Choosing the Gentle Path

By Allison Runchey, HTCP

One evening last week I found myself faced with the choice of whether to swim as I often enjoy doing, or rest because of some manageable yet persistent joint pain. I chose to rest. This may sound like a simple choice, but it echoed larger energy patterns and led me to see that I needed to take a gentle path not only that night, but in many areas of my life.

Maybe you’ve had an example like this in your life, too - a seemingly small decision where you let go of a plan or agenda when circumstances changed, rather than pushing forward at all costs.

Image by jplenio from Pixabay

Taking the gentle path allows us to not only feel immediate relief when we’re tired, in pain, or stressed, but it restores and builds energy for the future. Although energy – or life force – is unlimited, our personal ability to access and use it for our wellbeing changes over time depending on our choices. If we tend to expend a lot of energy through chronic working, busy-ness, and activity, we may not allow ourselves to receive enough in-flow of life force to experience a sense of wholeness, clarity, vibrancy, and health.

This is a life-long lesson for many people, and it takes courage. We may know inside that we need rest and rejuvenation, and yet there are expectations, deadlines, or plans that pressure us to keep going. Choosing the gentle path may mean finding ways to open up a space for the energies of kindness and compassion to surround our actions toward ourselves and others. This may take some creativity and look different for everyone.

What does your gentle path look like today? What restores your life-force, your energy?

May we each find the courage to choose a gentle path today.

Inspiration

By Allison Runchey, HTCP

Have you felt excited to take action in your community, create art, or write in a journal? Or the opposite, felt that you needed or wanted to do something but came up blank? As I sat down to write this article and found myself searching for inspiration, I decided to look deeper into the phenomenon of inspiration itself and share some thoughts on it.

From a holistic perspective, inspiration has physical, spiritual, and mental layers, some of which we may notice more than others. In the body, it can feel like a burst of energy, a sense of aliveness, or feeling of being grounded right where we are. Spiritually, it brings enthusiasm, authenticity, meaningful direction, and connection to the divine or something greater than ourselves. And on a mental level, inspiration creates heightened alertness, imagination, and the ability to focus.

I find it interesting that inspiration can come from both good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant experiences. On the one hand, it’s inspiring to be with people or pets we love, see a beautiful picture, read an interesting book, or follow up on something that piques our curiosity in a positive way. On the other hand, aspects of life or the world that we don’t like, injustices, and feelings of anger or compassion for another’s suffering, can all inspire actions that lead to change.

Once we’re gifted with inspiration, what do we choose to do with it? Taking action right away can be fulfilling and build momentum toward even greater aspirations, if we have time - or ability to make time - to follow our insights. But sometimes it’s not that simple. Other aspects may come into play when deciding what to do with inspiration, including doubts and fears that our ideas aren’t “good enough.” If that happens, we run the risk of ignoring our soul’s calling or feeling stifled. On a practical level, maybe we’re busy with other commitments or don’t have the resources to take action. In that case writing down the idea or taking a picture can capture the spark so that the fire of imagination can be reignited later.

And that leads me to a closing thought - however we find inspiration and whatever we decide to do with it, may it lead us to create or re-create our lives and our world with joy, health, and peace for all.

Release: Simple ways to free your energy and move through your day

By Allison Runchey, HTCP

Image by Mohamad Hassan, via Pixabay

I’ve often heard people describe their energy as “stuck” or “blocked” when they feel something weighing heavily on their mind or in their heart. This sense of being weighed down can show up alongside sadness, fear, or tiredness. It’s common for any of us to feel that our energy level is low, held back, or sluggish from time to time, so thought I’d share a few ideas about it here.  In addition to Healing Touch sessions to restore a natural flow of energy, there many things you can do on your own to release tension in everyday life.

An underlying concept that’s helpful to keep in mind is that energy is neutral, neither good nor bad. Having a sense of neutrality about “stuck” or “blocked” energy can relieve any underlying judgement about it and foster an attitude of compassion and acceptance.  Also, energy cannot be created or destroyed, but sometimes it can be congested in certain areas of the body. I like to compare it to a stream when too many branches and leaves fall into it, or a highway with too many cars. In both cases the flow slows down with an excess of energy in one place.

