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Living a Better & Fuller Life with Energy Medicine
Each year, more than 100,000 people die from taking their medications as prescribed. As the field of medicine struggles with such intolerable side effects, skyrocketing costs, and diminishing credibility with the public, therapies that use more natural means are flourishing.
Of all these new therapies, Energy Medicine is one of the most credible approaches to have emerged. Based on healing traditions that extend back more than 5000 years (particularly acupuncture, yoga, and qigong), Energy Medicine recognizes that every cell in the body is a remarkably sophisticated machine that uses, generates, transmits, and receives energy. Techniques and practices that keep the energies in the cells, the organs, and throughout the body healthy, vital, and flowing not only maintain health but can overcome illness.
San Diego Native, Donna Eden (who originally studied at Mueller College), has taught the basic fundamentals of Energy Medicine around the world for over 30 years and returns home for the final 5-Day Basic Intensive Training she will teach in the United States (September 25-30, at the Bahia hotel & Resort).
“I will still be teaching classes (basic and advanced), but we have so many great teachers out there, that we have repackaged the information from a 5-Day class into four modules they can teach in their local communities. Renamed Energy Medicine 101-104 classes, these will be taught around the world by our certified teachers. Taking all four modules, gives the same knowledge as a 5-Day class, and satisfy one of the prerequisites for our 2-Year Certification Program.
Next year, after the San Diego course there will be a 5-Day class taught on a Caribbean Cruise in March and one final 5-Day taught in Cardiff, Wales, and that will be it for me at 5-Days. It’s an exciting time as our experienced teachers will share their knowledge through the modules and I get to teach other subjects. The demand for Energy Medicine classes grows every year and I turn down over 90–95% of the invitations I get, as I simply don’t have the time. This gives our teachers an opportunity to shine and allows me to reach out to groups and locations that have been missed in the past.
Donna emphasizes how your body’s abilities to heal a wound, fight off disease, cope with stress, respond to danger, communicate to you what it needs, and reward you with pleasure when you provide what it requests reflect an astounding intelligence that is totally independent of your mind. This bodily wisdom is contained not primarily in the neurons of your brain but in energy fields that mobilize your cells into action, that coordinate the strategies used by your organs to maintain your health, and that bathe you in an atmosphere of peace and joy when things are well or in stress and alarm when they are not. Energy Medicine shows you how to impact your body’s energies and energy fields in ways that markedly enhance your health and well-being.
Energy medicine is particularly important for women. For almost every health condition a woman faces, hormonal imbalances are in the foreground or in the background. Energy medicine shows you how to influence your hormones and improve your health, happiness, and vitality by using energy techniques that are accessible and easy to learn.
Dr. Christiane Northrup, in the foreword to Donna’s most recent book, Energy Medicine for Women, points out that not only are we as women innately sensitive to energy, we “are also the healers of our families. When women are healthy and happy, their families are healthy and happy.” As women become adept in working with their own energies, the whole world benefits. This is why Donna is so committed to bringing basic skills in energy medicine to every woman (and the men who love them) she can reach. As a first step, here are some sample Energy Medicine techniques that both men and women can apply right away.
The Metabolism Points. For example, many of us struggle at one point or another in our lives (like from 14 to 92) with our weight. Many factors are involved in maintaining a weight that is optimal for your body type. Metabolism is a primary influence. It seems unfair that metabolism would trump diet and exercise, but it often does. Metabolism is governed by an energy system called the spleen/pancreas meridian. Meridians are pathways that bring energy to specific organs or systems in your body. Acupuncture points sit along the meridian lines. It is harder to metabolize food or burn calories efficiently if the energies moving through the spleen/pancreas meridian are low. You can get your spleen/pancreas meridian to function more effectively by stimulating acupuncture points or other sensitive areas on your skin.
Two spleen/pancreas points that are very responsive to being tapped are found one rib below the base of your breasts, in line with your nipples. Simply tapping these points about 10 seconds before and after eating improves your metabolism. How cool is that! Tap vigorously but not hard enough to risk bruising or in any way injuring yourself.
