Greatly concerned

[Neil A]

Hi all

Yesterday evening I started my VTCT IHM course at the local college.

During the introduction to IHM my teacher gave out a sheet of paper regarding the three highest chakras and went through hand positions for each of the throat, third eye and crown chakras and said that we should all think of the chakra colours relating to the hand positions and chant "ham" and "om" to ourselves.

She then said that "this is a great way to start off your IHM treatment but don't tell your client that you are doing it, just go through the hand positions and internally chant the words as those who don't understand chakras may freak out if you start talking about energy vortexes"

As a reiki master practitioner, what concerns me greatly is that that is all the information she gave. She didn't go into how to safely work with the chakras, how to safely open the clients chakras, WHY you would be working with the chakras in the first place, how to safely close a person's chakras, why it can make someone seriously ill and only said that "obviously if you are going to do this further study on chakras is recommended".

Now, I've had several clients who've come to me as a reiki practioner for healing after an IHM therapist worked on them and I've had to completely clear and realign their chakras as they had fainted whilst having the treatment, been vomiting and had severe headaches after the IHM treatment.

Obviously I raised the issue in my class and said that I would be willing to teach the rest of my class mates and teacher how to safely work within the auric field and with chakras to enable them to work anddo no harm but is this common practice when teaching IHM or is it that my teacher has unfortunately been given the wrong end of a stick?

 

[JulieJ]

Sadly I have come across this same situation many times. I have had plenty of tutors not just IHM including "chakra balancing" in their treatments, but who have no real knowledge of chakras. It's a while since I was in college but I did feel there was a bit of a trend of including aspects of other therapies, just because it sounded good.

 

[Clo Clo]

Thanks Angelfish

Looks like I may well be dealing with more people who have been made ill by people messing around with people's energies without knowing what they are doing in the future then [&o]

Obviously the message of not doing harm to your client and actually only practicing things you are qualified in and have a good working knowledge of, including thereasons WHY you're giving something in the first place isn't getting through and there's work to be done educating people on how, if they are going to practice some part of another methodology, to do so safely and with full understanding of the contra-indications and possible outcomes.

When what you are doing is making people faint during the treatment, making them vomit, making them have severe headaches and feel completely spaced out, you have to know how to reverse what you've done to make them feel that way... or maybe that's just me and my way of thinking?

Thanks again for your reply.

 

[xubwavtj]

I completed VTCT IHM beginning of this year. Our teacherbriefly mentioned the chakrasand said I know nothing about them but maybe Jo (myself) could give you a quick breakdown (she knows I do Reiki etc.) I did a 2 minute talk saying what the colours were and a bit of what they are associated with, how they fit in with the aura- end of chakra lesson - nothing about balancing them or anything..I also did A & P with her (the teacher)the previous year and she is a more 'scientific' teacher than into spiritual stuff - obviously she had to mention chakras as part of the class but did not have to go into them in depth for the course. I think your teacher is probably more spiritually aware (if that is the right phrase!) but does not realise the damage she can cause - a little bit of knowlege.........

I do not agree with chakra balancing whilst giving IHM as I can not see how you can possible 'balance' chakras if you are only working on 3 of them - this probably fits in with your experiences with people who have had IHM and are all out of balance. Suppose the biggest thing I got from my teacher was that she is only giving us some tools and techniques but it is up to us to incorporate or leave out things as every treatment we do is bespoke to the person we are working on and we will all develop our own techniques as we work with IHM.

Suppose to many of these courses are trying to add all sorts of bits and pieces into the syllabus but covering nothing in enough depth or with enough warning. Dangerous but it will not stop.

 

[Amanda & Jess S]

hi, how do you safely open and close the clients chakras?
xx

 

[leopard]

I'll have to answer your question with another one unfortunately...

What do you already know about Chakras Holistically Yours?

 

[BigTom]

This is interesting as I completed VTCT IHM earlier this year.
Our tutor went into chakras a bitand we had several handouts, although I felt she could have done more work with us. Will your tutor go into Chakras again later on into the course? As you say it was an introduction?
We discussed about grounding ourselves and shown the moves on how to place our hands during balancing the chakras. I have borrowed books form the library and looked through text books for further reading.
I feel as we are working with people and health then surely and at Diploma level, we should all fully understand IHM at alllevels.
Also during out exams we had no questions relating to the chakras, but juat to M74/M2, A and P and the written exam and assesments.

Is the VTCT IHM a set course? I mean as the same wherever you do your studying? Or does it depend on the tutor?

 

[Pompal 09.]

Hi this is interesting ... I completed the VTCT diploma course 12 months ago and have been giving head massages since then. We were told about the chakras and like the others replying to this thread, we were given handouts etc. Infact, it's discussed in the course book. However, I don't really feel as if I know enough about them and yes I have wondered why am I working on just three?

In reply to Shanahan,What does concern me though is that I had a client this week who did feel faint during the treatment - so I had to stop. Which means that I didn't close the chakras at the end. So had I brought on the fainting feeling? If somebody has a headache afterwards is it down the the chakras not being aligned properly?? I am interested in working with the chakras so where can I read up on this? And I wonder is it best to omit this from my practice? THis is the first time that somebody has felt faint but I don't want that to happen with any of my clients again really.

 

[MikeGolf]

I studied IHM last year, and I was taught to end the treatment by placing my hands over the 3 chakras, as Shanahan mentioned. I have always felt slightly uncomfortable doing this, as I don't really know what I am doing. Each time, I have been told about the heat which radiates from my hands, and one gentlemen said I was almost 'burning' him with the heat.

I don't do this anymore, really because I feel I am not entirely confident, and can't explain to a client what is happening. I feel awful now that I have never 'closed' the chakras, but was only doing the sequence I was taught.

Thanks one and all for enlightening me. I have to say, I have never had a client with a bad reaction, thank God.

Tj xx

 

[Jong Shung]

I know that this thread is a year old, but I was doing some research for an Indian Head Massage essay and came across it!

TJ
Head coming from your hands sounds Reiki-like - have you ever considered doing Reiki?

LR