Holistic Healing Strategies
What strategies will help me to heal?
Once you have the burning desire to heal your life, there are several holistic healing strategies that can help you along the way. They are:
Intention
Perspective
Commitment
Knowledge
Assistance
Physical Harmony
And Joy!
Intention – How will you approach your healing process?
Intention is the critical beginning of the holistic healing journey. It is your state of mind formed around a purpose, a singleness of mind that focuses your energy towards a particular outcome. Be clear and honest with yourself about your thoughts and feelings behind your healing process…
What is it that you want to gain from your healing journey?
What outcome do you want?
How do you wish for the journey to unfold?
Are you prepared to confront all aspects of yourself that require healing?
Is there any reason you fear being healthy?
Make a personal invitation to healing: invite it into your life, be grateful for your health as though you are perfectly healthy. If any part of you feels that you do not deserve or cannot be healthy, you are resisting healing and all your efforts will be like pushing a boulder uphill.
Strategies:
1 Write down your intentions before you begin in answer to the above questions.
2 Visualize your healing process unfolding with ease and grace, in the way that your soul intended.3 If you discover any major barriers to your healing, seek help from a professional so you give yourself the best chance of success.
Perspective – How do you view your illness or physical condition?
See your physical situation as a gift; a gift of learning and new opportunities for the future. You can choose to see illness as a call to wholeness which is the true purpose of healing. Appreciate your condition for what it can give you – a happier and healthier future. To heal effectively, It is important that you accept the following universal truths:
*** You created your physical condition due to disharmony in some aspects of your state of being.
*** You are meant to be healthy and disease-free. The human body was designed to function perfectly, free of sickness.
*** Physical disease is an opportunity to grow and learn about yourself.
*** You have the power to restore your body to its intended healthy condition.
Move from fear of the dis-ease to positive anticipation about what it can teach you, the opportunity for growth and a happier and healthier future. Ask yourself ‘What can this dis-ease give me?’ and ‘How can it enrich my life?’
Strategies:
1 Meditation helps to quiet the mind (that is, remove the clutter!) which makes it easier to see the bigger perspective.
2 Affirmation of the above truths will help cement your positive outlook. For example, “I am grateful for this opportunity to heal an aspect of myself and achieve alignment of my body, mind and soul.”
Commitment – Do you have the determination to reach your goal?
The holistic healing process requires core strength and determination to reach your goal. Often you will be taken on a tumultuous journey, exploring the deeply unpleasant recesses of yourself, in order to heal the wounds of your past. Absolute commitment to the end result is required to ‘weather the storm’ knowing that this is a necessary part of the healing process. How committed are you? Is there anything that can sway you from your goal?
Strategies:
1 Focus on the end result of perfect health – it will propel you forward each day. Visualize your goal through meditation.
2 Re-affirm your perspective through affirmations.
3 Have a support person who can provide encouragement and strength when you need it.
Knowledge of the Healing Process – Do you have a solid understanding of what the healing process entails?
It is essential to learn as much as possible about the holistic healing process by consulting experts and others who have been through a similar process. Case studies (people who’ve been there, done that and done it well) – whether you read about them or meet them personally – are a great inspiration and can help propel your own healing.
Strategies:
1 Training courses can be a great way to build your knowledge bank on different approaches to health and healing.
2 Books are an invaluable resource and they allow you to absorb information and learn at your own pace.
3 Your personal networks (that is, the people you associate) can be a powerful tool for healing. Make sure you are mixing with people who have something positive to offer your healing process, whether it is emotional support, personal experience or professional expertise.
Ask for Assistance – Do you have support from an ‘expert’?
Remember that you are not alone on this journey and that there are many people who have been successful in overcoming serious conditions. Once you orient yourself to the holistic healing path, you will attract people into your life who can assist you in some way. It is particularly beneficial to consult a practitioner who specializes in the holistic healing process so you ensure you are addressing all aspects of your condition. Assistance from a healing practitioner can assist you in releasing emotional and spiritual blockages that you may otherwise overlook or struggle to overcome on your own.
Strategies:
1 Talk to someone such as a close friend or family member about your situation.
2 Seek professional help from an alternative health practitioner who can support and guide your approach to healing.
Physical Harmony – Do you know your body?
Once you make a commitment to heal, you must make a commitment to listen to your body. This means knowing your body, what it needs and how it feels at any given moment. For example:
What do I want to eat?
Do I feel weak or tired?
Am I in any pain or discomfort in any part of my body?
