By Carol Ann Rowland
Characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain and achiness, chronic fatigue and insomnia, fibromyalgia affects 3-6% of the population, and is more common in women than men.
Mainstream western medicine has found fibromyalgia frustratingly difficult to treat. By many, fibromyalgia is considered to have no cure. The goal instead is often to assist those with fibromyalgia in learning to cope with and accommodate their difficulties.
Luckily, effective treatment for fibromyalgia does exist. Best of all, this treatment has no side effects, and is extremely amenable to a self-help approach.
The energy meridian system has long been identified in Eastern medicine – it is the energy system that is treated when acupuncture is used.
In her book, “Energy Medicine,” Donna Eden identifies the role that the triple warmer meridian plays with fibromyalgia. The triple warmer meridian is the meridian that governs the body’s fight/flight/freeze response.
It is believed that during times of acute stress or trauma – and particularly when these experiences are repeated over and over again – the body becomes locked into a state of chronic triple warmer meridian overenergization.
Interestingly, clinicians and researchers have long reported a correlation between fibromyalgia and a history of trauma.
When the triple warmer meridian becomes overenergized, it draws energy out of the spleen meridian, which supports the immune system. If it stays overenergized long enough, our immune system becomes compromised and we begin being more susceptible to even everyday illnesses like colds and flus. This is one of the reasons that when we are under stress, we tend to get sick more often and more easily.
If the triple warmer meridian stays overenergized long enough, eventually the immune system begins to attack itself, and finally auto-immune disorders such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, develop.
Other symptoms and experiences which tend to co-exist with triple warmer meridian overenergization are anxiety, hypervigilance, PMS, thyroid difficulties, and adrenal system fatigue.
There are two main self-help energy techniques for sedating the triple warmer meridian.
1.) Donna Eden’s Instructions for Physically Sedating the Triple Warmer Meridian:
a) Take the fingers of your left hand and hold them just under your left knee. At the same time, take the fingers of your right hand and hold them just above the left elbow. Hold those points for up to 2 minutes. You may be able to feel a pulse in each of these places.
At first the pulses will not be synchronized. If you hold them long enough they will start beating in a synchronized way. This will tell you that you have held the points long enough. If you can’t feel the pulses just hold for a couple of minutes.
Repeat this pose on the right side of the body (right hand below right knee, left hand above right elbow) and again hold until the pulses are synchronized, or up to 2 minutes.
b) Take the fingers of your left hand and hold the indent at the outside of the left baby toe. At the same time, take the fingers of the right hand and hold the point between the base knuckles of on the left hand, between the baby and ring finger. Again you may feel
pulses in both points – hold till the pulses beat in a synchronized way, or for up to 2 minutes.
Repeat this pose on the other side of the body (right hand at right baby toe, left hand at base knuckles of right hand).
2.) The Zensight Process Method for Sedating the Triple Warmer Meridian:
With Zensight we use our intention in order to heal our concerns. We also address the chronic nature of the concern and set the intent that we will heal the overall pattern. In using Zensight in this way, it is sometimes possible to treat the overall pattern in just one or a few treatments, rather than having to keep treating the same issues again and again.
Zensight Healing Symbol
Zensight involves the use of a healing symbol to assist you in focusing your intent. Begin by choosing a word, image, or colour that you will focus upon as you begin healing yourself. Any word, image or colour is fine, as long as it has no negative emotional connotations for you. If you can’t think of a symbol to use, use “ocean” and you may either picture the ocean or think the word “ocean” – whatever feels right to you.
You will now focus upon your healing symbol for 10-15 seconds, after either thinking or saying out loud each of the following statements. During this process, most people begin to feel increasingly relaxed, both physically and emotionally. If the triple warmer has been overenergized for some time, a sense of sleepiness may occur.
“I now heal any and all triple warmer meridian concerns, for all of the different parts of me.”
“I heal all of the reasons my triple warmer first became overenergized.”
