Episode 7 Benefits of Energy Work with Sarah Granahan

[CHRIS McDONALD]

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Welcome to the Holistic Counseling Podcast, where you discover diverse wellness modalities, advice on growing your integrative practice, and grow confidence in being your unique self. I'm your host, Chris McDonald. I'm so glad you're here for the journey.

Welcome back to the Holistic Counseling Podcast. I'm your host, Chris McDonald. I am grateful for today's guest. Her name is Sarah Granahan. I met her years ago through our local holistic center called Sage Wood Center. She did a past life reading for me as well, which was so amazing. If you haven't had one, I highly recommend. She has so many gifts to share with you. Sarah is an Energy & Intuitive Coach with training as a Holy Fire® Reiki Master/Teacher. Healing Touch Practitioner Apprentice, Hypnotherapist, Integrative Health Coach trained at Duke Integrative Medicine. She treats people with sleep disturbances, anxiety, pain, grief, wound healing, fatigue, or side effects from medication and chemotherapy. Welcome to the podcast, Sarah.

[SARAH GRAHAN]

Oh, thank you for having me, Chris.

[CHRIS]

That's a lot of trainings you've had, huh?

[SARAH]

Yes, I definitely ---

[CHRIS]

I was like, "Ooh, I got to catch my breath."

[SARAH]

I've been kind of busy over the years. I got into this work just because I had a situation in my twenties where I didn't feel well myself, my body, emotionally, mentally, physically, was all kind of falling apart I didn't feel well. My doctors weren't able to really pinpoint what was going on so it really cast me into looking into the alternative healing industry and just to see what other people do when they're kind of at a wall and things aren't working for them because there's got to be more out there. So that's kind of what started me on my journey and I decided ---

[CHRIS]

Yes, that makes sense.

[SARAH]

It worked so well that I was like, I want to do this for other people. I want to show other people that there's all this out there. A lot of times clients don't even know that some of these modalities exist or that you can do these things along with what your doctor's prescribing you as well.

[CHRIS]

Yes, that makes sense. That's kind of what led you to this. And I can tell you're passionate about, especially someone that gets that many different kinds of trainings and a variety. That's what I was thinking.

[SARAH]

Yes. And on top of that, I'm also, I've discovered on that journey of healing for myself, that I'm an intuitive empath, so somebody that's sensitive to the feelings of their environment, sensitive to feelings that people have. So I could be around people and if they're smiling or they might look happy, but if they're really angry inside, I'll be picking up on that anger that they're carrying. So what's a benefit of that is I use that as one of the gifts I have in my sessions with clients so that I can pick up on things because sometimes people will come and they just say, they aren't really in tune with their emotions or their feelings around certain things, but I'm able to kind of pinpoint and pick up on that information, which is actually really helpful. It's also helpful with children and animals as well, which I work with because though they can't speak to us and children don't have the language development for their emotions yet as it is developed as some adults. But even some adults don't have that still. You're able to kind of pick up on what's really going on and what they're struggling with but they maybe can't put it to words to let you know. So those are some of the benefits of that.

[CHRIS]

Yes. So can you share more about what you have going on right now with your practice and any other things, any other events you have?

[SARAH]

Yes. So excitingly, I did meet you at Sage Wood Center and I'd been there for quite a few years. I love that space and I still visit. It's under a new ownership now and it's still such a wonderful place with lots of different practitioners. But about two years ago, I went ahead and just decided to get my own space. So I tested that out and then COVID hit. So I had to kind of recalculate and figure that out because since a lot of us had to be at home and couldn't see people in person. So just last October, I opened my own healing and wellness center, Color My Spirit wellness and I'm so excited to have my own space. But it's not just me there. I'm planning to have other practitioners trained in different modalities using the space as well, so that we can have it almost like a integrative practice that people can come to and experience the gifts of everyone because we all don't read the same book, just one book in our lives. We read many. So there's so many different practitioners, counselors, and people out there that we could really gain some wisdom from. So that's kind of what my intentions are for that space.

[CHRIS]

I love how you're like building your own holistic community.

[SARAH]

Yes. I definitely have lots of networks over the years and people I've met and I'm somebody that I go get the work done myself. I don't do it all myself. I want to experience what everyone else is gifted in, what everyone else, what their talents are. And there's other energy modalities out there besides Reiki and healing touch that I'm trained in. So I've definitely tried some different ones. So it's really exciting just to have a space where I can hold space for clients, but also other practitioners to come in and share in that energy.

