Blog

Posted on

Blogging, Healing and Life

Energy inside and outside!

Writing and blogging about healing is so much more difficult than the actual healing.

Healing is easy. I am guided by the energy. I completely trust that whatever happens in the session is what needs to happen for my client.

Writing takes discipline, patience and revisions.

The words I use to describe healing many times just don’t match the experience. There is so much going on, on so many levels and even though I feel completely present – super conscious, really, in my sessions – I guess it happens beyond my mind. It’s amazing and yet it is so simple.

Blogging and writing about my healing practice has helped me realize that I need to trust the energy that guides my life and my writing as much as I trust the energy that guides my healing sessions. The more I trust, the easier it is to manifest in my life.

One of my personal goals as a healer is to be able to manifest as effortlessly outside the healing room as in the healing room.

I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Posted on

Healing Touch And The Present Moment

Image for Presence
Backyard Buddha

“The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.” –Abraham Maslow

“Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry — all forms of fear — are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of nonforgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.”–Eckhart Tolle

“Living in the present moment creates the experience of eternity.”–Deepak Chopra

You hear a lot about “being present” and “being in the moment”. How do you know if you are “present”? Maybe you feel that you are not as present in your life as you could be, but how do you “get present”?

One way is to meditate.

Another way is to get a Healing Touch Session. I have witnessed so many clients make incredible shifts in their life because they felt what it was like to be more present. Being present and being in the moment is something you have to experience to understand, a tangible difference you can feel from before the session to after the session. Once you know what being present feels like, it is SO much easier to get back there.  It is also easier to go deeper into it.

“You cannot be both unhappy and fully present in the Now.”–Eckhart Tolle

Posted on

Breathwork Circles In Emeryville, California

A Space to Breathe

Breathing in a group is a wonderful way to experience Clarity Breathwork for the first time.

Mary Gaetjens and I hold monthly Clarity Breathwork Circles in Emeryville, California. Our last Breathwork Circle was last Monday, and even though it’s now Friday, I’m still feeling the deep connection and healing energy that the circle created.

Facilitating these circles with Mary is as profound and as powerful as breathing in the circle.  I am always amazed at the breakthroughs, insights and transformation that happen each month. Breathing in a group creates an energetic space that is incredibly supportive and consciousness changing. Breathing in a group is also a wonderful way to connect and be in community with other people who are committed to their personal growth.

In my Breath practice I regularly have private sessions that take me to profound states of higher consciousness and keep me emotionally, physically and mentally balanced in my daily life. Yet I have also found that breathing in a group gives me access to energies and supports me in ways I may never have experienced otherwise.

We invite you to check out our Circle! Our Clarity Breathwork Circles usually meet the first Monday of every month. The next Circles are scheduled for October 3rd, November 7th and December 5th. The circle starts at 6:30 pm and is over at 9:30 with plenty of time to integrate your experience after the Breathwork. The exchange for each circle is $35.00. Call Mary at 510-393-7671 or myself at 510-601-9632 for directions and to reserve a space.  We do limit the number of monthly participants to 12.

Posted on

A Healing Touch Clinic in Lafayette, California

Martha Engelbert at the Haelen Clinic

The Haelen Center is a wonderful Healing Touch Clinic in Lafayette, California. Haelen is a Greek word for wholeness and you can feel the fullness of the energy as soon as you step through the front door. I have always wanted to volunteer at Haelen and last Saturday I finally made it happen by telling myself it was time to write a post about it.

The Haelen Center is in the peaceful home of Martha Engelbert. She has a Baltic Wheel labyrinth made from gravel and brick as part of her beautifully landscaped grounds that you can walk before or after your session. There is a nice shot of the labyrinth in a recent article in the Lamorinda Weekly.

The Center is open the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month with two appointment times. The first is at 9:00am and the second is at 10:45am.  On the first and third Saturday of the month there is one session at 9:00am. There can be as many as four people at a time receiving a Healing Touch Session and all sessions are done in separate rooms, giving the healing recipients complete privacy. Sessions last from 45 to 75 minutes.

Two amazing women run the Haelen Center: Martha Engelbert and Suzanne Mittica, a Certified Healing Touch Practitioner. The clinic is well organized and efficient. All Healing Touch sessions are documented and all client files are kept confidential and secure in a locked cabinet.

All volunteers at The Haelen Center have been trained by the Healing Touch Program™ and adhere to the program’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. They are dedicated to serving the surrounding community. They do not charge for their services.  Donations are not expected.  When given, they are welcomed and used to cover expenses benefiting clients.

Call Martha to schedule an appointment at 925-935-6236 and receive directions to The Haelen Center.

The community of Lafayette, California is quite fortunate to have such a life affirming center like Haelen.

 

Posted on

“Healing Yourself With Breath” A Guided Clarity Breathwork Session by Ashanna Solaris

A Guided Clarity Breathwork Session CDThe great thing about having a blog is sharing the ideas and practices that have made such a difference in my life. This guided meditation is one of those gifts.

