This web page is obsolete. Please visit Be Well Bodywork, LLC for my current web page.
This web page describes my
practice as an energy healer. I mix massage, laying-on of hands,
careful listening and conversation to help my clients get in touch with
themselves on the deepest levels. As you relax, the intertwining of body, mind,
and spirit becomes clear, and healing happens.
Since many people are still
unfamiliar with the concept of energy, this web page starts with some
discussion of energy. I see my perspective as essentially scientific, but that
modern science has plenty of room for mystery. I then describe my practice of
energy healing, provide quotes from current clients, some personal history, and
cover the practical aspects of arranging sessions.
What is Energy?
Everyone feels energy in their body at times, but
some people are much
more sensitive than others,
and many do not think of what they are
feeling as energy. We know
that our bodies are highly electrical. The
brain sends messages among
nerves using electricity, the heart beats
as directed by electrical
impulses, and so on. Interestingly, most people
do not realize that
connective tissue called fascia runs
throughout our
entire body, wrapping every
muscle, and that fascia has piezoelectric
properties (when compressed
it generates current). The grey areas
in the figure to the right
show the thoracolumbar fascia, which runs the
entire length of our backs.
Energy in the body is
important and useful because every emotional
state can also be understood
as an energetic state. When energy is
flowing easily throughout
the entire body, that person feels wonderful. To
some degree for almost
everybody, however, energy becomes blocked,
creating discomfort and in
extreme, chronic cases leading to potentially serious illness. Tense muscles,
deposits of extra fat, bony protrusions such as bunions, and probably every
element of the body plays some role, although the detailed mechanisms are not
yet understood by western science.
The figure to the left shows an artists interpretation
of electrical fields around a persons body, known as the aura; the seven most salient portals where energy enters and leaves
the body, called chakras, which show
as colored circles and a white cone in the diagram, and a few segments of the path
of energy flow through the body, known as meridians,
which show as colored lines.
Through
meditation, it is possible to develop increased sensitivity to energy. I
currently feel chakra energy in a way that resembles musical tones. The pitch
increases from a deep bass for the root chakra, to a very high pitch for the
crown chakra. I also feel energy flows with tingly sensations. It is not
surprising that people who are sensitive to energy perceive it in a variety of
ways, since energy is not part of our socially agreed-upon reality, and most
people learn to filter it out at an early age.
Full Spectrum Healing
The essence of every healing
is love and acceptance. Energetically, I open my heart chakra and invite energy
to move through my arms into you, or from you into me. Massage therapists say
that touch never lies. Thus, hands-on therapists often enjoy instantaneous
trust with our clients that might take weeks to develop in therapies that rely
exclusively on talk. Any particular session might consist of massage, energy
work, conversation, or a mixture in response to what you need and want at that
time. In contrast to western medicine, I do not follow fixed protocols. Rather,
the emphasis is on listening to you through my hands, eyes, ears, and heart. Success
comes through activation of your own inner ability to heal.
In my experience with a variety of clients, I have found that I am especially helpful for those struggling with anxiety, chronic pain, and grief, which are often wrapped up in a tightly interconnected braid. Anxiety is directly addressed through relaxation and developing the ability to relax, which can be seen as a form of coming to trust in the future. Chronic pain, which I have experienced personally, can often be transcended by developing an ability to relax and trust. This involves an initially counterintuitive willingness to open to pain and understand it, rather than pushing it away. To open to pain requires great courage, and energy healing may not be the preferred approach for most people who suffer from chronic pain. My healing approach to grief also involves opening and requires courage. Frequently, chronic pain and grief are so deeply intertwined that they are essentially two faces of the same process, in the physical and emotional realms, respectively.
Many days, I work together with my assistant, Barbara
Sanicki, pictured to the left. Barbara has big hands
and a big heart, both consistently warm. Working together has many advantages.
For example, when we touch different parts of the body, that sometimes helps
clients make connections between those two locations. Or, Barbara might help a
client stay energetically grounded, with its associated feeling of safety and
comfort, while I enter with the client into relatively edgy territory. In
general, Barbara brings a lot of energy and love to each session and her
contributions are much appreciated.
Energy healing complements
traditional western medicine, but does not replace it. Please continue to see
your doctor and take prescribed medications even when your sessions with us are
going quite well.
Quotes from Clients
Barbara and I are starting
to collect quotes from our clients. We have already been part of some dramatic
improvements, but we see these experiences as the clients own processes of
healing unfolding with encouragement and help from us. One woman found that her
back felt fine for the first time in months. Another reported that after 10
years of a stiff and painful neck, it was much improved, perhaps 60% better. A
third woman, after five days in the hospital with severe stomach pain, was
amazed and relieved to find that after a session with Peter she felt no pain at
all. This does not mean that the back, neck, and stomach pain are guaranteed to
stay away. But it does mean that each of these women has the potential to live
without pain.