[CHRIS]

And I know we were talking before I hit record that you're right down the street from me. So I think this would be a great way for us to kind of collaborate sometimes even with some other therapists that are holistic in the area and create our own community.

[SARAH]

Yes. I'll definitely, I definitely have intentions and trying to manifest that. So I'd love that. And I love that we're neighbors too.

[CHRIS]

This is great, for sure. So I know you're trained in Reiki and healing touch. So let's start with Reiki. Can you share more of what Reiki is for those who aren't familiar? Because I don't know what a holy fire means either.

[SARAH]

Oh yes, for sure. So Reiki is a Japanese-based energy that works with resetting life force energies and promotes healing and helps you kind of just recenter and reground so that you can move forward more clearly. So holy fire though is a different energy that came through Reiki just a couple of years ago, that William Lee Rand was introducing to the world. It's basically just a higher vibrational current of the same energy modality. So Reiki, when you're trained in it, you're somebody, anybody can go get a training in Reiki. You don't have to be a special person or someone to be gifted as you can take a class. And what happens is you're basically a tuned to that healing energy. So when somebody comes in for a session, you're just a conduit, holding that energetic space for the client and your client is going to heal for their highest good.

So you're not doing anything to them. You're not forcing something to happen. You're not invading in their space. You're only just providing that energy for them, for their highest good that they're going to release what they need to, what they're ready to. So holy fire is just a different variation of it. It's a higher current of, it is the best way to explain it. So the other explanation I've heard is would you rather be driving maybe a 1922 car or a new 2021 car? So just with the differences in energy and I had already been trained in Reiki, the traditional Usui and when I took holy fire, I was a little skeptical. I was wondering, "Well, am I going to really feel a difference? Is this really something that's like an upgrade to what I currently have?"

And I have to say it really was. It blew my mind. So I mean, Chris, if you're interested, look into that. It's almost like getting an upgrade for your computer. Not that Reiki would slow things down, but just kind of giving you some magical keys to like just a different level and like I said, higher vibration because our planet is changing so much too. So practitioners that kind of keep up with our energetic space, it's good for people and our clients so that they can continue to receive the healings that they need to and the clearance that they need to.

[CHRIS]

What about the healing touch? I'm not as familiar with that either.

[SARAH]

Yes. I know Reiki definitely is a term often people are very familiar with nowadays. Years ago, both of them people look at me with kind of glanced out as like, "What is that?" Healing touch is actually the first energy modality. I started out with training when I decided I want to do this work for other people. I wanted to just help people really go inward and discover that we're all walking around with baggage, no matter what life you've lived, no matter where you've been, no matter where you started. And even if you think things are awesome in your life, you're still walking around with energies, from childhood, from different phases of your life. We all cope the best we can, but we're an earth school. So we're all just learning lessons and doing the best we can each day.

But healing touch I found it when I searched for modalities to train in. It's a heart-centered modality. Definitely you're holding an intention that you're going to help your client that you're working on for their highest good to really heal from a heart-centered way. It's like from one heart to another. And it's definitely different techniques. It's also a different energy current for somebody that's like intuitive and able to pick up on that. So, but it does the same amount of work that Reiki would. It's just, the difference is I like to explain between both energy modalities. If somebody is coming in for a Reiki session, your detox period, which is the, I will go into a little bit more of that, but you might be detoxing from your session with me and other practitioners up five to seven days, with healing touch, it's a little bit more like around three to four days, but it still does what it needs to do.

And there's been people that have just taken Reiki sessions and then are wanting to try healing touch, and I've been just been blown away. So they both do what it needs to for your highest good. They're definitely great for clearing old baggage, for removing things in the mental field, the spiritual field or the emotional field that you just don't need to carry anymore, especially in today's world with COVID that we're dealing with. There's a lot of more stress and tensions. There's so much more on our plates. So energy work is so good for that. It's really good just to kind of clear what you don't need anymore, so that you're feeling lighter and mortise. I like to explain it as how your computer hard drive can get backed up and over time it slows down, of course, because there's just so much information, so much experiences that stored on there.

Well, we're much like that. So what happens is we start kind of wearing down or maybe being forgetful or just ---. So if we're able to then use a modality or a session like Reiki or healing touch, or an arcangelic light, there's so many out there to help get in there and just clear and restore ourselves. We're able to find more clarity. We're able to think things through, we're able to realize, wow, we got to set some boundaries or, oh, I really need to spend more time helping myself and doing things that really support me. So this work is so good for that. Honestly, hypnotherapy is just like that as well. It just takes big chunks, almost like defragging and it removes it out of your space, what you're ready to, and then you can just fill in with the new good and the things that you want moving forward. So I just love this work so much.

