Wealden Times | WT172 | June 2016 | Kitchen & Bathroom supplement inside

Release & Restore
Stress and anxiety can often be invisible. Here’s a
taste of what to expect on Friday 10 June at Priceless
People Wellbeing Festival – a day of self-healing...
The Kundalini yoga teacher
Carolyn Cowan discusses
unconscious behaviour...
Addiction is often associated with
substance abuse. What else can cause
addiction? This question allows for a
compassion in how we think about and
work with addiction. I work with substance
abuse, drugs and alcohol for example, and
then process the addiction, which is how
it affects our brain. Food, in all its glory
can create addicition through starvation,
binge-eating, purging and obsession. The
shame we feel about our shape or size can
create unrealistic expectations and body
dysmorphia, leading to anxiety and anger.
Anything can cause addiction; gambling,
cutting, shopping...the list is long! We can
suffer hugely with how our minds process
reality. Suffering defines this addiction.
How can these negatively affect us? Are
there particular behaviour patterns? An
example could be: I get anxious about a
meeting with someone whom I feel is better
or more powerful than me. I don’t sleep the
night before, telling myself awful things.
The meeting is difficult, I come home, sit
and drink/eat/shop/watch violence, and then
lose my temper with my partner. My own
shame was dancing in front of me during
my sleepless night, but now it is too big
and close, so I collapse into self hatred and
purge, or reject those I love. The root of the
suffering is shame and self loathing, but is
medicated by the choices I make to try to
change how I feel. Does that make sense?
How can yoga, pranayama and meditation
help conquer this? Shame and self loathing
are at the root of much addictive behaviour.
Difficult, at times for some to see it, but it
leads to a deeply ingrained distrust of the
self. Time on the mat doing posture or
breath work helps us to discover that we
can make ourselves feel wonderful. We
can completely change how we feel for
the better. We can switch around our
hormonal flow so that we can experience
positive hormones like dopamine, and can
comfort ourselves instead of waiting for the
other person, ice cream, dress or drink.
Visit the Wellbeing Theatre at 1.30pm for
Carolyn’s talk on Conquering the Addictive
Personality. www.carolyncowan.com
Freeimages.com./Felipe(Aladim)Hadler
The Gong Master
Mark Swan tells us the value of sound...
Talk us through a gong bath session. What happens? During a gong bath you
are literally bathed in sound. You receive it passively lying down on your back with
eyes closed, in a state of deep relaxation. The Gong Master starts with a short guided
meditation, then plays using a variety of gongs for around 30 to 40 minutes. At the end
you are gently brought back refreshed, renewed and hopefully changed for the better.
How can these sounds benefit our wellbeing? We are made up of billions of molecules
that vibrate and move around our bodies. During the first few minutes of a gong bath
the sounds merge with these vibrating particles and overlay them. This creates a profound
impact upon the parasympathetic nervous system allowing us to go into a deep relaxed
state. Just as ultrasound is used to remove kidney and gall stones, sacred gong sound
enables us to enter a holistic and relaxing state where we can let go of stress and anxiety.
How does each gong vary? Do they have different purposes and effects? The gongs
I use are manufactured to exact frequencies in Germany. Each gong is tuned to a
different note and works on a different aspect of our physical and emotional self. They
link our mind to our deepest subconscious. Everyone experiences a gong bath in a
unique way, which makes it so amazing. The gong has been used for over 4000 years,
and its benefits are only now just being validated through science and medicine.
To take part in this unique experience visit the Wellbeing
Theatre at 2.45pm. www.gong-healing.com
The healer & author
Anna Parkinson relates the significance of energy...
You talk about our bodies communicating with us, can you explain a little
more about this? Your body precisely expresses what is going on with you on an
unconscious level. There are thoughts, feelings we are not aware of. Old memories
or decisions can be so familiar to us that we don’t realize we have them, but our
bodies express them. This is natural and logical because our bodies are built to carry
out our unconscious impulses, but it becomes a problem when some part of our
body doesn’t function properly. Emotions can emerge as physical symptoms.
Can anyone benefit from practising self-healing? Definitely. There is increasing
evidence showing how activity in the brain has physical effects; MRI scans can
show us how a living human brain functions. Negative experiences can have farreaching
physical consequences, but it’s possible for all of us to use the mind
to deal with old emotional reactions and change the present. My book is called
‘Change Your Mind, Heal Your Body.’ We can all do that, and if you find it hard,
there are simple exercises in the book that will have a powerful physical effect.
What happens in a typical healing session? We talk about what my client wants
to improve, and explain what their symptoms express. Our bodies have a universal
language, but each person’s story is unique. I then ‘read’ the energy of their bodies as
they sit listening to music. I interpret what I see and change it into something more
balanced. Animals ‘read’ energy all the time, and after 10 years I’ve had a bit of practice,
but I believe we all have the ability to do this. Finally, I tell the client what I have seen
and cleared away. It’s important that they understand what has been going on.
Anna will be sharing her knowledge and insight on Self-Healing at
10.30am in the Wellbeing Theatre. www.annaparkinson.com
137 www.wealdentimes.co.uk