Massage & Bodywork

March/April 2013

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energy work This meditation includes a generative component (creating feeling—in this case, compassion); a receptive component (receiving what is happening—in this case, unconditional love); a Zen-like component (creating a quiet mind—in this case, innate harmony); and an active meditation (in this case, healing presence). Because it spans multiple forms of meditation, people usually can find their way into the meditation through the attribute or form they are most akin to. Practice all four attributes when you meditate. Over time, the other attributes will open up as well. Before You Start Find a comfortable, quiet place to sit. You may want to keep the heart-center attributes written down beside you so that you can look at them until you can recall all four without effort. If you like music, find a piece that suggests the heart center to you and play it during meditation. Whatever you choose, I suggest you use the same piece of music each time you meditate—a piece of music you use only for this meditation. This will allow you to instinctively move into the heart center as the music begins, as the music becomes the initiator for the state of consciousness you are exploring. Then focus internally on the heart, your breath, and the four attributes. Move if you feel movement. Some people notice a circular movement, or they find that they need to shift position from time to time. Trust that your body is a mudra, too; if it wants to move, assist it in moving to a place of comfort. The heart center is not about personal preference, nor is it about accepting everything that comes our way. The heart center's energy is a collective energy that allows for the reverence of all life. To fully understand this, practice this meditation for 5–20 minutes daily. If you use the meditation for only five minutes a day, also do one 20-minute meditation each week to kindle and experience the specific quality of the heart-center energy. Notes 1. Doc Childre and Howard Martin, The HeartMath The Practice Sit in a comfortable position. Place your hands over your heart chakra in the mudra and close your eyes. Invite in each attribute for the meditation. Focus using image, word, and feeling to stimulate and invoke each attribute. Solution (New York: Harper Collins, 1999), 34. 2. Ibid. • Compassion: Oceanic, limitless compassion. • Innate Harmony: Calm in the midst of chaos, the still point. Infinite, still bliss. • Healing Presence: Longing and desire toward healing. Love in action. • Unconditional Love: Unconditioned, unconditional love. Reverence. Awe. Ann Marie Chiasson, MD, author of Energy Healing: The Essentials of Self-Care (Sounds True, 2013), has a private integrative practice in Tucson, Arizona, where she offers consultations, treatments, seminars, and retreats. She teaches at the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona and facilitates spirituality and healing conferences. For more information, visit www.annmariechiassonmd.com. www.abmp.com. See what benefits await you. 113

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