Tag Archives: meridians

Meridian Psychology: Emotional and Mental Wellbeing – Part 2

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London Life Coach & Wellbeing Consultant Sloan Sheridan-Williams talks about Meridian Psychology in the second of her two part series. Follow Sloan on Twitter @SloanSW_London and check out Sloan’s website www.sloansw.com

Continuing on from Part 1 on meridian psychology the following article looks at emotion and mental well being and neurovascular holding points for the reduction of anxiety. If you are interested in Meridian Psychology, do check out the first article in this series which looks at what meridians are and how meridian tracing works.

Emotional and Mental Balancing

Emotional and Mental balancing is best controlled or influenced by the acupressure point for psychological reversal, as such neuro-vascular point stimulation is a valuable treatment for emotional stress.

As we have seen in my previous articles psychological reversal is when the subconscious mind does not perform as the conscious mind requires. For example a client who says they want to lose weight or stop smoking but no matter how hard they try they continue failing in the attainment of their goal. Such a client who says they want to lose weight is likely to have a secondary gain embedded in their subconscious that prevents them from carrying out their conscious will. This could be all manner of unhelpful belief systems from the love of food to the belief that losing weight will harm them in some way.

Psychological reversal is foremost on my mind when a client comes to me presenting with stories of repeated failure in achieving a goal. I often use further counselling or ‘Asking the Body’ to reveal the cause, but the correction technique is both quick and simple. There are many different forms, some energy psychologies such as EFT (as I have addressed in other articles on City Connect) use the “Set-Up Protocol” which refers to the process by which the psychological reversal is solved. It consists of finding one’s sore spot (most likely found on the right or left side of the chest). This point is a pressure point/reflex on the lymphatic system. The sorer the spot is an indication of how strong the PR. Once found we make an opening statement that resonates such as ‘I deeply and profoundly love and accept myself’ Once the set up point has been calibrated the 12 step tapping routing can commence. Then completing with the 9 step Gamut Routine. For more information please see my other articles on Energy Therapies.

Other forms of energy psychology such as kinesiology remedies as seen in more detail that emotional and mental well being lie in the tapping the acupuncture point SI3 (Small Intestine 3) on the outside edge of the hand near the crease as can be seen when you make a fist. Just as in EFT, The practitioner taps the point in question very rapidly i.e on both of the subject’s hands;  a good gauge for speed is approximately 3 times per second for 20 seconds. While doing this the subject repeats a positive statement  “I completely love and accept myself the way I am”.  The idea here is to change energy patterns in the meridian thereby releasing negativity.  Re-testing should then show a strong IM muscle to the stated goal.

However the meridian psychology subject of neuro-vascular points is the one I would like to address as what I find as one of the most helpful procedures in reducing anxiety levels, so much so a lot of us do it naturally.


Neuro-Vascular Holding Points

In the 1930’s Dr. Terrance Bennett, a chiropracter, discovered points on the head which seem to influence blood flow to the organs and tissues.  He found that he was able to watch the internal effects of holding these points using radio-opaque dye and a moving x-ray machine called a fluoroscope.  The points observed  became known as neuro-vascular reflexes and later the location and function of these points was discovered.

It has been shown that neuro-vascular points are activated by a very light touch with the pads of the fingers which only need to lightly make contact with the points, slightly stretch the skin and be held there.

Holding these neurovascular points has been shown to relieve stress and anxiety, and can be used to reprogram our emotional responses to stress and trauma. When we get overwhelmed, we commonly put our hands to our forehead, when we do this we are using the electromagnetic energy in our hand to pull the blood back into the frontal lobes of our brain, taking it from the more primal area that is activated when you are stressed out or overwhelmed. We often keep our hands there until we feel better. The longer you hold her points the more the stress will fade. Some people often repeat the story of concern in their head while holding the neurovascular points to change their emotional habits or responses and thereby training the mind not to react stressfully to the situation.

Overall hopefully this 2 part series has opened you up to a world of meridian psychology and inspired you to read around the subject. A few articles can not do this subject justice. I have only highlighted a small part in essence to show you, the reader, a deeper understanding of meridians, their tracing, the effect of certain treatments on it and the ability to get balance in the form of mind and body. I look forward to any of your comments, alternatively do use the Q+A page for further questions.

Image reproduced from cynthiarevesz.com and backintoit.com

Meridian Psychology: Emotional and Mental Wellbeing – Part 1

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London Life Coach & Wellbeing Consultant Sloan Sheridan-Williams talks about Meridian Psychology in the first of a two part series. Follow Sloan on Twitter @SloanSW_London and check out Sloan’s website www.sloansw.com

Continuing on from my current discussions on energy therapies, with this article I am pleased to take you through Complementary Therapies amongst other things with the following emphasis on Meridians, Meridian Tracing, Emotional and Mental well-balance and Neurovascular Holding Points in this 2 part series.