How did my last meal affect my body?
Do my muscles feel tight or restricted in any way?
What sort of exercise does my body need today?
Your body is you barometer to healing so use it by asking these questions as often as possible. When you feel discomfort in your body, ask what will remedy it – exercise, rest, sleep, health-giving foods, massage, stretching etc. With time, you will find that you will become more sensitive to how your body is feeling and you learn how to best facilitate its healing. Trust your body and what it is telling you – its natural state is to be well so it will guide you to health.
Strategies:
Any physical activity that helps strengthen the mind-mind connection such as yoga, tai chi and qui gong.
Bodywork and Posture Correction & Integration are great ways of bringing your attention to the mind-body connection and how you can read what your body is telling you.
Seek Joy – Are you living a life of optimism and fun?
You cannot be healthy if you are not happy! The feeling of joy is incredibly powerful in the healing process. If you are in a situation that makes you feel bad, upset, angry, or sad, you need to do one of two things: change what you are doing and do something that pleases you, or, change your perspective so that you view what you are doing in a positive way. Being joyful requires you to be present. Seek activities that bring you joy in the moment.
Strategies:
Joy. Make the most of the Law of Attraction by being around things that please you, make you happy and bring you joy. This includes being around people who love you and uplift your spirit. Anything that you love including music, animals, nature, hobbies can uplift your spirit and have a wonderful effect on your healing process.
Presence. Be careful about nostalgia – whatever you remember about the past must somehow be bringing your joy in the present. Always come back to now and how you are feeling now.
What therapies can assist my holistic healing process?
On this page you will find a brief description of a variety of holistic healing therapies that are based on balancing the body, mind and soul. The aim of these therapies is to assist you in feeling more integrated, balanced, lighter, relieved, or relaxed after a session. The therapies can be used in isolation but are often most effective when used in conjunction with each other. You will notice that each of the holistic healing therapies work by facilitating our self-healing power, rather than being an external source of healing.
With each holistic healing therapy, you have a choice between seeking help from an expert or pursuing the self-help option:
Go With An Expert
Find a holistic practitioner or teacher and have a class or session to find out whether the approach suits you; or
Do-It-Yourself
Access resources – courses, books, DVD’s, CD’s – so your can teach yourself at home.
A combination of both usually works best!
Therapies – How do I choose which holistic healing therapy?
How you experience holistic healing therapies is very personal. In other words, people can seek the same therapy, even the same practitioner and experience very different results.
The best way to choose a therapy is to go with your heart feeling, or what you are drawn to, if you honor it, you’re likely to choose the right therapy for you at the right time. Once you are familiar with the different holistic healing therapies, it is best to try a variety of approaches until you find one or more that meets your needs at this time.
Remember, you can always change your mind and pursue something different. You can often have one session or do one class before you make a long-term commitment so have an open mind and don’t be afraid to try something that’s out of your comfort zone – you might be pleasantly surprised by the results!
Practitioners – How do I choose a holistic healing practitioner?
Choosing a practitioner is also very personal. One way is to go by referral – it may put your mind at rest to be referred to a practitioner by someone you trust. If you have the opportunity, try to build a rapport with the practitioner first so you can ascertain whether you will work well together. Also, ensure that the practitioner you choose is appropriately qualified in the area of expertise.
Often the practitioner as a person is of more significance than the techniques he or she uses. Make sure you choose someone who has the right approach to their work. Choose someone who is open, loving and caring towards you. This approach will facilitate your healing and is likely to rub off on you!
1 – Psychosomatic Therapy
Psychosomatic therapy is an alternative healing practice that uses the science of body-mind communication to balance the body, mind and soul. It is designed to increase self-awareness and facilitate emotional release through analysis of the face and body. For more information, go to Psychosomatic Healing Techniques.
2 – Hypnotherapy & Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a powerful approach to mind mastery that uses scientifically based methods to rewire the brain and consequently effect lasting changes in behaviour. It is based on the concept that there is no objective reality so our perceptions can change our lives in positive or negative ways. Seeing an NLP practitioner really is an educational experience as you can learn simple, highly effective techniques that you can easily apply in your daily life.
3 – Yoga or Stretching
Yoga is the ancient practice of uniting the mind, body and soul through physical postures or poses. It combines breathing techniques and meditation with slow, low-impact movements which is designed to stretch the body and calm the mind. Yoga has many dimensions and it is very relaxing for the mind and therapeutic for the body. As a holistic healing therapy, it has had proven effects on many health conditions due to its applicability to all people, no matter what their physical skill level.
