Energy Healer Heal Thyself: A Self-Care Technique

Posted on February 25, 2015 by jesalynjae

Since moving up north I have been hosting a Women’s Circle each month at the new moon. It’s been a great way for me to meet some new people and connect in a sacred way. I love facilitating the group and being nourished by the lovely women who show up each month. This month the focus was on self-care and self-love and I led the group through an energy healing technique to open the circle and ground. I was reminded of the importance of doing this on a regular basis for myself. I often find myself laying hands on my own body for various imbalances and ailments but I had not done a formal self healing in awhile. It helps balance out the body and energy system and can be done as often as you like. And since I fully believe that we each have the ability to heal ourselves, it was a good reminder for me.

It’s a great way to start or end your day or any time you feel like you need to relax or energize. The great thing about energy work is that you will get exactly what you need each time. There are versions of this in various traditions and they are all slightly different but I encourage you to let your intuition be your guide on this one. The Reiki self-healing technique starts at the head whereas the Healing Touch self connection starts at your feet. But, depending on how you feel from day to day, you could start at your belly.

Start by taking a few deep breaths and get comfortable seated on a chair or on the ground. Imagine that you are growing roots like a tree and feel yourself grounding. Set the intention that this healing will be for the highest good of all concerned and that you will receive everything that you need whether you know what that is or not. If you have the time and space you can light a candle or some incense and play soft music to set the mood but any time you can devote to this is fine.

Next start by placing your hands somewhere on your body. Again you can start at your feet and work your way up, the reverse of this, or any which way you like. If you are experiencing pain somewhere you could start there. As you place your hands bring your attention to this area of the body and imagine sending healing energy. This could be in the form of an affirmation, gratitude, imagining white light, or love. If you have learned any symbols associated with energy techniques or have something else that resonates with you, feel free to use that as well. Make sure you keep breathing throughout and imagine the fresh oxygen is flooding the area where your hands are.

Spend as much time as you think you need at this first spot and then move on when you feel ready. It feels nice to keep your hands connected as much as you can so during transitions either move one hand at a time or slide to the next position. You can decide what spots to include along the way and it might be different every time. It’s great to hit the 7 main chakra points but there are so many other options and all are beneficial. Take 5-10 minutes or 30-45; any amount is perfect. Also, if there is a spot that you can’t comfortably reach you can imagine you are touching that spot. The saying in energy work is “energy flows where attention goes” or “action follows intention” so simply just envisioning the spot you want to give some love to will do.

http://www.sage-thyme.com/what-are-chakras/

End with gratitude for yourself and all the helpers and teachers in your life (angels, ancestors, guides, animals, etc) and take a few more deep breaths. Bring back the tree root visual or anything else that helps you feel grounded and give yourself time to transition to your next activity. Make sure to have some water and check in with how you are feeling emotionally and physically. Sometimes you will feel refreshed and relaxed but other times this may bring up agitation or irritability. If negative feelings are strong or lasting and/or you are having trouble grounding try to get outside and put your bare feet into the earth. Repeat as often as you like!

Healthy Happy Holidays

Posted on November 30, 2014 by jesalynjae

There is no denying it now…the holidays are here! This time of year can be joyful and fun but can also come with stress, sickness and obligation. Here are my best tips for making the most of it and staying sane:

Emotional/Energetic Health

*Hell yes or no! – When you are asked to attend that party, bake 12 dozen cookies, shop the crowds, etc, etc take a moment to ask yourself if you really want to go. If your whole self doesn’t say “hell yes, that sounds awesome” then say no. It is easy to get overwhelmed with plans and then feel drained. Do only what nourishes you. I understand that some family obligations may not be a hell yes but you still have to or want to go. I get that, but minimize this as much as possible and if a family gathering is really not going to be in your best interest, give yourself permission to say no to that also.

*Get quiet & relax– nature dictates this as a time of year to go within ourselves and reflect. The days are shorter and the weather is getting colder. It’s natural to want to stay home and cuddle up but this has been made into the busiest time of the year for many. Make time to sit in meditation, take a gentle yoga class or just lounge around and watch Netflix.

*Loving-kindness – Being around family (or not having family) can stir up old hurts. Ram Dass wisely says “If you think you are enlightened, go spend a week with your family” We can easily get caught up in re-living the past, the unsavory political dinner conversations or feeling attacked for your life choices. The ancient practice of loving-kindness can shift this feeling in you in the moment or over time. There are different versions of this, some more adapted for Westerners but it goes something like this. You can do this formally in meditation or say this to yourself toward someone during an encounter with family. Another thing that I like to do if I am struggling to listen or relate, is to imagine energy flowing from my heart to theirs. In whatever practice you choose, remember to first love yourself!

