Holistic Healing︱Erik Harris

Countless people around the world are living with chronic illness and chronic pain. Unfortunately, many of these individuals jump from doctor to doctor and still fail to find relief within the mainstream medical system. Our guest today, Erik Harris, found himself in this very position. When he finally exhausted all of his options within the  conventional medicine system, he started exploring the realm of traditional healing practices. This personal journey ultimately set Erik on the path to become a healer himself. Erik's foundation lies in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM); he is also a tai chi & qi gong teacher. He holds certifications in tui na & tong ren therapy, aromatherapy, crystal healing, reiki, and auriculo therapy. Erik is tireless is his pursuit to find the right combination of modalities to best meet his clients' needs. If you or someone you know is struggling with a chronic condition, you won't want to miss this episode. Thank you, Erik, for sharing your story and thank you all for listening!

chiforhealing.com

Qi Gong for Chronic Pain Certification Course

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/qi-gong-for-chronic-pain-certification-course-tickets-460295053897

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Transcript

Cate: Welcome to Middletown Strong, looking up with Russell Library. I'm Cate Tsahalis here with my co-host Stephanie Rush. Hi, and we are delighted to have Erik Harris from Chi for Healing here with us today just in time to celebrate World Tai Chi Day, which falls on April 29th, I believe, right, Erik? Yep. Erik is a holistic healer and a Tai chi, qi gong and meditation teacher.

Erik apprenticed under Dr. Ming Wu and became certified as a Chinese herbalist, and tui na and tong ren therapist, well explain those modalities during the conversation If that wasn't enough, Erik is also certified in Crystal Healing aromatherapy, Reiki and auriculo  therapy. I probably missed a few things, but I think that's enough to get started.

So thank you, Erik for being here.

Erik: Awesome. Great to be here.

Cate: So to build some context, do you mind if I tell Stephanie and our listeners how we met? Sure. Okay. So I don't know how much of this you'll even remember cuz it's going back to like 2010. So in 2010, my mom was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer that had spread to her liver.

And I don't even know if you know this Erik, but at the time, so this was. I wanna say it was probably about June of 2010. She was given a six month to year di like to live. Mm-hmm. So she was pretty against doing chemo and she couldn't do surgery. That wasn't an option. But she did it. She went through the treatments.

She did like one particular treatment and then that didn't do what they wanted it to, so they did another. So come like, uh, I'm guessing about spring of 2011. She stopped treatment, they were like, it, there's, there's really nothing else we can do. So that's when I found Wu Healing, which, um, is in West Hartford.

So we were doing a Tong Ren class, which you'll talk about later. Yeah. Not with you, but with Dr. Wu. Yeah. And I don't, so much is fuzzy about that time, but somehow we were connected with you. She wanted to do a private  healing and I think the first one she did might have been at the studio, but then by the second she was too sick to to go.

And so you were kind enough to come to her house. Do you remember? Yeah, I remember. Okay. And she was like luminous after the healing that Erik did. And that's, that's saying something because again, she was. You know, she was in a pretty bad way at that point. She was taking no pain medication, not even an Advil at that point.

So she was mostly meditating and, and so she did a healing with Erik and it was, it was wonderful. But then, The following week when she was supposed to have her next one, she passed away like the day before the, the healing. And so I remember calling you to tell you obviously that you know, you, you weren't going to be coming.

Um, but I asked you if I could take her session and you let me. Oh, okay. So, so you were like at the absolute most raw, I would say part of my grief at that point. So thank you. I don't know if I ever actually thanked you for, you know, for being there at that point. And, um, and then I've seen Erik a few times over the years.

I'm well overdue to see you again, um, at, you know, at different points for different sessions. So that's actually how we met. Cool. Did I miss anything?

I think that pretty much sums it up, so, yeah.

Erik: Okay. I'm glad I could help with whatever way I could,

Cate: You definitely, you definitely did. That was not, and it is, it's, it's very fuzzy to remember the details cuz so much of that was just getting through the, the, you know, the whole situation.

So, so yeah. But segueing on choosing to work as a  healer,especially at a young age, I mean, cause you've been doing this for a while, is, is a unique life path. So can you tell us a little bit how you got started on this journey?

Erik: Sure, yeah. And, um, I'm going to keep it pretty brief. Um, it's quite a story, but, um, just for time purposes and stuff.

