Herbal Medicine Recommendation

Joanne Gramo, Licensed Acupuncturist Santa Cruz Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine: Herbal Supplements: These are a few herbal supplements I recommend everyone keep in their medicine cabinet.

Power of Imagination

A recent comment on my Simple Self Hypnosis video - "How exactly do you imagine breathing into your knees? That's extremely confusing."

Good question.

If you are visual, you can simply imagine light or a color infusing each area as you breathe in and out. If you're not visual, here is a more kinesthetic approach:

• Take a moment to notice your breath right now - are you breathing through your nose or mouth?
• Take a few more breaths. Can your hear it, or feel it at the back of your throat?
• Take a couple more deeper breaths, notice the fall and rise off your shoulders, collarbones, spine.
• Breathing deeper, focus on the fall and rise of your chest and diaphragm. Notice bringing in oxygen, releasing carbon dioxide. With every breath, your body brings that to every cell of your being.
• Another deep, even breath, relax into your belly. Simply pay attention to the natural expansion and contraction of your midriff.
• The next breath, soften and open your hips by: moving your knees or feet just a bit; rocking gently back and forth; or going into lotus pose from yoga.
• The same when breathing into your knees. Simply be aware of your body, allow your knees to relax or contract. Clench them together tightly, then release. This will bring oxygen to the muscles by circulating the blood, hence you really are "breathing into your knees."
• Move your focus down into your feet, shift them if that feels natural, curl your toes, or flex like a super hero flying through the air, whatever works for you.
• Then bring your awareness to your hands. You can just clench and unclench to the rhythm of your breath, be conscious of what you are hanging on to, what you are willing to let go of in the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual realms.

I hope that's helpful!

Focus and Simplify

Focus and Simplify

We live in an ever more complex and complicated world, often run by multi-tasking, wearing many hats, juggling time, and just having way too much on our plate.

Learning to simplify, to let go of what is non-essential to make space for is essential, is not an easy task. We worry we will get bored, or that we are indulging ourselves instead of being more productive. So give yourself permission - it really is okay to sit in the gardfen for an hour with no phone. Clear a workspace (not necessarily your desk) where there is only one project on it - could be an art piece, a jigsaw puzzle, or that last chapter of your book.

Then dedicate the time. It could be one minute or five, those pockets of time we usually waste checking our phones or emails. Let go of the thought "if I don't have an hour (or whatever) then it's not worth it. It is worth it. More importantly, you are worth it. You are worth the time and energy to feel focused and engaged. Oh yes you are!

Warmly,

Kayla

Kayla Garnet Rose, Ph.D.
Certified Hypnotherapist, Reiki Master
www.KaylaGarnetRose.com

Click to book your appointment on line:

http://kaylagarnetrosecertifiedhypnotherapist.schedulista.com

   

Spell it Out

One of my favorite personal sayings us, "Witches Spell it Out". There is so much power in this, from simply writing something down yo the cathartic proceeds that occurs when we take the time to journal or write a heartfelt letter. The hand maps to the brain, and in the dedication to create clarity there is s pragmatic tool in making sure everyone is on the same page. We all understand the contract. With no loopholes, small print, or other self sabotages/deceits. 

What do you need to spell out, in order to feel not just heard and understood, but respected. Compromise should be the word count promise - not, sure I'll sacrifice myself for uou dear, but the sense of co-promise, as in, what is each person or party committed to for the greatest good? As Rob Brezney states, "You can have anything you want as long as you ask for it in an unselfish tones of voice."

So don't be shy. Write a list, organize your thoughts, express your needs, and find creative ways for them to be met. That is the ultimate magic spell.

   Blessed Be!

Casual Dress

I am of the age

That dress casual refers to

Just how much

Cat hair 

Is on my particular outfit

In the moment.

Psychic Healing Project

For this project, I decided to practice exercises from The Psychic Healing Book by Amy Wallace and Bill Henken. Specifically: grounding, clearing and aligning the chakras. I worked on myself three times over three days, then with regular clients over two weeks. All of us found it very useful, energizing and powerful.

For my self, I found it best to do the exercises while sitting outside on the deck in the fresh air, aware of the blessing of California sunshine, drawing its energy deep into my being. Afterward, I would do some weeding to literally touch the earth.

