Listen to the Heart

When I first started studying complementary therapies, the emphasis seemed to be on using medical equipment such as stethoscopes to listen to a person’s heart. Assessing a person’s health by listening to the pounding heart sounds that travelled from the person’s chest, through the stethoscope, to my eagerly awaiting ears. Although this method of diagnosis is extremely valuable, there seemed to be something I was missing.

As my studies have continued, although my stethoscope is still in my toolbox, the way in which I listen to the heart has changed significantly. I am now developing the skills to “listen” to the heart with all of my senses – to feel the flowing tide of the energy around a person’s heart centre, to hear a person’s heart song.

All these years later, I know that for me to be the most effective practitioner I can be, I must first and foremost listen to my own heart. I must feel its tide and listen to its song. I must sit in the stillness and think, act, move and dream from my heart.