Um, but it's, it's gonna be great to share this cuz I think, I think you don't really know a lot of my stories. No. Um, but I have suffered many injuries in my life, um, and I've also dealt with chronic illness and, um, we'll talk a little little bit about that and that's why I'm so passionate about helping people with chronic pain, chronic illness.

Um, but uh, I would say probably. For, no, maybe actually six years before I met you. Um, I had a neck injury that was really bad and it flared up actually a back injury that I had when I was 16. So I, that's when I first broke my back. Oh wow. Um, and so at L 4 L 5, um, and then I had a neck injury between C six and C seven and I was like pretty debilitated.

And that's actually what brought me back to Connecticut. Oh. Uh, cause I'm from Connecticut, but I was living in New Jersey at the time.

Cate: Yes, I remember.

Erik: Yeah. So, And so pretty much nobody could really help me. I was having nerve pain going down my hands and I had like a pinched nerve situation and I was in a lot of pain and it kind of threw off my back too, cuz your spine's all connected, you know?

Mm-hmm.

Um, and so I pretty much, uh, Went from one doctor to another with no answers, and then, you know, the universe totally stepped in and God pretty much put all these people in my path, um, to help me. And, um, so I ended up working with this, uh, friend's mom from high school. She started giving me reiki sessions and that was really helpful.

And then it opened up to. Meeting this, this other person, um, that was a, actually a Chinese medicine practitioner. And she put ear seeds in my ear and I had like this huge release and it was like this huge healing, uh, experience that I had. Wow. And I went from her to a cranial sacral therapist. And then like, I eventually, Stumbled upon Dr.

Wu and I started doing, going to the tong ren classes, taking Qigong classes, Tai Chi, um, and seeing him for private sessions and doing tui na and taking Chinese herbs. And, and I did like everything I did detoxing, cleansing, all, all different types of stuff. Um, and low and behold, after really dedicating my life to this stuff and making all sorts of change, Within like six months, like my pain was like way down and like I wasn't, you know, the nerve pain started going away and I wasn't like debilitated anymore.

And it really opened my eyes to what this holistic medicine can do. And, um, so yeah. And so pretty much after that I just, I changed the whole course of my life and decided to dedicate my life to healing. So that's, uh, pretty much how I got on this.

Cate: Wow, that's a good story.

Stephanie: Yeah, I heard a lot of buzzwords in there that I'm interested to hear more about.

Okay.

Cate: Yeah, well go ahead Steph

Stephanie: well, that perfectly segues

into my question. Um, you have an impressive list of certifications and in that segment you just aimed all these things that I was like, I kind of know what that is. I like to hear more about that. So, two part question, but I'm gonna start with part two.

Can you explain some of the lesser known therapies that you offer that listeners might not be familiar?

Erik: Sure. Um, yeah, I mean, the main foundation of what I do is Chinese medicine. Mm-hmm. Okay. So, um, like an acupuncturist, uh, I work along the meridians, the energy channels of the body. Um, and we could talk a little bit more about that.

But, um, instead of using needles, I use my hands to open up the points, um, on those meridian channels. Okay. And that the type of therapy that I do is called tui na. And tui na and Chinese means pull and grasp. Okay. Yeah. Um, but it's a type of acupressure, um, that uses like Qigong energy and, and that that application of the acupressure  to open up the energy channels.

Um, I also work with this modality called Tong Ren that we've talked about. Um, and this is a very interesting. It's kind of abstract, but it's all about getting into a meditative state, um, and using your intention and to focus on a person. And then you take a acupuncture doll that has all the meridians and an acupuncture hammer and you tap on the doll.

Huh. Okay. And it's amazing what happens, but it actually taps into someone's bioelectric system. Right. And healing occurs. It's, it's really hard to explain. Mm-hmm. But I can't tell you how. Times I like people have had sensations and a lot of times this is distance healing work. So I'll do like classes through Zoom or I'll do private sessions with people and they'll be like, wow, I'm feeling warm all over.

And tingling sensations and like, or like, oh yeah, the pain I was experiencing is lessened and you know, and it's from me just tapping on it doll for 10 minutes. So, um, but yeah, so that's a pretty abstract one, but it's really powerful and the more people. You know, more group energy, the, the better with that.

So that's tong ren  therapy.

Stephanie: Cool.

