People always ask me why do I do so much cardio. My answer is always the same..I love it. I actually started working out in high school in an aerobics class, and I’ve been going every since. Some days when I’m short on time and don’t have the luxury of doing my weight training AND my cardio I always opt for my cardio. I make sure I do 45 minutes to an hour. Not only does cardio keep you lean it’s also great for heart health. Being a student and a practitioner of the metaphysical anatomy makes me look at everything spiritually including my training regimen. Knowing that the heart is the center of our being prompts me to take better care of it.We hold all of our memories, and experiences in our heart space. Spiritually speaking our heart which is representative of our sub conscious is what drives us in life. So when I am working out i.e., doing cardio I go into somewhat of a meditation. I ask God to purify my heart and I imagine that the cardio session is doing just that.When you engage in cardiovascular activity you have to breathe, and when you breathe rhythmically and consciously you come into a greater awareness of your heart space. Breathing helps you detoxify your body, as well as connect with your center or in this case your heart. So the next time you dread doing cardio, approach it from a metaphysical perspective. Imagine each session is helping you purify your heart space!
Category: Spiritual & Metaphysical
Chakra Power
I wish more people understood how they can utilize the power in their bodies. When I speak of power I’m speaking in terms of energy. I want to help you grasp the concept of energy in the body so I’ll keep it simple. We all have a chakra system. There are seven major chakras in the human body. They are the root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, brow, and crown chakra. Each chakra governs a spiritual idea, an emotion, an organ, a color, and musical vibration and much more. Right now for simplicity sake let’s focus on the spiritual idea.We have the root chakra which is located at the base of our spine;it’s spiritual idea is groundedness. To be grounded means that you are comfortable in your earthly shell, and you understand your connection to Mother Earth. The sacral chakra is next. It is located in the pelvis. It’s spiritual idea is pleasure. There are many ways to experience pleasure. The primary focus of the sacral chakra though is sensuality and sexuality. The chakra of the solar plexus sits over the stomach. Place three fingers horizontally over your navel and you will connect with the landmark of the solar plexus. The spiritual idea of the solar plexus deals with personal power, a healthy sense of self, and confidence. Then of course we have our heart chakra which is located in the middle of our chest, just above our sternum. I consider myself a heart-centered person so during meditation I focus on the middle of the chest but slightly to the left where the heart is actually located. I instruct my clients to do the same during a session. The heart chakras’ spiritual idea is love. The fifth chakra is our throat chakra. The throat chakra is located at the medial clavicle, just below the Adams apple for men. The spiritual idea of our throat chakra is expression. Then we have the famous “third eye”, which is referred to as the brow chakra, located between the eyebrows. The spiritual idea of the brow chakra is intuition. Lastly, we have the seventh chakra which is the crown chakra. Our crown chakra sits at the top of the mid brain, dead center of the parietals. Our crown chakra connects us to the Divine.Now that we have a general overview of the Chakra system, I’d like you to consider this. If one of your chakras is out of balance, damaged, or blocked you might be challenged with health issues or life issues for the correlating Chakra. For example, if your heart chakra is out of balance, damaged, or blocked you could have trouble in relationships. If your throat chakra is out of balance, damaged, or blocked you could have recurring sore throats, or unexplained coughing. While there may very well be other causes which affect life circumstances and health conditions it is a blessing to know that we do have some control of what is manifesting in our bodies as well as in our lives. We have nothing to loose and everything to gain by simply meditating on these areas in our bodies daily and applying loving thoughts and touch to each chakra. What’s the worse thing that can happen…we might actually heal something before it can manifest?!
