First let's explore the question "What is Reiki?" Reiki is a form of energy healing that originated over 2,500 years ago in Buddhist and Eastern traditions. Reiki means universal life energy. The practice is used to: balance the biofield (see sources to learn more about biofield), support the body's innate ability to for self-healing (return to homeostasis), and improve resistance to stress. An attunement ceremony empowers those who learn Reiki to transmit Reiki energy through their hands (in person or remotely). Once attuned, you have this ability for life and can use this healing energy to promote balance and harmony. Reiki can take place in person where the practitioner places their hands on the client during the session, in person where the practitioner places there hands over the client during the session. Reiki can also take place remotely (Distant Reiki) where the practitioner conducts the practice via the phone or via video call. Once trained in art of Reiki, people can provide Reiki for themselves, others, and animals.

This antient healing art was rediscovered in Japan by Dr. Mikao Usui in the early 20th Century. Dr. Usui taught Reiki to many including Dr. Chujiro Hayashi who opened a healing clinic in Tokyo. One of Dr. Hayashi's clients was Ms. Hawayo Takata, a first generation Japanese-American. Ms. Takata was healed from asthma and other medical conditions after a few months of Reiki treatment. She was so grateful that she became a devote student. In 1937 Ms. Takata brought the teachings of Usui Reiki to Hawaii. There she practiced and trained others in the healing art of Reiki for over 40 years.  

​If you watched The Human Experiment you know just how dangerous many of our typical household products can be to our health. It’s up to us to learn more about those dangers and to find products that are safer for us and our environment. Unfortunately, many manufacturers of these products are focused on profit and speed to market. We have to help those companies recognize the importance of using safe, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly ingredients. Our health and the health of our planet depend on us. We can help these companies change their focus by buying products that are better for us and the planet.
 
It’s not easy to find safer products. Should we trust the labels like “non-toxic,” “all natural,” and “eco-friendly?” Where do we begin to do the research? These questions are what we at Health Empowered You struggled with until we found the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and their Skin Deep site. To learn how EWG can help you click “Read More” below.

​“Ah, sugar, sugar.” Nature’s delightful creation. Almost everyone has a favorite dessert. The dessert that takes us to our ‘happy place,’ and what’s wrong with a little more happiness in our lives? Well, when happiness comes in the form of sugar it can harm our bodies and minds. Sugar can result in a host of illnesses and can lead us down a self-destructive path. Let’s take a deeper look at the impact of sugar and how we can easily cut back.

The orange…mother nature’s delicious fruit. Most of us enjoy a glass of orange juice once in a while. It’s a popular addition to a hardy breakfast. However, orange juice can be unhealthy when it is highly processed and contains pesticides and additives. We at Health Empowered You recommend organic oranges because they are less likely to be contaminated with pesticides. Besides tasting good to most of us, oranges can improve our health, our emotions, and our cleaning routines. Health Empowered You reveals 11 ways to use oranges to our benefit.

Happy New Year! Finally, 2021 is here. A new year with new hope for better days ahead. Many of us begin each new year with goals for ourselves. Some people want to learn something new. Others plan to improve their fitness levels. Some of us just want to lose weight. Health Empowered You wants to help you achieve your health and wellness goals. To do that we have set a 2021 goal for ourselves as well. We plan to share content at least once a week. Our topics will include:
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Mindset Monday - Get to know the role your mindset plays in improving your health and wellness
Special Topic Tuesday - Health impacts including environmental, parasites, breaking research
Wellness Wednesday - Holistic lifestyle factors that can change your life
Transformation Thursday - Discover small ways to transform your health
Fitness Friday - Learn more about movement
Sustenance Saturday - Whole foods, water, supplements, herbs, oils, recipes, vitamins
Spirt Sunday - Uncovering the true self, happiness, time for you, love, relaxation, meditation
 
Since today is Friday, we will begin with a Fitness Friday topic: 10 easy ways to move more at home.

Wow! What a year 2020 has been: global pandemic, US unrest, financial impacts across the world. We all have so much healing to do. With the US Thanksgiving Holiday around the corner we at Health Empowered You (HEY) wanted to take a deeper look at the research behind the impacts gratitude.

