Your First Chakra and Your Better Health
“I don’t know what I did, but I know what I’m going to do now!” My fellow yoga student blurted out recently at class.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know what happened, but my lower back really hurts! I’m going to a doctor tomorrow. I’m afraid I’m going to need surgery..”
Your first chakra is located at the base of your spine. Whatever the issues, a painful lower back is a strong indication of a spiritually stressed spine and an unbalanced first chakra.
When things are right in your life, you feel safe and secure. You have a positive mental attitude and can protect yourself from life’s daily issues.
When your first chakra is unbalanced or blocked, depression and other negative experiences impose themselves on your daily decisions. You have difficulty sleeping and worry about money, health, and your job.
An overactive first chakra produces anxiety, greed, hoarding, and control issues at home and at work. Basically, you feel unsafe.
Health symptoms and ailments involving your first chakra include: adrenal fatigue, anger, anxiety, low back pain, codependency, fear, hemorrhoids, leg pain, panic attacks, sciatica.
Addictions are root chakra issues.
Chakras are often out of balance for quite a while before health issues and diseases manifest themselves in the physical body.
Chakras are energy. And, they are communicators. They talk to us, giving us valuable information we need to be well.
Where is your disease or issue located?
When you have an injury to your lower spine, you probably have a first chakra imbalance.
Any issue connected with the rectum, anus, or any elimination issue is a first chakra issue.
Other first chakra issues include addictions to alcohol, food, coffee, gambling, drugs, sex, shopping.
For men, any issue with the testes, or prostate cancer is a first chakra issue.
Things to remember about first chakra imbalances:
Chakras are connected to the total body.
When you’re dealing with a health issue, work with your physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional body. If you have a kidney infection, for example, heal your total body, not just the infection, and not just the chakra.
And, you need to balance your other chakras also.
It’s harder to fight a disease with a unbalanced corresponding chakra.
Finally:
Your chakras don’t work in a vacuum. They collaborate with other chakras. They work with your physical and mental bodies and they work with your energetic body.
So, don’t just give one chakra a boost. Don’t just give your swollen ankle an ice pack. Help your entire body.
Take the medicine you’ve been prescribed.
Look around, is there something in your environment that you can change which will help you get well and stay better?
At times in my life, the answer to this question involved eating a specific diet. At another time, I had to buy a better desk chair. Recently, I joined a combination exercise/yoga class.
Well…DO IT!
As your body and your spirit and your mind improve, what can you do to keep things that way?
Well…DO IT!
Everytime I ask myself those questions, I always come up with…guess what!
Reflexology and Reiki!
Thanks for reading this blog post. I will continue on with other chakras as well.
For me, this article was a real eye opener! I knew, existentially, that men and women experience their first chakra issues and balances in different ways. After all, women do not have testes.
Sex is very different for women than it is for men. I’ve known this all along but I just never connected the differences to the chakra system.
These basic differences affect how we feel about belonging in our bodies.
I now realize that our chakras and how we experience them is a very different experience for women and men.
These differences, of course, carry over to the second (Sacral) chakra. But that’s another blog post.
Thanks for reading this article! Please forward it to your preferred social media network. Share it with your friends and relatives.
The YOUTUBE channel has an ever-growing selection of videos focused on reflexology and healing.
P.S. Some info in this article was shared from “Healer’s Handbook – Wellness for All” by Thurman Greco.
Buy this book at www.thurmangreco.com.
At One With the Earth – a First Chakra Grounding Meditation
I was inspired to share this meditation after an experience when I deeply understood the interconnectedness of all beings. My goal in this meditation is for us all to be closer to the oneness we have with this planet.
Sometimes we don’t feel the connection. And, I realize that some people never experience this oneness.
Use this meditation to connect with your place of inner peace and grounding.
PAUSE
Get comfortable on the floor, healing table, or other flat space. Position your body face up.
Breathe slowly and deeply. With each breath, your body relaxes more.
You feel a greater sense of awareness; experience a very peaceful feeling.
You are filling your body with a feeling of lightness.
When this happens,you know you can come out of this experience any time you want by simply opening your eyes.