Erik: Um, auriculo therapy is another one she brought up. Yeah. That is kind of like foot reflexology. Uh, which is the concept of the, it, it's a homunculus, so it's a part of your body that represents your whole body. Mm-hmm. Your ear. And so there's 300 nerve endings. There's over 300 acupoints

and so what I do is I put seeds in people's ear. So I apply either silver gold magnet or vicarious seed, depending on the condition, and it stays on with a little bandaid. So you make a little indent. Huh? Then you put the little bandaid.

Cate: He's done this to me. And it looks like a little piercing.

Erik: Yeah. but it doesn't break the skin. Doesn't break the skin.

Stephanie: Interesting.

Erik: And you can press it too, and it can help you. And that I, I, I've had profound experiences with people like that, like, you know, relieving their pain and helping them with so many things.

Cate: They're really cool.

Stephanie: Yeah. And I've had some cranial sacral work done before. Um, but I'm curious if you can expand on that a little before, listeners who might not know what that.

Erik: Sure. Um, so yeah, I'm not trained in that. Mm-hmm. But, um, it definitely is something they work with the cranial rhythms of your brain and, and so, and it's like it does a lot to like adjust. They can actually even like, Help to like move around bones and stuff and like help with your, your skull and your, your, stuff like that.

So, um, I've had, I've had a woman put, put her fingers in my mouth with gloves on and open up the vomer bone uhhuh, which is right up here. Um, different things like that. So wild. Um, yeah, but it's another, you know, it's, it is like kind of an energy healing modality as well. There's like an energetics. Um, so yeah.

Stephanie: Okay. Well now I'm gonna go back to part one of my questions. So that was actually probably a better thing to come first so that we could kind of hear all the things that you offer. Um, if someone is looking for a healer, how would you guide them toward picking the best service that meets their needs?

Erik: Okay. So would it be someone just generally looking for a healer or someone working with me?

Stephanie: Um, someone specifically who's coming to you. Okay. Like, what's the process look like for choosing the best type of therapy or service for them?

Erik: Okay, sure. So, because there's just a lot of people have different processes.

Yep. So I can only kind of share my story. Yeah. Speak to yours please. So, um, basically what I've developed over the years, um, is I often help people. By talking with them first before I even start working with them. So I, I have them set up a discovery call and I learn a little bit about what's going on with them.

You know, a little bit about their history, stuff like that, what they're looking for. Um, and then that kind of helps me to gauge, you know, what the best. Treatment is, is, is to do with them. I mean, I would say in general, the primary thing I do with people is the tui na the acupressure. But then it's like, there's all these other things I do that are off of that, whether it be, you know, fire cupping, uh, guasha, moxa working with Chinese herbs and, you know, I have all these tools in my tool belt, you know, aromatherapy, sound healing, all this different stuff.

Stephanie: Sounds fun.

Erik: Yeah. And, and so it just kind of depends on. They need, you know, what they're, what they're, they're looking for. So it really helps even just to do a 15 minute call. Sometimes it's a 30 minute call. Um, and then, you know, we kind of go from there, whether they're looking for detoxing or helping with, you know, I, I specialize in helping people with chronic illness and chronic pain.

Unfortunately, a lot of people deal with that. So there's a lot of different ways to approach it, but that's generally how the process works for me. I really like to talk to people first, and then they also can get to know me a little bit too. Yeah. Learn about how I can help them.

Cate: Yeah. So good. So the best practitioners understand that the individual plays a huge role in their, their personal healing journey.

How do you empower clients to take on that role so that they, that it's not necessarily you doing everything?

Erik: Yeah, sure. Um, yeah, the general rule my teacher taught me was that actually we can only do 30% of the work, that it's actually 70% of the work is up to the patient, you know, and so the way that you, I mean, I don't go in there and say, Hey, you gotta do 70% of work.

But, um,

Cate: that'd be a fun way to start!

Erik: So if this is gonna work, you know, might, this might not work out, I dunno, but no, um, You know, it, I think empower is, is the perfect word there, you know, um, and to kind of, I, I'm, I feel like over the years, um, I've really developed, uh, compassion and empathy for people and understanding of where they're at.

And, um, that to me is, is the most important piece for me to really kind of meet them where they are. Um, and then I can also, then that also kind of crafts for me the advice that I can give them for things that they can do for themselves. Like, you know, everyone is willing to do certain things. You know, and that's fine.

