Learn about Access Bars & Reiki

What is Reiki?

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."

A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing. Many have reported miraculous results.

Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.

An amazingly simple technique to learn, the ability to use Reiki is not taught in the usual sense, but is transferred to the student during a Reiki class. This ability is passed on during an "attunement" given by a Reiki master and allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of "life force energy" to improve one's health and enhance the quality of life.

What is Access Bars?

The Access Bars® is an amazing treatment that involves gently touching 32 points on your head.  This supposedly releases anything that doesn't allow you to receive. These points (aka bars) contain all the thoughts, ideas, beliefs, emotions, and considerations that you have stored in any lifetime. This is an opportunity for you to let go of everything!

Each Access Bars® session can release limitations in the area of your life that corresponds with the specific bar being touched. This is an incredibly nurturing and relaxing process, undoing limitation in all aspects of your life that you are willing to change.

How much of your life do you spend doing rather than receiving?

Have you noticed that your life is not yet what you would like it to be? You could have everything you desire (and even greater!) if you are willing to receive lots more and maybe do a little less! Receiving The Bars® will allow this to begin to show up for you.

How does it work?

Access Bars® has assisted thousands of people to change many aspects of their body and their life including sleep, health and weight, money, sex and relationships, anxiety, stress and so much more.

Some compare the brain to a computer and The Bars® treatment to a disk defragmenter.  The bars (points on the head) correspond to different areas of the brain (the computer files) that relate to aspects of everyday life, such as joy, creativity, money, control, creating connections,  calmness or experiencing gratitude etc.  We carry our own limiting thoughts, beliefs, emotions and patterns in these areas (like junk files, or spam) based on judgements absorbed from society, culture family, friends and personal experience.  Ideas about right and wrong, good and bad, interfere with accepting life as it is and making changes that empower us.  We may even be well aware of how these judgements draw us off-centre, away from our inherent connection to wholeness and oneness.

When an Access Bars® practitioner touches the bars on a person’s head, the electrical charge in the brain which holds these fabricated judgements is dispersed (i.e. the junk files deleted!).  Patterns and ‘programs’ we’ve taken on cause us to react to life on autopilot, with unconscious resistance to the very experiences we most long for.  Once cleared, we become free to function again with clarity and awareness, receiving who we truly are without fear and obstruction, and open to entirely new vistas of possibility.

Studies have shown that The Bars® treatment slows brainwaves down to a theta state allowing behavioral patterns and childhood perspectives to surface and be released, and a greater state of presence, allowance, and openness to arise.  Limiting thoughts, beliefs and feelings can be lifted, including fears about money, blocks to creativity, difficulty receiving, residual grief, or any other habits that no longer work for you.

The Bars® are a tool that facilitate a different way of functioning on the planet.  For trillions of years, human beings have functioned from the density of their thoughts, feelings and emotions. This is what people have identified with, this is what people have made valuable.  The more you get your bars run, the more you begin to perceive how much effort it actually takes to function from thoughts, feelings and emotions. You also start to perceive the possibility of functioning from perceiving, knowing, being and receiving.  For most people, getting their bars run is the first time that they actually allow themselves to receive without obligation and consideration. It's like activating a computer virus of consciousness!

Bars can be used to facilitate change in all areas of your life.  When you are willing to function from more consciousness, you begin to open the doors to all healing.  Science tells us that the shape of your cells actually becomes more elliptical when they are influenced by thoughts, feelings and emotions, which is the first step to dis-ease.  When you get your bars run, it unlocks this impact on the cells allowing the cells to return to their more spherical shape facilitating more ease in the body.

Access Consciousness® tools including The Bars® are used by Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Physiotherapists, Family Play Therapists, Massage Therapists, Acupuncturists, Chiropractors, Business Coaches and Trainers and everyday people to create simple fast change.

Why You Should Incorporate Planks Into Your Workout

With exercise, sometimes the simplest of movements result in the greatest gains to your fitness, and this is certainly the case with planks. To do a plank, you hold your body (the trunk portion) off the ground, making sure to hold it in a straight line.

If you’ve never tried one, a plank may look easy, almost too easy to be beneficial, but this is deceiving. While getting into the proper form is straightforward, holding the position takes strength and endurance in your abs, back, and core.

