Even during vacations we are standing attacked by extrinsic stressful factors which can ruin a very promising vacation. Vacation stress is a rather negative expression but it is real and it can cause serious upset. There are countless reasons to get wrathful during your vacation: poor services, distressing weather, high prices, noisy tourists, disagreeable insects and the list can go on an on. Yoga offers single methods of reducing the effects of such negative elements in the form of meditation, sakshin, pratyahara and pranayama. Meditation is also a recommended practice when vacation stress factors become active. Meditation helps you prepare for some potential stressful situations and is valuable during and aft these obstacles are gone. A semidetached state of consciousness that allows you to get a better understanding of the realities around you is referred to as sakshin. Pratyahara is a state of peace obtained by reducing to a negligible all outside intereferences. The mind gets calm and relaxed, focusing towards the inside of your own body. By using pranayama you are able to calm yourself in almost any ambitious situation by regulating your breathing and thus harmonizing the energies in your body.

You’ve seen the stage acts where a hypnotist selects someone out of the audience and when he claps his hands, the unwilling participant struts around the stage clucking like a chicken. You’ve also seen movies where the hypnotist waves the pocket watch in fore of the affected as he utters, “you’re getting asleep … very sleepy.” Hypnosis is a little more than what Hollywood or Vegas make it out to be. Below is a brief overview. Hypnosis is a naturally occurring altered state of consciousness in which the critical faculty is bypassed (mind in the semiconscious mode) and satisfactory selective thinking established. Wow! That’s a lot of technical jargon! Simply put, this means that the reasoning, evaluating, judging part of your mind (conscious) is bypassed.

Zannie Rose Shamanic healing is cardinal of the big numbers of healthful modalities available for us to experience today. Like acupuncture its roots are in the mists of time and like acupuncture it works with invisible energy. Acupuncture is usually associated with the East, while there have been shamanic healers for thousands of years in tribal communities all around the world. There are also many synchronic practitioners of this ancient healing art. Traditionally a shaman was someone who was able to communicate with the spirits and visit other realities with their own spirit allies. This is still the case in modern shamanism. A shamanic practitioner will use a drum or rattle to access an altered state of consciousness. In this altered state she is able to enter the lower world, the intermediate world or the upper world which are the invisible other realities. Here in the opposite worlds she journeys with her power animal and helpers to ask for healing for whoever has requested her services. Shamanic healthful is about energy, and typically the shamanic practitioner sees lack of health and well being on any equal as being active loss of energy in some way. Trauma, stress, abuse and serious accident at any time in one’s life can result in loss of life force, vital energy or essence which is known as ‘soul loss’. In order to survive seriously challenging situations a soul part leaves the separate and finds whatsoever kind of haven or refuge in one of the other worlds, attractive with it whatsoever of the life force. It does this to assist overall survival. However, it often results in depression, apathy, inability to move on after a loss or death or problems with the immune system. It is the task of the shamanic healer to track falling this soul part in the opposite worlds, to offer it healing and reassurance and to invite it to return and bring back its constructive qualities. This is known as ‘soul retrieval’ Another issue addressed by the modern day shamanic healer is that of ‘power loss.’ Power loss is widespread and may be caused by confrontation, exams stricken health, unrelenting problems, lack of community support, erosion of self- esteem, disagreeable family circumstances or manipulative relationships. Without our intrinsic vitality and viable connection to the cosmic web we become dis-empowered, dejected and dispirited. The shamanic solution is for the healer to journey to the lower world to retrieve the individual’s power animal. Power past returns along with the ability to approach life with enahnced confidence and deal with the challenges it presents. The ancient practice of shamanic healthful is alive and well and is very useful for an individual who recognises any of the symptoms referred to. It can support therapy or counselling when it feels as if an impasse has been reached. It is also effective for a own development coach to have a shamanic practitioner on their referral list as a individually customized shamanic sessions to retrieve soul parts and/or a power animal will give the individual much energy and incentive to design and work towards life goals. Written by Zannie Rose