Knowing this, what can you do when your energy feels tightly bound? Below are four ways to free it up. Everyone is unique; I invite you to be curious and experiment with these, modifying them to fit your needs.

• Engage your muscles or your spirit: Take a walk or listen to your favorite music. It doesn’t have to be for a long time, even a few minutes can make a difference. Either of these actions can build momentum - physically or spiritually - and shift you into a higher level of energy to move forward with your day. Doing both together can multiply the benefit.

• Use your hands: Sense where you feel “stuck” or “blocked” in your body - perhaps it’s your shoulders, chest or belly. Place one or both hands gently on that area with an intention of warmth and kindness. Allow a few minutes for the muscles to soften and tension to be released.

• Breathe: Using the ever-available power of your breath, imagine that you are breathing in and out the place in your body where you feel unease or heaviness. Then picture your breath flowing through your entire body and out into the space about 1-3 feet around you. This can be done with eyes open or closed anytime you have a moment to be quiet, whether you’re alone or in public.

• Shake it off! Literally, stand up and move your arms, legs, or whole body for a minute or even just a couple seconds. Try doing this a few times, resting in between, then see how you feel.  Shaking is one of the body’s natural ways of discharging excess energy and restoring a sense of ease and balance.

Did you find one that works for you? You’ll know it if you feel a bit more uplifted in your outlook, able to move through your day, or lighter in your body or soul. Still needing help to release what feels “stuck” or “blocked”? We’re here for you. Find support by scheduling a Healing Touch, Vocal Healing, Tapping, Coaching, Somatic Experiencing, or Therapy session.

Snow...an Invitation to Accept Complexity

By Allison Runchey, HTCP

Looking outside after a recent snowfall, I noticed my thoughts went first to the logistical challenges of driving and how much extra time I’d need to get to my destination. But as I gazed a little longer, I started to be curious about the healing properties of snow. After all, it’s made of water just like rain, which is known for it’s soothing and cleansing qualities. So how about snow?

Image by Franz Bachinger

Depending on our age, life experience, or plans for the day, a snowy morning can bring a wide array of emotions. Kids might become especially joyful to play outside in the fluffy white wonderland, and skiers may delight in rushing down the slopes. Others might be wary of falling on the ice or feel bogged down with shoveling.

Whatever our initial reactions, a fresh snowfall offers opportunities to support our personal healing as well as the well-being of our environment. Because it contains the entire color spectrum, the color white can symbolize the spiritual concepts of wholeness and possibilities – concepts that help build a sense of meaning and hope in life. And noticing how it covers the entire landscape in a pristine blanket of brilliant light can bring feelings of calmness, appreciation, and awe. Looking at it from a broader perspective, the sparkling reflection from snow balances the entire energy of the Earth. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, it helps keep the planet cool by reflecting solar energy back into space.

By combining these healing properties with the realities of shoveling, driving, and icy sidewalks, perhaps snow is a reminder to open up to the complexities of our world. Rather than seeing it as all good or all bad, maybe there’s a hidden message in snow, asking us to cherish the uplifting aspects of life while doing the work needed to address the challenges we face.

Turning Down the Power of Pain

By Allison Runchey, HTCP

Whether you have a sore hip, shoulder, knee, or some other type of physical discomfort, pain can be draining emotionally and mentally. It can often limit daily activities and even influence life choices. If you’ve experienced this, I can relate to you because I’ve been there. For several years, chronic pain made it difficult to do things I enjoy, like taking a walk, dancing, and swimming. After trying several ways to address it, I found Healing Touch. It helped reduce the power that pain held in my life on physical, mental, and emotional levels, and continues to soothe flare-ups. And that’s one reason why I’m passionate about sharing it with others. 

Pain can be triggered for many reasons, such as an illness, injury, or trauma. Whether you recently had surgery or cancer treatment, or if you’re a trauma survivor, several research studies have found that Healing Touch can help reduce pain you as you recover.  

Through light touch on the body and in the energy field surrounding it, Healing Touch takes a gentle, holistic approach and is complementary to any other methods you may be using to manage pain. It restores the flow of subtle energy to the affected area, which is often constricted as our bodies naturally attempt to protect us from pain by tightening the muscles or holding a certain posture. From there, Healing Touch techniques can be used to treat the entire body, as well as the mind and spirit, acknowledging that many factors may be contributing to pain and bringing them into harmony energetically. 

