Articles
& Education
Healing Touch In a Muggle World: The Hero’s Journey of the Heart
by Barbara Dahl
The language of the heart presents a paradox: as the ultimate truth, it transcends words. Mythology speaks to the language of the heart and to the sacred. According to Joseph Campbell, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” Our experience of the Hero’s Journey via Healing Touch both evokes and invokes the transcendent. Consider the mantra of the Healing Touch disciple, “It changed my life.”
“We meet ourselves time and again in a thousand disguises on the path of
life." Carl Jung
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Thai Yoga
Bodywork
by Sonia Osorio
Lotus Palm: The Mindfulness of Touch
One of the ancient healing arts of traditional Thai medicine (along with
herbal medicine and spiritual meditation), Thai massage is a full-body
massage, performed on a floor mat, with both parties in loose, comfortable
clothes. It incorporates t'ai chi moves, rhythmic motion, palming and
thumbing along sen lines (energy lines), gentle stretching and the
conscious use of breath. The practitioner uses her hands, feet, arms and
legs to guide the recipient through various yoga postures, while remaining
focused on their own body-center. This combination of movements and
focused awareness creates a slow, flowing "dance" around the
recipient's body.
"Thai massage is a well-respected and proven healing art that's
quickly gaining popularity in the West because of its meditative approach
and its application of yoga's well-established benefits," said Kam
Thye Chow, founder of Lotus Palm, one of the first North American schools
of Thai massage, located in Montreal, Canada.
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____________________ The
Healing Touch
by Sandra Blakeslee and Matthew
Blakeslee
Imagine lying on a therapy table as a
healer places her hand under the back of your neck. Her touch is gentle,
calm, tranquil. She places her other hand lightly onto your left shoulder,
then onto your right shoulder.
A sensation of tingling warmth ripples
through your body. A nagging pain in your lower back begins to drain away.
It's not vanquished, but it fades drastically. You relax under the spell
of the healer's hands.
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The Art of Ayurvedic Stone Massage
by Karyn Chabot
Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word meaning the ‘science of life’ and the ‘art of being’ or living in harmony with nature. What does the term shila abyhanga mean? In Sanskrit, ‘shila’ means stone, ‘abhy’ means to rub and ‘anga’ means limb. Together, they form the word for stone massage. Heated stone massage is a form of
thermotherapy, otherwise known as a form of swedhana, a modality used during pancha karma (internal and external rejuvenation and detoxification of the body, mind and spirit). Shila abyhanga dates back thousands of years and can be traced to the ancient healing traditions of almost every culture. One of the most popular ways to use heated stones in India is to wrap them, along with herbs, in a warm, moist cloth, creating a poultice. This poultice can be applied locally for joint or muscle pain. Large, flat warm stones, used with warm
oil, can be glided across tight muscles. The ingestion of specially prepared ashes of specific gemstones can be used for healing and reducing all three
doshas. Diamonds, rubies, and emeralds were crushed, heated, prepared, and ingested exclusively by the royalty of India long ago as part of pancha karma.Click
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Traditional Treatments for Back
Pain... Which Ones Work and Which Ones Don’t?
by Jesse Cannone
When
Dorothy followed the yellow brick road, she was told to do so by those who
wanted her to get where she wanted go. Well as humans when we blindly
follow recommendations even by individuals who have good intentions, it
may not always be your best option. So I’m preparing this article to
compare and contrast what are known as traditional treatments vs.
complementary or alternative treatments for back pain. Remember there is
rarely only one reason for your back pain and almost never one silver
bullet fix… you may need to try several approaches till you find what
works for you.
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Healing Wombs: Maya Abdominal
Massage
by Patricia Burke with Rosita Arvigo
Catherine arrived at the yoga studio looking weary and subdued. As she
joined the circle and began to check in with the group, her story gently
unfolded. She had been experiencing increasing digestive problems and
discomfort, and awoke in the morning to discover that her uterus had
prolapsed. The cervix was extending out through the vaginal opening. She
felt as if she was carrying a bowl between her legs, and it was bearing
down on all her organs of elimination. I was horrified for her.
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Energy
Healing Benefits Of A Massage Alternative Put To The Test... Results
Surprisingly Positive!
by Bob Olson, OfSpirit.com Editor
You’d think the editor of a holistic magazine would be knowledgeable
about things like shiatsu, reiki or polarity, but nobody can really
understand something until they have personally experienced it. Now that
I’ve experienced a bodywork session that utilized all three of these
modalities, I’m unexpectedly hooked. All my previous misconceptions have
been shamefully proven wrong, and I now understand why people are using
their lunch hours to relax and rebalance with an energy bodywork session.