4 – Tai Chi & Qi Gong
Qi Gong (pronounced Chi Kung) is the ancient Chinese practice of consciously moving life force energy (qi) throughout the body for the purpose of promoting health and longevity. It trains us to intentionally adjust and regulate the body posture, breath and consciousness and through various movements conducts life force energy through the body’s meridians. When practised consistently, it can have a profound effect on healing the body, mind and soul.
Tai Chi is an extension of Qi Gong as it integrates a series of flowing movements with the principles of Qi Gong. Both Tai Chi and Qi Gong have proven substantial affects on numerous health problems including diabetes, obesity, cancer and depression.
Acupressure is an ancient Vedic practice that opens the energy channels of the body through stimulation of certain areas of the body. Typically, it involves to press the surface of the skin at particular “acupoints” throughout the body. It aims to increase the life force energy and blood flow through these channels to accelerate healing. When applied by a skilled therapist, it is a safe procedure without side-effects that can enhance health and well-being.
Spiritual healing is a generic term for the type of energy healing that heals at the soul level. A spiritual healing practitioner works energetically with the client’s soul in order to invoke their self-healing process. It is especially useful for people who have had long-standing emotional blockages or issues relating to spirituality in general.
Chakra balancing is a form of energy healing that is based on opening the energy intake points of the body in order to facilitate energy flow throughout the body. Balancing the chakras is an approach to healing with energy. It requires a person who is gifted in sensing and manipulating energy so that the healing practitioner trained in chakra balancing will firstly evaluate the health of your chakra by determining their size and shape (chakras have particular dimensions which are considered to be healthy). Then, each chakra is ‘balanced’ or restored to its healthy state. When repeated over a course of treatments and combined with spiritual or other healing methods, it can be a very effective way of balancing the body and mind.
8 – Reiki or Energy healing Techniques
Reiki is an ancient Japanese healing practice that channels life force energy into the body to promote relaxation and facilitate its healing. A Energy practitioner will lay his/her hands on the area requiring healing and will consciously flow life force energy through that area which is often experienced by the recipient as heat. It is a simple yet powerful technique that is often used in conjunction with other health treatments to accelerate the healing process.
9 – Meditation & Relaxation
Meditation, the practice of quieting the mind, has been used in holistic healing for centuries. It has a profound impact on the body and mind and it has been proven to have tangible effects on the healing process. The purpose of meditation is to transcend the physical, emotional and mental stressors and become ‘centered’. It brings awareness to the peace that exists at our core, amongst the chaos of daily life.
10 – Emotional Release & Bodywork
Bodywork is a holistic healing therapy that differs from remedial massage as it uses particular pressure points throughout the body that are prone to storing repressed emotion. It is especially useful in the healing process because it can ‘unlock’ cellular memories from the past which would otherwise remain buried. For more information, go to Psychosomatic Healing Techniques.
11 – Kinesiology
Kinesiology is an alternative healing practice that uses muscle testing to determine the body’s healing needs. It tests the flow of energy throughout the body and identifies and corrects energy blockages. It can be used to identify blockages in physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of life as it is based on body-mind communication. Its major advantage is that it is always tailored to the needs of the individual so each body is treated differently and treatments can be more effective.
12 – Naturopathy
Naturopathy is an approach to holistic healing that aims to support and stimulate the body’s natural healing mechanisms. It combines various modalities including Western herbal medicine, nutrition and homeopathy and uses non-conventional methods to diagnose and treat physical imbalances. Naturopathy is considered a safer option to conventional Western medicine as it uses natural, non-toxic medicines and supplements rather than manufactured pharmaceuticals.
13 – Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy uses the oils of natural ingredients – primarily plant essences – to balance the body and mind. These oils are applied to the body (in diluted form) and inhaled to treat many physical ailments and promote relaxation. An aromatherapist is trained in the different properties of essential oils and combining them to meet individual needs.
14 – Nature Therapy
Nature therapy is all about getting in touch with the natural rhythms, animals, elements and beauty of nature. It can have a profound impact on the body, mind and spirit by gently harmonizing the body simply through being immersed its natural environment. Nature therapy may include understanding the healing qualities of animals and plants, ‘living off the land’ activities (such as manual fire starting, bush tucker, slow cooking, sleeping under the stars, attuning with lunar and solar cycles), earth-based rituals, and bush-walking and animal spotting. Nature therapy usually involves short or long periods in remote places, away from phones, internet, traffic and large numbers of people.
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