Most clients experience deep relaxation during Healing Touch sessions, which allows greater blood flow to major muscle groups and eases tension. Another theory for how Healing Touch improves chronic pain is that it changes the sensory dynamics of the brain. According to this model, chronic pain is related to maladaptive ways that the brain perceives the painful body parts. Oppositely, techniques such as Healing Touch initiate beneficial changes within the brain by treating the entire body, guiding the person’s focus to non-painful areas through gentle touch. This broadens and changes how the brain experiences the body as a whole and contributes to pain reduction. 

If you’re curious about how Healing Touch could help you, or want to learn more, I’d be glad to talk with you. Sign up for a free Energy Exploration session, or email me at allisondawnenergyhealing@gmail.com 

Harmonize with Nature by Taking a Nap

By Allison Runchey, HTCP

As the longest night and shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice on December 21st is a nature-based holiday honoring the relationship between light and dark. I appreciate the weeks before and after this special day as a time of inner stillness, when we have the least exposure to one of our greatest sources of energy—the sun. With more darkness, it’s easier to embrace our natural need for rest, allowing our bodies, minds, and spirits to pause. Just as bears hibernate and trees enter an energy-saving mode to survive the winter months, we can become attuned to the subtle power of the season by slowing down.

There are many meditative techniques and self-care actions that can help us move through life at a slower pace, and I’d like to suggest a very simple and practical one—taking a nap! Whether 15 minutes of rest with your eyes closed, or an hour or two of deep slumber in the middle of the day, a winter nap can bring your energy into harmony with the relaxed rhythm of the natural world.

Using Guided Imagery Meditation to Direct a Busy Mind

By Allison Runchey, HTCP

On a busy day, if you find your mind working hard analyzing everything around you, remembering the past, or creating stories about the future, thoughts can seem like race cars zipping this way and that. They can feel like a traffic jam with no direction.

Artist: Aristal Branson

Enter guided imagery: a form of meditation that invites specific images or visual concepts into the mind to foster emotional, mental, or physical well-being. It may include vivid scenes, colors, sounds, or sensations.  Rather than trying to clear the mind, which is challenging since thinking is a natural part of being human, guided imagery gently focuses our thoughts in ways that can relieve stress, increase vitality, and tap into inner wisdom.

Author and meditation teacher Belleruth Naparstek shares key principles about why and how guided imagery works in her book, “Staying Well with Guided Imagery: How to Harness the Power of Your Imagination for Health and Healing.” One core concept is that our bodies respond to images held in our minds as if they were really happening. This is why we often feel hungry after simply seeing a picture of a favorite meal, or we might notice our muscles getting tense when watching a dramatic movie. Another principle discussed is that when we’re in an altered state of consciousness we have a “greater capacity for intense healing, growth, learning, and change” (p. 22). By using a calm, yet active and concentrated awareness, guided imagery draws us into a type of altered state in which we can access an expanded sense of wholeness. A third important aspect is that using guided imagery is a choice, something over which we have control to start, stop, or change at any time. This form of personal empowerment and sense of mastery can, in itself, improve our ability to cope and optimism about the future.

I often incorporate guided imagery into Healing Touch sessions as a way to expand, heal, balance, or release energy. Because energy follows intention, introducing images that align with the client’s vision of health is a powerful force in the healing process. It uses the language of metaphor to go beyond logic and into the realm of intuition, memory, and the soul.  

Infinity Symbol: The Shape of Harmony

By Allison Runchey, HTCP

From a young age, we begin to recognize shapes and attach meanings to them. Hearts, stop signs and arrows are a few common examples, as well as religious symbols like a cross or star of David. There may be certain shapes we feel drawn to, or that carry emotions or memories for us.

A symbol that holds special meaning for healing is the lemniscate, more commonly known as the infinity sign or figure eight. As a variation on two circles with an intersecting point, it represents harmony and creates peace between opposites. It “reminds us of the flow of life, always returning to center and the importance of balance.” (Cynthia Hutchison).

The infinity symbol can be especially helpful as a holistic meditation tool to integrate various aspects of life. Personally, I like to use it when I feel tension between two parts of myself, or between me and another person or situation. Here are a few ideas to try:

Set an intention for experiencing peace within yourself, or in relation to another person or situation of concern.

