An Expert's Guide to Health Practitioners

PART II continued : The Last 8 Alternative Practitioners

And now for my last installment of this series on health practitioners. I've saved the least conventional for last. Enjoy!

Shaman

A shaman is a medicine man (or woman) who has a special connection to the spirit world and taps into this connection to heal others. When I think shaman, I think mystical man on a mountaintop in Peru. The shaman I saw seemed to be more of the urban shaman ilk. Our sessions were all over Skype – she in California, me in Vancouver. It didn’t feel particularly spiritual. She gave me a little hope when I was at my lowest, but I can’t say I got much else. 3/10

Emotion and Body Code

An emotion and body code practitioner helps you gently and easily release emotions that have become trapped in your body and that may be contributing to mental, emotional and physical pain. The practitioner works intuitively with your subconscious. I love this technique because it allows you to release emotions that you might not be able to access with talk therapy or other modalities. I recently went for a series of 5 or 6 body code sessions, and felt an increase in overall energy and happiness, that I’ve managed to sustain. I’m definitely going back for more treatments. 8/10

Reiki Practitioner

Reiki is a Japanese energy healing technique. I am a Reiki Master myself, and tend to enjoy giving sessions more than receiving them. Through giving them I am able to connect with my higher self and enhance my intuition, which brings me insights, peace and comfort. When I receive Reiki, I feel very relaxed and often sleep better that night. Giving 8/10, Receiving 5/10.

Astrologer

Astrologer is on this list because my astrologer has brought me a lot of comfort and hope during really dark times. Astrology has helped reduce my worries, provided guidance and in turn decreased my overall stress level, which is priceless when you have a chronic condition. I like astrology because it has a mathematical basis, and it’s not just something someone purporting to be a psychic conjures up. Astrology takes into consideration the exact location of the planets in your chart when you were born where they are today. The results are mind-bogglingly accurate (if you have a good astrologer, which I do). 8/10

Aromatherapist

Some people swear by aromatherapy. I, on the other hand, am a great sceptic. I concede that when I put peppermint oil on my temples it does sometimes reduce headaches. And if I have a nice scent in a diffuser at home, I appreciate the smell and feel relaxed. But I don’t buy into many of the other healing properties that oils are purported to have. And I find a lot of the scents are cloying and intolerable. 2/10

Medical Intuitive

A medical intuitive has the ability to scan your body and see where imbalances and illness are located. The intuitive I see gives out food and supplement recommendations to help right those imbalances. While I can’t say I noticed any physical change from our sessions, I felt tremendous relief when she confirmed that my condition was not life-threatening. She also provided me with a big piece that was missing for me to understand how my condition originated and what was the ongoing problem - in a way that lined up with what traditional doctors told me. Please note that a medical intuitive is not a substitute for a medical doctor! 7/10

Reflexologist

I loooove reflexology! Probably because I love having my feet massaged, and reflexology is all about the feet. This technique is meant to help the body heal by releasing imbalances. Each part of the body has a corresponding area on the foot, so when the tension in the kidney area of your foot is released, for example, it follows that the energy in your kidneys will shift. Some practitioners go really hard and it can be extremely painful, but the lady I see uses medium pressure and I go off to a delicious never-never land of bliss for an hour or so. I don’t find any long term benefits, but that hour is worth it for me. 9/10

Homeopath

A homeopathic is a dilution of a remedy, and the higher the dilution (in liquid or pellet form), the more powerful it is. I know, I know, many other people are sceptical too!

About 10 years ago, I went to see a homeopath who put me on about 8 remedies, which I took for months with no result. However, since my nervous system went off the rails and became super sensitive several years later, one drop of a remedy now sends me into a tailspin for a week (increased pain, depression and lethargy) – it sounds crazy and I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t lived it myself. If one drop could have such a profound (albeit negative) effect on me, it must be able to do some good in the right conditions for the right people – just not me. 0/10

So, the results are in! By going to see traditional doctors, I got physical relief, but by seeing alternative practitioners, I experienced emotional and spiritual healing, found peace, stress reduction and hope for the future. This tells me that one isn’t better than the other, rather they are a good complement to each other. By balancing the medical with the alternative, I have been able to create a team that supports me well. It did take a lot of trial and error, so if you are on a similar path, don’t give up, always keep exploring and growing!