New age alternative therapies - keeping pace with our modern lives

When we think of disease we think of endless rounds to the doctor's office, followed by a handful of medicines everyday, but an illness need not be synonymous with pain. Today with all the advancements in modern medicine, the alternative healing arena is also taking steps forward.

Anshu Srivastava was a young married professional, leading a happy life in Bangalore when she developed an acute case of spondylitis. An MRI scan revealed that the bone of her neck was as damaged as if she had met with an accident. But Anshu vehemently denied having had one. When the doctor advised surgery, she began searching for alternative ways to heal herself and stumbled upon Many Lives, Many Masters, a book by Dr Brian Weiss on reincarnation. Inspired, she contacted Neelam Kelavani, a Bangalore-based healer, and past-life regression therapist for a session. There she regressed to not one but two past lives, in both of which she had died of strangulation. Her neck bone had been broken. Amazingly, after coming out from the session, all her neck pain left her and the damage to her neck also healed, as a subsequent MRI report revealed. This whole episode has changed the course of her life. She has enrolled for a course in past-life regression and wants to study it further. 'I feel a new vista has opened before me. There is so much more to life than simply making money,' she exclaims.

Riddhima Kothari always wondered why she could not be successful despite all the love, support and encouragement of her family members. When she regressed to a past life, she saw that a part of her soul had still not come to terms with its death in that life, and this was affecting her present life adversely. The experience healed her. 'I feel that a layer has been peeled off from my mind. Today, I no longer suffer from an inferiority complex,' says a beaming Riddhima. What all the coaching by her loved ones could not do, one hour of past-life regression could permanently resolve in her life.

Rajesh Dossa, a financial planner from Mumbai, was in an emotional quagmire. A friend suggested EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). He attended a class held by therapist Jasmine Bharathan in Rishikesh and happily discovered a shortcut method to feel happy and rejuvenated, despite adverse circumstances. 'I did not know that bad feelings could be simply tapped away by your fingers. I saw several people reduce physical pain as well, through EFT.' Healing methods are as old as the history of human diseases, but the current times are witnessing an explosion of quick and effective healing techniques. Theta-Healing, Meta-Healing, Craniosacral therapy, EFT, Radionics, Reiki, Heal your Life modality, Access Consciousness, EMF Balancing Technique, Heartmath, Colour therapy and Sedona method all seem to be suddenly knocking on the doors of human sensibilities, and waking up people to the immense power they carry within themselves. They not only pave the way for healing, but also very often, initiate the person into spirituality.

So why is this happening? Part of the reason can be attributed to the fact that we live in speeded-up times. Everything is happening faster, whether it is the way we make money, lose money, marry or divorce. We are falling ill faster too, so perhaps it is only logical that we should also heal faster. Endorses META-healer Anu Mehta, 'In the last 20 years, the advancements that humans have made in technology are amazing. Today, our phones become outdated in days. New technology had never evolved so fast. With technology advancements, the alternative and integrative therapies too need to keep pace.'

The second is that we live in special times. We have only just undergone a shift in the era and the New Age is now here. The energies are rife for massive changes in our wellness quotient. 'Over the years I've learned that there are really just two mental patterns that contribute to disease: Fear and Anger.' Says Louise L. Hay . Shalini Kalra Jacob, founder of Loving yourself Foundation, says, 'Our Earth is undergoing a shift in consciousness so that we can live at a higher frequency of love, wisdom, co-operation and peace. We are incredibly blessed to be incarnated right now because the opportunities for spiritual growth are enormous which is why everyone is called on to heal their emotions and thoughts and use this great opportunity to transform themselves.' Aditi Surti, an Access Consciousness practitioner in Mumbai, says, 'Right now time is moving faster, and a window of great opportunity has opened. There is new energy entering our planet and there is a sense that something is going to happen. People ask for things and they get it.'

Anshu healed her spondylitis through Past-life Regression therapy. Reflects Irma Battig, who practises a combination of various New Age healing modalities, 'Our planet is undergoing a vibrational shift. In order to survive and thrive on Earth, we need to be in alignment with her energy. That can only happen if we raise our vibration as well. From the current state of awareness, we have created a lot of harm and agony on the planet. To shift from this attitude we need to move from our dualistic brain to our holistic heart. Because this change is in alignment with the planetary shift and with a higher intelligence, previously esoteric knowledge is becoming mainstream, and faster than we could have imagined. What used to be secret practices are seeing the light of day. Because the pace of transformation is accellerating, we need methods that work quickly now. Humanity can't afford to keep doing what we have been doing, and destroying our planet and each other at the current rate.'

Sukhvinder Sircar, healer and practitioner of EMF Balancing Technique, echoes these sentiments, 'Currently, the light quotient on our planet is very high and the old notions are dispelling and falling away. Diseases are a myth that we were programmed to believe in. The more we are in tune with our real, conscious self, the more it will get projected through the health of our system. As we are clearing our old stuff, the healing is becoming easier and more natural. The design of the dark which aimed to prevent us from knowing our divine origin is getting revealed. This shift is happening because a large number of people are reconnecting to their Source and are engendering a change. Therefore, for a new person it is becoming easier to tap into the now open and accessible new light. We are witnessing a collapse of time. The time between the intent and its manifestation is reducing.'

But can it really be as simple as that? Are people really healing at the snap of a finger? No, not quite. Yes, many are being drawn to modalities that heal in days what may have once taken years, but even so, the journey never ends. Persistent thought- or emotional- patterns may throw up new health challenges or even reawaken the old ones. For a full and permanent healing, it is not just the body but the psyche and the emotions that need to be thoroughly overhauled. In short, we need to work on ourselves ongoingly. Therapist Jasmine Bharathan says, 'EFT and other faster techniques are merely tools. They are not magic wands that will sort out all your problems. Ultimately, we must learn to engage with our circumstances in a balanced way. Mindfulness practises, meditation, self-awareness have to be practised diligently for long-term growth, evolution and benefit.' Shalini too maintains that real healing cannot take place overnight. 'It requires time to get rid of years of baggage. You may get intermittent relief but the patterns keep revisiting your life if you haven't learnt your lesson and applied it in your life,' she adds.

What these therapies do, however, are invaluable. In the first place they make us aware of the link between the body-mind and spirit which immediately shifts us to a holistic or spiritual perspective. Secondly, they help us become more aware of our inner world and also help us to ongoingly handle the physical and emotional challenges that show up while we work on ourselves. Thirdly, we can mix and match many of these modalities instead of staying with just one. Dr Ravindra Kapadia, a homeopath based in Mumbai, avidly practises and promotes the technique of Radionics, that operates on the principle of body vibrations and energy fields surrounding a person. Similarly, Dr Ashish Narayankar, an MBBS doctor, combines alternative healing methods with conventional treatment modes for the all-round well-being of his patients.

Content courtesy: Life Positive