Insecurities: Worse than leftover meatloaf.

There isn't much I find to be worse than leftover meatloaf, so insecurities are kind of a big deal. They're debilitating, powerful, and all-consuming. If we let them, they breed self-doubt like cancer. But if you can cut off the sugar supply, the cancer won't have much to feed off.

Why is it so easy to fall prey to this kind of negative energy? Because we've been conditioned to value other people's opinions more than our own. We've been trained to stop listening to our intuition and gut instincts. Mostly due to fear - and it's usually a fear of attracting what we want without encountering many obstacles. I mean, if you could do, have, or be anything you wanted you'd probably feel like you had some crazy super hero power. With great power comes great responsibility, no? That idea packs quite the punch and can be a tad intimidating. So, I get it. It feels safer to pass the blame to friends, family and peers rather than taking responsibility ourselves for what's not coming to fruition in our lives.

So how do we get away from these self-defeating habits? It takes a lot of practice, but it's not difficult stuff. No crazy college degree or skills required. Ready...?

Stop listening to people. 

That's all. If you want or need to, stop asking people for their opinions before you make a decision. If you're receiving a ton of unsolicited opinions, just tell them you appreciate the space their concern is coming from, but you prefer to try your own method first to see how it pans out.

Try it once or twice and see how it sits with you. The more you practice this, the easier it will be to follow your own compass. You'll find that you end up relying less on feedback from others and will feel much happier and free!



------------------------------------------------------------------------
To see more of what Holistically Yours is all about, visit my website!

Jayleen Hayden is a Level II Certified Usui Reiki Practitioner based out of the Greater Portland, Maine area.

Why so serious?

I encounter so much fear in people on a daily basis. I'd say 95% of this originates from insecurities. We're so afraid of failure and "getting it wrong" that we forget to just lighten up and have fun during this learning process.  We make mistakes. It's how we learn. If we didn't make them, then we WOULD be doing it wrong. Where's the fun in life without the unexpected twists and turns?

I'm just about as far from perfect as it gets - I'm pretty sure. I fall down cement stairs (I also trip up stairs... my lack of grace does not discriminate), I walk into parking meters, sometimes I make "bad" business decisions, can talk like a sailor quite eloquently, and I probably drink entirely too much coffee. I used to get hung up on this stuff all the time until one day I decided I just didn't want to worry about it. It's not fun!! I don't know why we were put on this planet, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't to be miserable and overly calculating.

Who cares if you mess up? If you do, it's probably because you're listening too much to everyone's opinions around you. Ignore them. They don't count. These people don't know what makes you happy or feeds your soul. If they'd rather see you following their advice than doing things that you love to do - then they're judging. Nobody needs that. Allow yourself the space to explore the things you want to explore. Stop judging others and you'll find that you stop judging yourself.

And laugh the next time you walk into a door frame or trip in public. It makes the bruises hurt less. Trust me... I have plenty of experience with this!



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To see more of what Holistically Yours is all about, visit my website!

Jayleen Hayden is a Level II Certified Usui Reiki Practitioner based out of the Greater Portland, Maine area.

How can Reiki help with my health problems?

People often forget that the human body is the most amazing and powerful machine we've been gifted: even with the worst maintenance plan, it still functions! Not optimally, of course, but it can withstand a lot of junk before it's run into the ground. Why? Because it's a damn fine self-maintaining piece of equipment. Good luck finding the same qualities in a car!

Our bodies are built to heal themselves, but we get into trouble when we don't give them what they need to do so. The forms of these demands are pretty simple: clean fuel, plenty of rest, reduced stress, and regular exercise. These are pretty basic requirements and really aren't hard to accomplish - until you start factoring in how our culture equates everything to time and money in a synonymous manner.

A typical day in the world of an adult involves fitful sleeping, cramped schedules, stress from trying to cram the impossible into these already cramped schedules, insufficient personal and free time, short or non-existent lunch breaks, commuter traffic, and lots of extra stress from trying to race the clock. And - I'm not sure if you've noticed, but that damned clock always wins!

