Discover SHEN Therapy
SHEN is an exceptional therapy that harnesses the Bioflux, or Ch’i, from the practitioner’s hands. Founded in 1978 by the American scientist Richard Pavek, SHEN’s origins trace to the ancient healing techniques employed at the Asclepean healing spas in Greco-Roman Europe and the Per Ankhs, or “Houses of the Life force” in Ancient Egypt.𓋹
SHEN focuses on the impact emotions have on our physical bodies and minds. The belief that our emotions influence our physical health is widely accepted. The phrase “When you get your emotional act together, your body will get well” is a common belief, and not just among laypersons; a sizable portion of mainstream medicine shares this conviction.
One of the first to recognize the adverse role emotions play in physical health was the philosopher Socrates, who advised the Athenian physicians to “Heal the Soul first.”
In those days, emotions were thought to be located within an ethereal Soul inside the body. Socrates reasoned that if the emotions, such as fear, anger, or shame, were upsetting, then the bodily organs and glands in that part of the body would also be upset.
𓋹 pronounced Ankh, is transliterated as “Life Force” and dates to at least 2900 B.C.
Psychosomatic Disorders and Painful Emotions
Eating Disorders, Abnormal PMS, PTSD, IBS, and other troubling disorders are widespread.
They range from mild cases, such as childhood bedwetting triggered by frightening dreams, to severe ones. For example, physical pain stemming from intense grief can be devastating; indeed, the Greek philosopher Isocrates died from grief when he learned his lover had been killed at the Battle of Chersonesus, causing his heart to stop functioning.
Painful emotions disrupt the organs and glands
- Anguish and grief impact and disrupt the heart, cardiac plexus, and thymus
- Fear and anger impact and disrupt the kidneys, adrenals, and pancreas
- Shame, worthlessness, and futility impact and disrupt the intestines and bowels
- Terror will disrupt the bladder and the crucial lumbar and sacral ganglia
- Pleasurable emotions do not adversely affect the organs and glands
How the Body Reacts to Pain
The Auto-contractile Pain Reflex (AcPR) is the body’s automatic response to physical pain. It causes us to jerk our hand away from a live wire before our brain even registers the pain. However, if we touch the live wire with our palm, AcPR causes the hand to clasp and hold the wire until someone turns the power off! AcPR also reacts to internal emotional pain in much the same way. The contraction squeezes the organs and glands filled with painful emotion, thus interfering with their chemistry until the emotion is resolved.
The observation that contraction leads to organ malfunction is not a recent concept. In the 2nd century A.D., Soranos of Ephesus, a prominent gynecologist and educator in the Roman Republic, recognized that the constriction of the cervix often stalled childbirth, and he treated his patients with various procedures that relaxed and dilated the cervix.
Emotion has the power to sway our Minds and Actions
“The emotions are titanic forces which sway the lives of men, driving them to good and evil. They are the most powerful of all human agencies and have been well described as giants fighting for the bodies and souls of mankind.”
From The Anatomy of Emotion by Edward Lazell, MD, 1929.
We like to believe that we control ourselves with our minds, but the truth is that more often than not, our emotions override our minds. A glance at any news broadcast or newspaper reveals how our emotions influence our thoughts and behaviors. “I was driven by anger,” or “I must have been out of my mind when I did that,” attest to the truth of Lazell’s statement.
Inner conflicts have external outcomes
Unresolved emotional issues from earlier in our lives continue to shape our responses to life until we uncover and resolve them. “I was under emotional stress when I did that” is a popular, though unacceptable excuse for bad behavior. We harbor immense reserves of unresolved hatred, fear, and anger that can surge from our subconscious at the slightest provocation, influencing our day-to-day behavior until they are addressed and resolved.
SHEN Practitioners are trained to use the Ch'i from their hands to counteract AcPR, bring the subconscious painful emotions to the surface, and resolve them safely.
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