[CHRIS]

I can tell. That's good. This podcast is geared towards licensed mental health therapists and other counselors. So do you think these, the Reiki and the healing touch, would that be helpful do you think from the emotional standpoint for practitioners to learn?

[SARAH]

I definitely think it is. And I've lived that. So it for sure is. And if anyone wants to talk to me, they can contact me more about it, but it definitely, I think the issues with our world that we live in a lot of times mental health isn't looked at as closely as it should be. And it's only looked at a lot of times if there's kind of trauma or drama going on or people don't feel well, but actually taking care of your emotional and mental health is really important just for even day-to-day things. COVID is really highlighting that just because of what it's caused our world to kind of slide down. I think more and more people that wouldn't say that they categorize themselves as somebody that would need maybe support in those areas are realizing, "I do .feels so hard or this has been so tough and I feel so scared."

So those are all very valid emotions that people would be experiencing and having somebody that's an empath like me, you can feel that on such a big level. So what's happening is people are absorbing that energy. It's all around us, but what do we do with it? So the work is really great for it. Even if you don't want to pinpoint where it's coming from, even if you don't want to spend time connecting the dots and being like, yes, maybe it's from childhood or maybe it's from COVID or maybe it's this. You don't need to do that. You just show up for a session. The session, the energy gets in there and it clears what you're ready to let go of. I mean, people, it's amazing people report, they feel lighter after sessions, they feel deeply relaxed. There's a sense of peacefulness they haven't maybe experienced in years. And the clarity, too, that people receive, and they don't even, they stumble into it a lot of times for other reasons, but they realize all the other benefits that energy work provides. And then it becomes well, can I come in monthly for self-care?

[CHRIS]

Exactly.

[SARAH]

Yes. You can, just like a massage if you'd like to. So it's really great for not only the physical body symptoms. People with pain and other things going on, it's great perfect and wonderful for mental and emotional fields and also spiritual. So you're working on four different fields when you're working with energy work and not just the physical or just the mental.

[CHRIS]

And I like what you said, too, about clearing out what you want, what you're ready to let go of and then bringing in the good. I think that's so important and especially for mental health therapists is that's what we try to do to help people work through things and then to bring more positivity and more healing in their lives.

[SARAH]

Yes. I have a lot of clients that come in that are actively seeing talk therapists and then they're on the side wanting more so that they'll come in for energy work and together they blend so wonderfully, but I've even probably thinking to myself, even if more people were trained in energy work, like you have talked therapists and mental health counselors that you'd have more to offer even on a deeper level when that client or patient's ready.

[CHRIS]

Yes. So they have to be ready?

[SARAH]

Yes. People, sometimes they're so excited about energy work and they'll send their loved ones or tell people they have to come. And I can feel the difference when somebody is kind of being told to show up and try it out versus they wanting to be there. And it's not a big deal. It still works for them but you can tell if they feel a little uncomfortable or out of place or that it's something that they not sure want to experience, but what usually happens though, is after they have the session, they notice the benefits of energy work and they'll, just a lot of them will become clients over time or just be like, "Okay, that was fun. That's good for me right now. I'll contact you when I'm ready to maybe do another deep clearing."

And I've got clients like that too, that they'll come in often and then I've got others that'll come in, just here and there when they, as they need it. So they're all different pieces of the rainbow. I believe we're all just different spectrums and everyone has their life experiences and copes the best way we can, but some of us need more than others. And then at times we go through cycles where it, yes, I really could need some support here, but really what we need to realize is we all could use the support. We all could use the self-care. It would just help all of us kind of feel that we don't have to take on the world to get our days in order and done.

[CHRIS]

So do clients, do they have to accept the healing and believe in it for it to work?

[SARAH]

They definitely, that is the for them to accept it for sure. I have seen people before where it felt they've put up like almost armor, wanted to try it, but they're not sure yet. So yes, you have the free will to accept the energy. But I do believe that there's definitely parts of the session that they will incorporate that they are ready to, but they may not accept it on all different levels. So somebody like that might detox. So people might come in just for a physical symptom, like a shoulder pain. So when they're in the session, they might realize their shoulder pain is linked to some other things emotionally that were going on during childhood. But if they're not ready to look at that, nor do they believe in that, the shoulder pain, definitely it would help treat that area, but they don't need to look at it or talk about it if they don't want to.

