Homeopathy Explores and Heals

By Ildiko Ran

According to the Sensation Method, homeopathy's new emerging phenomenon, when you use phrases like "I need a solid ground to stand on" or "I feel happy as a clam", you give invaluable clues to your homeopath. Homeopaths have always used a holistic picture in treating individuals, but the Sensation Method takes homeopathy even one step further, closer towards healing the essence, and ultimately addressing the totality of one's symptoms with more precision. Homeopathic treatment not only helps the body to overcome troublesome symptoms and diseases, but it also removes the predisposition to ill- tendencies.

The Sensation Method is the system I presented for the general public in my book, Sensations: The Healing Power of Homeopathy, published in 2008. The book consists of ten descriptive cases, where the reader gets acquainted with the lifestyles and problems of ten distinctly different people seeking help with migraines, menstrual cramps, carpal tunnel syndrome, hypertension, acute kidney colic, and children with autism, head lice, and eczema. Interspersed in the dialogue between homeopath and client you read about the homeopath's thought process and follow the events like a Sherlock Holmes detective story.

The reason for writing the book was a growing awareness I have sensed in the population towards our inner processes. When I go to yoga class, I hear the instructor encouraging students to get in touch with their inner sensations, and build their practice from there. Several body-oriented therapies put emphasis on these internal processes as well, and quiet down the everyday chatter of the mind and focus on the body's own inner language, which communicates without words. This language consists of our body language, gestures, our "wrenched heart" and "squeezy stomach", and in general the way our body experiences reality that surrounds us. We feel a familiar sensation in recurrent situations in our lives but we are so busy attaching meaning to words that we forget to listen to the rest. When the body is too worn out by giving clues in a mild manner, it becomes more pronounced and manifests itself in physical symptoms and in form of various diseases. By this analogy, disease is merely a louder form of the body's attempts to communicate with us. It is the same energy that is discernable in a softer voice all the time. Homeopaths are trained to listen to both the louder and the softer voice, and match the emerging body and personality pattern with an intricate prototype of a remedy. Without going in depth the philosophy of homeopathy, let me illustrate the level of complexity this work requires. The following example is an abbreviated case-study from my book, Sensations:

"I get migraines at least once a month before my period. I wish I could let things flow. I feel the stress energetically, feel it building up. Then, eventually, I get a headache.

What do you do to relieve the pain?

I find pressure is helpful. I studied shiatsu so I use it on myself when I am in pain. The pain arises because of the blockage of energy flow. After pressing on these points of blockage, my system eventually releases. My breath releases, I feel I am letting go. I also have to go to the bathroom then. When I have a sore back I feel tightness in the muscles. It is tight and there is pressure. It is like a rope that tightens up. There is no energy there.

I ask her to describe it. I note that she has mentioned the word "flow" several times. Once we arrive at the same sensation from different complaints and perspectives, we know this is the core sensation. Since she introduced "tight", we have to see how "flow" and "tight" are related.

It is like when you have a tight muscle. It is condense in place. There is no space to breathe, to relax. It is blocked. The whole system is blocked. There is no flow inside.

So it is not the tightness but the block to the flow that is the underlying sensation! Interesting to note how she describes the "no space" in the tight muscle and rope. It is very similar to the way she describes (at another point) her complaint in the right side of the body and the hip socket. This means that in two areas of the body she feels a similar sensation, which makes the local sensation a general one and thus confirms its importance.

The opposite of this is when everything flows. When there is no block the breath flows, movement flows. It is a peaceful feeling, a sense of balance. There is energy available to walk, play and work. It is flowing. It is fast like a brook. It can flow fast because there are no blocks in it. If I press on my feet it removes the blocks. In a similar fashion if I put my sore lower back in hot water the energy can flow down.

At this point I ask about her hobbies. We do this because people seek the opposite of their core sensation and they create it in their hobbies. It is the same energy manifesting in two polarities. My favorite is Contact Improvisation Dance. It is about sharing your weight with a partner and flowing with it. I love running, dancing – I love any movement. I like action and flow: movement, momentum, motion. Movement makes me happy physically and emotionally. I feel power, flow, radiance and fun. Anything can happen when I manage to flow with it. I feel soft, flexible and strong at the same time.

I ask her to describe how it feels like to be soft, flexible and strong.

Like a rubber doll. I feel like I can do anything. There is no stiffness. Everything flows. It is like a waterfall, like a river.

She mentions three areas in her life where she enjoys the sensation of flow: her work, shiatsu and contact improvisation dance. The way she describes these activities is essentially the same: they create flow and ease of movement. This is the opposite of the blocked sensation."

This excerpt is a small sample of the importance of bodily sensations in homeopathic understanding. Homeopathy is an ever-growing field and if you are interested in learning more about the Sensation Method or homeopathy in general, there is a great selection of books and other information available for your inquiry. Learning about homeopathy can serve as a stepping-stone in your journey towards better understanding of yourself, your body, mind and spirit. Through homeopathy not only you can receive healing to your own ailments but your understanding of others and your environment can improve as well. Healing and increasing self-awareness is an intimate journey, one that feels right to explore and satisfying to receive its benefits. I encourage you to include homeopathy in your own journey!