Journey to Wellness February 200

THEME FOR FEBRUARY: Energy Medicine

Hello to all my subscribers. I am always humbled by the fact that many of you have been with me for years. It is always my goal that each one of you find something interesting and helpful in each issue.

After ten years of producing Journey to Wellness, sometimes it seems that a particular issue almost writes itself. This is one of those issues. I feel so strongly about self-healing using the body's own energy that I decided to devote this entire issue of Journey to Wellness to this important subject. It is my hope that you find this information both helpful and enlightening.

The theme for next month's issue of Journey to Wellness will be supplements and nutrition. If you have questions you would like to see included, please send them to me at Betty@BettysHouseLifeAfterMS.com and I'll try to include them.

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A few weeks ago I had an e-mail from a reader asking me just what energy medicine is. As I began to think of how to respond, this issue of Journey to Wellness evolved.

All my life I have been a seeker, with an intense "need" to know and learn everything possible. As a young person it was general education. If I learned a little bit about something, I had an insatiable drive to learn everything I could about that subject.

As a young adult and parent, I became interested in nutrition and natural health. The first person who helped me in this quest was Jack LaLanne. Even today I am amazed at how accurate the very early nutrition information he taught turned out to be. At that time he had no scientific data to back up what he taught - just his own experience and intuition.

Then in my 40s I gradually became interested in what appeared to be synchronicities in my life, and I began to devour metaphysical and so-called self-help books. Psychologist Carl Jung is generally credited with introducing synchronicity, which he described as "The coincidental occurrence of events and especially psychic events (as similar thoughts in widely separated persons or a mental image of an unexpected event before it happens) that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality."

I found myself being drawn to other people who were interested in self-help books, psychology, and metaphysics, as well as the connectedness in all things and people. Once I opened that door I was rather driven to learn more. I read and studied the writings of most authors who wrote in this particular genre.

This is sort of the path which led me to learning about what is becoming known today as energy medicine. Before we proceed further, let's look at some relevant definitions:

        Energy:                     A usually positive spiritual force [the energy flowing through all people]

        Medicine:                The science and art dealing with the maintenance of health and the prevention,  alleviation,
                                              or cure of disease

        Soul:                          The immaterial essence, or actuating cause of an individual life; a person's total self

        Chi (Qi Gong)       Our life force/source
                or
        Prana (Yoga):

        Entrainment:        To draw along with or after oneself

       Intention:               What one intends to do or bring about

       Quantum Theory: A theory in physics based on the concept of the subdivision of radiant energy into finite quanta and
        applied to numerous processes involving transference or transformation of energy in an atomic or molecular scale -
        the foundation for the interconnectedness of all things

My own exploration of energy medicine, that is using the body's own energy to heal, has been a years-long, slow and arduous process.

I first became aware of the positive healing source of our body's own energy many years ago, and I learned to see the human aura, which emanates from every living person. I really didn't know how to interpret what I observed, other than that the person who is healthy has a more vibrant aura than a person who is unwell.  Our aura -- and everyone has one -- is an area of extension of our body's energy field which is usually several inches wide and surrounds our entire body. Incidentally, there is nothing extraordinary about seeing human auras. Once one knows what to look for, anyone can see them.

Think of when you look at someone and say to yourself that they don't look well. What you are really relating to is that their aura is "flat," or that their body's energy is blocked or low. When I see a flat aura, I know that person is not physically well.   Chinese medicine teaches that in a healthy person the body's energy is constantly flowing in and around the body, and that when we are experiencing dis-ease anywhere in the body that energy flow is blocked.

Our body's own energy is our innate internal self-healing system. The next step I learned was that we replenish our body's energy (healing system) through our breath.   That is the foundation for how important deep breathing exercises are as part of our natural lifestyle self-healing program. Basically as we inhale deeply we energize and/or "feed" our cells. Then as we exhale slowly, we relax and de-stress our cells. I first learned the importance of the breath in practicing first Qi Gong and then later Yoga.

I was introduced to both Qi Gong and beginning Yoga at the Deepak Chopra Center for Mind Body Medicine. I spent a week there as a resident patient shortly after my MS diagnosis.