Suggestions for Healing Lower Back Discomfort
So many people complain about pain in the lower back. When the lower back is in pain their could be a multitude of things that need to be addressed. First and foremost you might want to consider strengthening the abdominal muscles. The abdominal muscles are the supporting muscles of the lower back. The second thing to consider are the hamstring and gluteal muscles. People who have weak glutes and hamstrings are more likely to experience back pain. As a massage therapist I notice that my clients who have seated jobs like teachers, secretaries, or police officers who carry heavy items around their waist are more prone to lower back pain. If none of the following are factors i.e., weak abs, glutes, hamstrings, or work-related then you should monitor your stress level. (Metaphysically speaking symptoms of lower back pain correlate with emotional and financial stress.) Weather you believe in the metaphysical claims or not it would only be beneficial to train the abdominal muscles as well as the above mentioned muscle groups to counter act lower back pain. You may also want to incorporate a spiritual affirmation such as:” I have a strong core. The Universe supports me and conspires with me for my highest good. I am supported by the Divine.” Repeating and enteranalizing this affirmation or coming up with one that suits you while you focus on your lower back AND exercise, strecth, and massage those muscles groups mentioned above should provide some relief. Until next time. Treat yourself to a wonderful massage!
Daily Affirmative Prayer by Nadirah Aqueelah Shakir
Have you ever wondered how to pray? Have you ever been apprehensive about praying? Have you ever wondered who and what you may be praying to? I think at some point in our lives we all have. Prayer can be different things for all of us, but in it’s simplicity prayer is simply aligning our minds and hearts with the Divine. We may call the Divine God, Allah, Buddah, Krishna, Goddess, Jehovah, or whatever. The truth is God answers and shows up by the name that we call it. What do you require in your life at this moment? Do you require peace? If so call on God as Divine Peace. Do you need money? Call on God as the Supreme Provider or Divine Substance. Do you require love and acceptance? If so call forth Divine Love. Remember God is all there is, and all that there will ever be. Connect with God by opening your mind, body, and heart to all the Power that God is. When you pray, join minds with God. In other words concentrate on the name that you are calling God, and give thanks in advance for the assistance of The Divine; because once you connect All-Mighty God takes action.
Below is a simple prayer to assist you in making contact with The Divine. Have a blessed one! Nadirah A. Shakir
Divine Love flows through me.
Order my thoughts, actions, words, and reactions so that I become a reflection and expression of your pure, bright light. Divine Love help me release all thoughts of lack, limitation, fear, false-judgment, and grudge-fullness so that I can move speedily into your free flow of abundance.
Divine Wisdom is my guide.
Speak into my heart, mind, and soul. Let me become sensitive and obedient to your voice, and your direction. Help me make wise choices and decisions for a richer, orderly, and peace-filled life. Help me break the chains of confusion, and procrastination. Make me a fearless and strategic thinker so that I can create for myself the prosperous life, the life that is natural, the life that you ordained for me.
Divine Power strengthens me from my core.
Give me the strength that I need to carry out the vision that you have placed in my heart. Give me the courage that I need to cast away all fear and doubt. Give me the discipline I need to stay on course.
Divine Substance provide for me
Place everything I need to live a prosperous life in my path. Give me this day and every day my daily bread. Place in my path all of my necessities, and the desires of my heart. Send to me helping angels, creative ideas, a free flow of interest free cash money, perfect health, working relationships, and jobs that not only provide in abundance but work that is pleasing and honorable to YOU.
This is the prayer that I pray today. This is the prayer that I accept today. In the powerful name of All-Mighty God I declare it to be so. Amen.
