Massage includes deep-tissue massage, foot reflexology, and subtle energy work. This ritual connects clients with something familiar like massage, while also introducing them to the less well-known aspects of energy work. As a result, clients come away with a greater appreciation for the interwoven aspects of their mind, body, and spirit, and a greater sense of participation in their healing journey.

Understanding Chakras
Before looking at the specific techniques that make up a Chakra Balancing Massage, it is important to first explore (or review) the chakras, an essential part of the 5,000-year-old system of ayurveda that originated in ancient India.

The chakra system is an energy system we can use for personal growth. Ayurvedic tradition recognizes seven main chakras, which are junctions between consciousness (mind) and matter (body) and which link the various aspects of what makes us human: our physical, energetic, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual selves. When we focus on the chakras, we can connect to these aspects and move toward balance, health, and well-being.

Even though some people have a hard time with the concept of chakras, it is a commonly used system. Have you ever been heartbroken? What does that mean? Is your heart actually broken? Of course not. But when you experience an emotional hardship in connection to a relationship or friendship, you feel a pain in the heart area. Instead of feeling a broken heart, you are actually experiencing the energy of the heart chakra.

The chakra system is located in the core of our being, in a channel that encompasses the spine and includes the tailbone to the crown of the head, as well as the nerve bundles associated with each individual chakra. This channel is called the sushumna nadi and the energy that flows through the chakras is called kundalini.

Energy flows up the sushumna nadi from the first chakra at the sacrum up the spine and out the seventh chakra at the crown of the head. This ascending current is the flow of energy that takes us from the physical level of being, through our mind and emotions, and connects us to the larger universe. The ascending flow is about finding a deeper meaning and purpose to your life.

Kundalini energy also flows into the seventh chakra at the crown of the head and moves down the sushumna nadi to the first chakra. This descending or manifesting current of energy moves us from the world of mind and spirit and helps us manifest ideas into the physical world. Anytime you help manifest something in your life, you are using the manifesting flow. For example, at some point in time you thought, “I want to be a massage therapist.” You took that idea, researched and chose a school, rearranged your schedule, found financing, and then studied and participated in the program to make that initial thought a reality. This is using the manifesting descending flow of energy in the chakras.

When working with chakras, think of health as being on a continuum. Depending on your diet, exercise, stress levels, emotional states, and many other factors, you are either moving toward greater health or away from it. It is similar with chakras. “Closed” or “imbalanced” qualities of the chakras are on one end of a health continuum and “open” or “balanced” qualities are on the other end. Depending on your lifestyle, you are either moving toward greater awareness and balance within the chakras or away from it.

Each chakra relates to a different aspect of life and by focusing on that chakra you can become more aware of those issues in yourself and then work with them to achieve greater health and happiness.

Chakra 1
The traditional name for the first chakra is muladhara, which means the “root.” This chakra, at the base of the spine at the sacrum, is the foundation of the entire system. It relates to our basic needs and our sense of security and survival. When a baby is born, the first few weeks relate to the first chakra as the child adjusts to its environment. When you travel to an unknown place, you might have first chakra issues as you no longer have the same sense of security as when you are in your own environment. Focus on the first chakra whenever you are stressed, traveling, juggling too many things, feeling overwhelmed, or just need a sense of security or groundedness.

Chakra 2
The pleasure chakra is called svadhisthana, which means “sweetness.” It is located a few fingers’ width inferior to the navel. After your basic needs are met, you can move out into the world to explore with the five senses. Through these senses, we bring nourishment and vitality to ourselves. Once a baby has settled after the first few weeks and months, he moves into second chakra mode, exploring the world around him. His eyes begin to focus, he starts to touch and pick up objects, and he responds to sounds from his parents.

Chakra 3
The power center is called manipura, which means “lustrous gem.” Located in the solar plexus superior to the navel, this is where we establish our identity and what we want to do with our life. If your actions in life do not match your intentions for your life, you feel it in your gut. However, if you can align your intentions with your actions, you establish a strong sense of identity. You will be confident and will interact with others in a different way. College students are dealing often with third chakra issues. With babies, the “terrible twos” relates to this chakra. In their second year, babies learn the word “no” and begin to recognize and act on their own desires. They are establishing their unique identity separate from their parents.

Chakra 4
The heart center is called anahata and is in the center of the chest. When translated, anahata means “the sound which issues without the striking of any two things together.” The heart chakra relates to everything one stereotypically associates with the heart: love, compassion, sympathy, empathy, and relationships. For a 2-year-old, it is hard to see outside their own point of view as they have not learned the concept of other. At around 3-4 years old, a child moves into the heart chakra and begins to grasp the concept of other. At that point, he begins to feel compassion and sympathy.

Chakra 5
The throat center is traditionally called visuddha, which means “free from impurities.” Located at the throat, this is our center of expression and communication. If you are not saying the things you need to say, you might feel “choked up.” As you learn to communicate effectively, this allows creativity to thrive. This is a useful center on which massage therapists should focus. One of the most difficult aspects of being a therapist has little to do with actually giving a massage, it’s learning to effectively and efficiently communicate with clients.

Chakra 6
The third eye chakra is called ajna, which means “communication from above.” Found between the eyebrows, this chakra is the center of imagination, intuition, and perception. When you let go of thoughts that are holding you back and instead let your imagination roam free, you are connecting to your sixth chakra. Any intuitive feelings you have, as well as your ability to read between the lines and understand nonverbal communication, arise from the sixth chakra.