The plank is one of the best exercises for core conditioning but it also works your glutes and hamstrings, supports proper posture, and improves balance. There are many variations you can try to add intensity and work different areas of your body. 

5 Benefits of Doing Planks

Planking has become increasingly popular for core strengthening, and for good reason: it works – in large part because it engages multiple muscle groups simultaneously. What are some of the benefits you can expect from adding this exercise to your regular routine?

1.A Toned Belly

Planking will help build your deep inner core muscles that lay the groundwork for that six-pack look. As your abdominal muscles become stronger, your mid-section will tighten.

Keep in mind, however, that in order to really get "six-pack" abs, you have to shed fat. For men that would be a body fat of about 6 percent, and women around 9 percent, in order to achieve that classic six-pack. This is not necessarily healthy.

2.Reduce Back Pain

Planks work for back pain because they strengthen your core, which has the pleasant “side effect” of reducing back pain. They also strengthen your back muscles, especially those in your upper back. Because the plank exercise requires minimal movement while contracting all layers of the abdominal fascia, it is an excellent way to strengthen the core, which, in turn, helps reduce low-back pain.

3.Flexibility

While building strength, planks also increase flexibility in your posterior muscle groups. The muscles around your shoulders, collarbone, and shoulder blades will expand and stretch (an area that often receives little attention), as will your hamstrings and even the arches of your feet and your toes.

If you do a side plank, you can also stretch out your sides (especially if you extend your arm up over your head in line with your body). To increase the stretching benefits, try a rocking plank – once in basic plank form, rock your body back and forth by moving your toes a few inches either way.

4.Improve Your Mood

Virtually every exercise has the potential to give you a mood boost,   and planks are no exception. Planks are unique, however, in that they help stretch and ultimately relax muscles groups that often become stiff and tense from prolonged sitting. The tension release that planks provide is uplifting for your spirit.

5.Improve Your Balance and Posture

To do a plank correctly, you must engage your abs to stay upright. Side planks or planks with extensions are particularly beneficial for building balance, as are planks performed on a stability ball. To test and strengthen your balance, try a side plank with a leg raise – get into side plank position, then lift your top leg and hold for one count. Lower it and repeat, then switch sides.4 In addition, planks work all the muscles you need to maintain proper posture, like your back, chest, shoulders, abs, and neck. If you do planks regularly, you’ll find you’re able to sit or stand up straighter with ease.

Health Benefits of Grilling

There are health benefits to cooking your food on the grill versus on the stove or oven. We’ll go over some of the health benefits and give you some tips to serve up some tasty and healthy meals. Let’s start with the five health benefits.

1. You Eat Less Fat

When you grill, you eat less fat because the excess drips off the grates. Think about cooking a burger on the grill versus in a pan on your stove-top. On the grill, the fat cooks off. In a pan on the cooktop, the fat has nowhere to go, so it pools and is eventually re-absorbed by the meat.

2. Vegetables on the Grill are Better for You

Most people don’t realize that vegetables retain more of their vitamins and minerals when they’re grilled. This is especially true with veggies that have a low water content.

Plus, vegetables that you toss on the grill are usually fresh and in season, which are a step above the canned versions. Wrapping in tin foil or just placing on top of your grill, cooking your veggies in this manner is nutritionally advantageous than boiling or frying.

3. Meat Retains Nutrients

When you toss a slab of meat over the fire, it actually preserves more riboflavin and thiamine. Both of these nutrients play a vital role in a healthy diet, as well as have many health benefits associated with each of them.

4. You Use Less Butter

If you’re a master with the grill, and not overcooking your food, you’ll have juicy cuts of meat and tasty veggies. Because the grill locks in more moisture, you’ll be less inclined to reach for the butter or other condiments to jazz up your food. Not only does that means you eat fewer calories, but you put less unhealthy stuff in your body.

5. Grilling Goes With Outside Activities

The act of grilling gets you outdoors. A lot of parents toss around a Frisbee or kick a ball around the grass with their kids while grilling dinner. The act of cooking and eating outdoors encourages more activity, which we all know is just an added health bonus to go along with your delicious dinner.