But later, sometimes people will come back and say, I'm ready to take a deeper dive now and they are more open. So it does work, basically practitioners will send you the energy and you're in charge, the person, the client is in charge of accepting it if they want to and how they want to integrate it and how much they want to release. The funny thing about that is there are side-effects sometimes experienced with energy work after a session, since you are releasing on the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual levels. Some people will just have thoughts of somebody they've forgotten about, or hadn't thought of in a while. So energy, I like to say says hello to you as it's clearing and then sometimes it'll say goodbye. And other people, they don't know this much.

[CHRIS]

I like that. It says, hello.

[SARAH]

Yes, it says hello. Again, it just kind of is in your conscious mind, all of a sudden from your subconscious mind, and then it says goodbye. But other people that show up are like, "I just want to release everything. I'm so excited about the session. I'm so ready." I mean, our words, you have to be careful with your words sometimes because those are intentions we set. So I did have this one client come in that was first time session, wanted to release was so excited, had read stuff online about Reiki, had a Reiki session and she swore up and down the next day that she had the flu. And she called me apologizing for coming in and apologizing for getting me sick and worried about all that.

I wasn't feeling that she did, but I was like, "Go get your tests, go check and make sure you're okay. And don't worry about me." That's what I told her. So she ended up calling me back later and was like, "I don't have the flu and my symptoms have subsided." So she didn't have a fever, but she was experiencing like aches and body aches and pains and things. So she was experiencing a big energy detox that was going on from her session. So, and then what happens with energy as you're detoxing, it'll say hello and then it just kind of subsides. It begins to subside. It's not going to get worse and worse and be a problem because then it's not the energy going on. It's something else you need to see your doctor for. But I always like to share that as that's kind of the extreme detox that could happen when you come for a session. But a lot of people ---

[CHRIS]

Well, that makes sense though, of you're a detoxing, that there could be some kind of side effect.

[SARAH]

Well, and you detox from a simple massage. So you'll detox your tissues. They say you'll release toxins from the massage work. So they always tell you to drink a lot of water. So likewise, I tell people drink a lot of water after energy work because you're not only detoxing on the physical, but you are also mental, emotional, and spiritual. So again, there'll be thoughts of people or situations sometimes or sometimes people even feelings come up that they have no reason to pinpoint in their current life why they're feeling that way. And again, that's part of the releasing that goes on during an energy session. It's really beautiful work.

[CHRIS]

Yes. Sounds like it, that you've done a lot of healing already. Haven't you?

[SARAH]

I have. And it's funny, you mentioned that because it makes me think I do get some people sometimes that come in and they say, "Well, I'm going to damage you because I've got such heavy stuff I'm dealing with." And I kind of giggle because I know that I'm used to dealing with energy work now over the years and I've seen so many clients that I know kind of how to take care of myself, being an intuitive empath. I do take on feelings and thoughts and things sometimes but I have a process where I can clear that out and release it on my own.

[CHRIS]

How do you do that?

[SARAH]

I teach people how to do that.

[CHRIS]

Because a lot of therapists, but a lot of us, I'm an empath too, but I think a lot of people in this field, which for obvious reasons, we're kind of drawn to this field and wanting to help people and having that compassion. But then it's good, but then it's bad if you take on some of that.

[SARAH]

Right. And it's funny because I too, before I did energy work, I was thinking about becoming a counselor of some sort and my husband had told me, "You're going to take on everybody stuff."

[CHRIS]

He's like, no.

[SARAH]

But when you're working in somebody's energy field or just working closely with people, I mean, doctors, nurses take on people's stuff too. You get a lot of nurses come in and they're not even realizing that's going on when they're in the ER or when they're taking care of patients. Well, because of you, but you don't have to be somebody working in energy fields or around people closely to take on things. But there's a class I used to take, teach, energetic meditation is one of them where I teach basically people, the process I learned to kind of say hello to the energy that sensitive people might take on and then goodbye to that energy. And it's something then you can do at home. But if you're trained in any energy work, so you get your Reiki One certification or healing touch program, you can use that on yourself. So for self-care, you can self Reiki yourself for self ---

[CHRIS]

It's a beautiful thing of learning all these modalities because we can use it for ourselves for healing too.

