Energy work ‘not brain surgery’ – my highlights from the AMT Conference 2014

I really enjoyed the Association for Meridian and Energy Therapies (AMT) conference at the gorgeous View hotel in Eastbourne this weekend.

Energy work might sound quite strange to many in this part of the world but while none of us doubt our physical bodies (even if we often ignore their needs), increasingly, we’re more aware of our energy bodies.

I offer a range of therapies with energetic components – the ‘soul’ bit of my holistic mind, body, heart and soul practice – like crystal therapy, psychosynthesis counselling, yoga therapy, Energetic NLP and EFT).

And I regularly encourage clients to pay attention to how things make them feel energetically. What lifts their spirits? What drains them? What (a favourite psychosynthesis question) makes their hearts sing? As AMT’s founder and chair, Silvia Hartmann said, ‘If you tell someone they’re a piece of ****, their energy goes down. If you tell them they’re good, it goes up. It’s not brain surgery but common sense.’

My highlights from the conference included teaching a yoga class (with a sea view!) on the Saturday morning and (something that lifted my own energy to such an enormous degree I imagine it’ll keep me going until it’s warm enough to sea swim again in 2015) my November sea swim on Saturday lunchtime. We had amazing weather and while the water was very cold and I only stayed in for 10 minutes, it was glorious.

While all the speakers I heard were interesting, Susan Kennard, Sam Thorpe and Amy Kiberd were especially fab.

Going back to Silvia’s ‘not brain surgery’ comment from her keynote speech, self-care makes sense. ‘The more you have, the more you have to give.’

You might want to think about something someone did or said that made you feel awful and contrast that with something that made you feel all shiny and invincible.

You might also want to think about the things you tell yourself (and others) that lift your energy and those that make you feel like an amoeba (or worse). Noticing them in a mindful and compassionate way, will help you choose kinder thoughts and words – for yourself and others – in the future.

If you’d like some support, get in touch.

Metta,

Eve
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AMT’s European EFT and Energy Conference 2013

I have had an exceedingly interesting long weekend at the AMT EFT and Energy Conference.

It was fab to meet ‘energists’ (complementary therapists, such as myself, incorporating energy work into their practices – everything from EFT and crystals to Heart Math and shamanism).

As Silvia Hartmann mentioned in her keynote speech, the fact that Thought Field Therapy creator, Roger Callahan, had died the week before made it especially poignant as, for all the advances in the fields, without his pioneering work, EFT and similar models wouldn’t exist.

Highlights for me included Olivia Robert’s ‘Go away! Go away! Go away!!!!!!’ stomping. Try it – you don’t need to know ANYTHING about energy work to understand that when something annoying/painful/etc happens, we grown ups tend not to stamp our feet and shout. Instead, we often suppress our disappointment, frustration, anger and pain.

Roberts came across this strange tool when, sick of migraines, she finally shouted at it. She’s also helped herself and others through IBS and fibromyalgia (AND, fury at friends and many more prosaic irritations).

While she talked about how neurological waves (from shock, disappointment, anger etc) hit vulnerable areas be that searing head pain for migraine sufferers or IBS symptoms or arthritis. You can find out more at Resolution Magic.

And, of course, the simple act of stamping the feet is grounding, offering a great way to release pent up anger and other emotions, potentially offering a safe way to perform ‘effective action’ if the stressful situation was one in which we felt trapped and unable to be free and safe. It also helps us discharge some of the stress hormones we create when such events trigger our fight/flight response.

I love tapping (EFT) but ‘Go away!’ appeals to my inner toddler and I have used it several times, with instant success, since learning a little about it on Saturday.

My biggest highlight (apart from daily swims) was Susan Kennard‘s fab workshop on the work she’s been doing with military veterans struggling with PTSD using EFT.

Working with trauma and PTSD is my favourite. So much so that I’m hoping to do some training with Susan as one of my birthday treats. I absolutely love learning about the different ways to support people who feel broken beyond repair (having spent a large chunk of my life feeling like that myself), helping them learn how to help themselves.

While I’ve been fortunate to learn about using yoga therapy to help people find safety in their own bodies from Heather Mason (and I’ve interviewed people like Dave Emerson from the Trauma Centre in Boston and co-author of Overcoming Trauma through Yoga and Daniel Libby of the Veterans Yoga Project in the US) and have integrated that into my work with clients, this was the first time I’d really understood how EFT can be so supportive (and I’ve been a practitioner for many years now!).

We are all connected and learning more about Heart Math and the fact that our hearts not only have so much sway over our own bodies but, when we cultivate compassion and strong hearts, we can calm stressful situations by simply breathing mindfully as if through our hearts. This can help others around us remember their own calm, loving centres and get them back in touch with their resourcefulness as well as helping us not get hooked into others’ dramas.

I’ve barely touched the tip of the iceberg re the inspiring speakers but for now, am enjoying what I’ve learned into my work… If any of y’all are interested, do check out my website and get in touch to find out more.

Metta x