According to an article cited by PubMed: "At an anatomical level, it [gratitude] is related consistently with the medial prefrontal cortex and at molecular level, with the neuropeptide oxytocin. It [gratitude] has been associated with better physical and mental health parameters, both in healthy and sick populations."

Hello HEY Readers! Happy Halloween! Remember when you would come home with that sack of candy after hours of 'trick or treating' with your friends? Well we do! :-) Ah the excitement as you poured the 'goods' onto the kitchen table - careful to not mix yours with your siblings'. After all you 'earned' that candy and you wouldn't want to lose any of it over a simple mix up. Yes you eagerly awaited your turn as the adults sifted through the candy to ensure its safety....

Q-Link SRT is an amazing technology that offers a myriad of health and wellness benefits. We first heard about Q-Link in the CHEK Institute Holistic Lifestyle Coach level 1 program (see products page for more info about the CHEK Institute). The instructor was wearing a pendant at the end of a necklace that he claimed allowed him to maintain his energy levels after being in the classroom all day with wifi and all the electrical signals. We wanted to learn more so we investigated this technology...you won't believe what we discovered... 

You probably know someone who is always sick. Maybe that someone is you. Regardless of how often you get sick, when you are sick or when you feel a cold coming on you want to get over it quickly. We have all heard many 'get well' quickly ideas. Below are some remedies brought to you by Mother Nature that HEY readers and bloggers alike have tested and feel confident in recommending...

Ever wish you could lose weight while doing something you enjoy? One of our readers did just that and you can too! After gaining weight due to inactivity caused by years of physical ailments, Christy decided to start taking her health into her own hands. She purchased a Wii game console for her family in the hope that they would start moving more. She then discovered the game called WiiFit. Her interest was piqued. She decided to buy the game and the accompanying balance board. What happened next was amazing...

Essential oils overview
Essential oils have been used in everyday lives for thousands of years for everything from cosmetic and dietary purposes to spiritual reasons. "Young Living has always been at the forefront of bringing this ancient tradition to modern users, introducing millions to emotional, physical, and spiritual wellness that can be truly life-changing. Extracted through careful steam distillation, resin tapping, and cold pressing, the purest essential oils are far more powerful than the botanicals from which they come. Any time you hold a bottle of Young Living’s powerful essential oils, you hold nature's pure essence." From time-to-time, HEY will publish articles educating you on the benefits of specific essential oils - for now let's start with an overview...

Is it time to fire your doctor? Before we answer that question, let's pause to fully appreciate the people who decide to become doctors. We are all very grateful to those who sacrifice years of their lives to study, put in the necessary long hard hours, and dedicate their lives to trying to help us all feel better and recover from medical disease or trauma. Our hats go off to you and your families who support you in this endeavor. However, even those doctors with best intentions cannot correct the fundamental shift that took place somewhere along the line: today's medicine is focused on symptoms suppression and the ability to process large number of patience in a single day. While not necessarily the fault of an individual doctor, it's up to us as individual patients to take charge of our health by finding the right doctor who can help us along on our healing path...

Eyesight is something we take for granted until we start losing it. Will we all suffer from eyesight decline or can we keep our 20/20 vision well into our twilight years? Research suggests that nutrition and movement play key roles in eye health...

Many of us genuinely want to move more. We know we should especially when our clothes are getting tighter and we are out of breath after walking up a few stairs. Today's average lifestyle doesn't help. We go from our beds to a seat in a vehicle that transports us to our office chair where we sit for at least another eight hours. Then we head home to sit in front of the TV while we scarf down dinner we bought on the way home. Many of us then proceed to either watch more TV or spend more time on our electronic device all the while reclining on our couches, chairs, or beds. Why?

Welcome to Health Empowered You. As our introduction, we want to make sure we start at the beginning. The first step in any  health journey is awareness.  We all have so much going on day-to-day that we are rarely fully aware of what is going on around us let alone what is going on within us. Today we will focus on self-awareness...