Reiki: A Perfect Way to Heal & A Wonderful Way to Grow
I was introduced to reiki about five years ago. My roommate was a spiritual life coach and a “psychic healer.” While living there I would watch and listen to his sessions. I found his healing philosophies to be very interesting and in most cases I agreed with them. What I was skeptical about was this “hands on healing” business that he referred to as reiki. How can someone put there hands on some one and cure them? I thought it was bogus. However after watching many clients come in with discomfort and leave feeling somewhere in between better and great, I begin to pay more attention. When a specific client came in for a series of reiki sessions to treat a very chronic pain condition I made sure that for each of her sessions I was available to “assist.” Like the other clients who had come to him she got better. What I noticed about the clients who received reiki was that they were not only relieved of physical discomfort, I noticed that they began to make changes in other areas of their lives as well. It was then that my roommate informed me that reiki was not only a “hands-on” healing modality that treated physical symptoms, but that reiki was also used to heal emotional wounds, cognitive/mental disorders, as well as help everyday people achieve tangible goals. After a year of being a disciple of reiki I soon ventured to become a massage therapist. I had already acquired certifications in personal training and wellness coaching. I choose to study massage therapy because I felt my fitness clients would benefit from more extensive bodywork. I was sure to choose a school, and a program that incorporated both western massage techniques and eastern massage techniques. I was fortunate to find Florida College of Natural Health in Pompano Beach Florida. Their program provided exactly what was looking for. Not only did I learn more about reiki. I also learned other eastern modalities such as shiatsu, reflexology, acupressure, cranial sacral therapy, and so much more. According to my professors I was more of an energy therapist. They suggested that I study reiki in depth. After I graduated from the program I took my professors advice. Over a three year time span I completed reiki 1, 2, 3, and became a reiki master/teacher. For me reiki was and still is a journey of self discovery, authenticity, and SELF mastery. What I discovered is as I become better those around benefit from that energy and thrive as well. The truth about reiki is that it can work for any one who is open and receptive to the powerful healing energy of the Divine. The Japanese refer to that energy Ki. The very word reiki means—Rei/God’s Wisdom, and Ki/life force or power; and this is exactly how I experience reiki. I—myself get out of they way, and I allow my mind to become subservient to the highest power, which is God. When I surrender myself/ego I become a vessel in which divine wisdom and power can flow, and it is from that place that I facilitate reiki treatments and attunements. What I love about reiki is that it is pure energy, and it cannot be misused for negativity. It is only used to heal. We can all draw upon the healing energy of reiki when we allow ourselves to surrender our ego—thoughts, judgments, prejudices, beliefs, etc., and become willing to let God flow in and through us. Once God is circulating freely with in, anyone we touch will inevitably receive a healing. For more stories on reiki and wholeness visit me here often.
Using Physical Exercise to Restore Emotional, Mental and Spiritual Balance
One of my clients laughed at me the other day when I told her that we would only be training the right side of her body during her training session. “What about my left side,” she exclaimed! “I don’t want to be lop-sided!” What my client didn’t know was that she was ALREADY lop-sided—emotionally. During her physical fitness assessment I noticed that she had tremendous strength and balance on the left side of her body, but her right side was much weaker. On her left side she was able to perform more repetitions, and lift much heavier weight. When we performed stabilizing exercises or core exercises her right side often fell first where as her left side was able to hold the position longer. After assessing her, most trainers would credit her imbalance to a general muscle deviation or lack of strength on that side, and all of those assumptions may very well be part of the imbalance. However, as a wellness coach and a master reiki energy therapist I had to delve a bit deeper. After the assessment was over I asked her a couple of rather personal questions. What I discovered was that my client was having issues in her relationship with her male counter-part, and she had also recently lost her grandfather who had been the father figure in her life. Emotionally my client was suffering. Her weakness on her right side was the physical manifestation of her emotional suffering. FYI: We often suffer emotionally long before there are any physical symptoms. More often than not the physical symptoms come so that we can immediately turn our attention with in, since we are accustomed to ignoring our feelings, and “getting on with it.” Metaphysically/spiritually speaking, our right side represents our masculine energy. Sometimes, when we feel pain, discomfort, and weakness in one side or another it can be an indication that our emotional issues are becoming chronic. Once we receive the physical signal we are forced to explore our emotions more thoroughly. When we find the root of our discomfort by sorting through our emotions and mental patterns we can begin to heal ourselves at depth. An in depth approach to healing will insure longer positive results versus trying to bandage or “fix” an external problem. Does it take longer? Most of the time it does. Will it be more uncomfortable? Probably. But, at least you know you have rectified the problem on all three levels—mind—body—and spirit. Furthermore, you are empowered, because you now have clarity on the underlying issues which may be causing external discomfort. As for my client, she’s not lop-sided. She is becoming more aligned. That one session dedicated to her right side was just an opening for deeper healing. Pay attention to your body when it speaks (aches, twitches, sensations), and if you have any knowledge of the metaphysical anatomy use it to find underlying or root causes for discomfort. If you don’t, visit this blog often, as I’ll be posting what I have been blessed to learn.
Nadirah Aqueelah Shakir 