Self-Care Activities

Hi, I’m Katie Oberlin. In this video I’d like to guide you through one of my favorite Healing Touch techniques. It’s called Self Mind Clearing. The reason it’s one of my favorites is because it is very simple but so effective in many many ways. It can promote general relaxation. But in addition to that you can find relief from headaches. You can improve your sleep. It can help calm worry and rumination and anxiety. It can also help with focus and concentration, and even help open us up to insights, into seeing things in a whole new way. I hope you enjoy this Self Mind Clearing technique.

To begin with, any time we start any of the Healing Touch methods, we want to begin by just bringing ourself to this present moment. It’s a process that we call Centering. So now I invite you to take a few nice deep breaths in and out, and with each breath bring your attention completely to the heart center and to the breathing with each inhale and each exhale. Breath by breath, bringing you more and more into this present moment, right here, right now. 

Now that you’re centered, I invite you to bring your attention to the base of your spine. We are going to do a little bit of a grounding exercise. With your attention at the base of your spine, imagine bringing a column of energy all the way down to the core of the Earth. The next time you breathe in, imagine or experience bringing that Earth energy up into your body. As you exhale, reach down for more of that wonderful Earth energy, and as you breathe in bring that Earth energy up into your body. 

So now that you’re Centered and Grounded, the next step is to set an intention for what would be helpful to you today. How would you like to feel at the end of this Self Mind Clearing? Just take a moment to go inside. Allow yourself to formulate that intention for healing.

Now we’re ready to begin.

Our first step is to place the hands crosswise over the chest with the palms of your hands on each collar bone. In the beginning this may feel like kind of a mechanical process because we will be going through a variety of hand positions. But keep in mind  that this is an energy method. So the palms of your hands and the tips of your fingers are sending energy.

With the palms on your collar bones and all your attention on the breath begin to feel your shoulders relax. Begin to feel yourself bringing in beautiful new healing energy. 

Next, place one hand on the back of your neck and the other hand with the palm positioned between your eyebrows. This is the area we call the brow chakra or third eye. Again, imagine sending energy back and forth between the palms of your two hands very gently, slowly, with each breath, back and forth, feeling more and more deeply relaxed, maybe even feeling that energy settling right in the middle of your brain, to a very quiet and calm place.

Next, we take out thumbs and place them at the occipital ridge, which is the bone at the base of our skull. Move them around a little bit until they feel as if they have locked in. Rest your hands on your head and begin to gently pull up as if you’re feeling a little bit of traction, maybe tipping your head forward a little bit. You might feel a nice release in the muscles in your neck and even down your back. Nice release of tension.

From there, bring your fingertips to the top of your head. Allow the energy from the tips of your fingers to sink down into your crown chakra, continuing to focus on your breath, just allowing that energy to sink deeply in. It’s so relaxing. 

From here, place your fingertips above each ear. Again allowing your energy fingers to sink deep deep into your head. This particular position is helpful even by itself because it helps to balance the left and right sides of the brain. Continue to breathe deeply bringing yourself to that still point, bringing a sense of balance and harmony.

And now we place our hands over our eyes with our fingertips up by the hairline. Take a few nice deep breaths in and really allow yourself to bathe in the darkness, quiet, calm, peaceful. Then, very slowly begin to separate your hands as if you are opening a curtain, gliding your hands up your forehead until your pinkies are resting at your hairline. This is a really wonderful way to open up that third eye, perhaps opening us up to a new perspective, a new way of seeing things.

From here, we bring our fingers down to our jaw, to the temporomandibular joint. Begin to rub your fingers in little circles. A lot of us hold a lot of tension and clenching in the jaw. Even at just a physical level it feels really good to rub our jaw in little circles. But remember, these are energy fingers as well so we are breaking up stuck energy.

From here, we just want to brush that stuck energy away, three times, releasing that energy out of your energy field.

Placing your hands on your jaw to bring in new energy. Whenever we release old energy we want to bring in something new. 

And now we bring our Self Mind Clearing to a close, bringing back to mind your intention for healing, noticing if you feel any different now than when you started, and also bringing yourself to a place of gratitude for this wonderful opportunity for healing. 

Download an illustrated PDF of the Self Mind Clearing technique here.

Here’s one of my favorite breath meditations that you can follow on your own. I didn’t learn it in a class or out of a book. It simply came to me as I was sitting in my backyard next to a magnificent Pine. Try it now as you slowly read these words.

1. Begin by taking a moment to bring your attention to your heart center. Breathe in and breathe out a few times, deeply, slowly, evenly.
2. Feel your feet firmly connected to the Earth, and set an intention for your health. Be as specific as possible.
3. Continue to focus on your breath as you visualize or experience being surrounded by beautiful plants and trees.
4. Each time you breathe in, fill your lungs with the oxygen that the plants provide as a by-product of photosynthesis, as if you are receiving an incredible gift, the gift of life. Receive it with deep gratitude.
5. Each time you breathe out, release the carbon dioxide that your body produces, as if you are offering a gift, a blessing, to all the plants. Know that they receive it with gratitude, for without carbon dioxide they wouldn’t be able to make food through photosynthesis.
6. Continue for a few minutes, receiving the gift of oxygen with each inhalation and offering the gift of carbon dioxide with each exhalation. Notice what happens in your body, heart, mind, and spirit. Feel yourself sitting in the stillness, an intricate part of the vast web of life, a place of perfect peace, balance, harmony.
7. As your meditation comes to a close, place your hands over your heart, slowly open your eyes, smile, and say thank you.

You can also develop a habit of working with your breath any time, while doing the dishes, sitting in your car at a red light, anticipating a challenging situation, or drifting off to sleep. Any moment is the perfect moment to consciously bring your awareness to your breath, inviting it to help you release and let go, which creates space to bring in something new.

Breath has been available to you from the moment you were born and will be with you until the moment of transition out of this lifetime. I encourage you to support your health, well being, and inner peace by taking some time today, and every day, to sit quietly, give gratitude for Air, tune in to your breath, and use it as a powerful ally for healing.