Using Feathers to Heal
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Written by Karla McCoy Monday, 23 July 2007 00:00 |
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I’ve spent most of my adult life focusing on the healing aspect of animals. Working in the veterinary field for the last 20 years, I’ve seen an increasing number of health issues in our animal companions. We live in a toxic world with chemicals, pollutants, refined sugars, dyes and preservatives. A quick fix for everything makes it easier to fit into our busy lives. These artificial elements are key to the deterioration of not only our health, but our animals’ health as well.
Disease is caused from an imbalance in our being, which is made up of a complex mix of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies. My belief is, they are not a separate group of bodies but function as a unit and when one is distressed, the rest are affected. Our animals are not unlike us. They manifest physical issues not only due to what they absorb from a toxic environment, but I find in my work they also tend to take on their humans’ health problems as well.
When the body is out of balance, working on the source of the problem is essential. Potential diseases can manifest in our energetic field years before we experience their appearance as a physical illness. It then becomes apparent that in order to treat the physical aspects of disease and to keep it from reoccurring, we must treat the disorders in the energetic body as well. Without focusing on both aspects, a complete cure is highly unlikely.
In the 1600 and 1700’s gravity, electricity and magnetism were discovered and were seen as little more than a “natural phenomenon”. By the 1800’s it was clear, these forces were capable of causing reactions and movements, which became known as “energy”. When combined, heat and light were created, radiating as waves that could be actually measured. Only a short time ago, physicians revealed these forces could be “seen” as they produced a pattern of force lines, known as magnetic fields. It was also discovered that all living things had an energy field, or as some refer to as an “aura” surrounding them. A special camera and film process, known as Kirlian photography has captured these fields on film.
The Chinese refer to the aura or Life Force as “chi” connecting and associating all of the meridians to the body organs, tissues, blood, bones, marrow, cells and fluids. A meridian is the subtle energy system by which “chi” circulates through the body. This transportation system is often referred to as channels. When these channels are not flowing correctly, disease can set in. The Native American’s refer to the life force as “Prana” meaning, “breathe” or “spirit” and believe all creatures are one and connected with the Universe. They also believe that the spirit world has an impact on our physical, mental and emotional bodies. Much of my work is based on each of these philosophies, which go back almost to the beginning of time.
The energy field consists of seven major openings known as chakras. The term “chakra” means literally, “spinning wheel”. To those that can see auras, the chakras appear as wheel-like vortices of pure energy and are often referred to as “lotuses”. Each chakra has its own location, color, purpose, association and connection. The 1st chakra is red and is located on a horse, at the base of the tail. The second is orange and is up further along the spine, going through the body at about the flank area. The third is yellow and is about the mid section of the spine going down through the belly region. The forth is green and goes from around the base of the neck and withers down through the chest and heart area. The fifth is blue and travels through the neck. The sixth , indigo in color, is located on the forehead. Finally, the seventh is violet, white or gold and is right above the horse’s head. I have found that one or all may be out of alignment or it may be completely closed. If blocked or closed, the life force does not flow, as it should. When this happens, it not only affects the physical body, it can also result in mental, behavioral or emotional problems. Energy-based healing techniques are used to rebalance and reopen the chakras and in doing so, help realign the whole body.
There are various forms of energy-based healing techniques. Two very familiar and commonly recognized systems are Reiki and Healing Touch. I think we are each drawn to whatever method feels “familiar” or “right” to us, as there is no one technique that everyone will feel comfortable using.
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I have blended different technique with the use of feathers. Feathers seem to be a natural conductor for energy. From my experience, they not only add a higher vibration but also do the healing in a much shorter time. Animals tend to “absorb” energy healing quicker than humans and I find they improve even more with the use of feathers.
I’ve had several clients with horses whose heath improved from weekly massage. Using feather energy work prior to the treatments has resulted in astonishing benefits. The horses seem to be much more relaxed during their massage therapy and receive even more healing benefit, than massage alone. Feather energy work can be done an hour or several days ahead of massage to obtain full benefit. I have also seen improvements using feather work alone, without massage therapy. I generally work on a horse for approximately an hour but have experienced results in less time.
Prior to a session I check the horse’s energy field for blocked energy or “hot” spots. I do this by running my hands about 6”-8” above the horse to pick up any changes I feel in the energetic field. The massage therapist or the horse’s person will usually verify the problem areas. I also use a pendulum to check the 7 major chakras. A pendulum is anything metal or stone hanging from a chain or string. It picks up the energy movement by connecting with the consciousness of “All” and moving in a specific rotating motion to let me know how open or closed a chakra is. As I am assessing the animal I am making a mental note of where the problem areas are located.
I use specific feathers for specific work. I use a brown turkey feather when doing any work on the auric field. The brown colors of the turkey feather with iridescent rays throughout, give me a sense of “grounding” which many animals need. For specific chakra work, I use a white turkey feather. The white color gives me a sense of connection with “All” and is very beneficial when aligning the chakras. I also have specific gemstones arranged parallel on the shaft of this feather, each corresponding to the 7 major chakra openings.
There are two specific movements I use, when working to enhance an animal’s energetic field. I first use a long “sweeping” movement to clear out the main body of the aura. At first, I can often feel a strong resistance, as the energy field can be bogged down with “debris”. The sweeps are slow and I use a constant “pressure” as I move through the animal’s energy. I start at the head, moving slowly as to not cause stress and run the feather down to the tail. I work on one side from up by the withers to the flank area, moving my way slowly down the body, with focused even sweeps until I’ve covered down to the feet. Then I start on the other side and do the same. Usually about halfway through, I see the horse shift weight and give releases. Oftentimes, this lets me know when to move on to the next area.
Next I go to deep feather work. This step is used to focus on specific problematic areas, such as sore muscles, foot and hoof issues or any other localized concern. I use quick, “choppy” sweeps in a repeated format. The energy of the feather seems to draw the problem to the top and then helps disperse it. There are times when the issue is close to the head. In these instances this method needs to be altered, as it can spook a horse. If this is the case, I use the shaft of the feather and direct the energy in a spiral motion to dislodge any blocks in that area. This causes less stress, yet still contends with the blocked energy. I usually do deep feather work on most of the animals, however, there can positive results from an overall aura clearing. Beneficial results can be achieved by working directly on the horse or can be performed remotely. Much of my work on animals is performed long distance.
The final step is the chakra opening. As I stated earlier, I use my pendulum to assess the openings prior to the session. I also use the pendulum to gauge when the chakra alignment is complete. I place the shaft of the feather on each chakra, channeling the energy into the opening. As the feather does the regenerating, the pendulum will gain momentum and will let me know when the chakra is completely open. This can vary in time, but generally, it doesn’t take any more than a few minutes per chakra.
Horses are not the only animals that will benefit from feather work. This deep cleansing procedure can be used on any animal and I have had huge success in using it on dogs and cats. The same techniques apply.
I am so honored to be able to do this work. I am constantly experimenting and find that animals resonate with nature and what better tools to help heal, than those made by nature. I encourage all of you to look around, find a part of nature that resonates with you and embrace it to see what healing aspects you might experience.
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