*Fresh air/nature – We end up being inside more this time of year but don’t forget to get some fresh air and connect to nature. This helps us stay grounded and reduces stress. Getting your bare feet in the earth may not be an option but make contact with a tree trunk and feel the energy flow. Tree hugging is a thing and it’s good for us! 🙂

Physical Health

*More H2O – It’s easy to forget to drink water when it’s no longer warm outside but your body needs water in the winter too. Drink just as much water, if not more, than you would during the warmer months. I like to start the morning with warm lemon water with a dash of cayenne pepper. It helps me to start drinking water in the morning so I continue the trend throughout the day.

*Essential oils – I have several go-to oils for my health. Thieves, peppermint, oregano and lavender are my recommendations. Thieves is great for sickness prevention and keeping the immune system strong, peppermint and lavender are the best all around oils for a long list of things and oregano is natures antibiotic. I use the oils topically, diffused and internally. Make sure you have therapeutic grade in order to ingest them, not all oils are created equally. I use Young Living but there are other brands out there that are high quality as well, please do your research.

*Green smoothies/juices – I love veggies as much as the next girl and I cook with and eat them often. But for me, the best way to get tons of green goodness into my system is to make a juice or smoothie. Lately I have been giving my Vitamix a lot of love and have a formula that I more or less follow.

80/20 veggies to fruits and fruits that are low on the glycemic index like apples and berries (many folks make the mistake of making a very fruit forward creation that is high in sugar), vary your greens and veggies, water as base instead of fruit juice, chia seeds, spirulina, cacao for a treat, fresh ginger, cinnamon, cayenne. Winter is typically a time for soups and stews which I say yes to as well but I add the ginger, cinnamon and cayenne to bring that warming quality that we desire in the winter. I happen to love ginger and include it most of the time anyway but especially in winter.

*Vitamins/herbal supplements – Putting good food in your body is critical but I also take certain vitamins and herbs to ensure I stay well. A good quality multiple is helpful but I also take a B complex, vitamin D (more during the winter), vitamin C (extra if I feel under the weather) and Maca root when I need an energy boost. I also drink herbal tea regularly and either buy loose leaf or the Traditional Medicinals brand that is most often organic and is formulated by herbalists. This blend of things is what helps me most but every body is different. As my good friend and health coach says “if your supplements don’t make you feel better, it’s just expensive urine” Explore and find out what works best for you.

Spiritual Health

*Sing, dance and be merry – Let the spirit of the season envelop you. If you don’t love it all, choose what you do love and go with that. Song and dance have great power and when done correctly (correct = whatever you resonate with) can be a spiritual experience. Move your lips and your hips and do it with love.

*Celebrate ceremoniously – Holiday traditions are sometimes deeply rooted or newly minted. Find something fun about this time of year and make it sacred. If what you’ve been doing isn’t working or no longer fits your mold, change it! Ceremonies are important but only if they make you feel awesome. I love getting out my holiday decorations and looking at my recap of last year and hopes and dreams for this one – I keep them in the decoration boxes. I also have this great collection of sweet collectors bears that make me smile year after year.

May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be free from suffering. May this holiday season be filled with joy and love.

Occupying the Void

Posted on October 30, 2014 by jesalynjae

I just moved to San Jose from San Diego, where I lived my whole life. I have been here 2 weeks today. Unpacking kept me pretty busy the first week but moving into the second week there has been less to do and more time to not do.

I’ve been reading “Spiritual Growth” by Sanaya Roman. It’s the third in a series and is one of those books that takes awhile for me to read because I read a little and then think about it, and hopefully integrate it into my life in some small way. Last week I read a chapter about the concept of ‘the void.’ She talks about the void being this space in between, where it may seem that you are doing nothing but actually you are doing so much. In the void there is a lot of letting go, expanding and preparing to soar to new heights. The void is about transition and opening up to different possibilities.

This really resonated with me. I am in the void right now. I am not working nor do I quite know what I want to do next. Don’t get me wrong, I do not feel we should identify ourselves by whether or not we are employed and where, but it was a big part of why I was recently feeling unfulfilled. For me, the void is also leaving behind all that I knew: friends, familiarity, family.

It doesn’t always feel that I am doing much on the outside but I am leaving behind a life that wasn’t serving me in some ways. I am allowing that life to fall away so that I can fully embrace whatever is next for me. I’m in a position of extremely good fortune in that I do not have to work or really do anything right away. I can embrace the void and see where it takes me. Trust me, it’s not always comfortable or easy but I am owning and occupying the void. And I am so grateful.