For those not acquainted with Meridian Psychology, meridians are channels through which vital energy (life force) circulates round the body/lie. There are specific points called acupuncture points where the flow of C’hi travels where C’hi is the life force energy that exists in everything. In its purest form it is light and in its densest form it is granite. C’hi flows across the body via meridian pathways and can be balanced by either sedating or stimulating meridian points.  There are 12 major meridians each flowing through specific organs, glands and tissues. Such a system is closely linked to the Central Nervous System. Al meridians are classified as either Yin or Yang depending on direction of flow. Yin refers to that which is dark, cool, moist, soft, receptive, feminine, passive and sinking. Often referred to as the dark negative female principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology. Whereas Yang corresponds to that which is light, hot, dry, active, masculine, positive and rising. Often referred to as the bright positive masculine principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology. Yin and Yang are said to balance one another.

Such energy psychologies focus mainly on balance and harmony by avoiding energy disruptions in the  system.  It has been shown that body consciousness and brain consciousness mutually inform and condition each other harmonising brain to body. In turn the balancing of the meridian system affects the body’s central nervous system as both systems are closely linked.

There are two main types of meridian therapy that apply here Acupressure and meridian tracing.  Acupressure is a gentle method of placing pressure along the meridian to sense soreness or discomfort. This, in turn, relates to which organ is experiencing a problem. For example, if the organ is diseased, most points along that meridian will be sensitive. I have not addressed this in more detail as I would like to concentrate on meridian tracing as there is less information around about it.

Meridian Tracing

Meridian therapy as discussed above can also be done by tracing the meridians. This can be carried out several times a day and does not require actual touching. It can even be done by holding the hands close to the body or through clothing. Meridian therapy is extremely versatile and can also done by mentally tracing an energy meridian through awareness and controlled breathing. This typically requires a greater depth of experience and understanding of meridian points and energy fields.

It can be done in many forms for example, magnets may also be used for tracing meridians. One can move the appropriate pole of a magnet close to the skin along a meridian. The benefit of this is that is has a much stronger balancing effect than using your fingers. It also has a dual function as for strengthening one can use the north-pointing pole and for sedating use the south-pointing pole can be used by keeping that end in contact with the skin.

With muscle testing the practitioner can often detect a strong preference of a meridian for one of the magnetic poles. This in turn can be used to diagnose the condition of the associated organ (if weak or inflamed). If muscle testing is not possible or successful, use the south-pointing pole on the body side that shows more inflammation or more tender acupressure-points; the practitioner then traces the opposite meridian with the north-pointing pole. Some clients feel immediately which pole and direction of tracing is beneficial, while the opposite pole and direction may feel unpleasant. The most powerful sedating and pain-relieving effect and the one most commonly used by practitioners is the south-pointing pole traced against the meridian flow.

The tracing of meridians associated with painful conditions 20-50 times has sometimes provided almost immediate relief from pain, while similar quick results have sometimes been achieved using the north-pointing pole for improving the mobility of impaired limbs.

For those who do not have magnets handy or wish another form of tracing, mental tracing is also an effective means of treatment achieved simply by tracing a meridian mentally – i.e moving the awareness along the meridian. In some cases I have asked clients to imagine a warm or orange energy stream moving in the normal flow direction for stimulation, while other clients I have asked to imagine a cool or blue stream moving either in the normal direction or against it for sedation.

For more information on meridian psychology, please see part 2 of this series where we continue to look at emotion and mental well being and neurovascular holding points for the reduction of anxiety.

Image reproduced by traffordhousingtrust.co.uk

Meridian Energy Therapies

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London Life Coach & Wellbeing Consultant Sloan Sheridan-Williams talks about Meridian Energy Therapies. Follow Sloan on Twitter @SloanSW_London and check out Sloan’s website www.sloansw.com

Most people know me as a hypnotherapist or life coach, but my studies also took me through Energy Therapies. I am often asked what is an energy therapy, to which I ask if the client has ever heard of EFT as it seems a popular branch in the media. For those who are interested in a more detailed understanding of energy psychology I have detailed below the transformation of the use of energy psychology throughout the years. I have included how the internal energy pathways which run through our physical body (connecting energetically, the body’s organs and their sub systems) have been analysed and the results adapted to produce therapies that aid in creating balance and harmony within the system thereby reducing pain, symptoms and any other distress.

