Ho'oponopono FOR HEALERS 10 PRACTICES FOR MASSAGE THERAPISTS, ENERGY WORKERS AND REIKI MASTERS
Do you ever feel like you ve invested so much in caring for others that you cannot care for yourself? Are you feeling drained, pained, poorly maintained? I think we, as healers, have all felt that way at one time or another. Recently, I received this message from a student: I feel like I'm taking on other people's energies. Am I just giving too much? It s one of the biggest downfalls of people who go into practice in the healing arts in general, not just massage therapy. We are nurturers and caretakers, so it's easy to get imbalanced with how much we're giving to others. We forget to consider how much we're giving to ourselves. I went to three of my great mentors to learn their perspectives on how we can keep from taking on other people's energies and what we can do when we realize we ve already taken something on. Ruth Kramer is an intuitive soul healer Roy Goya is a psychic medium and energy healer Kumu Mike Lee is a Kahuna and Hawaiian Star Priest I d love to share some of their insights with you. If you find yourself taking on energy from someone else, it may have to do with an imbalance within yourself. One way to recognize the imbalance is that you are not taking care of yourself. You re tired. Irritable. Angry or upset. Your emotions go to another level, and when they reach that certain level, your auric field begins to shift. In that shifted state, it s like an open invitation for these emotions to become their own energy that can easily spiral out of control. It s also a green light for energies from other people to be taken on. In this state of emotional disarray we are easily susceptible to internaliz-ing energies and projections from other people. When you step into the room, be crystal clear about which hat that you're wearing before you offer a healing session. Am I the business owner who just had a difficult conversation with an employee? Am I the parent who has to pick up the carpool and help with homework? Am I the practitioner? You have the power to set the energetic tone for your sessions by declaring your role.
You have to maintain your ability to ground yourself to this earth. Protection medicine can facilitate that grounding. You are just a guide to support in taking them where they need to go to release. But, if you allow yourself to take it all on and you also begin to travel into the trauma with them, who will bring you back? Together, they have inspired me to gather a series of rituals we call mana ola. Mana is your spiritual power. It's your energetic life force, and we each choose how we wish to put this power to use. We have the ability to raise our mana and we have the ability allow it to be depleted by the energetics of others. Mana ola is a practice of giving life force to your wellbeing. CLICK TO TWEET These practices have the ability to increase your mana on a daily basis giving vitality to your spiritual power.
1. Salt and Ti Leaf: Keeping a bowl of salt in the room or a planted tea leaf is a great way to shift the magnetic energy field in your space and keep the space clear. Place three ti leaf in water in a jar or a vase in your space to clean and clear energies. Remove and replace leaves every week to ten days. Dispose of leaves back to the earth. The salt also needs to be replaced every two weeks. Alternatively, it can be rejuvenated midweek or after one week by setting out in the sun for ten minutes at the hot part of the day to re-energize. Declare, 2. Set the intention for your sacred space: I m a neutral party, a holder of sacred space in this room, and that's who I am right now. Right now I'm calling in all my guidance. I'm calling in all my support. I'm very clear of my purpose for being here and what I'm meant to do and what is needed from me at this time. I welcome spirit to guide the work.
3. Create a movement ritual that keeps all your channels of energy open and flowing: When energy gets stuck in our joints, it can lead to pain. Some of the most common physical pitfalls of the massage profession is stiff neck, wrists (Carpal Tunnel), and shoulders (rotator cuff tendonitis). One way to avoid stagnant energy is to draw energy from the earth and allow the power to come from your core. Keep your joints open and expanded. Invite the energy to flow through you, translate through your body and transfer to your client. It might look like this: Reach your hands up to the heavens, inhale, and ask for support to come all the way through. Breathe the support down to your toes, bending forward and ground that energy all the way through your feet. Connect to the earth as you exhale. Remember- Reach. Inhale. Gather support. Forward bend. Ground through your toes to the earth. Exhale
4. Anchor while light: Imagine a white healing light coming down and anchoring you and the client to the earth. Before you begin your session, anchor in the light for yourself as the space holder for Spirit s work. When you sense an emotional release is approaching in your client (my tell tale sign is the feeling that I have to take a deep breath, this tells me that energy had begun to move for the client), anchor in the white light and just bring in pure energy. Holy energy. 5. Ground through wood: When you feel a shift happening, ground yourself by hanging on to some wood. I sometimes curl my feet around the legs of the table because the table legs are usually wood, or if you have talisman that's wooden or something from the earth like a grounding stone or crystal like; BLACK TOURMALINE, SMOKEY QUARTZ, BLACK OBSIDIAN, HEMATITE can also be helpful.
