Mind-Body-Spirit Disciplines: Beyond a low-tech MRI

All that you see, smell, taste, hear and feel is made up of energy.

If you question this statement, ask yourself how an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine allows your doctor to look at the condition of your inner organs.

Our human bodies are made up of more than 70% water, or H2O…three atoms: two of hydrogen and one of oxygen. These three atoms form the water molecule, which has a small electromagnetic charge. When many water molecules combine, the electromagnetic charge gets larger, and can be called an “electromagnetic field.” It is this field that the MRI machine reads to make the image of your inner body.

In Odyssey, the mind-body practitioners work with the energy of your body. We “read” your energy using low-tech disciplines that draw upon thousands of years of human wisdom, and we work with your energy to help you bring awareness to what has been unconscious.

“I never learned anything I already knew.” — Peter Ralston

ACUPUNCTURE

Acupuncture involves assessing the energy balance of the body through pulse and tongue diagnosis, and stimulating particular points on the body, often with thin needles inserted into the skin. Acupuncture originated in China about two thousand years ago. Over the past three decades its popularity has grown significantly within the United States.

Traditional Chinese theory explains acupuncture as a technique for balancing the flow of energy or life force, which is known as qi or chi. Chi flows through pathways (meridians) in the body. By inserting needles into specific points along these meridians, acupuncture can rebalance energy flow.

Western practitioners try to understand how acupuncture works by viewing the acupuncture points as places to stimulate nerves, muscles and connective tissue. They suggest that the needle stimulation may boost the activity of the body's natural painkillers and increase blood flow.

COMMUNITY AND CLASSICAL ACUPUNCTURE

This approach to acupuncture is administered in a group setting, giving it several special features, including the advantage of being more affordable and allowing more frequent treatments. In Asia, acupuncture often is a regular part of an individual’s health care. People may stop at their local acupuncture clinic several times a week to sip tea, converse with neighbors and receive an acupuncture treatment. This approach to health has been manifested in the US as Community Acupuncture.

Classical acupuncture is an approach preserved as it was at the height of its development in the centuries spanning the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) through to the Song Dynasty (960–1279). It is based on the Classical medical texts of the Han Dynasty and enhanced by interpretations and approaches by the great masters who followed. These ancient texts, describing the progression of infectious as well as other diseases, are as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago.

RESONANCE REPATTERNING

The purpose of Resonance Repatterning is to identify the resonances that are creating an experience of limitation so that we may transform them in support of our highest purpose and vision. By viewing ourselves and our world as energy fields, we can recognize that everything we experience is vibration, a pulsating frequency. Our body/mind systems take in information as vibrations or frequencies, translating this information into what we experience as solid and real. What ends up as our “reality” has everything to do with the frequencies we are able to access, or what we resonate with. When we resonate with something, we select frequencies from the universal energy field that match our own. For example if we resonate with “life is hard”, we select frequency patterns that support this limiting belief, we continue to see life in this way, and continue to recreate the experience of a hard life. Transforming this resonance gives us a way to create a different possibility.

Another example: if our partner treats us with disrespect, we may discover that we are resonating with not being respected. Because we are interconnected energy fields, if we are holding that negative frequency, it leaves our partner little option to respond differently. Even if we were respected, we probably would not recognize it or be energized by it because we are unable to access that frequency. When we transform the negative resonance that we are holding, suddenly our partner’s behavior seems to have transformed. Resonance Repatterning was developed by Chloe Wordsworth after 25 years of practicing and studying many healing systems. She designed a practical application based on new discoveries in physics, the ancient knowledge of Chinese acupuncture, the chakra system and modern psychology.

JIN SHIN JYUTSU

Jin Shin Jyutsu brings balance to the body's energies, which promotes optimal health and well-being, and facilitates our own profound healing capacity. It is a valuable complement to conventional healing methods, inducing relaxation and reducing the effects of stress.

Jin Shin Jyutsu employs twenty-six "safety energy locks" along energy pathways that feed life into our bodies. When one or more of the paths becomes blocked, the resulting stagnation can disrupt the local area and eventually disharmonize the complete path of energy flow. Holding these energy locks in combination can bring balance to mind, body, and spirit.

Learning Jin Shin Jyutsu engages one in self-study and self-help. Through the process of "now know myself" we recognize the wisdom of the body, and we learn to interpret the messages provided and utilize them to restore balance.

Jin Shin Jyutsu can be applied as self-help and also by a trained practitioner. A Jin Shin Jyutsu session generally lasts about an hour. It does not involve massage, manipulation of muscles, or use of drugs or substances. It is a gentle Art, practiced by placing the fingertips (over clothing) on designated safety energy locks, to harmonize and restore the energy flow. This facilitates the reduction of tension and stress which accumulate through normal daily living.

For those of us addressing existing stress or health disharmonies, and for those wishing to participate actively in maintaining health, harmony and well-being, the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu is a simple and powerful tool.

STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION AND CHIROPRACTIC

Structural Integration is derived from Rolfing and works with the myofascial tissue that literally holds the body together. Unlike massage where the participant relaxes throughout the session, structural integration is an interactive treatment. For fascia to release requires teamwork. While the practitioner is manipulating the tissue, the participant is often being asked to stretch, breathe, and move to assist the work. This allows the body to be “in action” revealing where some fascia may still be “stuck.”

Chiropractic emphasizes diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system. While the main chiropractic treatment technique involves manual therapy, treatment also includes exercises and health and lifestyle counseling.