CENTERING YOURSELF
■ Sit or stand comfortably and close your eyes or focus on one spot on the floor.
■ Breathe in and out, slowly and deeply, concentrating on how the breath feels as it
goes in and out.
■ Breathe in relaxation and peace while breathing out stress and tension.
■ Imagine a fairly large tree; really sense the tree as it sounds, as it smells, and
according to the season.
■ Get close to the tree and put your hands on the tree; lean up against the tree and
put your full weight on the tree.
■ Look up through the branches and feel the sun shining down; feel the sun traveling
down through the tree and coming in through your head, down through your
body, and out your legs.
■ Focus once again on your breathing and know that you can come back to this
place at any time.
■ With practice and experience, you will be able to center yourself within one or two
deep breaths.
CHAPTER 13 ENERGY-BALANCING THERAPIES 173Once centered, the practitioner uses their hands to assess the recipient’s energy field.
The hands are positioned two to six inches from the body and, beginning at the
head, are smoothed over the face, side and back of the head, and shoulders, as if
smoothing out a piece of fabric. The assessment continues down the body and over
both legs. Some are able to feel the energy field when they first learn TT, while for
others it takes months of practice to experience the sensations. Different people
describe different sensations commonly characterized as heat, cold, tingling,
buzzing, emptiness, or pressure. The energy field is assessed for bilateral similarities
or differences in the flow of energy. A healthy energy field is symmetrical with a
smooth, flowing texture.
The next step in TT is clearing and balancing the energy field. Again, the hands are
moved in a flowing motion two to six inches from the body. Blocked areas of energy
are moved by using slow brushing motions from the top down and away from the
body. This motion is repeated until the practitioner no longer feels the blockage and
the energy is moving freely and easily. This step typically lasts for 5 to 15 minutes.
Direction of energy is the next step in TT. Depending on the particular problem, the