I
have never been keen on having my shoulders or feet massaged, so the only
bodywork I’ve had done is on my car. As a result, my knowledge of
therapeutic energy healing has been sadly limited to the articles I’ve
edited for OfSpirit.com. It was time I had a personal experience, and De
Costanza of Therapeutic Energy Systems in Wayland, Massachusetts, was
willing to accept an ignorant and slightly skeptical new client.
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Calming Tips For Hyperactive
Children
by Jeannine Virtue
Parents of hyperactive children know the "Would you please just
settle down?!" phrase well, and likely use it on a regular basis.
There are a number of tips to help parents settle their hyperactive child
down. These quick tips and relaxation techniques take the same amount of
time as yelling and scolding but produce incredibly different results in
hyperactive children.
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__________________ Gentle Touch Produces Miracles
by Gerri Shapiro
For as long as I can remember, I've
suffered from back pain. Although I have experienced some relief
using heat, cold, massage, chiropractic and acupuncture, invariably the
pain has always returned. Until one day I visited a friend in
California who had similar back problems. She told me she had some
body work done called Bowen. Her back and hip pain were gone after
just one session!
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The
Olson Interviews
Recommended Books
Click on the book links below to read more
about—or buy—the recommended book from Amazon.com (the Internet's
largest bookstore):
Click Here For More
Massage Therapy Book Suggestions
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More Articles
& Education
How To Receive Bodywork
by Carol Bedrosian
Although there are as many different kinds of
bodywork as there are cold remedies on the drug store shelf, some basic
information on receiving bodywork in general can be helpful. Since most of
us grew up with the "sickness" model of healthcare—-we only
visited the doctor when we were sick and therefore under stress and not
feeling up to our fullest capacity—our experience in caring for our health
has been a disempowering and mystifying one.
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Life Energy and Healing:
"The Nerve, Meridian
and Chakra Systems and the CSF Connection"
by Dr. Don Glassey
Life energy, in the form of cerebrospinal
fluid, flows within, through and around the body over three inter-related
and interconnected energy systems that interface with each other. The
three energy systems are, from a gross to a subtler and more refined
level, the nervous, the meridian, and the chakra systems.
In the nervous system, cerebrospinal fluid
(CSF) flows within and around the brain and spinal cord (central nervous
system) within a three layered "saran wrap" like covering called
the meninges. It has been suggested that CSF also flows in the periphery
of the body within the neuroglial connective tissue transportation system
and communication network. Therefore, rather than ending at a cavity-like
cul-de-sac at the place where the peripheral nerves exit the spinal cord (intervertebral
foramen), the CSF would then circulate throughout the entire body.
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"The Soul Swims in the
CSF"
The Metaphysical Physiology of the
Cerebrospinal Fluid
by Dr. Don Glassey
The above quote is attributed to Dr.
Randolph Stone, founder of Polarity Therapy, who studied for many years
with one of India's spiritual Masters. His brilliant mind and keen
intellect enabled him to intuit the above hypothesis. In fact, the brain
and spinal cord, which contain the largest volume of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
in the body, do literally "swim", or float, in CSF. Both are
completely immersed in this liquid environment. Indian Masters assert that
the brain and spine (spinal cord) are the altars of God in man. They also
state that we worship God in the temple of the spine.
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Esalen Institute: A Massage Therapist's
Journey Back To Inspiration
by Mare Tomaski, LMT
Founded in 1962 as an alternative
educational center devoted to the exploration of human potential, the
legendary Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California is situated on 27 acres
of breathtaking grounds blessed with natural hot springs and fronted by
the spectacular California coastline. Through these personal journal
entries, massage therapist Mare Tomaski shares her experience of the
ultimate retreat vacation and blending of business with healing.
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The Realization of Health in Body, Mind
and Spirit: An Interview with Nancy Risley
by Carol Bedrosian
Nancy Risley, RPP (Registered Polarity Practitioner) founded the Polarity
Realization Institute in 1980 as a school to train professional
bodyworkers and polarity therapists. The Institute currently has four New
England locations: Ipswich, MA, Plymouth, MA and Portland, ME. The
fourth and newest location in Westboro, MA is a spacious, multi-room
rental, prominently situated between the Outback Steakhouse and Hoyt's
Cinema 14 in a newly-built commercial plaza off Route 9. Graced with PRI's
soothing, mandala-like logo set off by strong, bold lettering, the large
blue and white sign above the door is impossible for the eye to avoid:
Polarity Realization Institute --Holistic Career Education. For the
hundreds of patrons that visit the steakhouse each day, the sigh next door
sends a subtle , yet subconscious signal that holistic healthcare is here
to stay.
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