The Doctor Within: Tapping into Health
By Constance S. Rodriguez PhD
In this day and age of limited health care and insurance, wouldn’t it be great if we could simply consult our own inner physician? Actually, we can learn to do this. The way to do this is through what is being called energy medicine or vibrational medicine.
It’s premise is based on the notion that around every living and “non-living” thing there exists an energy field. This was first discovered in Kirlian Photography as the “phantom leaf effect.” Through this method, an entire leaf could be photographed after half the leaf was torn off. In other words the energy form around the leaf was still visible enough to be photographed. In a recent ISSEEEM conference (The International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine), doctors presented research with what is known as “the phantom limb” syndrome. In these situations, people who have lost a limb often come in to their doctors complaining of aches and pains in the missing limb. In this research they found that by actually manipulating or massaging the missing foot or limb, it helped decrease the pain. This has led scientists and researchers to acknowledge the human energy field as having a bonified place in Western medicine. Many alternative therapies are now being offered in Western medicine that incorporates the energy field of the human body. Some of these medical therapies include acupuncture and acupressure, cranial sacral work and energetic touch modalities. Large hospital corporations, such as Kaiser Permanente, and many physicians throughout the United States now include CAM, Complimentary/ Alternative Medicine.
Energy medicine or vibrational medicine has actually been practiced among healers for thousands of years. The laying on of hands is not a new concept in the healing arts. In fact, in Eastern medicine and practices, the understanding of the meridians and chakras as energy portals that emanate from the body have long been understood as doorways to health. These energetic portals and meridians are connected with our glandular systems and nerve pathway systems. Medical intuitives and authors, such as Barbara Brennan, Carolyn Myss, and Mona Lisa Shultz, have written that illness begins in the energetic field that surrounds our body. The human energy field must stay in balance to have a strong immune system that can ward off viruses and illness that are especially prevalent this time of year.
It also has been very evident in health fields that our thoughts have a profound effect on our ability to recover from illness, and hence our health and wellness. For example, the effect of prayer using placebo groups has been well documented in the healing time of patients as opposed to those not prayed for. Using the power of thought, you can try this simple exercise at home: Have a friend or family member be your “guinea pig.” Ask them to stand in front of you with their arm out to their side. Ask them to think of something that makes them feel happy. Now apply light pressure to the arm with two fingers on their wrist and you will see that it holds firm. Now ask them to think of something that makes them feel sad, apply the same amount of pressure and you should find that the arm feels weak and cannot hold the tension, easily moving down to the side. This is because the nerve pathways and meridians are affected by our thoughts. Our thoughts and those of others constantly bombard our immune system. We must stay vigilant to our thought patterns and find ways to keep our energy levels high, so that we are not affected by the chaos in the world, or by our own thought patterns.
There are several ways we can clear our bodies energetically and keep them cleared. One is through intention and breath. I will give you this exercise at the end of this article. It is one you can practice everyday anywhere. The others are to work with vibrational practitioners who know how to clear the energy that has accumulated around and in your body which create blocks to health and vitality. They can also direct you to the patterns you may unconsciously be doing that can create a weakened immune system. And a third way is to learn how to tap into your own health by learning simple tapping techniques that you can perform on yourself everyday. These methods are using the meridians lines of your body to clear energy, activate lymph glands and strengthen your own immune system. There are many therapies out there in psychology that target your thought field patterns based on the notion that our mind is clearly linked to our body and how we think and feel affects our health. Although I am unable to show you these simple techniques in this article, I will point you to Donna Eden’s great book on how to work with your own body. It is called Energy Medicine, and has literally hundreds of easy to use exercises to tap your way to health!
By accessing your own inner physician as an archetype, you are establishing a proactive pathway to maintaining your health and energy. This is not a substitute for medical care when called for, it is an adjunct to better health and living.
Breathing Exercise: Sitting upright in a chair, hands placed flat down on your thighs, begin with your breath. Imagine that you can direct your breath to the base of your spine. To enhance this exercise, try keeping the tip of your tongue on the top palette in your mouth. Through the inhale, imagine breathing up the back of your spine using your breath to clear the back of the chakras. If you don’t know where these are, that is okay, still intend to clear the energy by slowly breathing up the back of your spine. Now continuing- move up to about 4–6 inches above your head and hold your breath for a few moments. Next bring your breath down the front of your body, exhaling slowly and imagine that you are letting your breath cleanse your energy centers in the front of your body. When you reach the pelvic floor, hold your breath to the count of four, and repeat the process several more times. You will feel revitalized and have cleared the energy centers around your body.
Constance S. Rodriguez PhD, is an author and psychotherapist who combines energetic touch, and interactive imageries with psychotherapeutic techniques toward promoting health and wellness for her patients. See more about her and class offerings on her website: www.soulmatters.com. Her new book, Sacred Portals will be published late spring.
