About Well-Being
I have studied many different healing modalities,
and use four main approaches in my work:
-
Well-being includes our physical, mental, and emotional health.
-
Reiki teaches us the principle that there is a universal life force energy that flows through all living beings.
-
Our wellness is directly impacted by the way we hold emotional energy in our body.
-
Human Design explains that each person has a unique way that they process energy.
"Science has taught us that everything in the universe is made out of energy."
Marie Manuchehri R.N.
I also want to begin by saying - healing is an individual path. I see the benefits of Western medicine; I also recognize its limitations. And mainly I want to provide you with a more holistic view and empowered understanding of your experience.
About Energy
"Even the words you’re reading right now are made of sub atomic particles—electrons and protons—which are continually in motion. Since everything in the universe is energy, then your organs, blood, bones and every cell in your body are, too." (Manuchehri)
Everything in our universe has life force, and specific levels of awareness.
But being a human being is a really complex and dynamic experience, right? In talking about holistic wellness, we're really talking about how in alignment with ourselves we are. This can include feeling aligned with our joy, authenticity, emotions, spiritual and physical wellness.
There is a universal life force that flows through all things, and when this energy is blocked, stagnant, or imbalanced, it can lead to physical, emotional, and spiritual ailments.
Being Supported: Seeking Out Resources & Tools
In all 4 categories of well-being, sometimes we need help taking a different approach. Of course it helps to have tools for navigating mental & emotional health, and there are a million ways to approach that. Likewise, what we are doing on the physical level may benefit through a nutritionist, naturopath, or healer who can help us gain perspective about whatever our body is trying to get our attention on.
There's also nothing wrong with western medicine, if that feels like the right path for you. Our bodies are complex physical organisms and sometimes we can find immediate relief through a doctor helping us to bring something back into balance. But if that path is not working, it's probably because you're addressing only the physical level of health, and the body is still saying, "that's not the root cause of the issue."
About Skepticism
At times people can be so cynical about energetic healing, and it's always interesting to me because that is a self-reinforced belief system. Your well-being requires your participation - that is an incredibly important component of energy healing, and well-being in general.
I think rather than worry about something "not having any valid impact," a better approach is to just pursue what you're guided to pursue and understand that different people need different things. Be curious about your wellness, and follow your internal prompts. For instance, Reiki does not HAVE TO be a necessary aspect of anyone's health journey, but well-being will always involve physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual levels.
"Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit, creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing."
Reiki.org
Reiki works by channeling this healing energy through the practitioner's hands to the recipient, helping to restore balance and harmony.
Our wellness is impacted by the emotional, mental, and physical planes. One of the greatest things about Reiki, is that it all about receiving Divine energy, and releasing discomfort and pain. There is energy in your body that you don't have to "fix.' You can just set the intention to release it and change your experience. (There is an important caveat there, in that Reiki is actually a facilitation of awareness, and interacts with the intentions we offer.) For me as a practitioner, Reiki is the feeling of vibrance, peace, and love.
Your Emotions Are Impacting Your Health
Let's really honor that any illness isn't your fault. You weren't "bad." You aren't supposed to be "perfect," and life is complicated and challenging.
Traditional Chinese Medicine has provided a great background for energetic healing, and an acupuncturist is very aware of the impact of emotions in your body. For instance, sadness and grief are held in the lungs, anger in the liver, fear in the kidney and the spleen, etc.
In the way that I have learned, it actually gets even more specific than that.
Your Body Wants You To Be Happy.
I know at times, you may feel really disconnected from your body, and some people are A LOT more physically vulnerable than others. But a different way to look at it, is your body doesn't want you to hold onto trauma, shame, sadness, anger, fear, disconnected mental energy, approaches that aren't serving you, and pain.
So when these things impact us, and come up physically to get our attention, it's the opportunity to release what isn't serving you.
As well, some soul intentions of disease connect us with a depth of awareness, gratitude for what really matters, and greater intentions in how we live.
Again - disease is NOT about fault.
How Human Design Impacts Your Health and Wellbeing.
Here is where it gets really interesting. You were designed to interact with emotional energy, stress, fear, mental energy - in very specific ways.
It's too complicated to cover in a blurb here. But to put it simply - in the same way that Traditional Chinese Medicine informs us that emotional energy is held in our body in certain areas, your Human Design chart communicates how you can optimize your energy and let it serve you.
Your chart communicates ways that you might not be listening to your inner guidance, giving away energy and perhaps trying to force manifestations, holding onto fear, overworking, and creating burnout.
More About Holistic Wellness
So, life is really dynamic and complex, right? And we're all meant to get older, and leave this place. And our bodies are communicating all the time.