And, and whatever they're willing to do is fine. You know, so some people are like, I'll do whatever you tell me. Mm-hmm. Right. You know, I'm like, okay, well then I can, I can have you make some dietary changes and we can focus on supplements. You know, I can give you exercises. I can, I can give you a whole routine, you know?

But some people are like, well, I'm not gonna change anything in my diet. Okay. No. You know? Yeah. Like, so it, it just kind of depends on, on where people are at. Um, but yeah, I'm always giving people tips and stuff, and it just depends on what's, what's happening. Like, I might send them home with a moxibustion kit that is, you know, well, that's like moxa is, um, I don't know if I ever did that with you.

Cate: I don't, but I don't think so. Or maybe you didn't. I just didn't realize. Yeah. Well realize what it was.

Erik: Did I ever light you on fire? Because that's what it kind of feels like.

Cate: No...

Stephanie: I feel like you'd remember that!

Erik: Yeah. moxa is. Uh, using the herb mugwort and, and the heat from lighting. Um, you have these little heat shields and little cones that you light on fire and the heat shields prevent you from burning the skin.

Yeah. Okay. Um, traditionally it was done with sticks that then you would put in like a moxa box. Right. Okay. And it would be like billows of smoke, you know. Sure. Um, The, what my teacher calls 'em baby moxa, um, is it doesn't smoke as much, but it does, the heat goes deep into an area. So you put that like on a specific acupoint, right?

Yeah. Um, or like if people have like, swelling in their feet or digestive issues or gynecological issues, like those are some of the things that I've, uh, given patients to like bring home that they can reach and do on for themselves. Oh, interesting. Or like give them a guasha tool and teach 'em how to do guasha , which.

Basically means scraping. So you put a little bit of oil on an area and then, then you scrape and it helps bring blood to the surface and promote healing. So like I can teach clients to do that depending on what they have going on. Like maybe if they have sinus issues or neck issues, like mm-hmm. On an area where they can reach for themselves, you know?

Um, so there's like all different things that I can provide for people, you know, sometimes I'm like giving them meditations or affirmations and, you know, Yeah. It just, it just all depends. But I mean, that's why I've said in my business for, from the beginning, like my mission statement was like connecting the body, mind, and spirit, you know?

Mm-hmm.

Erik: And having a fully integrative approach to healing. Yeah. You know, that it's like not just like working with the body, it's working with everything, your mind, your emotions and, and your spiritual connection. And, uh, I. I can help you with whatever you know you're comfortable with and what you want to work on.

You know what I mean? So, and what you're willing to put into it as well. Yeah. So that's where that like 70% comes in. It's like, you know, and I find that over the years, the people that really do their work that I recommend to them, or, or even if it's that other people recommend to 'em, it's fine. It's like, you know, but the people that just in general, they do their work, they heal so much faster and, and also like, um, Like completely.

Yeah. You know? Yeah. Um, then the people that may just come and like expect me, like the power's all in my hands. Right. You know what I mean? Right. So, yeah.

Stephanie: Thank you.

Cate: That's Yeah. I love that.

Stephanie: Yeah. Okay, so Cate had mentioned World Tai Chi Day, which I didn't even realize was a thing, but it's coming up on April 29th.

Um, so can you talk to us a little bit about Tai Chi and qi gong and what kind of the similarities or differences are between the two for people who are new to the concepts?

Erik: Sure. Yeah. So, um, the way I usually kind of explain it is qi gong has actually been around for thousands of years, much like yoga.

Um, and there's many different like forms of it, but it basically is a moving meditation. Okay. Um, a lot of the exercises are done in the standing position, but there are some seated exercises and stuff like that. Um, but mostly things are done in the standing position and getting the perfect alignment with your spine.

We focus a lot on that, like just your proper posture and body alignment and, and focusing on your breath as you move through the exercises. So it's a very meditative practice. It's a lot more gentle on the body. Um, Whereas you, uh, like yoga sometimes is not as gentle, and Tai Chi sometimes is not as gentle depending on what exercises you do.

Yeah. So segueing into that, like Tai Chi has been around for about 600 years. It was actually developed from Chiang. So most people don't know that. I did not. Most people like know Tai Chi. And they, they actually think Chigong is Tai Chi, you know? Um, but yeah, so that's just kind of how it developed. And the main difference is that Tai Chi is actually, um, can be a martial art form.