PAUSE
Release your conscious thoughts, letting go of “mental activity.” You are in this place at this moment.
You feel so light now that you can lift up off the floor. You feel yourself gently floating.
A carpet appears at your side. It is just big enough to hold you.
When you climb on, this carpet gently lifts you up. You gradually move up – up through the ceiling.
Riding on your carpet, you move up, above the trees and the skyline.
Glancing down, you see the treetops appearing gradually smaller and smaller.
Stretching out on your carpet, you drift up – right through a cloud.
You feel warm sunshine on your entire body. Your body absorbs a beautiful pale red light.
You look down at the earth now and see it as a ball of light.
PAUSE
Your carpet begins to slowly descend to the earth. Passing through a billowy cloud, you see the skyline, now familiar from the trip up. You see the tree tops.
You peacefully return to the place where you began your journey.
You are grounded, and calm. You feel safe and secure.
Know that you can return to this space any time you desire.
Take a couple deep breaths and sit up. Continue your day now – energized,
rejuvenated, and rested. You feel more grounded and calm.
Go in peace!
Thank you for reading this meditation.
Thurman
www.thurmangreco.com
Please refer this article to your preferred social media network and share it with a friend.
Some information in this post was sourced from “Healer’s Handbook”. Further information regarding chakras and meditations may be found in prior blog posts and on “Let’s Live with Thurman Greco” YOUTUBE presentations.
If you have further questions or remarks, I can be reached at thurmangreco@gmail.com.
Who Shouldn’t Receive a Reflexology Session, and Why (Contraindications)
My introduction to contraindications began at my first massage therapy class at the Potomac Myotherapy Institute in Washington, D.C back in 1979.
Our first class began on an autumn evening with about 40 students. By the second class, that number had shrunk to a few over 20. Missing students were culled because of contraindications.
A contraindication list changes based on several factors:
Wellness and reflexology writers each have lists based on their experiences and training.
Healers each have a list. My experience in this field tells me that this list is highly individualized, again based on each healer’s experiences and training.
Teachers in both schools and continuing education seminars have opinions. These professionals teach from a list compiled not only by themselves but by the school owners and the states where they teach.
When I first began practicing massage, Kerrith McKechnie cautioned us to not treat cancer patients, or anyone with fever, or a rash. And the list continued beyond that.
Later, when I studied reflexology, Marge d’Urso’s list was different.
Mary Ruth VanLandingham’s Reiki therapy list had no contraindications.
Over the past three plus decades, I have a list of my own. This list has changed over time based on my experiences, and classes taken.
And, of course, this list begins with
CANCER PATIENTS
As a student at PMTI, we were cautioned against working on cancer patients at all.
Years later, I know reflexology offers much for a cancer patient: relief from pain, stress, and nausea.
When I first offered reflexology to a cancer patient, she received her reflexology sessions 48 hours after chemotherapy. The theory was that she was toxic for 48 hours after receiving her chemotherapy.
I waited the 48 hours to protect myself.
The first time I offered reflexology sessions to a cancer patient, I did it because she asked. We discussed the situation and she felt that she had no options left.
To put her situation bluntly, I was offering reflexology to a terminally ill client. She wanted the relief offered from pain, stress, and nausea.
Now, of course, fewer and fewer cancer patients receive chemotherapy.
What’s important here is the journey reflexology and other healing modalities have taken as we learned more about cancer.
Years later, at a seminar at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, I learned that reflexology, massage, and Reiki therapy are appropriate for cancer patients whenever they want to receive a session.
For me, cancer is no longer a reason to refuse a reflexology session to a client.
PREGNANT WOMEN
I do not offer reflexology sessions to pregnant women experiencing the first trimester of an unstable pregnancy.
Nothing is more wonderful than a reflexology session offered to a woman in her 7th month of pregnancy and has not seen her feet for a couple of months and still has 2 months to go.
The rule I follow: avoid offering reflexology in the first trimester and stay on the bottom of the feet when you offer sessions thereafter.