Remember that energy medicine is the art and/or science of using the body's own energy to heal. In the last couple of months I have heard two of the best-known physicians and authors of our time, Memmet Oz M.D., heart surgeon, and Christine Northrup M.D., gynecologist, extolling the benefits of energy medicine, and suggesting that it is the medicine of the future. Both these famous physicians practice Qi Gong daily.

The third step in my own exploration of the power of our body's energy to heal came from my daily practice of Qi Gong, the ancient Chinese healing form of Tai Chi. I have read many books on the subject, and I have an extensive library of various video Qi Gong routines. Of all the videos I have, the one that I have benefited from greatly over the years, and that I still use daily and recommend, is the Tai Chi/Qi Gong for Seniors routine developed by Mark Johnson.

Qi Gong can be defined as a simple method of recognizing and moving the chi (the body's energy). (Remember that Chinese medicine teaches that dis-ease in the body begins with a blockage of the body's normal energy flow.)

I have read that there are approximately 150 different "movements" recognized as Qi Gong. From one practitioner to another there can be wide variations in the routines. Usually a practioner will only use perhaps 15 different movements in a routine.

In writing about her own practice of Qi Gong, Shirley MacLaine, in her latest book, Sage-ing while Age-ing, says:

"The movement itself acts as a healer because it redistributes the energy,
which contributes to the balance of my whole system."

Mark Johnson includes some excellent Qi Gong theory in the Tai Chi/Qi Gong for Seniors program. He teaches the importance of deep breathing, and he gives great emphasis to the innate healing power we all have in our hands, which brings me to the next important step I discovered in my exploration of energy medicine.

Quantum-Touch

A few months ago I received an e-mail from a reader of this newsletter, Martha from New Jersey. Martha asked me if I knew of Quantum Touch (QT), a method of hands-on self-healing. Martha is an R.N. who has MS, and she said she routinely used QT to help relieve her MS symptoms.

I exchanged e-mails with Martha, and she gave me the www.QuantumTouch.com website and suggested that I learn about QT from the website. The following is a quote from the QT website:

What is Quantum Touch? Quantum Touch is an energy healing modality that applies the principles of resonance and entrainment to facilitate healing. Practitioners learn to focus and amplify life-force energy (known as “chi” in Chinese and “prana” in Sanskrit) by combining various breathing and body awareness exercises. When the practitioner resonates at a high frequency, the client often "entrains" to, or matches, the higher frequency, thereby facilitating healing using the body's biological intelligence. Life-force energy affects matter on the quantum, subatomic level and works its way up through atoms, molecules, cells, tissues, and structure.

Martha told me that QT is very simple to learn, and in fact that anyone may learn the basics in a few minutes. She suggested that I might like to get the book, Quantum Touch - The Power to Heal by the developer of the system, Richard Gordon. After reading through all the material at the website, I ordered both the Quantum Touch book and Supercharging Quantum Touch by Alain Herriott.

In a couple of days my books arrived from Amazon and I was mesmerized by the technique. Immediately I recognized that the QT technique was a method of directing the flow of chi energy in our body that I already worked with in Qi Gong.

"The greatest discoveries are those we make about ourselves."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Mark Johnson, Qi Gong master and originator of the Tai Chi/Qi Gong for Seniors DVD program, teaches that the natural healing ability in our hands, but that it for the most part goes unused. QT offers a method of utilizing and multiplying that healing ability. Qi Gong teaches that our feet and hands are energy "gateways" to our body. It also teaches that we bring energy into our body from the earth.

I was amazed to learn that QT teaches that using the breath we can bring energy from the earth through our feet, "sweep" it through the body, and ultimately into our hands. That energy can then be transferred to various parts of our body. That is basically the process by which QT self-healing works.   The description sounds complicated, but it is really very simple. It really can be learned in a few minutes, and you will actually "feel" the energy in your hands.

As I practiced the QT technique more and more, I began to practice using it on my friends, mostly for pain relief, and it amazed me at how effective it is at relieving pain.

It can be easily described as increasing the energy flow (vibration level) in your own body using a simple breathing technique. Then when you place your hands on someone who has a physical issue or pain, their lower energy flow (vibration level) "entrains" to yours, thus increasing the energy in the area of their discomfort. I have yet to use it on anyone who didn't report almost instant pain relief.