5 Tips for Healthy Grilling

Before you fire up the grill for tonight’s dinner, we have a few tips to make your next meal even healthier. Here are five tips to improve your family’s diet as you grill away.

1. Buy Lean Meats

While cheeseburgers are grilling staple, you should vary your outdoor menu. Try lean cuts of meat like chicken, fish or pork. When you’re craving a burger, pickup the leanest beef you can find. Look for 93/7 marked on the package. That means just 7 percent is fat. The leaner the meat, the healthier it is for you.

2. Grill Your Veggies

Every meal should have veggies, so when you’re grilling, add a few peppers or zucchini to the grill. Try grilling sweet corn or make veggie kabobs as a side dish. A spinach salad with light vinaigrette dressing is another nutrient-packed addition that is a favorite amongst many people.

3. Use Gas Rather Than Charcoal

Depending on who you ask, some doctors have suggested that charcoal used during the grilling process can expose you and your food to cancer-causing chemicals.

If you want to use charcoal to cook, it’s recommended that you don’t overcook the meat and keep it out of the smoke as much as possible. If you can, doctors recommend using a gas grill. Not only is it a cleaner way to cook, you also avoid the possible side dish of a well-known carcinogen. 

4. Marinate Your Meats

Who doesn’t love a steak marinated in a honey garlic glaze, or lemon pepper pork chops?

The good news is that marinating doesn’t just improve the taste of your dinner, it may actually improve your health. When meat is cooked at high temperatures or cooked over charcoal, there are some concerns about cancer-causing chemicals seeping into the meat. Marinating the meat, however, is believed to help eliminate these chemicals by up to 99%.

5. Try Healthy Alternatives

If burgers and steak are your go-to grilling options, you can always take to the Internet for some inspiration. There are all sorts of creative and surprising recipes for the grill. For example, have you ever tried making a pizza on the grill? It’s an option. Grab some whole-wheat dough at the store, turn the grill on high and add some sauce and veggies to grill something other than beef.

While summertime is usually synonymous with grilling, when the weather starts to chill and the seasons change, you can also try a small electric grill that you can use indoors. It will tide you over until you fire up the barbie once again.

Why Summer Is Good For Your Health

Get your dose of vitamin D

Perhaps, the most obvious benefit of the extra sun is getting a daily boost of Vitamin D. Maintaining a steady supply has been shown to slow down aging, prevent inflammation, improve bone health, and improve immunity and resistance against diseases. Recently, a study found that the vitamin can reduce the risk of early death in people diagnosed with heart problems.

The season of the fruits

With all the fresh produce filling up grocery stores and farmers markets, it can be difficult to avoid fruits during the heat of the summer. Due to the high levels of humidity, we are more likely to crave a few slices of watermelon or a delicious mango smoothie. Other healthy summer fruits including berries, pineapples, kiwis, oranges, and peaches can prevent dehydration and provide a generous diet of vitamin C and vitamin E. 

You're sweating and that's good!

The more you sweat, the cooler your body gets and the more your blood circulation improves. Perspiration also helps clear out your skin by purging bacteria, dirt, oil and other impurities. The benefits aren't just limited to physical health. Prolonged sweating is associated with the release of endorphins which improve your mood and overall mental health.

Nature and the great outdoors

Ecotherapy simply cannot be underestimated and summertime means no more excuses to hide indoors. A 2016 study found that spending just 30 minutes in nature every week would reduce the risk of high blood pressure and depression.

Exposure to fresh air is important, particularly for those who live in a busy city and are subject to pollution. Breathing cleaner oxygen can increase your levels of serotonin, promoting happiness and well-being.

Rejuvenate with a vacation

Research has suggested that taking a break from your usual life and schedule to travel and relax is required to keep yourself healthy and productive in the long run. No matter how old you are, taking some time away from the corporate and academic environments can provide some well-rounded benefits that include reducing stress, boosting creativity, improving focus, and developing family bonds.  

Your heart is healthier

Studies have shown that the risk of heart disease peaks during the months of winter, but reaches its lowest point during summer. Experts have yet to identify the exact cause but the aforementioned benefits may suggest why your overall health is better during summer. Good cholesterol levels are said to be higher during this season compared to colder months, possibly since the hot weather is not as likely to constrict blood vessels.