Luminous Heart Reiki & Massage

We have so much information at our fingertips today that it can be overwhelming. If you’ve ever attended Google University seeking a self-diagnosis and treatment, you’ve likely come up with tons of contradictory information.

How I Healed XYZ in 5 Days

7 Easy Steps to Cure XYZ

The One Thing That Fixed Everything

Headlines like these abound. They often lead to confusion, frustration, and sadly even a worsening of the situation.

Why? Because they are addressing symptoms, not the root cause.

Let’s use insomnia as an example.

There are a gazillion reasons people don’t sleep well. It could be churning thoughts, physical discomfort, a lumpy mattress, a snoring spouse, or excess caffeine.

(Not an Ambien deficiency. You might find relief through a prescription, but the side effects often outweigh the benefits. Please consider exploring the underlying condition while you’re taking the pills so maybe you won’t need them someday in the future.)

Each of these causes will obviously have a different plan of treatment.

So when I read about someone who quit drinking coffee, improved their sleep patterns, and touts this as the number one cure, I’m a bit tetchy. I don’t even drink coffee, so who’s that going to help me?

Whether you’re dealing with insomnia or back pain (two conditions I’m intimately familiar with on a personal and professional level), psoriasis, headaches, or fatigue, there are a few things I can suggest that will always be beneficial as they help uncover the root cause.

1. Stress management. There are countless practices that help the body digest the physiological consequences of chronic stress. They will calm the mind, reduce tension, and support all the body’s systems.
2. Curiosity. Be your own detective and explore what’s going on in your life, in your psyche, in your body. If you’re trying to quit a problematic habit, get curious about what’s underneath and why you reach for the behavior or substance and how you might circumvent that pattern.
3. Compassion. Be kind to yourself! Especially if you’re struggling and suffering. Your inner dialog has a direct impact on your physiology. Berating yourself or stewing in resentment will increase your stress response, cortisol levels, tension, and inflammation.
4. Reduce exposure to toxins. Including emotional toxins in the form of unhealthy relationships, doomscrolling, and the compare and despair dynamic so prevalent on Instagram.
5. Presence. Learn to be with yourself, especially during difficult times. Develop a daily practice of turning inwards, with compassion and curiosity, and check in rather than checking out. This can be uncomfortable, so start small. Three minutes can go a long way.
6. Breathe. Obviously you are breathing or you wouldn’t be reading this. But what is the quality of your breath? Shallow and rapid? Can you drop into presence and cultivate a calming, nourishing pattern? Some people swear by “box” breath; I’m partial to extending the exhales so they’re slightly longer than the inhales.
7. Boost your life-force. This is big. And overlooked completely in our medical system. If you are chronically depleted, running on empty, burning the candle at both ends, taking care of everybody but yourself, your body will try to communicate its distress with you. I recommend listening before the consequences amplify!

Insight Timer is a free app and a wonderful resource for simple, guided practices that will help you do many of these things. I found the yoga nidra (a sort of meditation where you systematically bring attention to areas of the body) to be invaluable.

My all-time favorite and go-to remedy is Reiki. Reiki treatments offer an infusion of spiritually-guided life-force energy that relieves stress, tension, anxiety, and pain and promotes the body’s innate healing abilities.

It won’t, however, address your spouse’s snoring-like-a-chainsaw issue. For that you’re going to need some hefty earplugs or a separate bedroom. I’ve heard about successful elimination of snoring by diffusing sweet marjoram essential oil, or changing pillows or sleeping position.

While Reiki is amazing and can help with a lot of problems, it really depends on the root cause. It won’t make you sleep soundly after a late-night triple espresso, but it can help you build better sleep habits.

There is no such thing as a miracle cure. But there are numerous ways to address the root problem. All of them will require your participation and willingness to make changes.

If you’d like some support in this arena, you can use this button to book a session.