As my belief in the QT system increased, and with Martha's urging, I learned the next step which is to send healing energy to someone, wherever they may be. You simply add an important aspect, the incredible POWER OF INTENTION.

Martha and I began to experiment with sending QT healing energy to each other. I would simply concentrate on sending QT energy to Martha in New Jersey while doing the breathing exercise to raise my own vibration level, and Martha would do the same for me. Initially I had Martha concentrate on the painful arthritis in my hands, and I would concentrate on the pain she was experiencing in her knees.

Even knowing that a chronic condition like the painful joints in my hands is more difficult to relieve, after about three QT sessions with Martha sending me energy I noted a marked decrease in the pain in my hands. Martha also reported that the pain in her knees was much less.   Initially we would set a time of day and would send energy to each other at the same time. Now we just send to each other for a few minutes every day (without specifically identifying an area of the body), whenever we can work it into our schedule.

The loss of my son Kevin 16 months ago to adenocarcinoma lung cancer spurred me to another spurt of learning about the nature of reality and all things related. During this process I have read dozens of books, a number of which I have reviewed in Journey to Wellness. Most are written by physicians, metaphysicians, quantum physicists and scientists of various ilks. One thing they all have in common is the belief that all life is inter-connected and has a common denominator, the life source which "powers" the human body. Most believe that life force energy is the soul and that since energy cannot be destroyed that life just changes form and lives on after we shed our human body.

Meanwhile our life force energy, which has been harnessed in the human body, is available for our use as the ultimate healing tool. That tool is equally effective for self-healing and for transferring healing to others. I hope you are aware of what a powerful truth this is.

                                       "Each day of your life is a journey YOU are creating"

In the field of allopathic medicine, there are experimental machines being developed to measure and enhance our body's own energy. It will be interesting to see how this field develops.

I sent Martha a draft of this issue of the newsletter, and her response follows. Incidentally, being "out on a limb" is not unusual for me. I have been doing it with the MS community for many years!

FROM MARTHA:

Thanks also to George and Cheryl for your notes. They really mean a lot.

Hi Betty,

I have just read through your new e-book, Four Steps to Overcoming MS. Bless you for writing this. I cannot tell you how much it has helped me. It is truly my MS Bible. I have the same Primary Progressive (PP) MS as you do. I had come to believe that I was doomed to a a life of progressive disability. THAT'S WHAT MY NEURO SAID! Now I know that I can stop that progression. Even my neurologist is amazed at how well I am doing. Thank you, thank you. I hope you continue to tell your story of hope for a long time. /S/ Joyce

Thank you so much, Joyce, for your lovely note. Just knowing that I have helped one person motivates me to keep plugging along. I am so glad to read your report. Thank you for sharing. I'm sure it will be meaningful to many others.

Years ago, in a hotel lobby in San Diego, Shoosh Crotzer taught me a seated version of the well-known yoga pose called a Sun Salute. I have given it in the newsletter before, and it remains one of my favorite ways to start my day. Many have told me that it seemed to complicated to learn. It really is very simple. Just print out the instructions, place the sheet in your lap, and carefully follow them. It is my hope that many of you who have not learned this pose previously will make it a goal to learn it now.

Step 1: Place your palms together at chest level in the prayer position. This is position 1.

Step 2: Inhale, then as you exhale, bend at the hips and extend your arms straight out in front of you, trying to bring you entire upper body between your legs, parallel with the floor, reaching as far forward as you can comfortably. This is position No. 2.

Step 3: Keep your arms shoulder width apart, near your ears if possible, palms facing each other and feel that nice stretch in your back. Keep reaching as you begin to inhale and sit up straight, stretching your arms up towards the ceiling, still shoulder width apart and palms still facing each other. This is Position No. 3.

Step 4: Round your back now and as you exhale, slowly round down over your right thigh, dropping your arms on either side of the leg. This is Position No. 4.

Step 5: Grab underneath your right knee with both hands, and as you inhale, sit up as straight as you can while lifting the bent knee towards your chest for Position No. 5. (Try not to round your back in this position and only lift the leg as high as is comfortable.)

