29 September 2006

If you have an ache, you take a painkiller to ease the pain. If you have a cold you take medicine to stop the sneezing. However each of these ailments” is a way of your body communicating that something is wrong — energy is blocked.

In life and in yoga we are taught to go with the flow. If your hip is tight in triangle pose — you honour your injury adapt the pose and continue with the next asana. If your computer eats the financial report due at 3pm, you grieve for the loss (possibly hit your computer) and then go to another terminal and type from memory as fast as you can — you go with the flow. If you stop going with the flow you encounter anger, pain and stress.

Once out of the energetic flow, our lives become misaligned and stress manifests itself in an array of physical and psychological ailments, which we tend to treat with medication and visits to the doctor.

Bioenergy healing focuses on clearing energy blockages, which cause physical and mental disparity, and essentially re-educates the energy in the body to flow correctly. Michael Cohen is a RaphaYad Bioenergy Healing practitioner in London. Through the manipulation of energy and neurological circuitry he treats clients with conditions ranging from chronic degenerative diseases to learning disabilities to developmental disorders to enhancing

personal development .

Whilst reiki and traditional Chinese medicine are rooted in ancient

energy healing traditions, bioenergy seemed to me rather like the new kid on the block”. As an avid acupuncture addict I admit I was initially rather sceptical as to what fresh and unique take on healing Michael could offer. With an open mind, however, I went along to visit Michael at his clinic and ultimately was quite surprised by the results and my time down there.

I had awoken that morning with a severe stiff neck, which was significantly limiting my range of motion and ability to type at my computer. The pain was radiating all around my neck and as far as the outer reach of my shoulders. Little did I know that this agony would serve as a litmus test for the RaphaYad Healing technique.

Michael’s diagnosing technique was very different from anything I had been accustomed to. Unlike traditional medicine, the RaphaYad form of Bioenergy Healing focuses more on instinctive diagnosis and treatment. Michael assesses patients through a process called scanning” in which he looks at a patient’s body and visually searches and pinpoints energy blockages. The hot spots” which require immediate attention exert a magnetic pull that directs Michael to the area.

I hadn’t told Michael about my neck and shoulders, nor did I stand in a way that alerted him to my discomfort. When I was about to explain what I thought he should help me with, Michael insisted I not discuss what I believed to be my ailment. Instead he stood across the room and stared at my body scanning it for the priority blockage points through the interaction of energy fields. I must admit a man standing at the opposite end of a room staring

at my body heightened my scepticism about the treatment. When Michael pointed to my neck however and then followed the flow of pain from my clavicle up my neck to my scalp, I was convinced that scanning” and instinctual energy healing had something genuine to offer.

When treating my neck, Michael applied pressure to specific points, which again emitted energy and directed him to them. Once pressure was applied Michael walked across the room with his arms outstretched, still connecting with the energy he just manipulated, stretching and further manipulating the

blockage in my neck. “When I manipulate energy”, says Michael, “it sends a signal to the brain to reactivate the energy flow to the effected area”. The signal will reactivate the healing process turned off by the blockage. Our

energy, which is supposed to flow in a continuous uninterrupted circuit, becomes blocked. “When I stretch energy it releases memory patterns, without the energy being caught up in an old loop — the old way of working around the blockage,” he notes.

Each person interprets the feelings they experience in the treatment differently and many of the sensations are indescribable in relative terms. For me, it felt rather like a combination of pressure, tickling and pins and needles. However my experience and interpretation of the treatment is unique to my way of verbalising the feelings.

After an hour of manipulation and stretching, my intense pain was gone. I felt lighter and less hampered down by daily emotional baggage and stress. When  I returned home my friends commented on the glow that seemed to radiate from my smile and confident stride. My new-found radiance, Michael explained, was down to the fact that as he released one energy blockage it

exposed another to work upon. Slowly he had been working on

reconnecting my body’s electric current.

The difference between RaphaYad healing techniques and other

alternative therapies lies in the more instinctual method and approach to treatment. For example acupuncture and acupressure use an ancient set of rules and meridian maps of the body to treat patients. There is a prescribed treatment for patients who come in for problems such as pain or  depression. Whilst Michael may cross over meridians and chakras, his healing technique is not governed by hard and fast rules.

RaphaYad Healing actually has a significant and scientific basis behind its treatment. “Our bodies’ neurological system creates a direct current (DC), which continuously moves in the same direction throughout the body,” explains Michael. The RaphaYad technique allows the practitioner to tap into the electrical current and manipulate it to work more efficiently enhancing neuron communication of the brain. “The treatment brings about an increased/enhanced shift in perception, balance, non-dependency, endurance, confidence, positive mental attitude, clarity and focus.”

Whilst other treatments may necessitate frequent visits to a practitioner the goal of Michael’s work is to equip patients with the tools to heal themselves as quickly as possible. “I want to enable people to move beyond their limitations. Teaching  my patients how they can learn the bioenergy healing techniques

to heal themselves, will self-empower them to improve their own quality of life and perhaps pass the gift onto others.”

Michael practices at three clinics in and around London. For more details of location and opening hours or-to book an appointment you can visit the website, www.bioenergyhealing.org.uk or call 0845 456 I 336.