It can be used for self-defense, so and so there are like kicks and punches and stuff like that as part of, I did not know that. So I practiced the young style. Long form and sometimes a short form, but there's 108 different movements in, in the long form and, uh, yeah. And so. So yeah, that's pretty much the difference.

And um, but they're both like, they both can get you to the same place though. And it just depends on, a lot of times people's preference. Like some people really prefer Tai Chi and some people really prefer chi gong. Um, I find that. Uh, over the years, you know, I've learned that like more people that are dealing with chronic pain, chronic illness, it's probably better for them to do Qigong, right?

Whereas, you know, cuz there's certain things that you can't do. Like if you're dealing with certain knee issues or different issues, you can't do a spin and a kick. You know what I mean? So, um, Yeah. Um, did that pretty much answer question?

Stephanie: Yeah. And it answered the second part of the question I didn't even get to yet about who can benefit from the practices, and you kind of already explained that.

Erik: So yeah, pretty much everyone can, you can modify it to what you know, what your needs are, so, Um, and I've worked with kids all the way to elderly people, so.

Cate: So I noticed that you're offering a Chiang for Chronic Pain Certification course on April 29th and 30th. Um, we'd love to hear some more details about that, like do you need a certain background in order to, to participate in that?

Erik: Sure. Yeah. Um, and so, you know, as I kind of detailed before, um, you know, I'm a, I'm an expert in chronic pain and chronic illness and stuff, so, um, and. Just kind of developed this course to help people with chronic pain, right? Um, but that being said, it doesn't, you don't have to, you know, deal with that to take the course.

Um, it actually, I'm really just teaching the foundations of Qigong and helping people to heal themselves with it, right? So anybody can do it and benefit from it. Um, so yeah. But I find, I figured like, you know, a lot of people are teaching Qigong courses, but I wanted to kind of niche down a little bit.

Yeah. And like, you know, give some people something a little bit different. Mm-hmm. So the main difference is, is I'm actually gonna teach people 10 accu points that sp specifically help with chronic pain. So an acupoint that'll help with knee pain, back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain. Wow. Things like that.

Right. Um, I'm also gonna, Teach some basic fundamentals of TCM. The explanation of the different types of chi. I'll teach some basic five elemental theory, um, which is the foundation of like all of Chinese medicine. Um, I'll talk a little bit about the meridians and the organ systems. Um, I will introduce people to like the principles of Qigong and um, some Taoist healing chants that they can do that are like really powerful for healing.

Um, and then I'm. Teach them some of the forms and some of the foundational exercises. So, um, and a big part of the course is, is teaching people to learn how to modify the exercises that they're learning to meet the needs of the people that they're teaching or working with or themselves. Yeah. Right. Yeah.

You know, depending on what they have going on, you know.

Cate: So where is this happening?

Erik: It's gonna happen at the Red Barn in Durham. Okay. Yeah.

Cate: Okay. Wow. And is it gonna be, is that outside or inside?

Erik: Maybe a little bit of both. As long as the weather's nice. Yeah. You never know at the end of April. No. Yeah, it's usually pretty nice though.

Yeah. By the end of April. So, and I did, I purposely did it on World Tai Chi and qi gong Day,

Cate: I wondered about that. Yeah.

Erik: Yeah, I, I, I've done in the past, I've usually done an event, I've usually done like a free class on that day and stuff like that, or I've done like a forage walk, you know, but I just decide, people have been asking me to teach a workshop for a while. So I was like, well, I, I, you know, just take me a little bit to put stuff together and I finally got it together. So, um, yeah. So, and I figured, well, it's perfect. Everyone around the world that practices Chiang and Tai Chi, you know, will be practicing on April 29th, so the power, the energy will be even more powerful.

Cate: Yeah, yeah. You know, so cool. Yeah. And I, you talked about faraging. Foraging. I say faraging cuz it's a jersey thing. But...

Erik: That's cool. You can say whatever you want. I know. However you want.

Cate: But that's another thing that you do. Yeah. Do you do that pretty regularly, right?

Erik: Yeah, I do it as much as I can. Like when this season's changing with a group, um, often by myself, but I do also lead classes. Yeah. You know, so I'll lead people out in the woods. We'll usually start by doing a little Qigong, get us a little grounded, connected to the earth, and, and then we'll go on a little walk and see what we can find.