In the grounding exercise, I noticed that sending energy down the tailbone was very different from sending in through my legs and feet. There was a tingling in my sacrum and I could feel the earth energy rise with each inhalation. In the clearing and aligning exercise, I found that sending orange light into each of the chakras felt quite refreshing. At the end of the meditation, I pushed the energy out my crown chakra to create a fountain of light around me, visualizing any chinks in my aura becoming whole and filled until I felt surrounded in a golden bubble. I noticed having lots of energy for the rest of the day.

The next two practice sessions each went a little longer, a little deeper. I experienced feelings of contentment and well being. I also experienced being able to stay in one chakra for a longer time, exploring colors, organs, smells, glands, feelings of imbalance and flashes of insight - that "aha!" feeling, of knowing what I need to do next for myself, spanning from going to acupuncture for a spring tune-up to including grapefruit in my diet at this time. It was a great way to start each day and set intentions for my self and my clients.

For the second part of the project, I worked with a good friend and an ongoing client of mine. This client has been a weekly reiki and hypnotherapy client for about 18 months. Six years ago her teenage son was shot and killed. Her affirmation is, "I had a life before, I will have a life again". The first practice went well, I certainly felt more grounded and present. The second session was really powerful.

Usually, I start at the client's feet and ground them to the earth. This time I followed the exercise from the book. After having my client take in a few deep cleansing breaths, I began by running energy from dropping down from the base of her spine into the center of the earth, while gently touching her feet. Here we invited the earth energy to rise up through these roots to the sole's if her feet, through her bones, muscles, tissues, atoms and into each of the chakras, along her spine as well as hands and feet.

In a regular chakra tuning, I would visualize the color that intuitively or traditionally corresponds to that particular chakra. This time I kept with visualizing the orange light from the center of the earth, coming up through the soles of my feet and through my body into my hands, and thus into the soles of my clients' feet. The energy was red and brown, and I had the impression of roughly hewn statues and carvings before my eyes, reminiscent of Mayan carvings, very tactile. When moving through each of her energy centers, I would experience visions that I would verbalize, all the while thinking, "just be an open channel."

When I reached the crown chakra, I had the client open to all of the celestial, universal and heavenly energies to meet with that earth energy and to pour its wisdom and universal healing energy through her in any way that would be beneficial now. At this point, I stopped speaking until the end of the appointment.

Normally, this client will talk nonstop the entire session. From the moment we began she was completely silent, following my words and clearly going deeper and deeper into a trance. I observed her eyelids flicker, breathing become more even and shallow, body clearly relaxing. I began to move up her body, moving from feet to knees to hips, touching lightly and feeling the pulses shift and change. My feet were tingling like crazy, as was my tail bone, with every inhalation I could feel pulling up that rich, red, brown earth energy and moving it easily into Joanne's body. With each exhalation, I felt the cool blue and violet, more wispy energies from the heavens, infusing her esthetic body. Behind my closed eyelids, I could easily see her aura, black to begin with then pulsing bright red.

When I got to her head, I sat down on a stool and place my hands on her face. I noticed I was pressing in a little, so consciously started to lighten my touch. The lighter my touch, the more I could feel our molecules melting away, and my fingers began to dissolve into her face. I had that moment of complete oneness, and as I breathed on her crown chakra I knew I was breathing into my self. I could scan down her body and easily see her skeleton, although bright green, with red spots flashing here and there. I wasn't aware of golden energy to send them, so just continued yo channel the reiki for the highest good.

I moved down her right side, touching her shoulder and hand. Here I had a vision that she was bailing out a life boat full to the brim with salt tears with a tea spoon. Suddenly she gabbed a toy bucket instead. The pint of view shifted, and you could see many people in the lifeboat, all helping her bail it out. Now her choice was whether to rejoin the cruise or head off to new waters.

I moved back down to her feet. I got down on my knees and held her ankles while sending orange  light down her body, which was appearing electric blue. I stood up and very deliberately began squeezing on her feet and toes, bringing her back into her body, waking up every part slowly and gently. I gave her a long time to reorient then checked in after she drank some water.

She said she had never gone so deep, but it felt like being gently cupped and supported rather than being dropped. Three days later we met again to check in. She was in good spirits and was involved in creating a memorial mural for her son the surfer as well as a blood drive in his honor.

Since then, I have had the opportunity to practice this technique with six hypnotherapy students, several clients and as a part of my morning meditation with my life partner. I have experienced the effects on all levels - astral, esthetic, physical, emotional, mental - and have been deeply grateful to do what I would consider a spring clearing of the soul, releasing emotional and mental clutter in particular, making way for increased energy and vitality.

Blessed be.