Taking care of the care taker
Introduction
Energy – it’s powerful stuff. And like a scalpel, if improperly handled can be dangerous to the one who wields it as well as the person on the receiving end.
In our work as bioenergetic therapists we deal with the subtle but nevertheless potent bioenergies that permeate all life forms. By doing so, we are affecting change on the cellular, organ system and wholistic levels, in ourselves as well as the recipient. Many healers fail to recognise that the energy transference is bi-directional. This energy or life force, regardless of the source, flows through the body via an intricate net of channels. Any blockages or restrictions in the energy meridians will have detrimental effects on the health and wellbeing of the healer. As a healing touch practitioner, this will not only reduce your effectiveness in therapy, but can have serious long-term repercussions on your personal health.
Bioenergetic healing – mechanism
Resonance and the Alpha state
Prior to delving deeper into the subject of this article, let’s briefly discuss the potential mechanism of healing via touch or at a distance. Brain wave frequencies between 8 and 13 Hz are referred to as alpha brainwaves. The alpha state is a light hypnotic state in which the mind is relaxed, clear, focussed and receptive. Studies have shown that during a healing session, the healer’s alpha brainwaves synchronise with those of the recipient, so that both resonate sympathetically at the same frequency. In other words, the act of channelling energy involves both healer and recipient being in the alpha state.
Of note, the alpha frequency approximates that of the Schumann Resonance, which is the vibrational frequency of the earth’s electromagnetic field (EMF). The implication of such is that the brain waves of a person in the alpha state will resonate in sympathy with the earth’s EMF thereby amplifying the signal. This may be a plausible explanation of how healers are able to draw on and channel energy from the external field to the recipient. It could also account for the discrepancy between the magnitude of the EMF produced by the hand during healing (which is considerably greater than when healing is not taking place), and the corresponding bioelectric current flowing through the hands. In other words, EMF strength is not explicable purely in terms of the internal bioelectric current, and as such, the field produced during healing might be created by drawing on the earth’s EM field via the Schumann resonance.
It has been proposed that this resonance phenomenon may be actuated by magnetic crystals in the brain that are capable of tuning into and oscillating sympathetically with the earth’s EMF. Such a phenomenon highlights the importance of existing in harmony with the earth’s natural EMF. However, attaining this state of harmony is challenging, for considerably exacerbating the situation is the ubiquitous presence of the powerful and chaotic EMF’s radiated by the machinations of homo electrus (sic). There is a considerable body of evidence which is suggestive of a strong causal relationship between many degenerative diseases and external magnetic fields.
In addition to the transmission of a signal from the brain to the body via the autonomic nervous system, the healing energy may also be conducted via fascia and the cytoskeleton. The cytoskeleton is a microscopic network of protein filaments and tubules in the cytoplasm of many living cells, and which is part of a continuous structure that extends into the nucleus. As such, the cytoplasm may be described as a living matrix that connects virtually every cell in the body.
Effect of therapy on the healer
In order to be effective, the healing touch practitioner needs to tune into the recipient. Because the healer’s biofield acts as a reference signal as well as modulator for the client’s field and state of health, the healer must be in good health ¾ physically, emotionally, psychically and spiritually. Internal disharmony or poor health will not only limit the effectiveness of a therapy session process, it may be counter-productive, thereby leading to a worsening of the disease state.
Via the process of resonance and energy transferrence, you as the bioenergetic practitioner, temporarily acquire the client’s symptoms, disharmony, disease and disabilities. The long-term consequence of the accompanying induced energetic imbalance and depletion is that if you are not sufficiently mindful of the state of your energies, you will eventually compromise your own health and wellbeing.
Accordingly, conducting a therapy session when you are unwell, or your energies are low and not flowing smoothly, can render you susceptible to all sorts of health problems, both physical and psychological. Effective healers can die young if they are not mindful of their own health and are not active in replenishing and circulating their energies. The good news is that in the process of resolving and curing the client’s problems within yourself, you are helping to immunise yourself against acquiring those disorders in later life.
Safeguarding yourself in session
It would be an over-simplification to view the biofield as merely being energy waves passively radiated by physical matter into space ¾ it is more instructive to view it as an holistic or holographic information field that determines the nature, structure and behaviour of the entities within it. Accordingly, biofield therapy is not merely about giving someone energy in order to recharge their battery, but in conveying information that enables the cells, organs and entire being to restablish a healthy model or orientation. A trap that healers frequently fall into is that of using and depleting their own energies to recharge their clients. Such a scenario is tantamount to using using your own battery to drive someone else’s car, rather than just giving them a jump start.
During a session, it is important that the practitioner’s feet are on the ground. In essence, bioenergy is similar to electricity in that it needs to be well earthed, failing which the circuit will be broken, thereby leading to increased resistance and reduced energy flow and circulation. In addition, practitioners need to be mindful of what is happening in their own bodies, particularly the hands. If the hands or fingers become hot, that is a warning sign that the healer’s own biocircuit is overloaded, at which point the session should be terminated.
Strategies for regenerating and harmonising bioenergy
It is essential for Healing Touch practitioners to regenerate and rebalance their energies. Bioenergy is a treasure that fuels and affects all that we are and do. Accordingly, it needs to be nurtured, for if the energy becomes exhausted then disease, disability and death follow inevitably. If you take care of your bioenergy, it will take care of you, so that good health and wellbeing arise naturally. It really is as simple as that!
Bioenergy may be generated, circulated, refined, conserved, transformed, and transmitted. There are numerous practices, Eastern and Western, that seek to enhance and protect the individual’s bioenergy. Of these, Qigong and Taiji may be regarded not only as the oldest and most well-documented, but in this author’s experience, as the most effective. They are intrinsically concerned with the sensing, development, channelling, transmission and harmonising of life force. Regardless of which methods of self-regeneration and tonification you prefer to use, regular meditation should be considered as an essential element in your routines
A further consideration is that of allowing yourself adequate rest and recovery time, failing which bioenergy depletion and exhaustion will take their inevitable toll on your own health. Attention must also be payed to nourishment, the sources of which include more than air, food, water, herbal tonics and sunlight. Whilst these are indispensible for physiological function, they are not sufficient or even appropriate sources for the aetheric body, as an organism is considerably more than a mere meat machine.
Finally, the issues of physical and aerobic fitness also need to be addressed. Life force, according to the tenets of Oriental medicine, is carried by the blood, consequently anything that compromises the efficiency of the cardiovascular system inevitably limits the flow and delivery of energy within the body.
As a therapist, I have worked in the field of bioenergetic healing for many years, having immersed myself in both Eastern and Western methodologies of rehabilitation and prevention. My background in these fields has given me a first hand appreciation of what is both practicable and efficacious. Following on from this body of knowledge and experience, I have created and trialed a modality called Kinergetix which integrates Western biomechanics and medical science with Eastern bioenergetic arts updated to be relevant to modern lifestyle needs and demands. In brief, Kinergetix is a tool for regaining and maintaining health, sharpening the mental faculties and enhancing wellbeing.
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