I know that emotions in the body, may be the last thing you relate to. There's chronic pain, colds, viruses, there's the sensitivity you might always remember having, and then maybe there was that accident. And perhaps you have really, really, really tried hard to be "positive."
There are complex reasons why we experience what we do. Something unwanted in our experience has several causes, and potentially even, benefits.
Perhaps an illness causes you to prioritize connection over work. Perhaps being forced to rest allows you to develop incredibly more satisfying interests. Perhaps you'll learn more about love, and living on purpose, through what you are currently experiencing. Let's honor how dynamic life can be, and how individual your path is.
As well, perhaps you haven't known how to honor your own energy levels, trust your inner guidance, and feel connected to your body. NONE of these things are about fault or blame.
I approach holistic wellness with curiosity. What are the emotional components involved here? We'll talk about releasing energy that isn't serving you, and honoring yourself on a deeper level. We'll look at what your body is trying to communicate, and deepen into connecting with your inner guidance.
Your chakras have a lot of information in them. A lot of the way you're holding onto emotions (and mentally processing) is both listed on your chart, and potentially getting in your way. It can be incredibly empowering to release judgment of yourself through understanding why you are experiencing what you are experiencing, to let go of energy that needs to be released, and to move forward with greater confidence and connection to your body. There are profound shifts forward possible here, including in your experience of wellness.
I take a holistic approach;
wellbeing involves your body, mind, and spirit.
Well-Being Has Four Main Components
These four aspects are all interrelated, and powerful aspects of the unfoldment of health. When we are trying to return to a state of wellness, it isn't about fault, but rather change in some way (in our approach, in our understanding, in our awareness).
Physical Health
This is about what we are doing externally and the ways we are taking action. (Often people associate this component the most with health). What food are you putting in your body? What drugs? What's happening with your hormones? Are you listening to your body's guidance, or on the verge of burnout? Are you overly focused on others - literally expending your energy on what you perceive to be best for others, but not honoring yourself? Are you continuing on with activities or people that are draining your energy, and ignoring your inner guidance to do other things instead? Are you over-exerting yourself, or straining when you need to be resting?
Mental Health
This topic has only begun to be addressed as a necessary aspect of wellness, but that's interesting because it directly impacts us physically. When we are directing our energy towards unhealthy focuses (lack of self-worth, negative expectations, fear, etc) it's powerfully impacting our body, our experience of happiness, and our physical wellness. The easiest way to think about that is stress hormones clogging your system in various ways based on wherever we're out of alignment. As well, when we are stuck in the mind we're ignoring the guidance our body is offering that would better guide us to health. People often ignore or override impulses towards wellness, and replace them with stress, mentally trying to control situations or judgment, etc. And when our mental health is out of alignment, it negatively impacts our emotional well-being as well as our physical health.
Emotional Health
Emotional health matters because you deserve to be happy, yet it's also important to understand that it can impact your physical health. Emotions that aren't addressed get held in the body, and are often location specific. Eastern medicine has studied that for thousands of years, but it may surprise you that many health challenges have emotions connected to them. That is NOT to say that pain and health challenges aren't real. They ARE, and that can be really confusing to move through when your physical health is already taxed and your mind is really busy trying to make sense of it. But what we want to understand is that real well-being is about addressing all four components of health, INCLUDING your emotional well-being. (Addressing this component can often be the fastest way to move through a challenge, but can be pursued in whatever way you feel guided to.)
Spiritual Health
The intangible in all of this, is your soul intention for experience, and the ways you want to grow. At times we are being asked to know ourselves beyond the mental level, to become aware of our depth, our strength, our power, and to live with intention. And this component is deep, right? We might be learning compassion towards others, or how to honor ourselves more, or both. Life is really dynamic, and sometimes we don't know what we've learned until we moved through something. And yet, it can help to be present and curious about our experiences. The good news is that ALL of it is ultimately pushing us to live with greater purpose, more love, and greater awareness.
About Blocked or Depleted Energy
When we are experiencing health challenges, it helps to look at the four components of health (above) in order to understand what you're moving through. Most importantly - there's nothing to judge in having "blocked," energy. Life is ALL ABOUT coming up against challenges, and these challenges help us redirect our approach and grow in some way.
We are all always attracting circumstances to grow through.
And I really want to honor that some of us have soul intentions to specifically grow through certain experiences (like health challenges).
But we also get to make choices in how we move towards greater alignment with health, and happiness. So let's talk about ways to support our body and our experience of wellness.
About Reiki
The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."
- The International Center For Reiki Training
Reiki is a Japanese healing technique that promotes healing, relaxation, and stress reduction. It is both incredibly powerful and incredibly gentle. It is based on the principle that there is a universal life force energy that flows through all living beings.