I still remember the first time I did AcuEnergetics Level 1. Not far into it we probably had done a little meditation and started to learn about the mind and body and how it works with the bio-electricity. The feeling I initially recall is that of a weird sense of relaxation. I remember sitting in the group wondering when was the last time I sat still for a moment and thought about how I was, how I felt and how I should make more time for my health and happiness.
It was a strange thing for me – to stop and feel how I was feeling, in my body and my mind. To put everyone and everything else on hold for a while and dedicate this small amount of time to myself – what a treat. It felt luxurious and cheeky and important, all at once. I might have made a promise to myself to do this kind of practice more often, I can’t remember. All I know is that it made a big impact.
When we started to learn about feeling the electricity, I admit I was unsure if I would be able to do it. I had confidence that others could do it – since I had received treatments myself that had been strong and effective – however I was not sure it was something I would be able to do. After all it involved feeling, not thinking and my whole life had been dedicated to the latter! This feeling thing was not something I had a whole lot of practice at.
Nevertheless I gave it a go and tried to ‘not try’ and practice the technique we were taught and just feel … it felt a bit foreign to me to be honest. The ideas made sense but they went against everything I had been encouraged to do throughout my life. Concentrating and trying needed to be replaced with awareness and letting go. The harder you try, the less chance you have at feeling. The more you let go and just go through the motions, the more you get a glimpse of the feeling. Who would’ve thought?
I did feel something that weekend, just not much. Looking back, if I had followed the guidance we were given – about relaxing and not trying – then it would have been easier for me. However it’s not easy to retrain your brain and your old patterns. My mind was persistently unhelpful to the process as whenever I thought that yes maybe I could actually feel something in my hand, it was very reliable in reminding me that I was probably just imagining it.
But even if my mind was my enemy that weekend, I enjoyed learning about the impact stress and traumas have not just in how we feel but also in the electricity and the physical body too – and how these can be helped by re-engaging the correct flow of electricity in the body. It was fascinating. I laughed thinking of how much work I had a head of me to restore correct flow in my body! But it also empowered me to feel like I had a way to understand and help myself too.
Other parts of the weekend included some ancient meditations to help focus our attention and open our hearts. The inner breath and the inner smile were the two we were taught and although meditation was not new to me, the way these were taught created such peace, stillness and joy in my heart that I was hooked. They were simple and yet very profound.
There were lots of other things we did over the course of the weekend – like the amazing Circulation of the Light Wellness Balance and learning how to ‘gather qi’ to increase our energy levels – all of which were awesome. However the thing I really took away was a wake up call to myself in how I was, how I had been and how I wanted to be. This quote by Buddha, “If you want to see why your body is the way it is now, look at how you’ve been thinking for the past 10 years. If you want to look at how your body will be in 10 years time, look at how you’re thinking now.” was like a lightning bolt. How much sense it made and yet how crazy we all are in our day to day lives. I made a vow to change and bring more awareness into my daily practice and to start to live some of the things I had learned.
As I said earlier, the getting out of the mind is hard, but obviously I did persist. The feelings and sensations I started to experience were strange and new and somehow tangible yet of another world. It was exciting and I started to get a small taste of the world of possibilities that were available to me, within that first weekend of Level 1 Skills for Living. From there, the experience just continued to get better and better.For me it was nothing short of life changing.
By Rochelle Taylor
Rochelle is a mum of two little ones and has always been interested in finding ways to live a happy and healthy life while helping others. She has been meditating for 19 years, since she was introduced to the practice in school and found a passion for healing and energy medicine not long after that. Rochelle enjoys the challenges of life, motherhood, family, work, friends and somehow fitting them all in together. Work-wise Rochelle is an AcuEnergetics® Practitioner, Teacher and is also the General Manager of AcuEnergetics®. She has been practicing AcuEnergetics® since 2005 and is fully qualified to teach AcuEnergetics® Level 1 and AcuEnergetics® Level 2. She is currently a co-teacher for AcuEnergetics® Level 3 and the AcuEnergetics®