6. Breathe: Ha'a mo'o. Inhale for 7 counts, At the height of the inhale hold the breath 7 counts, Exhale 7 counts At the base of the exhale hold the breath once again 7 counts. Repeat this sequence 7 times to achieve a deep meditative state of listening to your inner guidance with intention. Before beginning, set an intention for any specific answers you wish to be revealed. This meditation was given to me by three of my Kumu. Aunty Mahilani Poepoe shared that this meditation was used by deep sea divers to be able to use minimal life force as if in a state of sleep to preserve their air and tolerate great depth for extended periods of time. Use this to achieve serenity and calm from the stresses of everyday life or to open to intuitive guidance available to you through connection with your inner mo o-dragon representing ancestral guidance.
7. Chant: Often times, we chant for others, but we forget that those chants are also for us. We infuse our chant with the intention that whatever energy is exchanged involves the very highest outcome, vibration and spiritual connection. One of our healing chants is the. E Aloha chant It talks about being love, being loving, being persever-ing, being energetic, being strong, being prepared or ready, joyful, and being in right alignment. Replace self-talk such as, I m so tired, My body looks a little flabby, or How will I ever get it all done? with E Aloha and feel new energy flowing through you! 8. Forge Protection Medicine: Infuse chant and intention into some kind of talisman that you wear, which symbolizes knowledge, wisdom, light, protection or whatever that might be for you. You can use your chants to embue heal-ing energies for the highest good into the talisman. You can also wear a medicine pouch on your person. I like to take a small strip of ti leaf and wrap a pinch of salt folding the two into sort of an origami triangle and either putting it in a pocket, sticking it in my bra, or placing it into a pouch around my neck.
9. Cut the cord: During a healing session, we are connected energetically to the person on our table. At the end of the session, cut the cord and send them off with love and light. Let Spirit take them the rest of their jour-ney. Say the words E komo mai Ke Akua Haaaaaa -come divine spirit and breath life and vitality into this session. Repeat this mana ola to the 4 directions, above and below. You may also do a quickie and say this one time with an exhaled breath offering the HA, face this exhale in the 6 directions. Cutting the cord is a practice to ensure that no energy remains with the therapist or client once the session is complete. 10. Gratitude Offer 5 Mahalos. It is always wonderful to dream and ask for what we want out of each day but we cannot forget be in gratitude for the richness of life that we have been given. Begin the day with 5 Mahalo, things for which you are grateful. Thank great spirit, the universal source, Ke Akua I o for the abundance of life s gifts. For those days when it feels like nothing is going right, find the gifts even in the midst of challenges along your journey offer gratitude for these gifts. Mana ola give vitality to your spiritual power and involve all aspects of wellbeing:
Well-being comes from a multi-faceted approach because we're multi-faceted creatures. This involves: eating a nutrient rich diet, getting plenty of rest, breathing fresh air, expressing and experiencing joy and laughter, engaging in expansive movement practices, practicing attentive mindfulness and quiet meditation, partaking of spiritual food. For some spiritual food could be as simple as listening to music. For some, it can be connecting with their spiritual tribe event eg. Church. Kirtan. Drum Circles, 5 rhythms, Surfing and many more! If you are interested in feeling more energised after your sessions, functioning at optimum levels as a massage practitioner, and in letting go of the worry of being too empathetic while in the energy field of others, I encourage you to put these Mana Ola to practice. Fill your cup of self care and Aloha so that you can continue to be a vibrant vessel of healing for others and allow spirit to move through you for the highest good of all.
About Ho'omana Spa Jeana Iwalani Naluai is a licensed physical therapist, massage therapist and native Hawaiian cultural practitioner. She is passionate about sharing her love of Lomi Lomi and the spiritual teachings <hyperlink to www.hoomanaspamaui.com/classes> of aloha with anyone who has a heart to learn. She travels around the world, impacting thousands of students with the mission of activating healers on their own unique journey. Jeana is the founder and Director of Ho'omana Spa Maui and Ho'omana Lomi Lomi Training. She lives on the beautiful island of Maui with her husband and their four radiant children. Jeana Iwalani Naluai Connect with us Share this with your friends www.hoomanaspamaui.com reservations@hoomanaspamaui.com