• For those who are visually inclined, draw an infinity sign on paper and trace it with a pen or your fingers for several minutes. By crossing the midline of the body with your eyes, this requires the left and right sides of the brain to work together.

• For those who prefer physical movement, walk as if you are following an imaginary path shaped like a large figure 8 a few times. You may want to do this at a slower pace than you normally walk to encourage physical balance (and prevent dizziness).

• Or, for those who resonate with an energy-based approach, picture a vertical infinity sign with a moving point of light. Start at your heart center and see the point of light travel up around the head, back through the heart, down around the lower trunk, and return to the heart. You could also use your hand in front of your body to follow this pattern of energy. This method can be useful to align thoughts, emotions, and actions into a state of wholeness.

When you feel a sense of completion, take a moment to notice any shifts in your mind, body or spirit that have occurred as a result of using the infinity sign. There are many ways this powerful symbol can deepen our personal healing practice and harmonize how we relate to the world. You may find your own unique way, or for more ideas check out these resources:

The Power of the Infinity Symbol by Barbara Heider-Reuter

Sacred Geometry applied to Energy Therapy throughout Life Cycles by Cynthia Hutchison

Achieve Relaxation through Healing Touch

By Allison Runchey, HTCP, MA in Holistic Health Studies

If you have ever felt worried about a past or future event, you may have been told to “just relax,” or perhaps you have said those words to yourself. How well did that work? Sometimes a quick reminder is all we need to calm down and feel better, but it’s not always so easy. First, it’s important to be in a space where you feel physically and emotionally safe enough to let your guard down. And second, to feel a level of acceptance and trust from whomever you are with at the time–whether a practitioner, a loved one, or yourself. This sense of safety and acceptance can be found in multiple ways, one of which is through Healing Touch.

Healing Touch can be done seated, standing, or lying down, with eyes open or closed. It’s flexible, meeting you at whatever level of tension you may presently feel, and moving toward a frequency of relaxation. By incorporating guided imagery, gentle touch, and clearing the biofield around the body, it builds a memory in your nervous system and an energetic imprint of harmony and ease. This memory or imprint can be drawn on anytime you want to re-experience relaxation later, like when you are trying to sleep or preparing for public speaking. Learning to release tension and tune back into calmness is a skill. Just like playing a new sport or learning a musical instrument, relaxation can become easier and more familiar with practice and time. 

Recently a client who was struggling with anxiety and difficulty sleeping asked me, “Do I need to hold still during a Healing Touch session?” The short answer is, “yes and no.” The longer and more complete answer is that while it’s good to move your body as much as you need in order to feel comfortable, it can be helpful to have moments of stillness when your muscles are free of tension. Physiologically, softening the muscles and becoming quiet can be likened to taking your foot off the gas and coasting. It shifts your body and brain toward a state of rest and balance, physically and mentally, activating the parasympathetic nervous system. This type of equilibrium opens energy pathways that promote greater health and well-being, making Healing Touch more effective.

Gratitude: Finding balance in the present moment

by Allison Runchey, HTCP

Gratitude gets a lot of attention as a way to improve our mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. Indeed, it has many benefits documented by researchers at UC Berkeley who’ve studied the science of gratitude. These include reducing burnout, depression, and signs of inflammation, while increasing life satisfaction, sleep quality, and resilience.

Yet sometimes this seems too simple or too good to be true. It can be easy to doubt the power of gratitude, or it can be misunderstood and used as a way of avoiding or pushing away difficulties that need to be addressed. But maybe there is another approach, one that uses gratitude to balance the energy of a painful situation and build the inner resources to move through it with greater ease.

When feelings of struggle or frustration come up, try noticing something you’re grateful for in your immediate surroundings. Any little thing to be thankful for in the moment will work. Bring the thought of it into the body, as if planting it in the heart center like a seed, then allow the sensation to grow. This grounds us in the present and brings the powerful energy of the heart into the picture, opening us to higher states of appreciation and love and giving us the capacity to meet challenging situations as they arise.