I have listened to this CD hundreds of times. I still hear Ashanna say the perfect affirmation at the perfect time for the perfect breathe and, even though I know better, it feels like I never heard her say it before that moment. It’s an oracle breath session; I receive guidance and insights, as well as feel clear, centered and more focused afterwards.

This CD has also guided me to heal my physical body. I was hit by an SUV in a cross walk several years back. For months after I would feel my back “give out” in the middle of the day. To rebalance and energize my back, I’d put on this CD and breath for 15 minutes. I start with Track 4 for these shorter jumpstart sessions. Just 15 minutes of breathing helped me relax my muscles and rebalance my spine so that my body felt strong. Then I could work comfortably until the end of the day. It was quite remarkable.

Healing my own back injury made me realize that breathwork is a powerful modality for healing back and spine issues.

Click here to order Ashanna’s” Healing Yourself with Breath”. This CD also features the incredible harp music of Lisa Lynne. Click here for more of Lisa’s music and CDs.

I also have an article on the Clarity Breathwork website about how Clarity Breathwork and the CD “Healing Yourself with Breath” changed my life and healed my migraines.

Posted on

Radiation Therapy and Healing Touch

From The Altar of Patty Conway

Many clients healing from cancer decide to do the radiation therapy that their doctor recommends. They also get x-rays, MRI and CT scans to monitor their healing progress, all of which affects the electromagnetic field around their body.

I have found that radiation affects the whole energy field of the body – from the head to the feet – even if the treatment was localized, such as on the chest for breast cancer or at the head for brain tumors. Like chemotherapy, radiation has its own particular ‘feel’ for me when I work in the energy field. I think of it as “disorganized” and “confused” energy. It does not flow smoothly like balanced and healthy energy does.

After “organizing” the client’s energy field with a Healing Touch session the aura feels thicker, stronger and the more energized to me. The client usually reports feeling more energy, less fatigue.  They are able to be more present in their body and more mentally alert and relaxed. All of this supports healing and general well-being of the client.

I am able to use Healing Touch to help clients who experience itching and burning sensations on their skin due to ongoing radiation therapy. Healing Touch can help relieve skin discomfort. After the healing session, I like to show the client how to clear the radiated area themselves as part of their self-care routine.  The radiated area will benefit greatly from being cleared several times a day right after radiation.  Sometimes the discomfort will come back but with less intensity as the body continues to heal.

Please call with any questions or to schedule a healing. I would love to talk with you.

510-601-9632

Special thanks to Healing Touch Practitioner Suzanne Mittica for her insights and expertise on this post and the previous Chemotherapy post.

Posted on

Chemotherapy and Healing Touch

The Labyrinth symbolizes the journey to our own center and back again out into the world.
Labyrinth: A Symbol For The Journey

I decided to make Healing Touch and Energy Therapy my life’s work because of the sessions I had experienced while working with clients who have decided to go through chemotherapy. I have been working with clients diagnosed with cancer since 2001.

I believe anyone going through chemotherapy should have Healing Touch available to them. I have had so many clients walk into my healing room with muscle pain, nausea, fatigue and headaches due to chemotherapy.  Many suffer mentally and emotionally knowing that they have many more rounds of chemotherapy ahead of them. My clients report feeling so much better after their session. Most clients feel better for hours or days after and some just don’t experience many of the side effects of chemotherapy at all.

Healing Touch sessions are done with the client fully clothed, on a massage table with relaxing music playing. I assess my client’s energy field by feeling the area around their body with my hands. Depending on what I find, I usually do a 15-minute Chakra Connection with at least 30 to 40 minutes of Magnetic Clearing. The Chakra Connection is a gentle full-body technique that connects, opens and balances the flow of energy throughout my client’s physical body and energy field.

The Magnetic Clearing is an essential technique I use when working with clients going through Chemotherapy because it clears excess chemo from the energy field. Before beginning a Magnetic Clearing, I set my intention to clear all chemo out of my client’s energy field not needed to heal the cancer. A Magnetic Clearing is done from 1” to 6” off the body depending on the client’s sensitivity.  I start slowly and gently about 12” above my client’s head and “rake” my fingers over the body about 12” past the feet. Clients tell me afterwards that this is very calming. I repeat this as many times as needed to clear the field. I have Healing Touch sessions that are 90% Magnetic Clearing.

Usually I can feel with my hands the chemotherapy drugs in my client’s aura.  I can also feel the individual layers of the energy field as each level clears.  I have had some clients who just release or shift all at once after many passes of the Magnetic Clearing. I observe them as they exhale deeply and I watch something just click into place. They usually smile at this point.

Magnetic Clearing can help a client’s emotional or mental state by supporting the release of fears, and mental confusion or fogginess—“chemo brain.” Clients have told me that they are more profoundly aware of with their own inner guidance after the session. This makes it so much easier for them to handle the many medical decisions they have to face throughout their healing process.

I have had friends ask me if working with so many cancer clients is depressing. It’s just the opposite. It is actually thrilling to be able to help another person in such a positive way when they need it the most. There is not a better feeling in the world. I have unbelievable job satisfaction.