So, um, that's something I've been doing for, uh, since 2001, was when I first started learning. Teacher of Native American you know, skills and stuff. Mm-hmm. And he was the first person to open me up to Wow. Wild foraging. So I'm always learning more, um, every year. But yeah, so there's so much in this area too, that we have to offer that, especially if you get to a protected space that doesn't spray with chemicals.

Cate: Mm. I just feel like the first thing I picked up would be poisonous. That that's So you really have to be with somebody that knows what they're doing.

Erik:Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Mm-hmm. Yeah. But believe it. Believe it or not though, when you learn that, when you start to learn it, you start to realize how there's medicine and food all around you.

Stephanie: Yeah. So it's pretty cool. So yeah. Very cool. Yeah. Um, so meditation has come up a couple times in this conversation already, so I, I can tell it's a big part of your practice as a healer. What advice or recommendations do you have to people who are maybe a little hesitant or skeptical about the practice of meditation?

Erik: Sure. Um, so I would say most often, People that come to me with like, apprehension, apprehension of me, uh, meditation is that they say, well, I can't stop my thoughts.

Stephanie: Me, that's me, right? Yes. You're speaking to me.

Erik: And so, and what I always say to that is like, well, that's, that's not the goal of meditation.You know, and that you're actually probably never going to stop your thoughts. Mm-hmm. Um, the, basically what you learn with meditation, To learn how to watch your thoughts and to be more mindful and let them come and let them go. You know, I like to bring up the analogy of like, you know, place.

Place your, any thought that comes in on a cloud and just gently, peacefully let it float away.

Stephanie: Mm-hmm. That's so much more peaceful than what I do. Yeah. I see it and I like smack it away with my hand. Yeah. But I like the cloud imagery much better. More gentle.

Erik: And, you know, there's layers to it. I mean, there's a lot that I, that I work with people. I mean, the other thing is like, that you're not your thoughts. Mm-hmm. And your thoughts are not real. Mm-hmm. Um, and you can change them. So, um, and that's just meditation in all its forms is a way to do that basically, you know, and, uh, ultimately, you know, because I'm big into nature and, you know, stuff like that, I always tell people, well, sit outside on a nice day and just become aware of your surroundings.

Mm-hmm. You know, listen to the bird. Feel the the sun shining on your face. The gentle breeze blowing. Pay attention to your breath. You know, feel your feet flat on the ground. You know, if you can do that barefoot, even better, that's gonna allow you to go into meditation even quicker. But just simple things like that.

Like we often overcomplicate meditation. Mm-hmm. Um, but meditation can be done in any area of your life. You can meditate while washing the dishes, vacuuming, um, driving in a car, you know, I do a. Meditation, driving in a car. Mm-hmm. Um, so, and that's, that's why you have, it's called a practice though too.

Just like with Qigong, it's a practice because, you know, the more you do it, the. The easier it is, you know, and you also start to see the benefit of it. Yeah. You know, because it can change. Especially if you do it in the morning, it can change how you go out about the rest of your day and how you respond and react to things that happen.

Yeah. To you and or don't react. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So, um, So I guess, you know, but just simple, the better is, is what I'm saying. You know, like just to try to, you know, our ego likes to really overcomplicate things. Mm-hmm. And then just not do it. Yeah. Because ego doesn't like meditation at all. Oh no. So, um, so you gotta kind of trick it a little bit, you know?

Yeah, yeah. Um, but yeah.

Stephanie: Good points all around.

Cate: Yeah. I actually just started meditating this past week. Like I've done it at different points and always known this is something you need. And just for all those reasons. Mm-hmm. And I finally was like, all right, it's time. Yeah. Like, just sit down and, and I, I said to my husband, like, set a timer.

I just wanna know. And it's ranged between 13 minutes to 40 minutes is, and like for no apparent reason, I'm not aiming for a specific time. It's just like when I feel. You know, then I stop. Yeah. And it, and it really allowing the thoughts to come Yeah. Is really, it is key. Yeah. It's just like, that's okay.

Erik: Yeah. Don't attach to 'em. Yes. You know? Exactly. Yeah. And there's all, I mean, modern technology has all sorts of awesome things out there. Yeah. Between, you know, apps with meditation Yeah. Or YouTube videos and, you know, all sorts of stuff. That can be really helpful too. Yeah. So, yeah.

