Spirit/Heart-Centered Care

I just took the third installment of a continuing education class yesterday with the wise and gifted Dr. Mikio Sankey.  What a true healer and man with vision.  I have been learning for the last year from him about specific acupuncture protocols to use on patients to help them to begin opening their Hearts.

We learned in Chinese Medicine school that the Heart is the Monarch or King of all organs, and that it houses the Shen, or Spirit-Mind.  If the Heart is clear of blockages and baggage and instead open, it can then rule the dominions (the remaining organs) with a clear, wise and compassionate Shen.  In terms of disease, Chinese medicine theory says that the excesses of the 5 emotions (joy, worry, grief, fear and anger) are the root cause of most diseases and imbalances in the body.  However, Chinese medicine theory also goes on to say that if the Shen is harmonious and balanced, it can weather the excesses of the 5 emotions, thus keeping the body healthy and vibrant. As we went through school, however, we forgot the significance of this fundamental Shen/Heart-Centered belief in Chinese medicine, understandably so.  Four years of grueling schooling on theory, acupuncture, herbs, clinical practice, and western medicine, plus ultimately passing the California and/or National Board exams, and then starting our own practices leads one to get caught up in the day to day of living and treating the myriads of health complaints and concerns that our patients come in with to our practices.

Somewhere along the road, I began to yearn for more, however.  I wanted more than to just help heal my patient's chief complaints; I wanted to help transform my patients' lives and their Shen.  I wanted more out of myself, too, as a healer, mother, wife and individual.  Well, "ask and you shall receive," and I was referred to Dr. Sankey last year and I began to see him for acupuncture treatments.  That first treatment was mind-blowing and transformational, to say the least.  It was so profound, I never had a treatment like this in all of the 10 years I've been getting acupuncture.  My whole mind and body shifted from its core to a new vibration.  With continued treatments, I am seeing the amazing transformations my Shen, Heart and body are going through.  I feel such iyashi  with his treatments and feel so invigorated and inspired now, helping me to go once again back to my Center, and to reawaken in me my purpose, which was to always serve and help heal others, and that is why I went into this profession to begin with.

I had to learn from this man.  Luckily, he began offering his continuing education classes locally again since this summer.  So in addition to the pearls of wisdom he's so kindly shared with me every time I go to see him for acupuncture, I have been studying his acupuncture protocols.  Dr. Sankey practices with the fundamental belief I talked about earlier, that the Heart must be open and that if we are all brought back to Center, the healing administered is much more profound for each person.  His protocols energetically unlock the Heart, body and Shen to help it unravel itself from the traumas, pains, blockages and toxins that have held it prisoner for months and years.   I have begun to use these protocols in my practice, and the feedback I am getting from my patients have been phenomenal.  Some feel it more profoundly than others.  Some see changes more gradually.  But one thing they all agree is that in addition to alleviation of their chief complaints, they feel the treatments to be much more powerful than previous to using these specific protocols.

If anyone is feeling stuck, overwhelmed, uninspired, or go through a yo yo of emotions, diets and health symptoms, please consider coming in for an evaluation and Spirit/Heart-Centered treatment.  I can help.  In addition to doing these specific protocol to jump start your healing, I also offering nutritional counseling and purification programs to help support your physical body to more effectively release blockages, wastes and build-ups, speeding up your healing process.  Please call me at 424.248.5576 or email me at info@iyashiwellness.com

What is iyashi?

IYASHI ("ee-yuh-she")

Iyashi 癒し(noun) or iyasu 癒す (verb) in Japanese means:

To heal, as in "to heal a cut."

There is also another kanji character in Japanese used to mean "heal" and this character is 医.　Why two characters to mean the same thing? What's the difference you ask?

The two characters actually express very different meanings of "to heal." The character 医　is used specifically in the context of healing in the medical, physiological sense. It is also used for the word "medicine." The character 癒, on the other hand, is a refined diction that means "to heal," but also "to alleviate" (as in "to alleviate boredom") "to quench" (as in "to quench a thirst"), and "to satisfy" (as in "to satisfy a yearning for").

It also has a connotation of "comfort," "soothing," and "solace," implying that healing occurs beyond just the physical realm- but in the mental and spiritual realm as well. So the word iyashi has the implied meaning of:

Receiving healing or becoming healed in the connection between Mind-Body-Spirit, while being in an environment of soothing comfort

Quite different from just "to heal a cut," ain't it?

So for the Japanese, one of the concepts of good health is to seek iyashi. Japanese seek iyashi by listening to soothing music, going to a hot springs surrounded by mountains or an ocean view, eating easy-to-digest comfort foods (usually stews, soups and porridges that tend to be organic and/or vegan in nature), sipping a relaxing cup of tea in a beautiful garden or calming cafe, getting massages and beauty work, visiting friends and family, partaking in community activity, staying at ryokans (like a B&B) in scenic rural areas of Japan where the pace of life is considerably slower than urban cities, picking up a new hobby (or revisiting an old one), and so forth, all in the name of replenishing one's soul and mind with serenity, clarity and joy.

It is a concept that acknowledges when one becomes tired and over-stressed, then a place of solace is required - either physically, in one's mind, or with others - to regain a sense of centeredness, stamina, and wellbeing.

Americans, on the other hand, primarily consider diet and exercise for maintaining good health. While important, a cultural notion or social vocabulary for seeking solace - in taking a step back, or really honoring the Mind-Body-Spirit connection for the sake of maintaining good health - tends to be lacking.

In these times of much stress and duress, is it perhaps time for you to seek iyashi?