Reiki For Post-Traumatic Stress (PTSD)

I am delighted to have a guest blogger, Marcela De Vivo writing today on a much-needed topic: Reiki For Post-Traumatic Stress (PTSD).  In this time, whether we are dealing with physical trauma of a car accident or surgery, emotional trauma such as death or divorce, or for the countless now who have been involved in war or live/work in places that are as stressful as actual war zones, we need healing modalities like Reiki more than ever.

Reiki For Post-Traumatic Stress

Physical wounds can sometimes affect people by going much further than skin-deep. Trauma to the body can lead to unseen emotional or psychological distress that, if left unaddressed, can result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD can be triggered in a number of ways, however, not only by physical trauma. Anyone who undergoes extreme mental or emotional stress can be afflicted.

Without treatment, the anxiety disorder manifests itself in prolonged bouts of depression, anger management issues, sleeplessness and an inability to focus. These emotional and physical symptoms can interfere profoundly on a sufferer’s daily life, sometimes resulting in the loss of employment and support from friends and family.

Diagnosing and treating PTSD has been challenging, as this disorder has only just begun to gain understanding and acceptance. While traditional psychological treatments have had varying degrees of success, many of the affected have turned to alternative forms of treatment to address the symptoms plaguing them.

Many forms of bodywork have been found to alleviate PTSD indicators. Hands-on massage and similar techniques reduce cortisol production in PTSD sufferers and non-PTSD people alike. This is particularly important as individuals with PTSD usually produce high levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, keeping them in a constant “fight or flight” physical and mental state.

Unfortunately, not all PTSD patients may be willing to allow hands-on techniques to be used on them, especially if the trauma stems from a physical event. Reiki is a non-intrusive alternative healing practice that would suit these particular individuals. Allowing the clients to stay completely clothed, it can be done without any physical contact for those who prefer, Reiki provides the stress relieving and healing benefits of traditional massage and bodywork without adding to the stress of the patient.

Reduces stress

Similar to traditional massage practices, one of the greatest benefits of Reiki healing is stress reduction and relaxation. Reducing stress leads to a host of health benefits, including improved immunity, reduced blood pressure and better ability to heal.

PTSD patients often experience a great deal of stress due to their trauma—adding the daily stressors that the average person faces may become too much for them to handle, therefore, alleviating stress is imperative for those suffering from PTSD in order to gain control and continue on with their lives.

Reduces anxiety and depression

Research shows that Reiki can help reduce anxiety and improve depression symptoms. In a recent study, clinically depressed subjects who underwent Reiki treatments demonstrated both immediate and long-term improvements in depression, stress and hopelessness after six weeks of treatment.

Another study followed heart surgery patients who were suffering from postoperative depression, and were treated with Reiki after the operation. These subjects showed a complete elimination of the typical experience of depression.

People diagnosed with PTSD often suffer from prolonged bouts of anxiety and depression; alleviating these psychological issues allows them to move forward with other treatments as well as adjust to everyday stressors.

Begins the healing process

A reduction in stress, anxiety and depression allows the body and mind to start healing. Without a steady stream of stress hormones and negative thoughts, individuals with PTSD are able to address core concerns and improve general well-being.

Reiki also brings about physical healing, which contribute to improved mood and outlook. Patients who have undergone Reiki therapy report to have improved sleep quality, reduced addictions, pain relief and increased energy. The Reiki technique can also help those suffering from acute trauma as the treatment restores and balances the body’s natural healing energy.

As a gentle, non-intrusive powerful form of energy work that reduces anxiety and stress, Reiki helps trigger the body and mind’s natural restorative abilities. PTSD patients could benefit greatly from Reiki therapy through a reduction of psychological distress, allowing them to finally move forward on a path to healing.

Marcela De Vivo is a freelance writer from Los Angeles with experience in a wide variety of health issues, from special needs, alternative therapy, and conventional medicine. A level-2 Reiki practitioner herself, she’s seen first-hand the benefits this treatment can have on people.