[SARAH]

Yes. But see, the thing is though with helper people, like us and nurses and people that are showing up for people, the essential workers out there, we don't a lot of times make the time to care for ourselves and to do the self-care that we need with all the people that we see. And that can be because we have commitments outside of work too and we're just so busy. But even if you make five to 10 minutes a day, even as at the end of the day, it's when you're laying in bed at night, it really does wonders to you to help recharge and reset and get rid of all that stuff you collect. But also even just like the people that cut people's hair, just people in people's spaces and jobs where people might be venting or talking to you about ---

[CHRIS]

Massage.

[SARAH]

Massage, yes. There's so many jobs out there, not just like jobs that we do where people, especially if you're sensitive, you're really taking on those things and you may not realize it. Now the issue with that is what happens is we become almost confused as to what's ours and what's somebody else's. So emotionally our field is just full of clutter. And what I see when I'm working on people that have accumulated over the years and they're sensitive people is especially in their second chakra, which I talked to you about, talk to people about chakras in my sessions, of course we don't have to, but that's the area down by your spine area, kind of just right below your belly button. So that's where we're going to stuff our feelings, thoughts, and emotions. So for somebody that either swallows down our feelings all the time and doesn't like to share because we're scared to or we're afraid people won't like us, we swallow our feelings down energetically and they sit, it resides right in that area.

Also for somebody that absorbs feelings and thoughts and things from our environment, from our jobs, I mean, you could be at the grocery store and if somebody is in front of you, you don't know, and they're really angry or frustrated, but you could be picking up on that energy. And again, you're absorbing that. So that's going to sit right there, usually in people's bodies, but also it can sit in our energetic fields in different areas as well. But you're going to want to be somebody if you're sensitive to those, your surroundings and to people and to the emotions, you're going to want to definitely have some type of self-care practice where you're saying hello to other people's energy and goodbye to it so that you can really get clear on what is it that you're caring for yourself and what is it that you need to pay attention to and what is it that you maybe need to release that you don't need to carry anymore?

So there's just so many levels of healing that goes on during energy work, depending on who the people are, how in touch they are with their feelings and thoughts, do they have physical pains that their doctors aren't able to treat for them? I definitely see a lot of pains that people develop in their bodies over time once they're carrying so much on the physical field. The physical body is the slowest to actually catch up to the mental and emotional fields and the spiritual. So over time, if there's a lot going on or the same patterns are going out and we're still stuffing feelings down or thoughts down, we're really going to start possibly feeling it on the physical body field. And that's scary because that really gets our attention a lot of times.

[CHRIS]

Absolutely. Yes, and that's why we talk as therapists too, about just because you're not dealing with that emotion by not talking about it or you're stuffing it down doesn't mean it goes away.

[SARAH]

That so true.

[CHRIS]

It's going to come out physically in some way.

[SARAH]

And that's what's interesting. I've seen over the years with people that come in, you might be done dealing with something you thought was in the past and you are in your conscious mind, but your subconscious mind is still carrying that those energetic charges, those feelings, those thoughts, the situation that happened, how people treated you during that time, that was maybe harder. You coped the best way you could with the tools you had, but maybe it wasn't the best and maybe you have guilt on yourself. All these things, there's such an array. So I had a person come in that had been, she came in for pain in her, I think her arm or shoulder and during her session, I kept getting, what happens to me being an intuitive empath is I'll feel sometimes through my body, what they're feeling.

So I pick up on people's anxiety. I pick up on different things and I'll actually feel it in my own body, but I won't take it on. So with her I kept being punched in the chest and I was like, why am I being punched over in the chest? So at the end we talked about it a little bit and she shared with me, "Oh, I know what that is. I got in a car accident like seven years ago and that hit me, the airbag hit me right in the chest." And then after around that time she had other health issues that she had to treat that were separate from the car accident. But energetically, she was still carrying around that car accident in her fields with that airbag hitting her in the chest and then how she coped when she was in the hospital with that.

So though her physical body healed from that situation, her energetic and emotional bodies, mental bodies, they hadn't let all of that stuff go. So that's, what's so important about this type of work. It is really kind of fine tuning. You can help a client or patient with their mental health, but are they still carrying around fragments and chunks of those experiences that they've held on to? So really getting to the core of letting go of that so they can walk forward. I like to say people have shadows of things they don't want to look at or things that they ignore, or the things that they stuff down. But what we can do is we can take a shadow and what do you want to transform that into? Use it as a silhouette. And what do you want to fill it with? Let's clear it out and let's fill it with all the good that you want to see your life going towards.

