In my efforts to maintain a balance, I am learning to take advantage of every spiritually enlightening opportunity I come across; today it was Reiki. According to the NIH branch, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing (Reiki.org). Reiki facilitates a persons own healing response through having a trained Reiki practitioner lay their hands lightly on or just above the person receiving treatment.

Today, while volunteering at the first annual Be Healthy Boston event, and with my new mantra to take advantage of all spiritually enlightening opportunities, I decided to book myself a Reiki appointment with experts from the Dana Farber Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies who were visiting the conference.

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I’m not sure if it was the calm demeanor of the practitioner, or my few moments of quiet, but following  the 7 minutes of Reiki I experienced during which the practicioner gently layed her hands on my head back and arms, I felt calmer. I could feel the internal warmth and relaxation that was generated through my few moments of interaction with the Reiki professional. Her warm hands helped me to focus on breathing and enlightened my inner-awareness.  It was an internally-cleansing, and spiritually enlightening experience that helped me to end my weekend on a high note (and one that I would absolutely recommend to anyone who asks!).

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The take-home

As I blogged about in my most recent blog about finding balance, it is important to note that finding balance involves trying new things and opening your eyes to new experiences. That few moments of calm helped to bring clarity to my day and allowed me to take a deep breath. My only regret about today is that I was not brave enough to take part in the accupuncture that was available through the Zakim center. As with everything else, one step at a time!

Remember to keep trying to find things that help you find a balance- one of these days you’ll find exactly what it is that works for you.

Namaste,

Healthy Gal

“Balance, what’s that?” 

In this day and age finding balance is both essential and an extremely individual journey. What works for one person may not work for another– and that’s totally ok.

So, what is balance? And how can I find it? 

Balance can mean many things– for some it can mean taking time out of the day to exericse, for others it may mean varying their activities, and in some cases it may be as simple as varying what you eat everyday; basically it means whatever you want it to. Whatever it means to you, it’s important.

Often to me, balance means going to yoga class instead of attending a high intensity exercise class; yet when I think about it more I realize that it goes so much deeper than that. I realize that it means spending more time with my friends, writing on my blog, and spending time with my puppy Sasha. Finding balance to me helps to make each day exciting, different, and fulfilling.

Finding balance is a difficult journey, but after taking a few moments to think about what can bring you balance, you will find your daily life a little easier, a little more relaxing, and a little bit less stressuful. Take some time to breathe and think about the things that you can do to get just a little bit more balanced.

Namaste,

Healthy Gal