Healing – Alternative Options

“Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.”
Maya Angelou

You have tried the workshops and retreats and maybe there is too much sharing and a group is not where you are finding comfort.  Individual options are many as well.  Sometimes a nice long walk in the woods, or along a beach is the alone time  needed without all the noise, and clutter.

Art Journaling

Art journaling I found has a tremendous healing quality.  I personally can’t paint or write so well, I used art journaling to express my feelings.  My teacher Sherry would say, “if you are not at ease, you are in dis-ease.”  If we don’t let the negative energy move through us, we get sick.  Using magazines, and newspapers along with paints of all colors to collage a journal, (or you could just use individual sheets of paper) is a way to move the energy.  I found having my journal in book form I can easily take it with me if I traveled.  Using acrylic paints, since they wash easier from brushes and clothes, scissors and a glue stick is a very creative and healing option for self-healing.  A thick water color paper holds layers of paint.  Reapplying paint over paint works.  Sometimes water colors give a soft touch if that appeals to you.  Try it, no judgement.  It is not a picture, it is feelings, uniquely yours.

Photography

“The most important part of your camera is the 12 inches behind it.” Ansel Adams.

When I started following Michael Blanchard Photography I realized how photography is an amazing tool for healing.  Michael, on his website, blanchardphotomv.com, has a huge following who love his work, but also love his heart felt story of addiction, recovery and healing.  Following him on FB, he offers daily inspiration.  He captures beautiful images of Maine and Martha’s Vineyard, Michael used photography for his journey.  Michael authored a beautiful book titled Fighting for My Life and produces gorgeous photographic calendars.

Equine Assisted Learning

” It is not about the horse.” Wyatt Webb

I have had horses as a part of my life since I was a teenager.  I always felt calm and almost powerless in the presence of the majestic creatures.  Horses are very sensitive and can respond to our energy.  Whether anxious, fearful or depressed, the trained therapy horse can help us find breath and a sense of calm, a connection to the one who is larger then us.

Last summer I showed up at Rising Tide Therapeutic Riding Center in West Tisbury on Martha’s Vineyard.  I needed to be around horses.  Mucking stalls and feeding the horses provided me with hard work, but also the connection.  Horses heal people, people heal horses.

There are many therapeutic riding centers around the country.  Working with the horses is for anyone that would benefit from this form of healing, no equine experience needed.  Something as simple as going to a barn and offering a pet or grooming helps.

For more of the equine experience there are centers that offer Equine Assisted Learning, or EAL. This is working with the horses through activities that provide experiential learning.  I have researched a few options listed on my resource page.

Gardening

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Audrey Hepburn

I decided to try gardening.  It’s not as easy as you think.  It all starts with the soil. Compost, organic, dark, rich soil.  The home worms like to live in.  Planting in good, healthy soil is the right starting point.

Gardening, whether herbs, vegetables or flowers, I have found helps to ground me with the beauty of nature.  The caring of the plants; as they breathe out, we breathe in.  More evidence of the divine in nature.  It can be as small as a pot of herbs or tomatoes or perhaps something larger.  It doesn’t really matter, whatever helps you heal.

Alternative energy healing

Reflexology
An alternative medicine using pressure on hands and feet to hasten healing, improve circulation, promote relaxation and remove toxins.  Reflexology offers  stimulation to the nervous system.

Cranio-Sacral massage
With a gentle touch the therapist monitors the rhythm of the cerebrospinal fluid throughout the body.  Sources of stress are released to help facilitate the body’s amazing ability to self-heal.

Jin Shin Jyutsu
The art of harmonizing the life energy.  An ancient disarming form of accupressure, working with twenty six points along energy pathways.  When the pathways become blocked, energy stagnates.  “If you are not at ease you are in dis-ease.” Sherry Sidoti

Reiki
This is the energy transferred from the practitioner to the client to improve life force energy, acting as a conduit to remove negative energies for healing.

Medicinal Oils
Oils are used either directly to the body with a carrier oil or as aromatherapy. Flowers from all over the world are combined for healing.  A “farm-acy” for illness and wellness.  Used to fight cold and flu symptons, relax sore muscles, alleviate pain, balance hormones improve digestion.  Each oil or combination of oils uses nature to heal.

Flower Essence
“Dr. Bach’s flower essences are considered a complete and natural system composed of 38 individual flowers that respond to human characteristics and emotions. Each flower has a specific vibration or note. When the right blend of flowers is composed specifically for you, it will create the song of your soul, bringing emotional balance and allowing you to see the highest version of yourself. There are over 293 million different combinations. The flowers are safe to use with everyone” Sybil Teles, Wishcraft Apothecary

Hypnotherapy
“Hypnotherapy is a process of bypassing the conscious critical mind in order to engage in the more receptive subconscious. In this heightened state of relaxation you allow yourself to reprogram your automatic responses and create new patterns of behavior in order to promote powerful positive change.” Sybil Teles, Wishcraft Apothecary

Acupuncture
A key component of traditional Chinese medicine.  Considered in the west an alternative medicine, where small thin needles are inserted into the body.  The healing is used often for pain management, but also to rebalance the body.  The insertion points have a correlation to organs of the body.  Organs in the body hold emotions, like sadness, grief, anger and by tapping into the flow of energy can release these emotions.

Meditation
A practice of calming and clearing the mind.  Most often in a comfortable seat, (what ever that is for you) focusing on the breath, noticing your thoughts, and allowing them to float by.  Meditation can be achieved on the move as well, walking, biking any activity that helps to achieve an emotionally calm state.

Tapping
Like acupuncture and acupressure, tapping is a set of techniques which utilize the body’s energy meridian points.  You can stimulate these meridian points by tapping on them with your fingertips – literally tapping into your body’s own energy and healing power. Self-heal.

Psychic medium
A psychic medium connects to spirit guides, angels and our loved ones in spirit. Through clairvoyant, seeing spirit, clairsentient, sensing spirit and/or clairaudiente, hearing spirit the medium connects us with spirit.  By validating the spirits presence, the medium conveys conversations, dates, favorite times together, whatever the spirit brings forward.  This type of spiritual communication can provide great comfort for those in pain and grief.

Intuitives
An intuitive has a “knowing” we all have this capability, it is tapping into to our intuition.  Taking the time to be quiet and present, to tune in to the intuitive healing qualities we all have.  A professional intuitive can meet in person, over the phone and connect to spirit.  Different then a medium, the intuitive connects with the clients spirit and together they set intentions with writing and visualization and let the universe begin to open new doors. It is deep and cleansing work.

Shaman
“In Shamanism we work with clearing of entities, of self curses generationally and in past lives, residues of past lives, betrayals as weapons in the body, building homes for homeless entities when people leave their bodies, breaking aka cords, etc. We then go further to clear the house- we teach you the use of substances like sulfur to clear spirits, perfumes and oils used by both witches and shamans to contact the spirit of plants. we then use a plant sigil to talk to the plants without the plants present. we teach the symbol for each plant, how to communicate with the plant with certain guidelines in ritual (17 plants).” Foster Perry

Other Healing Options