“Not-knowing can be the doorway to true knowing”
“Living in the void can be stimulating, challenging and expansive”

Nyepi: Day of Silence in Bali

Posted on April 24, 2014 by jesalynjae

I recently got back from a trip to Bali, Indonesia to celebrate 5 years of being with my boyfriend. It just so happened that on March 31, which is the day of our anniversary, was a national holiday on the island of Bali. It is called Nyepi and is the Hindu new year. The people in Bali are overwhelmingly Hindu despite the fact that Indonesia as a whole is mostly Muslim. On this day from 6am to 6am the following day everyone stays inside to be with family, pray, meditate and unplug…literally. There is no electricity used after 6pm. The day changes every year so it was very special that it landed on our day of celebration.

The day before there is a parade where statues called Ogoh-ogoh are paraded around the town to music and celebration and then they are burned. These represent demons and evil spirits and are offered as a way to purify humans of any spiritual pollutants. The following day of silence is meant to be a day of reflection as well as follows the folklore that if the whole island is quiet the evil spirits will not find anyone. No one is exempt from the rules of Nyepi and everyone must stay inside including tourists. Some Balinese people fast or meditate on this day, others just stay inside and relax. As one of our taxi drivers told us, “I don’t eat for half the day but then I am hungry.”

Luckily, we were staying in a beautiful hotel so not being able to leave all day was not a problem. The hotel organized some activities including learning to make Balinese treats and making the flower offerings that you see all over the country. It was a nice chance to just relax. I read my book and we spent time by the pool. We ate our hotel dinner by candlelight and went to bed fairly early. That night the stars were AMAZING! I have been camping and summer trips to Lake Powell used to be my favorite time for star gazing, but these were like I had never seen before. So magical!

Bali is a seriously spiritual country and this was clear throughout our trip but especially for Nyepi. The whole country gets quiet in the name of a spiritual experience and to start their year on the right foot. I love that! Their connection to the Divine is clear in everything they do; there are temples and statues of Gods throughout the country. Each house even has a temple where they leave daily offerings of flowers, food and incense.

One of my favorite parts of traveling is seeing the way other people live, love and connect to each other, their beliefs and ways of healing. The Balinese are deeply spiritual, happy people. They live simply and are connected to nature and ritual. I will forever hold my visit to the island of Bali in my heart because of the people, the beauty, and not to mention the fact that the next day I got engaged. But, that’s another post for another day!

Learning how to make Balinese goodies at our hotel

Making an offering for the altar

Beautiful flowers are offered to the Gods

My offering

An ogoh-ogoh in town

An ogoh-ogoh and flower offering outside a local home

Energy Adventures in Ecuador

Posted on March 13, 2014 by jesalynjae

Travel is magical! I love everything about it but it often feels so surreal when I return home. Nothing has changed and everything has changed. Was I really in all of those amazing places or did I dream it all? My boyfriend and I recently created a photo book of our trip to Ecuador and it reminded me of all the wonderful things I experienced there.

I set the intention that my trip would connect me to healing in some way so it was not a big surprise when the first person I met off the plane told me he had been studying Reiki. My host mother was extremely attuned to all things magical and we shared some conversations at the dinner table about life, love and healing that will stay with me always.

I got to experience a cleansing at a marketplace, learn a new form of energy healing and visit some incredibly spiritual places including being at the center of the world on the Equinox. This knowledge and experience continues to shape my work with others and I’m so grateful.

While I believe you can create magical experiences wherever you are, I especially appreciated the fact that energy healing, spirituality and a deep connection to the divine seemed to be the norm in Ecuador. When I told people I was a Reiki master everyone knew what that was. I heard various people talk about the “energy” of a particular place and how it was special or not to be missed. The new technique I trained in is currently called Ama-Deus but was originally known as just “healing” and was taught from an early age in the indigenous tribe and used by all. The marketplace cleansing was traditionally for infants and young children and was a normal occurrence experienced by most.

Sometimes it feels like here in the US we have lost our connection to spirit, but I know most people are deeply affected by this when given permission to bring it back into their lives. I feel that it is part of my path and my great honor to support others to find the magic in their everyday lives by tapping into spirituality, energy and ceremony. We all have the power to access the divine and in turn our very best self, it just sometimes gets forgotten or a little lost.

As I prepare for my next adventure, I am excited with all the possibilities of new experiences to come. I just found out I will be celebrating my 5 year anniversary in Bali, a deeply spiritual place. My boyfriend kept this trip a secret (how I will never know!) and we leave 2 weeks from today. Here’s to seeking adventure afar but also in our own backyard.