And it's possible. You can co-create the universe. People just aren't aware that they can. Sometimes people don't feel like they have the, that they've just been dealt some cards and then that's how life is for them and they've settled, but that's not what I've settled for. I've definitely transformed my own life and that's why I wanted to teach people that there's more out there. It just depends on what your, is there a ceiling to that vision for you or is it open and sky's the limit?

[CHRIS]

Sky's the limit. Yes. I got to hold onto it.

[SARAH]

And beyond.

[CHRIS]

Yes, and beyond. But yes, just thinking about that client you had too, from a mental health perspective, it's definitely trauma. Trauma doesn't just go away if it's not in your forefront of your mind and your conscious and it's still in the body. The Body Keeps the Score is one of the best books on trauma and that's yes, that's the title.

[SARAH]

Yes. I'll have to look into that.

[CHRIS]

You might like that too. It might even be good for you to kind of resonate with, because this is all intertwined with the energy work and emotional parts.

[SARAH]

It definitely is. And then learning hypnotherapy and just seeing somebody showing up saying, "Oh, I don't know if I don't really need a session," and then seeing where their subconscious mind takes them is amazing. It can take them back to childhood. It can take them back to being a baby. It can take them back even in utero or past lives before you incarnated on the earth. But it's amazing what we're not aware of in our conscious mind sometimes until we get kind of cluttered like that hard drive, and then finally the body starts spitting out, like, "Okay, focus on this," or, "Okay, clear this or focus there's anxiety or there's other stuff developing that we need a clearing. So definitely I would recommend that I think a lot of talk therapists or counselors and social workers would really benefit from learning energy work just to help really support people holistically.

[CHRIS]

So can you give me another positive healing story of one of the clients you've worked with?

[SARAH]

Yes, definitely. I usually, so unfortunately the insurance doesn't cover this type of work, so people really save up to come in for a session. And I'm aware of that since I started working. I used to donate my time once a month at the hospitals just to do free sessions when I wasn't as busy, but over the years have become much busier, which is wonderful. I still try to give extra to clients when I can. So I usually notice that in three sessions of energy work, because I take notes in people's sessions, so I track their chakras, their fields, what I'm picking up on as congestion in their fields. And that's again, the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual fields and then also the seven major chakras, front and back, because we've got back ones too, minor shockers as well.

So they all have a story and they all tell me things, a bigger piece of the pie there. So we can take out little pieces and kind of begin to see a picture. So what I do is I offer packages of healing, that discounted session. So if you basically buy a package, and usually there are numbers of two or three, and I do that on purpose, just because I've noticed over the years that if somebody comes in for even if it's a big issue and it's going to maybe take a few sessions, if they come in up to three times, I've already noticed that their energy fields are holding more of a normal spin or are not holding blockages like they came in with at first and that they're also telling me and reporting verbally that, "Oh yes, I wasn't even looking for a new job and I have this opportunity."

And the reason that happens is because we're clearing out, we're defragging our system so that we can get rid of the darkness, the shadows, the baggage, that we're all carrying with us. And everybody has it on some level. So once you're able to do frag and do that, and energy work then brings basically more of your higher self into your field. So it's not controlling you. It's not doing anything. It's really just resetting you and restoring you and rejuvenating you. So when you're able to have that space, instead of the kind of shadowy mucked up space you maybe came in with that because you hadn't done any work before on yourself, people do notice changes going on in their lives that are really beneficial for them. And it's funny because a lot of them don't know at the time when they report it to me, that it's really, the energy works helping with that.

And then after a while, they will be like, "Well, yes, this is easier. Or I do feel better." And even physical pains, back pain, anxiety lessen, back pains seem to diminish. Other things that they've had as symptoms as over the years kind of ended up lessening or completely going away. So I did, I had a woman come in that, she came in, it was for anxiety. So we worked, we did a couple sessions. She bought a package from me and by the third time she was so open and balanced and clear when she first came in, because I check you in the beginning to see what you're coming off the streets wearing, basically energetic, like how are you looking from off the street How are you maintaining just coming to see me? And then of course I check everything at the end of sessions as well to make sure that the person took the energy well, are there any closures still in any of the chakras?