Step 6: For Position No. 6, release the right leg as you exhale and round down, dropping both hands and head between your knees towards the floor, as loosely as possible. Be careful not to fall off the chair!

Step 7: Next, with the inhalation, place both hands on the chair seat near your hips, slightly behind you, and roll yourself up, pulling your shoulders back and stretching your chest open. If you can, look up towards the ceiling, but only if you know if this neck stretch is okay for you to do. This is Position No. 7.

Step 8: Now round down over the left leg as you exhale (as in Position No. 4, but on the other side) for Position No.8.

Step 9: Position No. 9 is lifting this left leg as you sit up (as in Position No. 5, other side).

Step 10: For Position No. 10, round down again between both legs on the exhalation (as in Position No. 6.)

Step 11: Finally, reach straight out in front of you for Position No. 11, and continue stretching and reaching forward, lifting your arms up and sitting all the way up with an inhalation.

Step 12: On the exhalation, for Position No. 12, slowly lower your hands back into the prayer position, sitting straight and relaxed.

NOTE FROM BETTY: The Sun Salute is the perfect way to start our day. I like to do it in my PJs, just after I get up in the morning. On first glance I know this routine may seem complicated, but it is really very simple. And it only takes 2-3 minutes. I actually do a couple of sets. I suggest you do it slowly and thoughtfully, and really feel the stretches.

This is my very favorite personal favorite modified yoga that Shoosh Crotzer has shared with us over the years. Please try it...I think you'll like it!

I absolutely do not believe one can prevent the tendency of MS to progress without a consistent gentle stretching and deep breathing exercise program. In addition one of the worst aspects of MS, acute fatigue, responds very positively to gentle exercise. Such a deal! And it really doesn't matter what level of disability one has. Many exercises can be done either standing, seated, or lying down. And deep breathing -- which is so essential -- can be done any time and any where.

Over the years I have evaluated personally many exercise programs, and the absolute best I know of are Yoga for MS by Shoosh Crotzer, Tai Chi for Seniors by Mark Johnson, and Gentle Fitness by Catherine MacRae. I am very confident in recommending them.

YOGA FOR MS AND RELATED CONDITIONS - I found this modified yoga program in the Yoga Journal about 10 years ago, and it remains a mainstay of my own exercise program. This program is recommended by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

TAI CHI FOR SENIORS - This is a simple, easy-to-do Qi Gong (chi gung) Tai Chi video program. It was the very first exercise program I found after being diagnosed with MS, and about 12 years later I still find it very beneficial and do it almost every day. This program complements the Yoga for MS routine beautifully.

GENTLE FITNESS - Catherine and I connected on the Internet about 8 years ago, and I ordered her Gentle Fitness. I find it an excellent program, and use sections of it together with the Yoga for MS program.

These videos make up my personal exercise library, and alternating the programs keeps me from getting bored. Together with deep breathing exercises for a few minutes at least a couple of times a day, and walking about a mile several mornings a week with my ExerStrider poles, weather permitting, not only keeps me fit and energetic, it keeps my legs strong and moving.

Each of these exercise DVDs are available for $29.50 each plus $4.00 shipping and handling.

FOUR STEPS TO OVERCOMING MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS is an easy to read, understand and follow e-book guide to the management of Multiple Sclerosis using the healthy lifestyle approach that I practice and recommend. It incorporates each of the four areas, exercise, meditation, diet, and supplements. This book includes an extensive recipe collection as well as an all inclusive guide to the Best Bet for MS food plan.

You may order any of the above by providing credit card information by e-mail to me, or by calling 800-651-3155 (in the U.S. and Canada), or $530-753-5595.

THE HEALER WITHIN is an excellent book by Roger Jahnke, a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, which I no longer carry in stock. You may, however, order it from Amazon.com. Just click on this Amazon link to order. The Healer Within is based on Qi Gong, the healing form of Tai Chi, and I highly recommend its simple movements. The best thing about this book is that all the movements may be done standing, seated or lying down.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement. You are all very special to me, and I hope each one of you has a great month. As I say so often, please remember to smile and laugh a lot, and to say "I love you" often to those you love. One never knows when we will be saying it for the last time.