Please call with any questions or to schedule a healing. If you or someone you know is starting or currently going through Chemotherapy outside the Oakland/Berkeley area you can check the Healing Touch Website for other certified Healing Touch Practitioners.

510-601-9632

Special thanks to Suzanne Mittica for her insights and suggestions on this post.

Posted on

Lymphedema Workshop at the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic

From the workshop by Gay Lee Gulbrandson

The Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic is a state licensed health clinic that provides alternative healing modalities to low-income women with a cancer diagnosis. The clinic offers Massage, Acupuncture, Chinese Herbs, Western Herbs, Therapeutic Imagery, Reiki, Jin Shin Jyutsu, Healing Touch and more. There will be future posts about the amazing Charlotte Maxwell Clinic and about my experience in working with clients diagnosed with cancer.

I volunteer at Charlotte Maxwell doing Healing Touch in the Oakland clinic.  Last Saturday the Clinic hosted a workshop on Lymphedema and the benefits of Manual Lymph Drainage. There are many causes of Lymphedema, but the most common in my private and volunteer practice is the swelling of the lymphatic system caused by the surgical removal of the lymph nodes due to breast cancer.

Gay Lee Gulbrandson CLT-LANA was the presenter. She has practiced and taught MLD (Manual Lymph Drainage) since 1996. I was impressed by her experience, commitment and the deep compassion she has for her clients. This woman is making a very positive difference in the world. It was so inspiring.

I learned a lot about edema, the difference between traditional massage and MLD, the basic MLD contraindications, and reviewed the lymphatic system. I can now identify the symptoms of cellulitus and know what questions to ask if I suspect my client has cellulitus. I can also “read” the skin of my clients from a lymphatic perspective.

I find this new awareness very exciting and it helps me understand with more clarity the information that I have been intuitively getting through many years of doing touch therapies. I can see a Lymphatic Drainage class in my future for this reason alone.

Gay Lee did a few short Manual Lymph Drainage strokes on everyone that attended the seminar so we could feel the light pressure used in the work. She even had a pressure gauge that measured the weight of our fingers so we could see the proper pressure shifts that need to happen in each stroke.

Now being so much more aware of what Manual Lymph Drainage can do I can refer my clients when appropriate to at least three highly trained Lymphatic Drainage Therapists in the East Bay. I can also help them get the information they need on how to get properly fitted for compression sleeves and bandaging. It’s shocking that simple information like this has become so difficult to find in our healthcare system.

I was also surprised at how many conditions MLD can benefit besides Lymphedema brought on by cancer and surgery. This modality can really benefit conditions such as pre/post cosmetic surgery, varicose veins, and rosacea, just to name a few.

If you have Lymphedema or know someone who has it, you can contact Gay Lee Gulbrandson  for more information. If you are a woman on a tight budget and are living with cancer you may contact the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic for help, information and alternative treatments. If you would like to make a donation to the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic you can do so here.

 

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

510-601-9632

Posted on

More Music for Healing

The music I play in my healing sessions has a very specific purpose. It has to hold a fairly consistent vibration, yet keep the energy flowing in the healing space. When I am in and out of various energetic states I find music very beneficial in keeping the room grounded. Music is also soothing and relaxing for the client.

I want to start out by highly recommending the CD “Quiet Heart” by  Lisa Lynne.  The tone and quality of this CD is exquisite; it was perfectly produced. Check out her website here. Below is a song called “Walk With Me.”

“Quiet Heart” by Lisa Lynne

.“Spiritual Healing” by Deuter

“Spiritual Healing” is a must-have CD for healers. If you are looking for some new music you might as well check out everything Deuter has done.

“Passion Flute” by Stephen DeRuby

Another CD I have used frequently over the years is from a flute maker named Stephen DeRuby. I have two of his flutes. This music has a presence that fills and grounds the room so much I use it for many of my clients healing from cancer. This music creates a very supportive space. I also love “Sacred Spaces” and “Mystic Flute”.

Enjoy.

Jeri Lawson has a full-time healing practice in the Temescal Area of Oakland, California. She is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, Distance Healings and Clarity Breathwork Monday through Friday, starting at 10 am with her last session at 6 pm.

510-601-9632

jerilawson@mac.com

Posted on

Self Chakra Connection

Doing the chakra connection on yourself is a wonderful way to ground and center in the morning. It is also helpful to release the stress of the day and prepare you for sleep. At night you can visualize the hand positions and slowly breathe into each position as you make your way up the body.

I recommend that you hold each position one to three minutes or until you feel a “shift.” A shift may feel like a pulsing between your hands. If you are holding your foot, it can also feel like your foot “expands” or “fills up.” You may also experience a shift as the sudden impulse to change to the next position.

I many times feel energy as “warmth” or “fullness.” Energy and energetic shifts can feel quite different from one day to the next.

You may not feel anything at all and that is fine. The energy is still connecting in your body.

I suggest you set an intention for the highest good for yourself as you start the connection and stay as present as you can during the hand positions. Enjoy!