Am I sensing anything in their fields that's still kind of congestion or blockages that they haven't released yet? And we talk about all that stuff like in the sessions. And of course, if you're not interested in talking about that stuff, you can just come in for energy work and leave. But most of the people that come to see me come in for energy work, they want to hear that, plus they want messages intuitively. So I do sessions like that as well. So she had come in and she mentioned that her, she wasn't really excited about a career. She didn't know where she wanted to go, what she wanted to do so she was kind of a, felt little stuck there. So we did a couple sessions. She came in probably over the course of like a month and a half to two months with three sessions. She really wanted to kind of rebalance her chakras and get work done. And by the third time she told me that her anxiety really wasn't there anymore. And I looked at her chakra report when, on that third session, just to see where she still had closures and she didn't have any, front or back.

[CHRIS]

Wow, you're so good Sarah.

[SARAH]

Oh, I mean, but everyone's different. That's all relative.

[CHRIS]

Of course.

[SARAH]

All practitioners are good, but I like to keep track of everything just so I can show them.

[CHRIS]

Oh, of course, for progress.

[SARAH]

Yes. Look how came in to see me the first time, look where you were the second time, look where you are now and what are you telling me? She was one that I had reported. I got this job offer and it's for this job that I hadn't even considered, but I'm really excited about it and I would think I'm going to take it, but I wasn't even looking because she was feeling like she was so stuck with, I don't know what to do with my career. But it's almost like things just lined up for her so much better not only on the physical field was she feeling better and emotionally immensely with her anxiety, lessening and going away was also, she was receiving more opportunities. And that's how clear you can really get doing this work because it affect you on so many different levels in positive ways, like not in any negative ways, just positive ways. So it's wonderful.

[CHRIS]

So I'm wondering too, so if you have a lot of blockages, does that block opportunities almost energetically? Does that make sense?

[SARAH]

Yes.

[CHRIS]

Yes, I got it.

[SARAH]

What happens is when we're shut down and when we're kind of feeling maybe a little low and our vibration isn't as high and we're not in tune with ourselves, like we should, yes the flow energetically, because we all receive downloads. Like I believe we're all intuitive. We're all able to sense energy. We just do it in different ways. Some of us are born with big muscles that, hey, we're wide open. So intuitive. We do it for career. But other people, they have little snippets and they write themselves off as not being that way. But to me, we all are connected to our higher selves, to our divinity, to God, whatever you call that and you believe in. And the thing is though, a lot of times, if we're shut down in certain chakra areas energetically, we aren't going to hear those messages as well, or we're not going to receive the guidance that we need to like we should, because we're kind of mucked up with that shadow, that fog that's kind of causing us to not see as clear.

So the benefits of energy work, that clarity is just one big one. I get a lot of people that are like, "I don't know what my life purpose is supposed to be and I just feel so drawn to figuring it out," and they feel so lost and frustrated. And the more that they work on themselves and just clear out and defrag what they don't need anymore, the more you can receive and receive the downloads you need to and hear the answers or be led on your life's path to where you need to kind of get the ideas. Some people receive them as big downloads as, "Oh, I know what I'm going to do all of a sudden," and other people, they're still walking the path of slowly with baby steps. But it's becoming more and more clear and so the opportunities that are around them, maybe they hadn't seen those windows and doors opened before until they actually defragged and cleared out their spaces.

So that's, what's amazing about energy work. The other thing too, is practitioners that do it for a living and see people or just even provide it for family and loved ones. Some people don't want to have a business doing it. You actually receive the benefits of energy work while you're giving to somebody as well. So though, I still would say, you need your own self-care program on being a practitioner or a counselor, someone that provides energy, but you're also receiving in every single session, every single time you're running the energy for somebody else. So there's so many benefits.

[CHRIS]

So it's self-care involved as well.

[SARAH]

Yes, yes.

[CHRIS]

So the double benefit for the client, one for you and one for them, right?

[SARAH]

Exactly.

[CHRIS]

Yes. That's pretty amazing. Gosh, that sounds like you've had a lot of good results that you've seen. I'm sure that's very satisfying for your career too.

[SARAH]

It is. Well, of course like it was for me just to start, it was heal the healer. So I had to, I was that person, blocked on what I should do for a career and I couldn't hear the messages. I was frustrated, I went to college, I didn't think that was my passion, but I do. I started anthropology. I do love it and I have to say, I do lean on it with what I do. So it's not a mistake, but I didn't, I wanted to be a nurse or a counselor. I really wanted to be in the helping fields and I didn't know what that looked like. And when I tried some of those, I just didn't feel like it was the fit. And I was so frustrated in my twenties about that because I felt like I had friends that just were born knowing what they wanted to do and I wanted to just know that and figure that out.