Yeah. Was there more to that question?

I can't remember. Uh,

Stephanie: Erik answered it. Yeah, he answered, it kind of came around to it. It was built right in.

Cate: Okay. So we're good. So our show is rooted in gratitude and building community in Middletown. Since you moved your practice to Middletown, what have you been most grateful for?

 Erik: Uh, that's a good question.

Stephanie: Um, it's a real thinker, Cate

Erik: yeah. Um. I guess what I've been most grateful for is just, uh, meeting, meeting new people, you know, and connecting with new people and, uh, finding a place that, you know, I felt at home, you know, and building my home here. And then connecting with pe all different businesses and people in the community and clients that I've worked with.

Um, and especially like going through Covid, the Covid experience, you know? Yeah. Um, before Covid. I actually stock clients at my home. Like you came to my house. Mm-hmm. I think mm-hmm. A couple times. I, you know, I, yeah. And so once Covid happened, my wife was like, yeah, you're not doing that anymore. Yep. Fair.

Um, and so I was very grateful to, to switch my practice to the Red Barn in Durham. I know it's not Middletown, but it's pretty close and there's a lot of practitioners there are from Middletown area there. Um, and I've been very grateful to work there. I mean, I was already kind of teaching some classes there.

Mm-hmm. But, Perfectly lined up that like a space opened up and I was able to go in there and, um, yeah, that's been, that's been really good. So I would just say, you know, grateful to, to find a home all around. Yeah. So, yeah.

Cate: So are you exclusively seeing clients at this point, at the Red Barn?

Erik: No. Um, I still have my foothold in West Hartford.

Yeah. Um, just because that's where I started my practice in 2010, basically. Yeah. Yeah. 2009, 2007. So that's right around the time. Yeah. Right around the time I met you. It was like 2009, 2010. Mm-hmm. Um, so I do two days a week up there. Um, I'm, right now I'm at the Collaborative Natural Health Partners. Okay.

Which is on Park Road. Okay. Yeah.

Cate: And your, so your home studio though, is that completely off?

Uh, for in person. Yeah. But, you know, I will see virtual clients. Yes. And I do classes there. Now I have a whole setup, kind of like we're in right now. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know,

Stephanie: in 2023 you have to have that home set up.

Erik: Yeah. You really do. Yeah. I have all the podcast equipment and, you know, tripods and everything.

Cate: Well, and you, I mean, you really hate this word pivot, but you really did with your business. I mean, you went, I mean, you didn't stop at all through the pandemic. Yeah. And then didn't you do like a crazy Tai Chi or qi gong challenge every day

Erik: oh, well, yeah. I do that from time to time. Yeah. But it was like a long time that you did it. Yeah, it's called, it's called a hundred Day Foundation. A hundred day. Okay. Yeah. All right. So you do Qigong every, every day for a hundred days. Yeah. So, and I did a video E every, yes, every day on Facebook.

Cate: Yeah. So you really managed to not. Stop.

Erik: Yeah, I'm, I, I'm, I'm, I don't really stop much. Yeah. It's probably better for me to stop, but I just keep going. I have so many things that I do and want to do. Like, you know, when people say I'm bored, I'm like, I don't understand what that word is, how you couldn't understand that. So I never have enough time in the day to do everything I want to do, so, yeah.

But yeah, it was nice to, I mean, at first it was a little hectic, obviously, you know? Yeah. Um, but yeah, it was nice to kind of learn different things. I'm still learning and you know, so as it should be. Yeah.

Stephanie: Yeah. All right, so for listeners who are intrigued and have found like really interesting things in this conversation, what's the best way to get in touch with you to take a class or book a session?

Yeah, the easiest way is to. Find me on social media at CHI for healing. That's C H I F O R H E A L I N G. Uh, well, some people like to throw the number four in there, so

Stephanie: I know. I was like, oh, he's gotta spell it cause it's not a number. I, I saw where you were going. I was just thinking about the chi. I wasn't even thinking, and then some people want to put a qi in there, but it's a c h I, so.

Erik: Yeah. Um, and then it's also chiforhealing.com Perfect. Is my website. Um, so, so yeah, just social media at Chiforhealing. Chiforhealing.com is the easiest way to, to reach out to me. You could do Erik@chiforhealing.com if you wanna send me an email. Mm-hmm. So that's,

Cate: so is there anything else that you'd like to offer the community? Any words of wisdom or just events that you might have coming up that. In addition to the, um, the Chi the Qigong event?

