Self-Care for the Energy Body
I am often asked by patients how I replenish myself. As you may realize, performing acupuncture and energy work is demanding. I aspire to a lofty goal. I aim to deeply connect with each and every one of you. I plug in then stay with your space on every single visit every week…and month…and year.
There is no way I could do this by myself. Here’s my secret: I get help for each visit from a massive energy storehouse before I treat any of you. When I am lined up, I am not using my own resources. It is what keeps me going.
Meditation is a path by which we solid-form bodies reconnect with our energetic reality. I would qualify any activity that lets go as meditation. Prayer, various Buddhist and yogic traditions, qi gong and tai ji can all help us surrender to the greater. We let go of time, our individuality, our emotions, our thoughts and our personal boundaries. In effect, we lose ourselves in infinity. At that moment, our energy is transferable. It’s a space in which we can drop our lower frequencies. I also accept much higher ones from the infinite. My limited interpretation of this effect is deepening integration, cohesion and expansion.
For me, personally, meditation is a two-pronged approach.
The first- my entrance exam into the energy world- began with qi gong 15 years ago. Qi gong is a traditional daily practice from the Chinese for actively exploring the nuances of our energy field (for more background on qi gong, read my past blog entry here). I have had the fortune to learn many forms of qi gong. Wu ji gong, Yang style tai ji, tai ji push hands, Hua Tuo’s 5 animal frolics, Micro- and macrocosmic orbit each have their own benefits. Based on inspiration from my glorious teacher, Master Mingtong Gu, I have practiced Zhineng (Wisdom Healing) Qi Gong the longest. In qi gong, the body is active and the mind is quiet. This means I can check 90% out of the mental sphere and merge with the energy body. I balance the upper and lower, the inner and outer. I solidify my field (so that I know what is mine and what is yours while in the clinic). I extend to the horizon, which increases potency. This beautiful practice keeps me grounded and open. It allows energy to pass through me in any direction without getting stuck. What if I were sticky to everything you are casting off in the treatment room? Stickiness, I believe, is what causes burnout. (Truthfully, if I am sticky to any of it, it can set me off for days!)
The second prong to my connectability is sitting meditation. I began in my Christian background with prayer. Later, I added a sort of daily mantra/affirmation meditation via the Course of Miracles. More recently, I have been exploring a new lens through the tutelage of The Meditation Center in Minneapolis. In sitting meditation, the body is quiet and the mind is active. What I appreciate about the vigor of sitting meditation is that I can go DEEP. There are no distractions, except what I hold inside. I begin with relaxation, so that I can see. Then, I find my light, my higher self, my organizing force. As blockages arise, I open and accept these pockets of trapped emotions and sticky judgements. I watch my field process all this lower energy leeching onto me. Meditation boosts my integration with my higher self and drops the non-me stuff. As a result, I open the door to intuitive insight from God because of His intrinsic connection with my higher self.
I have found that sitting meditation is much more difficult to practice than qi gong. The monkey mind is a powerful force. It is constantly telling us to do, to remember, to analyze. Our mind tells us to judge, to protect, to flee pain and seek pleasure. In sitting meditation, we practice the exact opposite. We lose the self. We lose the ego. We lose ourselves to the infinite. I can only say that the richness of love, joy and peace that hides within us, underneath the heavy weight of our judgements, is well worth it.
So, these are my connective practices. They are not the only way. They are not even the best way. But they speak to my fulfillment and therefore I am motivated to practice them. And what we practice becomes us, so they work for me. I am deeply gracious to my teachers and these traditions. They have such a special place in my life. They let me do what I do. I can put myself aside. Only then, can I find that connection and stay with it throughout my days- regardless of what you people throw at me 