So basically spirit or God or what you call it decided, well, you now fix yourself and see what that does for you. And so I did it and I was so successful at it for myself. When I received, I was hitting walls with being told, I had Phantom pains and they don't know why, and I'm not diagnosed with anything, but I was having really big problems going on. When I was able to actually start taking the reins and figuring out what it was and what helped me, I was just, I'm like, I want to do this work for people. I want to show people that this exists, that this can help because my anthropolitical side was like, how do people in cultures around the world that don't have big pharma for instance, how do they help themselves if they're not feeling good? Because that's where I was at.

I wasn't able to be diagnosed. My symptoms were very real, but doctors were confused. Every specialist I saw, my reports always came back normal to them. So it was very frustrating for me at the time. But I thought, how do other people in different cultures heal themselves in different countries and stuff and over the past. So I started learning about alternative healing modalities and trying some out and realizing it was working. So I wanted to definitely be a big advocate to help share that with people that may not even consider it or know that it exists, that it's something that is good for self-care. You don't even need to have an issue to receive it or to have it help you. But it also does help when you're on that journey and you are feeling lost in the dark or you're being encountered with a shadow from your past. It does help make clarity so that things are lighter and that you can walk the path that you're meant to.

[CHRIS]

So what's a takeaway that you could share today that could help listeners that are just starting their holistic journey?

[SARAH]

Yes. I always love to let people know this because it speaks so much about where I've walked from too. But no matter what cards you were dealt in your life, if it doesn't translate to the limited sense of self where it's just somewhere you feeling stuck, victimhood, it can be a houseboat or it can be a simple boat across the water. So it's actually your choice. You're the one that's empowered to have the freewill to make it your choice. So I like to empower people. So no matter where you've come from, we should explore those shadows a little bit deeper, see what's hidden and transform them into the silhouette of the life you would like to live. It is possible to co-create with the universe. I have done so myself. So I also have a great empowering video called The Golden Movement. It's located on my website at www.colormyspirit.com. It's just a little dip into figuring out, working with energy and showing you that you have the ability to do that and see how it feels when you follow the directions in that video.

[CHRIS]

Oh, thanks for sharing that. That was beautiful. I love that. Very nice. Have I missed anything else you wanted to share, Sarah?

[SARAH]

I don't think so. I think ---

[CHRIS]

I can listen to you all day.

[SARAH]

Thank you. Yes. I could probably talk about this all day. I have the passion.

[CHRIS]

I can tell you bring that passion, which is important.

[SARAH]

Yes and it's my passion, the experience I've had over many years now, the people I've met, the people that have just felt more on their paths. Seeing clients open up to blossoming, becoming the people that they were meant to is just so beautiful. So I just hope that more and more people will find it. And I do feel like people are especially with what's going on in the world. So it is here. It is possible. It's nothing that'll hurt you. It'll only help.

[CHRIS]

The website that you mentioned is that the best way for listeners to find you?

[SARAH]

Yes, colormyspirit.com and my center is just named Color My Spirit Wellness. And I'm located in North Raleigh, but I do help people internationally, worldwide. All my sessions work remotely as well. So you don't have to be in person to have a session with me, which is wonderful because of COVID. I was one of the lucky people that could keep my business going and could still help people when we weren't able to see people in person, I am currently taking in-person clients and I have my mix of remote people as well, but any of my services translate over to virtual or in-person

[CHRIS]

Well, that's been great, Sarah. Thanks for coming on today.

[SARAH]

Oh, thank you so much, Chris.

[CHRIS]

And I thank you for listening. I hope you're able to connect with the content today and bring that into your practice and so glad that you could listen. And I hope this helps you on your healing journey, but just remember to subscribe, rate, and review wherever you get your podcasts. Again, this is Chris McDonald sending each one of you much light and love. Until next time, take care.

If you're loving the show, will you rate review and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform? We just started this and that helps other people find this show. Also, if you're feeling uncertain about your modalities and you want to build your confidence to be your unique self, why don't you to join my free email course, Becoming a Holistic Counselor over holisticcounselingpodcast.com. In my Becoming a Holistic Counselor course, you'll get tips for adding integrative care into your practice, what training you need and don't, and the know-how to attract your ideal holistic clients. If this sounds like the direction you are headed, sign up at holisticcounselingpodcast.com.

This podcast is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regards to the subject matter covered. It is given with the understanding that neither the host, the publisher or the guests are rendering legal, accounting, clinical, or any other professional information. If you want a professional, you should find one.