“I heal any and all past traumas or upsets of any kind that are being held by my triple warmer meridian.”
“I heal all of the ways and reasons that my triple warmer meridian has had any pattern of responding with excessive force.”
“I heal all of the reasons that it takes my body, emotions, and energy systems a long time to settle after I’ve been startled or upset.”
“I heal all of the ways all of these issues have been being held in my body or energy field, or at the DNA, cellular, or molecular levels.”
“I heal any and all remaining energetic imprints connected with having an overenergized triple warmer.”
“I heal any and all of the patterns, emotions, behaviors, habits and thoughts connected with all of these issues.”
“I install new patterns of feeling calm and relaxed.”
“All of the different parts of me are now able to distinguish when I need to be “on alert” and when I do not.”
“My triple warmer meridian is now sedated.”
“My spleen meridian is now strengthened.”
“My triple warmer meridian and spleen meridian are in perfect and natural balance.”
“All of the different parts of me receive all of this healing now.”
“All of this healing is completely effective for all of the past, all of the present and all of the future.”
“Whenever I focus on my healing symbol, my subconscious mind will immediately sedate my triple warmer meridian according to my highest good, whether I tell it to or not.”
Following this, notice and experience the feelings of being deeply and calmly relaxed that arise. Picture yourself being able to maintain this sensation. Focus on how it feels in your body now that you are in this state, and ground the feeling by using your healing symbol.
Notice as you picture yourself being able to maintain this feeling, that any of the concerns you have had before – such as feelings of anxiety, insomnia, and hypervigilance – are not present in this moment. As you take yourself through this visualization, at different points reconnect with your healing symbol and allow the experience to deepen, so that all of the different parts of you can now fully realize that they are safe in the present day.
This will go a long way towards decreasing the heightened reactivity of the fight/flight/freeze response.
If you find that symptoms still persist, you may wish to repeat the triple warmer sedation regularly. Often it is enough to simply tell yourself “I now repeat all of the triple warmer meridian healing I did before” and focus upon your healing symbol. If you do not feel sufficiently relaxed after doing so, you may wish to repeat the entire exercise.
Alternatively you can use Donna Eden’s physical method of sedating the triple warmer meridian, together with the Zensight method, simultaneously.
Ideally fibromyalgia treatment will consist of a comprehensive treatment plan that includes energy balancing techniques; the healing of past or present traumas, conflicts or upsets; nutritional support; and consultation with your physician and other professional caregivers.
Carol Ann Rowland, MSW, RSW is a therapist, fibromyalgia survivor, and the creator of Zensight Process. To receive a FREE Zensight ebook to assist you in healing any of your personal concerns, or to access Zensight audio healing MP3 files, please see http://www.ZensightProcess.com
What Is Reiki, And How Can It Help You Heal?
By Dr. Patrick V. Suglia
In a nutshell, Reiki is a healing art that can help people with various types of physical and emotional healing needs. It involves the healer placing his or her hands on or over the client without actually manipulating any parts of the body. You may have seen similar healing modalities such as healing touch and therapeutic touch. But Reiki is not the same thing. Nor is Reiki the same thing between its practitioners. The oldest and most potent form of Reiki is formally known as The Usui System Of Natural Healing According To Hawayo Takata. It is called this because it was discovered by Dr. Mikao Usui in Japan and was developed by Mrs. Hawayo Takata. Reiki was the word Dr. Usui used to describe his discovery. Since being introduced by Takata to the United States in the 1970s, Reiki has become diluted and intertwined among other healing arts and modalities. Some people have even invented their own styles of Reiki.