Money makes our world go 'round so we tend to make sure we do everything we can to pay the bills. It's no wonder that many of us don't have a ton of energy at the end of the day to exercise and prepare proper meals before heading to our dreams for a good night's rest. It's a cyclical issue, and one that fosters less than ideal health situations for us.

In its natural state, your body is perfectly equipped to handle the daily barrage of threats to its immune system. It really handles them with such valor! But when you slack on your maintenance plan and allow everything to get thrown out of whack, you lose a clarity in energy that could be utilized to deal with the emotional and physical issues that arise. Lingering or recurring issues just make us feel terrible and, in turn, create more stress. So, I think you understand what I'm getting at here: we live in a world that produces plenty of stress but allows for little room to repair from it.

At its most basic and physical level, Reiki helps to even out those energetic imbalances so you can stop stressing out so much. Once you can do that, your body can relax and do its job to naturally recover. The benefits hardly end here, though. Later on, I'll explain energy centers and how they impact you physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To see more of what Holistically Yours is all about, visit my website!

Jayleen Hayden is a Level II Certified Usui Reiki Practitioner based out of the Greater Portland, Maine area.

So really... What the h*ll is Reiki?

First and foremost, Reiki is energy. Think in terms of the Force. Everything is made from energy - and it's actually all the same kind, just operating at different vibrational frequencies. So, you're made from the same energy as the chair you're sitting in and the table you're probably resting your feet on. In addition, colors and sounds are also comprised of these frequencies. There are actually colors, thoughts, emotions, sounds, internal organs, and even diseases that share the same vibrational frequencies. More on the science-y stuff at a later time, though!

So, the word 'Reiki' means Universal Energy or Life Force (hear that, Jedi?) Reiki energy is a little different from the rest of the energy that we're all made of. It's healing, completely pure, and one hundred percent light, so it can never do any harm.

There are many different types and systems, but the most traditional is Usui Reiki, which is what I practice through Holistically Yours. While the general presence of this energy therapy far precedes its written history, Usui Reiki really came into being in the mid-1800s from the research, findings, and practice of Dr. Mikao Usui.

Dr. Mikao Usui

During his time, it was incredibly secret and sacred. Students were required to go through lengthy bouts of training (we're talking years and years) before they were able to carry the Reiki Master title. It's not like students could just walk onto Nickelodeon's Legends of the Hidden Temple and call it good. 

All this being said, Usui didn't attune many Reiki Masters. He was succeeded by Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, who led a pretty neat life that consisted of the navy and surgeon-like duties, but his biggest claim to fame was passing attunement to his last student, Mrs. Takata, in 1938. Mrs. Takata, who lived in Hawaii, was responsible for introducing this practice to the Western world. 

Mrs. Takata

And that's enough history for now. Back to the fun stuff. As I noted before, Reiki is a different energy from our own; therefore, the practitioner is only a conductor. When practicing Reiki, we're just an open channel, much like the instrument Dr. Frankenstein caught the lightning with. Activating Reiki during treatment requires nothing more than placing both hands on the body with the intent to heal. Once that process begins, the Force flows and is represented by hot and cold, tingling sensations, and other nifty happenings - but that's more than enough for another post!

"Well, the Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together."-- Obi-Wan Kenobi

Permalink

Holistically Yours

Holistically Yours

Holistically Yours is almost in full swing now! Well, digitally at least. Still waiting on the actual studio space to be finished (I should probably get on that soon...)

Please bear with me while I get my act together. I promise you this blog will be overflowing with positivity and optimism, nerd references, sarcasm, ramblings, and laced with plenty of my personality - which, you may or may not want to thank me for. 

In the meantime, please check out the 'home base' for Holistically Yours at www.holisticallyyours.net to see what this getup is all about!