Healing Touch and Being Present

Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of Energy Healing for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Do you incorporate healing touch into your everyday life?

Before reading Dr. Anne Marie Chiasson’s book, Energy Healing: The Essentials of Self-Care, I had thought or practiced small parts of healing touch methods. But, it was really just at yoga class or when I went to my masseuse who is trained in some of the healing touch styles about which Chiasson writes. I have never been one to make time in my day to breathe or meditate, but I think that is changing.

Dr. Chiasson, Board Ceritified in Family Practice, is a colleague of Dr. Andrew Weil at the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. She has had extensive practice and study in energy medicine and alternative therapies. In this book, she offers her readers with a comprehensive understanding of energy healing and the different cultures that have practiced it over the ages. In addition, she discusses different ailments, such as insomnia, anxiety, and TMJ that can be helped with healing touch practices.

One of my favorite parts of the book is Dr. Chiasson’s writing style. Much like her recommendations for us to take time and be present in our lives, she has a calm and natural way of writing. Chiasson presents information through anecdotes from her own energy healing practice experiences and those of her friends and colleagues. She has a gentle style that brings the reader into the book and allows for him/her to be open to the healing touch ideas that she is presenting.

In addition to a welcoming writing style, Dr. Chiasson does a wonderful job of presenting the different techniques, such as Shaking the Bones, Full Body Tapping, and various breathing styles. She talks about how each corresponds to chakras or dan tiens and the clear pictures and directions help the reader know how to put them into practice. She also describes when to use different practices and what types of ailments they can aid.

In the final sections of the book, Chiasson discussed awareness and receptivity. Tomato recently got a picture book called What Does it Mean to Be Present? and it details how important it is to be in the moment and open to what is happening. Chiasson encourages us to be aware of “What Wants to Happen” instead of resisting it and worrying about what may be. My yoga teacher encourages us to do the same in our practice. It’s not an easy mindset change in our culture, but it is an important one for which to strive.

I mentioned to my husband that I haven’t read a book in a while that has really made me pause and think about my own mindset. But, Chiasson has done just that. For anyone who is looking to think about their health from another direction, I would definitely recommend checking out this book.

Do you meditate or incorporate healing touch into your daily routine? Do you make an effort to be present and receive the moment as it comes?