The Brain Buttons. The spleen/pancreas points are one of three sets of points used in a simple routine for establishing and maintaining positive energies. I call it the “Three Thumps.” Another set of points in the Three Thumps is sometimes called the “Brain Buttons.” They have become known because they are so effective in helping children improve their learning skills. Tapping these points sends signals to your brain and adjusts your energies so you will be more alert and able to perform more effectively. They are juncture points, and tapping them affects all your other meridians, energizing you when you are feeling drowsy and focusing you if you are having difficulty concentrating.
To locate these points, place the pointer finger of each hand on your collarbone and move your hands toward one another until you reach the two inside corners of your collarbone. Drop straight down from these points to about an inch below your collarbone. For most people, there is a soft spot or indent there. Then breathe slowly and deeply as you firmly tap with your middle fingers for two or three deep breaths.
The Tarzan Thump. The other points used in the Three Thumps are over the thymus gland. Tapping them (think of Tarzan) is a simple technique that awakens the body’s energies, sharpens the immune system (your thymus supports your immune system), and increases your strength and vitality. When you lose your harmony with your body’s needs and design, your thymus’ surveillance mechanism becomes confused. Thumping the thymus helps stimulate and reset it. To do the Tarzan Thump, place the fingers of either or both hands in the center of your sternum, at the thymus gland (about two inches below the Brain Buttons) in the center of your chest. Using all your fingers as you tap firmly, breathe slowly and deeply, in through your nose and out through your mouth for two or three deep breaths.
All Together Now. Tapping your Brain Buttons, Tarzan Point, and Spleen Points (it is usually done in that order), each for about the length of two or three deep breaths, has a cumulative effect in helping with mental sharpness, immune functioning, and metabolism. Do it once or twice each day. You can extend the benefits of the Three Thumps by following the routine with a “Cross Crawl.” Simply march in place for with exaggerated motions for about 30 seconds (begin by lifting your right arm and left leg high, simultaneously, and continue to march).
This facilitates the crossover of energy between your brain’s right and left hemispheres and also helps and establishes and maintains necessary crossover patterns throughout your body. Most people find the Three Thumps/Cross-Crawl routine to be energizing and to help them think more clearly, move with better coordination, and live with enhanced vitality.
Using these simple exercises daily will enhance your quality of life. The challenge to overcome is that your body’s energy systems can get stuck and you need to retrain them to learn new patterns that work towards restoring balance. The more you practice these exercises, the more your body will benefit.
Since childhood, Donna has been able to see the flow of the body’s energies, and from this clairvoyant-like ability, she has developed a system (using exercises such as these) for teaching others, who do not have this gift, to productively work with their body’s energies.
“I have since taught many thousands of people how to manage their own energy systems. I do not know of a more important skill to develop. The first practitioner of energy medicine is you. We are required today to live in conscious partnership with our body’s energy systems if we are to live fully. And it is easier than you might imagine to learn how to mobilize inner forces that enhance your health, empower your mind, and literally brighten your spirit.”
The applications of Energy Medicine actually extend far beyond the health care setting, into business, education, government, spiritual development, and family life – everywhere that people wish to be more effective, vital, and creative.
Energy Medicine can be self-applied or administered by a trained practitioner. It can address physical illness and emotional or mental disorders, and it is also used to promote high-level wellness, peak performance, and joyful living.
Donna Eden is among the world’s most authoritative spokespersons for Energy Medicine. Her bestselling book, Energy Medicine, is the classic in its field and translated into 15 languages. Its sequel, Energy Medicine for Women, was the U.S. Book News 2008 Book of the Year in the women’s health category. According to Christiane Northrup, M.D., “Donna Eden is one of the most joyous and effective pioneers in the rapidly expanding and vitally important frontier called Energy Medicine.” This article was adapted in part from Energy Medicine for Women (New York: Tarcher/Putnam, 2008). Learn about her books, DVDs, upcoming training, and her 2-Year Certification at www.LearnEnergyMedicine.com