Brush Away the Old Make Way for the New - self talk therapy
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• Self-talk Therapy •
Okay, back to our holistic recipe for dry brush massage. Attention amps up the power of DBM. My wandering mind waters down attention. The solution*? (*I swear I haven’t had any caffiene. I’ve just had a great night’s rest and a luscious breakfast while watching the rising sun dissolve a Transylvanian mist. Those solar rays infuse my glass of drinking water perched on the windowsill. Ahhhh, holistic living!) The solution to coalesce skittering attention is to talk. Organize my thoughts to form words and sentences. Positive ones that add even more powerful, dynamic benefits to whatever activity I’m engaged in. “Thank-you, feet,” brush, brush, “for your reliable support;” brush, “for moving me safely across pebbly parking lots,” brush, brush, “wet grass,” brush, “unfamiliar thresholds* (mystical ones, too)” brush, brush, “and for safely accelerating and braking my car,” brush….
I’ve promoted self-talk vocalization in previous columns. Need I remind you this is a private practice? Use tones and inflections like you do when addressing a baby or pet. Your body’s basic self—that aspect of you that regulates all those automatic physiological responses—perks up and pays attention. Yep, that further feeds the attention you bring forth from your mortal mind. Together they boost your soul’s attention, which glides your being towards its mission. This is holistic living.
Remember the “random acts of kindness” wave that rippled a while ago? DBM has a similar beneficent resonance. Our self-care practices have an overt social purpose to look or smell pleasing to others. DBM is subtler. It takes a while to notice the incredibly dynamic vitality dry brush massage engenders. DBM does not add or detract from your social status in the short run. After a few months’ daily practice, however, observers begin to vaguely comment on your brighter presence by inquiring if you’ve changed your hairstyle or your complexion routine. They may comment how good you look “in that color” though they’ve seen you in it many times before with nary a word.
- Writer's Bio: Karen is a naturopathic physician who has taken holistic healing and education into the realm of quantum physics. She is credited with “the first major breakthrough in Swedish Massage ~ research demonstrating energetic interconnections ~ since Peter Ling systemized it in the early 19th century.” International recognition for her healing and educational work includes an honorary degree, a silver medal, listing in Who’s Who of Professional and Business Women, appearances on TV and radio, lecturing in Europe and in the U.S. for professional symposia, colleges, corporations, community groups, and being featured in professional journals, magazines and newspapers. She has published more than 200 articles on holistic health and education. She has facilitated joyful well-being and health for hundreds of students she has personally certified in holistic healing and holistic massage and for hundreds more clients she has personally touched including luminaries in science, medicine and religion. iamholistic@gmail.com