Taking our power back through healing

I’ve been fascinated about the mind-body complex for over 20 years now and am constantly curious about, and amazed by,  the body’s capacity to heal.

I have fairly much avoided over the counter medicines  for that whole time, refusing pain relief even after a Caesarean section, mainly because I didn’t feel any need, my level of pain did not warrant it, and my Reiki hands and arnica did the job very well instead.

I have also fairly much avoided all medicines with the  boys too - the dreaded Calpol has sneaked in a few times over the years with my youngest, but my eldest refuses to take it. They see a homeopath in the UK and I use Bach floral remedies and Reiki where needed. I also make my own cough medicines and elderberry extract for winter bugs, but in fairness homeopathy has always worked extremely well for them without the need for anything else.

Many of my holistically living friends are similar, and will turn to Ayurveda, Chinese medicine and/.or homeopathy when their body is demanding their attention and needs healing.

So I am always surprised when I hear how easily others turn to over the counter medicines, or reach out for prescriptions from the doctor. It is probably the autism in me and the confusion that this sometimes bring, but I am especially surprised when people who have Reiki in their hands and a dedicated spiritual practice, which enables them to go deeper and get to the root cause of a loss of wellbeing, will choose to take pharma when there are so many other natural options available to us.

Admittedly there have been a handful of times over the last 2 years where I have gone to the doctor, usually seeking a diagnosis. Inevitably a prescription is given, for some cream or medicine, but I recognise that this is my wake up call to go deeper, so the prescription goes in the bin and I book a Reiki treatment instead. But that’s just me.

This was a conversation which arose on a recent Reiki course, how much we are conditioned to give our power away to others, especially doctors, over-riding our own intuition in many ways, simply through fear and lack of trust in our own body wisdom. 

Of course there are times we have little choice. Disease may well have set in and the only way we can get things under control is with the help of allopathic medicine and I am fully supportive of this – why suffer unnecessarily. For example, if it wasn’t for pharma then my Parkinson’s clients would be in dire straits and I have other clients for whom medication is essential. But for many it is just symptomatic relief, and doesn’t get to the root cause of the problem

This is where Reiki has always been so helpful to me, because it has enabled me to get to the root cause of a loss of wellness. Generally this takes time, but the time it takes has always given me the opportunity to go on a deeper inner journey and helped me to make changes in my life, so that the loss of wellness drops away.

The trouble with allopathic care, is that people generally don’t want to make changes, even though the way they have been living and relating to themselves (mentally, emotionally, physically, psychologically and environmentally) has been causing the problem and loss of wellbeing and suffering in the first place.

The Yoga Sutras touches on this – how our suffering through loss of wellness can be the catalyst for change. How we are encouraged to consider the way we are eating, sleeping and relating – to come back to the basics.

Yet still people will reach for over the counter medicines, even with a common cold, which is generally the body’s way of getting our attention, and saying “slow down, you’ve been over doing it and neglecting me”. The best way to manage a cold is with lots of rest, Vitamin C, elderberry extract, soup, water and Epsom salt baths.

But often we ignore the messages that the body is giving us. In Ayurveda there are six stages of disease. It is important to try to maintain balance so that imbalances do not progress into disease. This means knowing our body well enough to know when it is out of balance and this is one of the many benefits of yoga – not only that it takes us into our body (and out of our head), but helps us to know our body well enough to know when imbalance is setting in.

This is where Ayurveda is so helpful too, not least as a preventative approach to health, but when we start to notice little niggles suggesting an imbalance.

Reiki is invaluable as well. Not just when we are unwell but as a preventative. After all, it is very difficult to mend a sail in a storm, so to speak, better to maintain the sail and attend to it when all is well – but this is another conditioning and occasionally people will cancel their sessions with me because they feel OK, without realising that that’s exactly the time they should have Reiki, so they can truly rest into it and allow it to positively boost them – after all, we have far more potential than we realise.  

Here are the six stages;

 1. Initial stage
Imbalance is situated in the gastrointestinal tract and is best treated with diet. This stage is relatively minor and often the body’s own wisdom (if we allow it) corrects the imbalance.
2. Build-up stage
If balance is not restored, toxicity (ama) spreads into the circulatory system. Symptoms at this stage are a sense of being mildly uncomfortable. Most of us ignore these symptoms or suppress them with over-the-counter medications.
3. Spreading stage
Toxins journey through the main circulatory systems of the body causing additional symptoms. These symptoms often become chronic.
4. Accumulation stage
This is when toxins (after moving through the circulatory system) find a weak spot and settle. According to Ayurveda this is the beginning of actual disease. This is when most people finally visit the doctor hoping for a quick cure.
5. Manifestation Stage
At this stage western medicine will likely give a patient a clinical diagnosis. The actual structure of the tissues begins to break down making it difficult to reverse the progression of the disease.
6. Complications Stage
The tissue is severely damaged and may begin to affect the surrounding tissues resulting in additional complications.

Knowing our body is one thing, but trusting in its wisdom and capacity to heal is quite another and this comes the more we work with our body to heal it, rather than numbing ourselves from it and merely treating symptoms.

It comes down to the mind essentially. Yoga has always known that for the most part the mind affects the body - the mind decides how the body is. Our body holds our thought patterns as much as it holds our unresolved and unprocessed emotions. This is why our body takes on a particular shape - the body holds fat at points of energetic imbalance and it bulks where we hold onto our fears. The mind decides how the body is nourished, and therefore the mind controls the body’s wellness.

Over the years I have managed to look at my mind and my emotional holding and heal my body from ovarian cysts, PMS, depression, hearing issues, skin conditions, high stomach acidity and insomnia without the need for over the counter medicines. More often than not, a combination of Ayurveda, Reiki, Yoga and Yoga Nidra has been all that’s needed, plus various changes to diet, lifestyle and an analysis of emotional/mental holding. In this regard I have always found Brandon Bay’s The Journey very helpful at getting deep into the emotional body, and EMDR has helped along the way too, as well as reflexology, Bowen and massage.

Usually a healing brings with it a deeper respect for my body, to the extent that I am increasingly mindful of what I put in  my body, not just from a dietary perspective but from the environment, media and indeed other people’s energy. Increasingly my life has become one of the need to switch off and get outside. The perfect antidote to stress for me, is lying on the earth or the sand, sitting under a tree, and/or being in a dolmen. All of these positively work on our energy field and should be as important as brushing our teeth or giving ourselves Reiki, or getting on our yoga mat.

We can liken ourselves to a plant – what conditions does that plant need to thrive – what environment would suit it best, how much water and sunlight does it need, and how much love should we give it – lots! If you grow plants – and I highly recommend you give it a try – you will know that they always thrive better if you love them and look after their needs.

So next time you reach for the over the counter medicine, just pause. Is there an alternative that won’t cause such a toxic side effect?

Please note that I am not suggesting people stop any medicines they are taking or change their treatment plan – that’s between you and your health care provider, but do just reflect on the bigger picture – why are you experiencing a loss of wellness in the first place what is your body trying to tell you?

Lying down with a Yoga Nidra is one of the easiest ways to get into the body and offers huge benefits as I was reminded recently. But more on that another time.

For now, take your power back. Go within. Listen. And make changes. You can be sure the moon is supporting it!

Love Emma x