Erik: Yeah. I'm actually gonna do a forage walk on Earth Day weekend. So on Sunday, um, it's at one o'clock. I'm still figuring out the location. Sometimes I, I, I switch it up depending on what's growing.

Okay. Um, so people can just kind of register and then I'll a send them the address.  When it's happening. But, um, yeah, but that's April 23rd. Um, And, you know, I'll probably set up, I do some meditation sometimes at, I've done it at Star Mill Yoga, or the Soul Shine Salt Cavern at the red barn.

Cool.

Erik: So, which is pretty cool. So, um, I'm still, you know, I've been kind of mostly focusing on the Qigong certification right now. Yeah. So, and then I'll kind of, you know, map out some other things along the way.

Cate: But, um, yeah, that would be on any new things would be on your website.

Erik: Any new things on my website or social media, I'm pretty active on Facebook and Instagram.

I'm not real big with TikTok and all that stuff, but, um, you can't do 'em all. Yeah. Nope. So, um, but yeah, but that's pretty much, pretty much what's happening and really like words of wisdom, uh, can kind of just segue into. You know, the next thing we're gonna do, I guess.

Stephanie: Yeah. Perfect. So before you give your words of wisdom, will you please lead us in, uh, a, a guided meditation or breath, whatever you'd like to do to wrap us up today?

Erik: Sure. Um, so I just wanna move that out of the way so I can bring this here.

Cate: If our listeners could see, we've got all kinds of stuff on this table right now.

Erik: Um, so I had, they had mentioned this and, and I, they were like, oh, can you just do like a cleansing breath? And I was like, well, I can do a little bit more than that.

Stephanie: Yeah, why stop there?

Erik: So, uh, I mentioned earlier about the Taoist healing chance, uh, that I'm gonna teach in the Qigong certification, and so I wanted to share a couple of them with you. So, um, there's this one chant that it's technically like three chants and one, but, um, It represents our connection between heaven and earth.

It's a, it's a Taoist  chant. Okay? And so it goes

So o n G, there's like an H in the first one and an O on the, on the third one there. Okay? So what I want you to do is just get comfortable in your seat, bring your shoulders up, back and down. Tuck your tailbone, which means flattening your abdomen, straightening your spine. Feel your feet flat on the ground and your chin is parallel to the floor.

And feel the grounding at your feet, connecting you to the earth.

And then visualize a string pulling you up from the top of your head, connecting you to the heaven.

And visualize a healing white light coming down through that string all the way down through the crown of your head, moving all the way through your body, down your spine, down your arms, moving through all your organs, down your legs, into the bottom of your feet.

And focus on your breath. Notice the rise and fall of your belly with every inhale and exhale,

and continue to breathe and keeping your awareness on your body and this connection between heaven and earth. And as you hear these vibrations, allow them to open you up a little bit more.

Oh.

I'm not gonna close with a passage from Louise Hay. This is from a book called Trust Life.

I open my heart and let the love dissolve the. At any moment, I have the opportunity of choosing love or fear in moments of fear. I remember the sun. It is always shining. Even though the clouds may obscure it for a while, like the sun, the one infinite power is eternally shining. It's light upon me. Even though clouds of negative thinking may temporarily obs.

I choose to remember the light. I feel secure in the light, and when the fears come, I choose to see them as passing clouds in the sky, and I let them go on their way. I am not my fears. It is safe for me to live without guarding and defending myself all of the time. When I feel afraid, I open my. And I let the love dissolve the fear.

Cate: Wow. That's good. Right? Yeah. I like, I can't help but smile when you, when you chan it's a, I mean, I, I've heard you do it before, but not in a space like this. Mm. And it just goes all the way through your body. Mm-hmm. Right? Like I'm tearing can feel it. It's wild. Wow. Thank you.

Stephanie:  Thank you, I feel very relaxed right now. I know. Oh, so relaxed. I mean, I have to drive home after this. I can't be too relaxed. No, but really setting the intention for the rest of my day.

Cate: Yes. Well, thank you Erik for that, for the interview, for just the work that you do in, you know, in every life that you touch. You're doing really important work

Erik: Awesome. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Cate: Yeah, anytime. This was great.