Chakra 7
The crown center is called sahasrara, which means “thousand petaled.” Located at the crown of the head, the seventh chakra relates to wisdom and enlightenment. The seventh chakra, sometimes called the “master chakra,” brings purpose and meaning to you and the other chakras. If the third chakra is about what you want to do with life, the seventh chakra is why you want to do it. The crown center helps you connect to a higher purpose and something greater than yourself. When you connect to this center, you connect to a sense of joy or bliss that is not related to a specific person or event but is rather connecting to the joy of the universe.

Aveda’s Chakra Balancing Massage: Treatment Protocol
With a basic understanding of the chakras, our focus can turn to the Chakra Balancing Massage. Even though a variety of techniques are used within this Aveda protocol, the intention of them all is to help clients focus and connect to their chakras.

Deep-Tissue Massage
The first step in a Chakra Balancing Massage is deep-tissue massage on the back, in particular focusing on the three erector spinae muscles and the gluteus medius. Deep-tissue work is not necessarily deep, it is specific and slow. The intent is to massage a specific muscle in a slow, focused manner using either a lengthening stroke (with the muscle fibers), or a broadening stroke (across the muscle fibers).

When doing deep-tissue work, one of the biggest benefits is the focus on connective tissue or fascia. Research suggests that the wiring of the energy flow in the body–whether we’re talking about the meridians in Chinese medicine or the srotas in ayurvedic philosophy–is the connective tissue. If fascia is the conduit through which energy flows, then we can focus on the erector spinae muscles with the intent to work with the chakra energy. Perform lengthening strokes on the spinalis, longissimus, and the iliocostalis muscles, as well as broadening strokes on the longissimus. In addition, perform a broadening stroke on the gluteus medius to open the energy flow that connects the first chakra’s energy down the legs.

Reflexology
The second technique within the protocol is a chakra foot reflexology massage reflected in the images here. The reflexology procedure focuses on two aspects of the chakras: the physical location of the chakra and the endocrine gland that is associated with each chakra by related function or close proximity. The physical locations are along the spinal and head reflex points on the foot.

The first chakra is located at the sacrum so the first chakra reflex is found on the sacral reflex on the foot. The second chakra is on L3, the third chakra is on T8, the fourth chakra is on T4, the fifth chakra is on C4, the sixth chakra is between the eyebrows and can be found on the proximal portion of the sole of the big toe, and the seventh chakra reflex is found on the distal portion of the big toe. In addition, each chakra is associated with major endocrine glands.

There are a few other points that connect to the chakras as well. The sciatic nerve connects with the first chakra (think of a root to connect the root chakra from the spine down the legs to the feet and earth), the uterus/prostrate connects to the second chakra, the solar plexus point connects to the third chakra, and the heart reflex connects to the fourth chakra.

Energy Work
The third technique utilized in the Chakra Balancing Massage is chakra energy work. The focus of the energy work is a light touch over the chakras while concentrating on intention. When working with the chakras, the most important aspect is not your technique, but your intention and connection with the client. In order to enhance the effects, guide your client through a visualization technique as you perform the work on each chakra. The visualization will focus on two aspects to work with the left (logical, analytic) and right (intuitive, visual) sides of the brain. Have the client repeat the meditative word (see Chakra Characteristics on page 47) for the chakra (left brain) and visualize a spinning wheel of colored energy at the location of each chakra (right brain). For example, for the first chakra, have clients repeat the word grounding silently to themselves while visualizing a red spinning wheel of energy at the base of the spine. This visualization helps the client receive more benefit from touch by focusing the mind during the treatment.

When offering energy work, start by gently placing your hands over each chakra area and sense the energy flowing around the chakra. Trust your intuition and allow your hand to move in any direction you feel. The chakras can spin either clockwise or counterclockwise, so whichever direction you sense the energy flowing, encourage this motion. As a therapist, you may also repeat the meditative word silently to yourself and visualize the colors of the chakras as you work to focus your intention.

Energy work is best performed in silence. Silence allows for greater concentration on the subtle flow of energy. Listening with your hands is important. Energy work is more about feeling what is occurring, as opposed to doing something to somebody. Breathing is an essential aspect of the work. Be sure that your own breathing is focused, yet relaxed, while also instructing the client on diaphragmatic breathing.

To begin, stand on the left side of your prone client. Place your right hand over the first chakra and your left hand over the fifth chakra. Focus your intent for the work and connect to the client before beginning the individual chakra energy work.

For best results, the energy work is divided up throughout the session. For example, after the deep-tissue massage and while the guest is prone, energy work is performed on chakras 1, 4, and 5. After the reflexology, when the guest is supine, we focus on chakras 2, 3, 6, and 7.

To enhance the experience of the Chakra Balancing Massage, essential oils, breath exercises, aromatic steam towels, and scalp massage are incorporated to enhance this massage experience.   At the end of the treatment, clients will be given a short meditation practice that can be used any time they feel stressed or need to take some time to for themselves.

By Marc Zollicoffer the massage/spa global educator for the Aveda Corporation. He teaches workshops in the Aveda network around the world. Contact him at mzollico@aveda.com.

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, March/April 2010. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

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