Inspired by the healing power of water and its significance in traditional cultures throughout the world, I’d love to awaken this healing quality within you. All that is flowing, creative, sensual, and full of vitality. Water is the essence of life. It is where life begins in the womb.
Did you know that our bodies are 75% water, our brains 85% water? As we awaken our awareness to this divine connection within us, we create a new vision, an inspired life, our unique soulful purpose.
In looking at the challenges of this past year, let’s reflect on the healing power of water and how we cultivate awareness for its unique characteristics, so we create better flow and ease in our lives and move out of “dis-ease.” For years, I have been fascinated with healing traditional wisdom throughout ancient cultures. My travels to Central America, Hawaii, and Peru have given me the opportunity to explore new ideas about living a balanced lifestyle through different global perspectives. In 2008, I found myself living in Hawaii for eight months being completely surrounded by the ocean. It was during that year I began to understand the symbolic nature of water in our lives. As a Certified Integrative Health Coach, I have always known the importance of proper hydration for health and vitality. For example, we accumulate symptoms like headaches and low energy from daily stress that can simply be our body’s cry for water. This means less caffeine consumption, less processed food, and nourishing our bodies with whole foods from the Earth while drinking plenty of fresh purified water.
These are the basic staples to a healthy diet, right?
Beyond all of the benefits of eating and drinking well, Hawaii woke up a different kind of awareness in me. A spiritual recognition. That water is sacred.
It is a spiritual ally for healing and transformation.
Not simply through knowing that our bodies are 75% water and the thoughts we inhabit create a vibrational effect on our health. I also learned that ancient cultures around the world have been using water in healing ceremonies for thousands of years! It is the most universal spiritual concept on the planet.
Water is life giving, renewing, cleansing, and transformative.
Did you know that water has potent abilities to heal us, not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually? Some cultures have even considered it to be a living being. They claim that water is a divine source of health. Divine or not, it is the enabler of life, the vital energy of our planet, and the pre-condition to Mother Earth’s life-giving force. In many cultural traditions, the water element is one that relates to nourishing and nurturing. It is no coincidence this is where we begin life in the womb during pregnancy.
With my background as a Certified Birth Doula, I became keenly aware of this spiritual concept while living in Hawaii. Being on an island and completely surrounded by the ocean woke up a sense of awe and wonder, a reverence for the beauty and magic of the ocean. Through speaking with local Hawaiians that year, I learned that “Hawai’i” represents all the elements that give us life and nourish our body, mind, and spirit.
“Ha” = Breath “Wai” = Water “I” = Energy.
All of these elements together create life force energy which equals vitality. In addition, “waiwai” equals the word for “wealth” in Hawaiian because whoever had access to clean water was considered wealthy. This translates to abundance. It is no coincidence then that water brings life-giving abundance. This is a concept that Hawaiians are well aware of and still honor today through their healing traditions.
So, let’s look at several other perspectives around the world and how water has been used in ancient healing wisdom. Maybe some of you are familiar with the Japanese researcher, Dr. Masaru Emoto? He has written numerous books on this topic, including The Hidden Messages in Water and The Healing Power of Water. Through Dr. Emoto’s research, he learned that crystallization patterns of water held the key to its life force energy. In other words, water carries vibrational patterns depending on the stimuli given around it. When Dr. Emoto placed negative thoughts and energy on the living water, like “hate” and “violence,” it created an ugly murky pattern that was hard to make out. However, when the thoughts of love and gratitude were placed on the water, it formed beautiful patterns that were sparkling, well formed, and shining with life force energy. These water crystals were a result of the loving energy in the words they matched.
This goes back to the theory that water attracts like water. So, what we put out through our thoughts and beliefs is what we get back from the world. It seems pretty straight forward, right? In looking at the whole picture of our lives, however, and seeing how modern life keeps us in an endless cycle of busyness, stress, and hustle, it is no wonder that people are experiencing mild to severe burnout. In that frazzled state, we move into a place of “dis-ease” versus emotional freedom and ease.
So, what do we do about all this? How can we break the cycle of demand and over busyness, creating more balance from the inside out?
As an Integrative Health Coach, I support clients to nourish their bodies with healthy and nutritious food that creates better energy, moods, and lifestyle balance. I also emphasize the importance of healthy relationships, physical activity, and cultivating a deeper sense of purpose that nourishes our spirit on a deeper level. A primary part of this comes down to self-love and learning to love ourselves, unconditionally, embracing our FULL self to truly thrive.
So, I would love to provide several tips to incorporate water’s healing properties into your health and well-being. The benefits are endless!
• Take a hot shower and finish with a cold-water plunge. This cold rush of water gets your circulation moving and creates more alertness and vitality.
• Drink plenty of clean and pure water. You are not just what you eat. You are what you drink. Water is vital to your well-being! You need to drink ½ your body weight in fluid ounces daily, and more if you are stressed. It works so well in keeping you healthy, pain- free, and can radically reduce the risk of chronic health issues.
• Move your internal water pump. In other words, exercise! Run, walk, and do any other physical activity that you enjoy.
• Spend time in natural hot springs. This natural oasis is loaded with healthy minerals for the body that our bodies need to flourish and stay vital.
• Get a high-quality water filter system and use it daily for your drinking water. If you’re going to invest money in your health, this is the right place to do it.
• Take flower essences for emotional and energy healing (for example, Bach Flower Remedies). Flower essences are a blend of pure water with the vital life force energy of different flowers that bring harmony and balance to the mind, body, and spirit. You can find these gentle remedies at most health food stores.
• Spend time near moving water that produces negative ions. Negative ions are magical particles that are plentiful near waterfalls, ocean waves, rivers, and streams. They increase vitality and act as a natural antidepressant. Studies have shown that after breathing negative ions for at least an hour, subjects improve energy levels and the ions in our bloodstream help to better absorb oxygen into the cells. This provides a euphoric lift to the emotions and revitalizes our energy.
• Speak kindly to yourself with appreciation, respect, and acceptance. This creates a positive vibration inside of you, which reflects out into the world. Kindness brings more kindness.
• Sip hot water upon waking to get your lymph moving. In Ayurvedic medicine, a healthy lymph system that is not stagnant is the root to good health. Sipping hot water throughout the day, especially in the morning, can get the lymph moving effectively.
In closing, the healing power of water has limitless benefits to enhance our health and well-being. First, it is through increasing our awareness of its potent ability to heal us, both emotionally and physically. Second, it is recognizing that water is sacred. It is one of the most spiritual energies on the planet, and a divine source of health that brings life-giving abundance to our world. Therefore, we must treat our water with respect in how we care for our planet. The same way we must also treat our bodies with respect through how we eat, drink, and choose our daily thoughts.
Starting to incorporate several of the tips above can make a huge difference.
As Spring season arrives, may you enjoy the abundance of nature and all of the amazing opportunities to soak in the healing properties of water!
