Dear Katie,
Thank you for helping me with my tummy. It feels so much better. Thank you again!
Lisa (age 9)
Ah, the joy of working with children! They can be so amusing…like the time I was with a young girl, maybe 7 years old, who opened her eyes in the middle of a session, arched her neck, and looked up at me as I sat at the head of the treatment table to tell me, “You look funny up-side-down.”
They are also amazingly resilient. Last week, a nine-year-old came to see me for a Healing Touch session. Lisa’s primary concern was a stomach ache that started two weeks earlier, when she was woken up in the middle of the night by her sister who was throwing up. The pain was persistent and quite severe (a “7” on a scale of 0-10 with “0” indicating no pain). I tucked this bit of information away, wondering if she possessed a sensitivity towards other people’s discomfort which caused her to take it on. People with this sort of sensitivity are sometimes referred to as empaths, and can often be helped by teaching them ways to strengthen their energetic boundaries.
Lisa’s parents had taken her to a physician, who did not detect anything and suggested she drink some apple juice. When I asked Lisa if she had any idea why her tummy was hurting, she said, “Maybe it was something I ate. Maybe kiwi, Or, maybe it was something I drank.” When I asked her what she drank, she said, “Water.” I did offer a suggestion to avoid drinking cold fluids, especially with ice, knowing that cold can sometimes be hard on the stomach. However, kiwi and water did not seem to be likely culprits.
During our intake, Lisa told me a bit about her summer vacation, which included attending an art camp. One of her favorite projects was a tree that she created and was now hanging on the wall in her bedroom.
Her family was preparing to go on a trip to Michigan, which made her nervous. She has not liked sleeping away from home, ever since she was at a sleepover a few years ago and fell out of bed. “And, at slumber parties, I always have to sleep on the floor because I’m the tallest and take up too much room on the couch. I am always the last person to fall asleep.”
School would be starting again in two weeks. She was feeling excited. “I have a lot of friends. It will be fun to see everyone.” But, she was also feeling nervous. One concern was grades (4th grade, mind you!). “I usually get A’s but one time I got a B.” Then she shared a memory. “Once, in 2nd grade, the teacher asked us to raise our hand if we didn’t understand something. Only two of us raised our hands. Another time, the teacher told us to bring our work home and put a happy face on our paper if we got the answer right and an X on it if we got it wrong.” She remembered feeling embarrassed. We briefly explored strategies for what to do if she had a hard time understanding something in class. Mostly, I offered reassurance. Then, I invited her up on the treatment table.
I observed that Lisa’s voice was very quiet. Her body was somewhat stiff and tense with her head cocked to the left side. I held her occipital ridge with my fingertips for about a minute, and then held her heels and gently shook her body from side to side. This seemed to help her relax a bit. When I scanned her biofield with my hands, I detected energetic congestion (heaviness) over her solar plexus. Our intention for the session was to reduce her stomach pain. “I want to feel better so I don’t have to wake up Mom and Dad.”
The healing interventions started with opening her crown chakra by placing my hand on the top of her head. She reported, “It is starting to feel better already.” This was followed by a series of light touch hand positions, beginning at her feet and working my way up to her head, to strengthen her grounding, improve the flow of energy, and strengthen the energy grid that supports the physical body. Next, I placed my left hand on her solar plexus to begin a technique called Pain Drain. Essentially, this two-step process involves siphoning away stagnant energy by collecting the stagnation with the left hand and sending it to the Earth with the right hand. After several minutes, the left hand is extended upward to collect fresh energy and the right hand is placed on the client to fill the area with the fresh energy.
As I held my left hand on Lisa’s solar plexus, she opened up and began sharing more details about her school and sleepover memories. I felt tingling and pulsations in my hands as the stagnant energy flowed out my right hand and cleared. After a few minutes, these sensations subsided. I switched hands to receive fresh energy with my left hand and send it to Lisa with my right hand. At this point, something remarkable happened. Lisa spontaneously shifted her tone and topic of conversation, telling me about a recent visit to the Sears Tower. She actually stepped out on the Ledge! Giggling, she said, “It was fun! I loved doing it! My friend was too scared to step out. After that, we rode on a double-decker bus and went to Navy Pier.” Lisa was sharing some exciting and empowering memories, a sense of courage and self-confidence, attributes of the solar plexus!
At the end of the session, Lisa sat up slowly. I held her feet to promote grounding and make sure she was not feeling light-headed. The pain was now a “2,” her voice was stronger, and she appeared more relaxed. I offered some suggestions for self care, one of the most important aspects of our work as Healing Touch practitioners. The energy work during a session continues to work for a couple of days. Self care helps to extend and integrate the work. Also, it is empowering for a client to take responsibility for their own health.
First, I suggested that she take a few minutes each day to place her hands on her solar plexus (a technique called Magnetic Passes: Hands Still), and breathe deeply with thoughts of feeling strong like the Sears Tower. A second suggestion was to practice grounding each morning, and throughout the day, as needed. Grounding promotes stability and strengthens energetic boundaries. I described the process to Lisa. “Stand in front of your tree picture and imagine what it feels like to be strong like a tree with your roots deep in the Earth.” We practiced both of these methods together, and Lisa indicated that she would like to give them a try. She agreed to come back for a follow-up after school started.
As Lisa left the office that day, she told me she was really looking forward to their family vacation. “The beach is a lot of fun, and we have some friends who will be there at the same time.” Three days later, Lisa’s mom reported they had a fantastic trip. “What a difference. Lisa felt great the entire time.”
Healing Touch facilitates healing for all ages. Everyone has the capacity to relax and release stagnant energy. Often, this stagnation builds up over many years and, when left unattended, has the potential to accumulate and develop into chronic conditions. The beauty of working with children is that they release material quickly. There are many benefits from Healing Touch. Pain is reduced, trauma addressed, fears and anxiety calmed, nightmares resolved, healing from injury and illness accelerated, often in just one or two sessions. By helping the client “let go,” build strength, and create healthy boundaries, you are offering a great approach to preventive medicine that will last a lifetime..
What a beautiful story and testament to the power of healing touch and teaching empowerment to our children.
Thank you, Cindy. Working with children as clients, as well as teaching “My Helpful Healing Touch” classes is pure joy.