If you have any concerns, switch to Reiki therapy. Reiki therapy is wonderful for pregnant women at any stage of the pregnancy. With a regular Reiki therapy client, you can offer sessions weekly and can offer to go with your client into the labor and delivery stages of the birth process. Then, of course, you have two clients.
CLIENTS WITH INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Infectious disease sufferers should not receive reflexology for your protection. If you decide to offer a session to someone in a contagious condition, consider some options: gloves, mask, etc.
SEVERE CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE
This is a good time to use your Reiki therapy skills.
GANGRENE
Gangrene occurs when a person’s cells begin to die in a particular place when there is no circulation in a certain place in the body. Gangrene is fairly rare but can be seen in cases of advanced diabetes. This situation requires a physician’s attention.
ADVANCED OSTEOPOROSIS
Persons suffering with mild osteoporosis or osteopenia benefit from reflexology sessions. Use a light touch and a short session taking care not to fracture bones.
The red flag begins to fly when a new client approaches you with advanced osteoporosis. By then, it’s too late for your services without permission from the physician.
EXTENSIVE ATHLETE’S FOOT, ETC.
Whenever there is a rash, an open sore, athlete’s foot, etc., offer hand reflexology instead of working the feet. If you are uncomfortable offering hand reflexology to a person who has a contagious or infectious condition, use gloves.
ADVANCED DIABETES
Clients with mild diabetes respond well to reflexology sessions offered to both hands and feet. Use gentle pressure when working the pancreas. Use a lighter pressure in general for diabetics because their skin may be thinner or more sensitive and bruise easily. Also, reduce sessions to 30 minutes or less for new clients.
HEAVILY MEDICATED CLIENTS
Persons taking a lot of medicine may have a buildup of toxins. Because reflexology sessions offer a natural detoxing action you need to take care not to overload the person. Offer a light thouch and shorter session.
SEVERE SWELLING
Swelling may indicate an internal injury, such as torn ligaments caused by a sprain, strain or fracture. Do not work an ankle, or foot that is swollen and painful. Once a medical professional has ruled out any underlying conditions, you can use your reflexology skills.
OPEN SORES OR CUTS
Cover blisters and cuts to keep them free from bacterial infections. Sometimes open sores may indicate an underlying, chronic condition, such as diabetes. The sores may also be related to contagious skin disorders.
BREAKS OR SPRAINS
Wait for permission from a physician. And, do not remove a cast or bandaging to offer reflexology. Work with what tissue is available to you and focus on a gentle touch and slow movements.
This may be a good option for Reiki.
FEVER
Fever is not a health issue. It is a symptom of an infection somewhere in your body.
For me, fever is one of the most important symptoms you may experience. It can indicate a heart attack, tumor, trauma, or a reaction to a vaccine.
Reflexology offers homeostasis which is important when a person has a fever. Returning your body to an ideal temperature is one of the best outcomes a person with fever.
Giving a reflexology session to a person with a fever can be a healing situation once you understand the cause.
FEAR OR ANXIETY
The final item on my list is highly personal. If I suspect a person is afraid of receiving reflexology or is experiencing anxious emotions about being on my table, I offer to cancel or postpone the session.
Sometimes, people who have never received bodywork or healing are unsure about being ready for a session. This is not the time to change someone’s mind or feelings.
They can always reschedule the session at a time when they feel calmer about their session.
Throughout the years that I’ve offered healing sessions, I’ve had only two people arrive for appointments. I knew the minute I saw them that something wasn’t “right”.
I followed my intuition and offered to cancel or reschedule the appointment. Both people were relieved to receive my offer. And I was happy I offered to cancel or reschedule. The moment the words left my mouth I knew they were the right words.
Thank you for reading this article!
None of the above contraindications occur often. But when they do happen, I like to feel I am following guidelines learned in classes throughout the years.
Please refer this post to your preferred social media network and share it with a friend.
Some information in this post was shared from “Healer’s Handbook”. More extensive information regarding contraindications may be found in prior blog posts and on presentations on YOUTUBE.
If you have any further questions or remarks, I can be reached at thurmangreco@gmail.com.
Thanks again,
Thurman