But what is Reiki, really? How does it work? That is summed up in the word itself. Ki is the word to describe the universal life force that keeps everything alive and in motion. Ki, or chi, is the force that gives your heart the energy to beat, your lungs to breathe, your brain to think, and for you to become inspired. Rei means movement. Thus, we have the practice of moving the life force energy in order to create a healing effect. We all have the ability to do this to some degree. We always feel just a bit better when we hold our ankle for a while after tripping off a curb. A child feels more soothed and happy when we hold our hand over his or her cut finger. In effect, we are moving energy to create healing. The Reiki practitioner is specially attuned to do this in a much more magnified way, and the magnification of the moving force of energy has many implications. It can help a headache to go away. It can help a deep cut heal without scarring. It can help a person concentrate better while studying. And it can help a person overcome deep emotional hurts. It is a powerful healing force that balances the energies within the body to bring a state of wellness to all of its parts and to the whole.
A complete Reiki session is best performed in a relaxing environment, a quiet studio or office with soft music or sounds that are pleasing to the ear. The client lies on a massage table but is not unclothed at all. The practitioner then places his or her hands on or over different body areas, twelve on the front side of the body and five on the back. Even though no private areas are involved, the client has the right to let the practitioner know on which areas they do not feel comfortable being touched. In that case, the practitioner can hold his or her hands over the area, and the client receives the same healing benefit. A complete session lasts anywhere between sixty and seventy-five minutes, depending on ones specific needs. Personally, the longest session I ever performed was two hours in length. The practitioner will hold their hands over a certain area longer if they sense that more healing energy is needed in that area. During the session, both the client and the practitioner may feel different sensations in different areas of the body, such as extreme warmth, tingling, or a deep relaxation. These sensations are clues as to where the healing energy is needed and indicate that the energy is definitely working. If a person is receiving a session because of emotional or subconscious needs, they may experience feelings of emotional release and relief. After the session, one definitely feels that something has changed for the better.
At the Sufletesc Center located in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota, I practice the original Usui System Of Natural Healing According To Hawayo Takata. Since I began practicing Reiki in June of 1998, Ive taken care of many people who have said to me that they have been to other Reiki practitioners but somehow felt an enormously powerful difference between what I did and what they received from others. I then explain to them that there are different types of Reiki out there, and what I do is the unadulterated version. This leads to the discussion of what is involved in the training of a Reiki practitioner. First of all, you CANNOT learn Reiki in an all-in-one weekend that costs only $100. I have had Reiki Masters (teachers) ask me about things that I do that they never learned. In the original Usui system, there are three degrees of practice. The First Degree practitioner works with physical conditions. The Second Degree practitioner can take care of emotional and subconscious healing matters and can even perform healing sessions in-absentia (from a distance). Then there is the Master level. While the practitioner is complete in his or her abilities at the second degree, the Master is the one who attunes and teaches others. The cost of training in the original method is $150 for First Degree, $500 for Second Degree (after a three month training period), and, after a three-year period of practice, one can become a Reiki Master for $10,000, which entails a lengthy, detailed apprenticeship.
The most important thing for you to know is that it can help you no matter what ails you, what bothers you, what pent up emotional disturbances you may suffer from, or what strange addictions you may have. It is also beneficial to the person who wants to maintain their state of wellness. Many hospitals offer Reiki to their patients to help them relax before a procedure and to heal faster afterwards. There has even been a study done several years ago at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center in Cleveland, Ohio proving that people who receive Reiki healing do recover faster from open heart surgery. Several other studies have been conducted since that time. When I am caring for a chiropractic patient who is experiencing a tremendous amount of muscle tension and mental apprehension, I place my hands on them for several minutes, if they are willing to accept the treatment. This relaxes the patient, which allows the chiropractic adjustment to be delivered with greater ease and less stress. Reiki has helped me to be a better chiropractor. It can certainly help you to be a healthier person!
Dr. Suglia is the owner of The Sufletesc Center in Minneapolis, MN, a wellness center that offers chiropractic care, energy medicine, physical examinations, and consultations & evaluations for people with chronic conditions. He is a member of the American Holistic Health Association, the American Pregnancy Association, and the Holistic Pediatric Association. For more information on The Sufletesc Center please see their website at www.sufletesc.com.
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