Here are some quotes that we
have collected explicitly for use on this web site so far. They are anonymous
to protect confidentiality, except where our client asked to be named:
I find my
sessions with Peter and Barbara surprisingly positive. In addition to the total
relaxation is the calm drifting into a receptive zone where the sense of energy
transfer takes place. The warmth of this energy lingers long after the session
ends and I feel my life improving --- woman in her 60s
As to the
results of these sessions --- I feel much better. Not only in relation to
specific discomforts and pain but also I have a general feeling of being able
and capable. The treatment given by Peter and his helper is painless, pleasant and
potent --- John Middents (man in his 80s)
I think
Peters work has helped me a lot. It was relaxing and soothing. It was very
helpful to me. It teaches me how to love myself and include myself in loving
and caring about people --- woman in her 30s
It was like
an hour long hug --- man in his 50s
I have been
extremely lucky to know Barbara Sanicki for over 10
years. She is without a doubt the most honest and conscientious person that I have
ever met. In the time I have known her I have seen her develop a strong
interest in spirituality and working to serve others. Recently I had the
wonderful opportunity to become a client of Barbara and Peter for reiki and massage. This laying on of hands goes beyond
treatment of the physical muscles of the body. It addresses the spirit as well.
The whole physical and spiritual being is being treated. I find it easy to
relax and have a sense of trust in Barbaras reiki and Peters gentle noninvasive touch. This precise
intent to help me and others feel better goes beyond generosity. It finally
educates us about the unseen healing energy that surrounds us if we want to
open to it. Barbara and Peter have truly followed their hearts calling to make
this available to the public. It is a much needed occupation in todays fast paced, materialistic world. I recommend signing
up for a treatment today --- Lillie Fox
My Story
I see my own story as
evidence that it is possible to become aware of the emotional "water that we
swim in", and with uneven progress over time, to learn to live in more positive
ways. People who meet me now are surprised when I tell them that for more than
40 years I was mostly an anxious and often angry guy. Once a fellow who worked
for me told me that he was disappointed to meet me in person because by email I
seemed really nice! Recently I watched my wifes face
closely as a new peer told her what a pleasure it had been to work with such a
relaxed and happy person.
Things started changing for
me when my father died in January 2004. I looked at him immediately after he
died and saw that his soul had left.
As a scientist I thought, ok, if I accept the truth of my perception, what are
the implications? Since then my life has been very intense and loaded with
vivid coincidences, including some that were so improbable from a classical
scientific perspective that I was forced to alter my worldview. I now see far
greater connectivity and mystery than is accepted openly in our secular,
professional culture (although in private many people share personal experiences
that are wondrous indeed). Through daily practice with insight meditation, chi
gong, and mindfulness, I feel myself slowly developing the skills of
compassion, wisdom, love, and equanimity. I find that these disciplines,
evolved for thousands of years in the context of Buddhism, are entirely
compatible with my Jewish religious identity.
In my previous professional
career I was a computer scientist. After 911, I did counterterrorism research,
and worked for a year at the Altarum Institute trying
to transform the health system. I have over 20 professional publications and
three patent applications. Here are links to home pages from previous stages in
my career:
- My PhD in Computer
Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan
- An Information
Scientist at the Altarum Institute
In 2007, I realized that I
wanted to spend my time with people rather than technology. My career as an
energy healer started that summer with a highly mystical experience while on an
18 day solo canoe trip in the Canadian wilderness. Since then I started seeing
a professional healer, reading, participating in energy healing practice
groups, and practicing on friends.
In the spring of 2008 I felt
ready to work with clients on a donation basis, and started doing this with
Barbara. We have worked mostly but not exclusively for people who cannot
otherwise afford energy healing, including seniors living in subsidized
housing, and people with diagnosed mental illnesses. Focusing on the unique
story of each client and keeping our egos out of play has helped us enjoy this
wonderful experience while maintaining the fundamental pledge of all healers to
cause no harm.
In the fall of 2008 I am
starting at the Ann Arbor Institute for Massage
Therapy to learn medical massage, and in a masters program in the Leadership and Counseling
department at
Location
I conduct healing sessions
in the homes of clients in the
Cost
As of January 2009, my standard charge is $50 per hour at my apartment in
Saline, with a $10 charge for travelling to a location in the Ann Arbor area.
Please talk to me if this is a problem for you.
Thank you,
Namaste (I see the divine light in you),
and Shalom (peace) ---
Peter Chaim