Sleep is the number one thing that people need to heal. Our bodies heal while we sleep. For me that hasn’t come easy, but I have been lucky enough to find some wonderful sound escapes, guided meditation, healing sounds and music from YouTube that help me drift off. Using some therapeutic essential oils in a diffuser or on your body or pillow is also very relaxing. Make your space peaceful. Picture in your mind your body healing each body part at a time, touching it with white and green light.

Since I started getting more sleep and realized how important it is to take time out for myself to rest, every morning I wake up and I go outside with the fresh air and meditate. Even as a massage therapist I have not mastered meditation. But, I sure do feel amazing after 15–20 minutes, using YouTube guided meditation or meditation music. I’m learning how to turn myself off from the noise. I feel my body healing from it. I feel lighter and more clear. There’s less chatter.

Before a session with a client I take a few minutes to close my eyes. I visualize white light encompassing my body, filling me up and glowing through my aura. Afterwards I visualize any of the negative energy or pain being a dark blob and send it to the heavens or the earth, picturing it turning into butterflies or flowers.

As important as sleep is for healing, our thoughts are as well.

So training our mind to take negative things and automatically shift them to positive is amazing. Life sure changes, for the better. Our mind can create so many things, so mastering how to shut off the chatter and imagine our own beautiful picture of what we’d like to see has a massive impact.

These are just a couple of tools that I use. But, they are powerful. And some of you may already do this—that’s fantastic. Keep passing on your tips to help others. It seems so simple to some and such an uphill battle to others. So bottom line is, listening is of great value. Especially listening to yourself and your own body’s needs. Just like anything, practice is the key to success. I feel with these tools you can free yourself of so many things. Love and light—let’s keep teaching and learning together.

Dana Bartolotta is an experienced Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) and Reiki Master serving the Chicago area. She is a strong proponent of whole body wellness and healing and enjoys speaking to groups and sharing her expertise with those who want to live healthier and more positive lives.