In many healing traditions, the heart is the place of balance and transformation. When the heart is open,we can see “the uniqueness and inner beauty and light in each individual [or circumstance] as well as the negative or underdeveloped aspects” (Barbara Brennan, Hands of Light, p. 76). By acknowledging gratitude side by side with difficulty in this way, we can move authentically toward a greater sense of wholeness within ourselves and harmony with the world around us.

Feeling Sluggish or Stressed? Connect With Tree Energy to Renew Your Sense of Ease

By Allison Runchey, HTCP

For many people in today’s world, life includes a fair amount of time sitting still, often in front of a screen, concentrating on a task with our eyes and brain. Whether it’s a video chat with a friend or colleague, tracking the latest news, or driving, our energy can become stagnant or sluggish. The following short energy healing ritual with trees is a practice I’ve used to relieve mental fogginess and stress, especially after working on a computer. I offer it here as a way to renew your own sense of ease in life, whenever you want to rejuvenate your mind or body, or simply need a break.

• Find a natural, wooded area away from busy streets or highways. The more secluded and private, the better.

• As you walk into the area, leave the activities of the technological, mechanical world behind. Let any fears, anxieties, or pressures that you’ve experienced stay outside the wooded area.

• Let your gaze be soft. Become aware of your footsteps and the way your arms move as you walk.  Feel your feet as they make contact with the earth. Notice the color of the trees, temperature of the air, and any sounds you hear.

• Affirm that you are protected, nurtured, and healed by the power of nature. In your own way, connect with a source of strength greater than yourself and tune in to the rhythm of your breath.

• Choose a tree and stand or sit with your back against it. Align your spine with the tree and make as much physical contact with it as you can.

• Be still and take several deep breaths. Feel the energy of life that flows through the tree and allow it to flow through you, too. Stay until you feel ready to leave.

• As you walk away from the tree and out of the woods, give thanks for the trees and for healing. Extend gratitude for the ability to be here at this place and time.

• Carry the gentle, peaceful, and life-giving energy of the trees with you as you return to the world.

Water, Energy, and Change

By Allison Runchey, HTCP

This has been a rainy summer, bringing gifts of luscious green grass and trees. But at times the rain has been too much, flooding the rivers. Seeing both the beauty and the devastation has made me think about the relationship between water, energy flow, and change.

While walking near a stream recently, I noticed how the flow of both water and energy can be changed by the environment around them, like when water flows around a rock. Similarly, our habitual thoughts, emotions, and physical bodies can create an energetic environment that affects how much or how little energy flows through us, and in what ways.

Looking at it from another perspective, water and energy can slowly make changes to their environments over time. The rough edges of that same rock in the stream can be smoothed out as water continuously flows over it. When we consciously change how we choose to direct the flow of energy through us over time, we can likewise bring about intentional changes in our bodies, minds, and emotions.

Perhaps there is a sacred paradox. Our level of mental, emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing changes our energy. At the same time, we can purposely guide the flow of energy within and around our energy fields to positively influence our health in a variety of ways.

That’s one of the things I love about Healing Touch. It acknowledges the wisdom of energetic patterns that already exist within a person’s energy field, while simultaneously facilitating gentle shifts in energy that can be felt in practical ways, based on one’s personal intentions for healing. Many clients say they feel a greater sense of peace, clarity and relaxation, with fewer symptoms of pain or stress. As a practitioner, I’m in awe of how this happens naturally during sessions with clients. But that is only the beginning. I also share self-healing techniques that clients can practice on their own to further encourage healthy energetic flow. It’s an honor and a joy to see clients tap into their inner capacity for wellbeing and wholeness.

Recycling excess energy and finding your unique grounding style

by Allison Runchey, HTCP

Being grounded…getting grounded…staying grounded. These phrases are used a lot when talking about wellness, living a balanced life, and recovering from trauma. What do they really mean? There may be as many answers to that question as there are people. “Grounding” is commonly used to describe actions that we can take to counteract challenging emotions or thoughts, and to tap into a sense of security and clarity. Just like an electrical circuit needs to be grounded to the earth to allow a safe path for excess energy to escape, we too need to be grounded to let our own excess energy–perhaps experienced as worry, tension, or scattered thinking–to be released. Rather than forcing this excess energy away, I like to imagine gently encouraging it to dissipate or be recycled into a more helpful state of mind and body. This can bring a greater ability to be present in the moment to physical and emotional sensations, and to respond mindfully to the situation at hand.