Incorporating Young Living Essential Oils with Energy Healing

Incorporating Essential Oils with Energy Healing

I use essential oils because they work synergistically with the Reiki energies, on all levels, body, mind, heart and spirit.  There are some Young Living therapeutic oil blends  I use on my hands while treating almost everyone, such as:

  • Valor: I begin and end with this one (on myself in my morning ritual as well!) on the head, because it helps to balance the body, the right and left hemispheres of the brain, the masculine and feminine aspects of ourselves; it helps to ground and center, anchoring us to the earth plane, providing a foundation so we can soar.
  • White Angelica: I almost always use this next, on the shoulders and over the entire aura (outer energy field of the body), as it’s excellent for providing support and protection from the unseen realms, the angelic forces, and our guiding spirits and animal and plant allies.  It helps to clear and protect the aura of anything that will no longer serve.

There are several other Young Living blends that I use based on my intuition combined with the information presented by the client when we talk, including:

  • Peace and Calming: this is excellent for anyone who is stressed, dealing with anxiety, and for most of us who are so busy, moving and thinking quickly most of our waking hours.  It helps the nervous system to relax and unwind, and allows the mind to become more quiet.
  • Release: I use this for both physical and emotional release.  It is helpful when someone is holding on to emotions, afraid or unable to access them or let them be expressed and released; it is also wonderful for dealing with physical tension, tightness and stress.
  • Harmony: this is excellent for balancing the chakras, bringing all the systems of the body and mind into perfect harmony, and helping the spirit body to integrate and absorb all that is being offered energetically.
  • Forgiveness:  works extremely well for issues of guilt, judgement, long-standing resentments and anger toward someone or something that’s happened in the past. Even with our best intentions, it is not always possible to move into a state of forgiveness, and this blend helps us heal in other realms, in ways we cannot easily do alone.  Transcending the anger and hurt and moving into forgiveness is a major piece of healing the whole being.
  • SARA: this oil blend is helpful when there has been childhood trauma, often sexual or physical trauma, creating energetic blocks that may be contributing to pain and illness.  It gently helps to release and heal those past hurts, so that we can move forward toward acceptance, forgiveness and wholeness.
  • Joy: supports anyone in moving into greater states of joy and love, and can be especially helpful for those dealing with grief, anxiety and depression.

I’d love to hear if you have specific issues that you’d like to explore healing with essential oils. Let me know if I can answer questions or support you in any way!

To order Young Living Essential Oils, sign up to become a member here, and use my member number 553228.

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins

I was so happy to read this, as I have felt much (maybe all, except the part about chocolate!) of this to be true for many years, and I live my life with these principles in mind.  I don’t think this is simply about preventing cancer, but about creating wellness and enhancing our overall well-being, through our food, our beliefs, our habits.  Whatever you do choose to take into your body – ENJOY it!

This is not to say that everyone who follows these guidelines won’t have cancer, or that for one who does have cancer, you will be cured if you do this.  I have known many for whom that is not true, and we can’t always know what healing looks like, sometimes the illness itself is the medicine we need!

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer
cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have
multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients
that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after
treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the
cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable
size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a
person’s lifetime.

3. When the person’s immune system is strong the cancer
cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and
forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has
nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic,
but also to environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing
diet to eat more adequately and healthy, 4-5 times/day
and by including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing
cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells
in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc., and can
cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars
and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often
reduce tumor size.
However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from
chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either
compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb
to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to
mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy.
Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer
cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of
digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the
intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By
refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes
to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the
body’s killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system
(IP6, Flor-essence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals,
EFAs etc.) to enable the body’s own killer cells to destroy
cancer cells.. Other supplements like vitamin E are known
to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body’s
normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or
unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit.

A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior
be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put
the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to
have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated
environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to
get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

*CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc. are made
with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute
would be Manuka honey or molasses, but only in very small
amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in
color Better alternative is Bragg’s aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the
gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based
diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little other meat,
like chicken. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole
grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into
an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked
food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live
enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to
cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance
growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building
healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most
vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw
vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at
temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C)..

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high
caffeine Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer
fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or
filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap
water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

1. No plastic containers in micro.

2. No water bottles in freezer.

3. No plastic wrap in microwave..

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don’t freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food.