Peaceful Moments with Jinx: TTouch and Reiki, Nov 2

Today I went to work with my friend Jordyn Thiessen's (http://dancingminddesigncom) cat Jinx. He has been having trouble using his back legs, most likely due either to a disk problem or a tumor. He can get around, but the back legs are wobbly and sometimes collapse. I have been working with him with TTouch and Reiki to help him to feel comfortable, and in hopes of maximizing whatever connection is possible through the neural pathways, as TTouch communicates with the nervous system.
Today, as I usually do, I started out with Reiki from a short distance away, so as not to overwhelm him with too much energy. I first felt some heat around his heart and solar plexus chakras, so focused the energy there for a while, and then sent him energy around the area of his hips and legs.
After this, he went and ate for a little bit, then walked up and down hall. I took this opportunity to do some zigzag TTouches crossing over his back and down his legs, and then some connected TTouches working down either side of his back and down his legs. I also did a bit of energy work focusing the energy through my fingers just barely touching him, going down either side of his spine.


After this, Jinx relaxed again on on his bed. At this point I was able to do some energy work touching him very lightly. First I did energy work with my hands very slowly working down one of his back legs, followed by some TTouches on the and the paw. He was extremely relaxed at this point. He then, without any prompting from me, turned over so I could work on his other leg. It is so interesting how, most often, animals will shift their body until your hands are where they feel they need the work. After working on the other hind leg, I very slowly started doing energy work on either side of his spine (my fingers just barely touching him) and then down his tail, as the tail is really an extension of the cat's spine and has so much of a role in their balance. I then worked slowly down either side of his spine again. Keep in mind that the TTouches were done with extremely light pressure, and the energy work was all done with my fingers just barely touching his skin, so I was not pressing into his body. However I did feel as though the energy was pulling my hands into his body, even though my fingers were remaining barely resting on the skin. With energy work it most often really feels like I merge with the animal in the midst of the session, then at the session we become separate entities again.
Throughout this whole process he became more and more relaxed, stretching his back out as I went and becoming more and more peaceful. I could feel the energy in the room become more peaceful as well as I worked. Jordyn's other cat and dogs were also resting at this point, her dog Petey at my feet. Thanks so much all! and look forward to seeing you soon.

TTouch and Reiki at BARC: Statler

Statler is one of the dear cats who arrived recently at BARC shelter in Brooklyn after their owner passed away. He is a very gentle, sweet cat but quite shy. Little by little he has been coming out of his shell though. He still hangs out at the back of his cage but now he is actually getting up and starting to move towards the front of the cage when I do TTouch on him.

A couple of the key places that he especially responds to are mouth work (doing little raccoon touches and slides on the outside of his mouth, going all the way back to the jaw) and doing ttouches on the back half of his body, including doing light little raccoon ttouches down his tail. The belly lifts are also very effective for him and usually result in him turning on his side and exposing his belly to me. He also is increasingly responding to ear slides, which he was not so sure about at first, probably because he had a minor ear issue (ear mites, I think) when he first arrived at the shelter.

It is important to stress that a belly lift is such a subtle movement that you hardly see it. With your whole hand, gently lift the belly in an upward motion, then very slowly release. Just a few times of doing this can really open up the breath and relax the digestive system as well.

Also, with the tail work, the pressure is SOOO light, just barely pushing the skin around in a circle as you work your way down the tail, connecting one raccoon touch to the next. As for the touches around the back half of the body, I was doing abalone ttouches (circular ttouches using the whole hand) and clouded leopard touches, as well as doing zigzag touches from the front part of his body to the back, going down his hindquarters too, and from one side of his body to the other. The zigzags really help connect one part of the body to the other.

Now, when I start to do TTouch on Statler, he almost immediately recognizes it as something that will make him feel good, and he is starting to rub his face and body against my hand, walking towards the front of his cage. It is so sweet to see him becoming more confident and more comfortable.