It may be helpful to ask, “What makes me feel grounded? How do I know when I’m grounded and when I’m not?” If you’d like, try experimenting with a few different grounding styles, staying curious about what works for you. For example, if you have a strong auditory sense, you may find humming, listening to music, birdsong, the sounds of nature, or singing bowls to be helpful. For those who are visually inclined, imagery such as tree roots growing from your feet into the earth, looking at art, or viewing a peaceful scene in nature can be grounding. And if you have a strong kinesthetic awareness with a keen sense of touch, then deep breathing, walking barefoot on grass or sand, or gardening may help you to feel grounded. There’s no one right way to develop a grounding practice. What’s important is to feel comfortable with your unique style, not only so that it can be called upon during times of stress, but also to strengthen your spirit when you’re feeling well.

Sunshine

by Allison Runchey, HTCP

I sat one afternoon this week in the sunlight as it streamed through a nearby window, feeling its gentle warmth on my skin. After a busy morning, I was struck by how tension seemed to evaporate from my body and mind. Maybe you have had that feeling too, as the spring days get longer and brighter. Many people, including myself, intuitively sense that sunshine has both uplifting and calming effects, and I began to think about what makes it such a powerful healing force.

In my energy healing practice, I often work with energy centers, also called the chakras, which relate to physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of ourselves. The solar plexus chakra, located in the upper abdomen, is closely connected to the sun. Vibrating at the same energetic frequency as the color yellow, it relates to our digestive health, mental thought patterns, and sense of personal power. It corresponds with a network of intersecting nerves along the spine, also known as the celiac plexus, which are involved in the body’s reaction to stress and its ability to return to a state of rest and calmness.

At times of high stress or when we feel the need to control a situation, the solar plexus becomes highly charged and active. Oppositely, it becomes depleted during periods of self-doubt and depression. Balancing and nourishing the energy within the solar plexus happens naturally when we spend a moderate amount of time in the sunlight, soaking in its healing rays. It can also be supported through guided imagery and gentle touch:

Using your mind’s eye, imagine a yellow sphere of light nestled deep within you, just below the rib cage and above the belly button. Take a moment to allow this image to grow stronger and brighter, radiating outward toward the front and back. Place one or both hands on your upper abdomen, feeling the warmth of your palms sink in through the skin to the muscles, organs, and nerves within you. Breathe gently and allow the soothing action of the diaphragm to bring a sense of peace and aliveness.

Allowing Awe

By Allison Runchey, HTCP

In anticipation of the solar eclipse, I read an article about the health benefits of experiencing awe. It made me pause and ask myself – how often in our busy, fast-paced world do I take the time to notice the beauty around me?

Like many people, I won’t see the total eclipse from where I live, but I will be able to catch a glimpse of a partial eclipse. Surely this is an extraordinary way to experience awe and reap its mental, physical, and emotional benefits. But what about all the other days, the ones that aren’t marked by a special occasion, celestial or otherwise? Where is awe on a run-of-the-mill sort of day?

It's easy for daily schedules to take up the moments that could otherwise be spent gazing at a colorful sunset, a flowing river, or the vibrant green of a newly sprouted plant in the spring. When this happens, we miss out on the peace and broader perspective that comes with awe.  But maybe it doesn’t have to be that hard, maybe awe doesn’t have to be something that requires extra time and effort, like a task on a to-do list.  Maybe it can be simpler than that, something that’s already part of our immediate surroundings, right here and now…and it’s just a matter of allowing awe to become part of our consciousness, part of our awareness.

A few things come to mind that we all experience every day:

• Billions of cells and neurons, woven together in our brains, make it possible to think, remember, and communicate.

• The force of gravity naturally grounds us to the earth, with no effort on our part, giving reassurance and stability with every step.

• Air, a life-giving substance that cannot be seen, moves continuously in and around us as we breathe. 

I invite you to open your eyes to the space around you and notice something that inspires a sense of awe. Allow your heart to be warmed with appreciation for it, and feel a glowing, soft energy inside. Allow the feeling of awe to envelope you, if even for a moment, and know that you can tap into it anywhere, anytime.