Beginning in Detroit… Applied Kinesiology was born

Dr George Goodheart, a Detroit chiropractor, was interested in the relationship between apparent muscle strength, organs, glands and the meridians. Over the years he worked with many remarkable therapists from rehabilitation therapists to scientists involved in the neuro-lymphatic reflexes and other researchers who looked into acupuncture meridians. With this wealth of research and acquired knowledge, Dr George Goodheart went on to be the founder and developer of Applied Kinesiology.

Behavioural Kinesiology grew from Applied Kinesiology

Now one of the foremost senior holistic healers, John Diamond’s remarkable body of work - which began to get scientific recognition back in the 1970’s when he discovered the link between acupuncture meridians and emotions – enabled Applied Kinesiology to be adapted for even better results. Like myself, John Diamond began his career in Medicine (though his speciality was psychiatry). He later expanded into holistic medicine, concentrating on the totality of the sufferer. This led him to develop a unique method of healing adapting the work of George Goodheart to practice what we now refer to as Behavioural Kinesiology which assesses and evaluates the effects of all stimuli on the body, internal and external, in order to arrive at a new understanding of the body energy system. The degree of stress under which a patient is functioning is assessed and a rebalancing of the body energy is facilitated by showing the patient how to reduce stress and how to correct emotional attitudes.

John Diamond continues his work to this day and his research has led him to concentrate on the enhancement of the sufferer’s Life Energy so as to actuate his own innate Healing Power. However, as a cog in the ever advancing energy psychology, John Diamond’s contribution was a key component which allowed further developments.

Thought Field Therapy emerged

Dr Roger Callahan, a Beverly Hills Psychologist, also studied Applied Kinesiology and spent time studying with John Diamond. He then emerged with his own branch of energy psychology and termed his treatment “Thought Field Therapy”. Callahan theorised that when a person thinks about an experience or thought associated with an emotional problem, they are tuning into a “thought field.” And hence a concept was born. He describes this field as “the most fundamental concept in the TFT system”, stating that it “creates an imaginary, though quite real scaffold, upon which we may erect our explanatory notions”.

He believed that perturbations are said to be precisely encoded information contained in the thought field; each deformation of a person’s thought field is connected to a particular problem. It is believed that such can be activated by thinking about that problem and therefore Callahan maintains that these perturbations are the root cause of negative emotions. If this is true then each perturbation corresponds to a meridian point on the body so he theorised that in order to eliminate the emotional upset, a precise sequence of meridian points must be tapped in a set order to unblock energy and release the flow. Callahan developed such a method of tapping but it uses an extensive number of potential meridian points and needed simplification.

Callahan stated when he developed TFT that the process can relieve a wide variety of psychological issues including PTSD, depression, anxieties, addictions and phobias to name but a few. It is a very effective treatment once a practitioner has learnt how to do it and a typical treatment session lasts up to fifteen minutes and is not repeated.  Callahan has made substantial claims that TFT can treat or prevent physical problems and also made a ground breaking assertion that some phobias could be cured in as little as five minutes. This would be remarkable if we had enough practitioners qualified enough to learn such a complex process which is when one of Callahan’s students thought to simplify the process which, although does not have as miraculous results, still gives other therapies good competition in successful treatment.

Gary Craig adapted TFT creating EFT

Gary Craig (who trained with Dr Callahan) reduced TFT to make a simpler approach more accessible and applicable. Craig reduced the 361 meridian points down to 13 which are used in EFT with the first 12 being percussed no matter what the emotional upset followed by a 9 step Gamut on the 13th point.

As Gary Craig, originally a NLP practitioner, has no medical or psychological background critics have described EFT as “probably nonsense and outside the realms of science as it is an unfalseifiable treatment”. A controlled study concluded that any benefit is due to traditional cognitive components and perhaps even the placebo effect. In the simplest of forms, it is a distraction from negative thoughts and the therapeutic benefits come from having someone actually listen, rather than from manipulation of meridians. However the non-sceptics among us have had success with this treatment and although a simplified version of Callahan’s it does still retain respect in the holistic communities.

Other energy psychologies continue to emerge

Other energy psychologies including TAT and BSFF to name a couple, emerged over time from the numerous previous meridian psychologies. The former was Tapas Fleming’s contribution to energy therapies in its unabbreviated form called Tapas Acupressure Technique. This was developed in 1983 by the American acupuncturist Tapas Fleming and is often described as a process orientated energy psychology treatment. It is comprised of 7 steps and can be taught in a 2 day workshop. Its roots are from Chinese Medicine and yoga.

Other energy psychologies are still emerging and are extremely effective in treating emotional unbalances. I am pleased to be able to use them in my treatments where necessary and when the client is interested in a different approach to the issue before them.

Images reproduced from red-spirit-energy-healing.com and sahej.com