02 Jan Balance Me head hold

The Balance Me head hold

You know that feeling of being in a whirl, and your head’s about to explode? Try the Balance me head hold.

What is a head hold?

A head hold is one of the techniques commonly used in hands-on healing modalities such as cranio-sacral therapy, reiki, wholistic pulsing, or polarity therapy.

It is a term used to describe any of the times we as the therapist hold or cradle a clients head in our hands. Head hold is also used to describe placing our hands on or around the head in a certain configuration. This is done to to make physical contact and elicit a response from the nervous system.

When learning Polarity Therapy many moons ago, one of our favourite head holds was called ‘Rescue me’ or ‘Save me’. I’ve started calling it the “Balance Me head hold” because I feel like that is the primary benefit. Those who have studied a range of other healing modalities will be very familiar with it.

The beauty of this head hold is that you can use it on yourself, and you can also use it with loved ones.

Let me first share with you the benefits of this head hold.

So many benefits from one simple head hold

By placing one hand on the forehead and one hand at the base of the skull, you are:

• Slowing the activity of the mind
• Balancing both hemispheres of the brain
• Calming the nervous system
• Harmonising the adrenal system
• Regulating your blood pressure and heart rate
• Slowing your rate of breathing

What’s the most important thing?

Gentleness. Imagine you’re cradling a baby or a tiny animal. Treat this hold with the reverence the body deserves.

Especially if you’re doing this for someone else. You literally have their nervous system in your hands.

Any slight movement from you will be felt more than you can imagine. When we’re relaxed and are suddenly startled, it sends shockwaves through the nervous system and can take minutes to settle back down again. Longer for someone with PTSD, or is already in a state of overwhelm and startles easily.

Ensure that you won’t be disturbed, and that you are in a centred place within. Your loved one will feel it if you’re not.

After you finish, give yourself time to integrate and enjoy the relaxation. Don’t stand up too quickly afterwards. Drink some filtered water and go gently about your day.

For yourself

This head hold can be done as long as you have mobility in both arms. It can also be done sitting or lying down.

Here are the steps:

1. Gently place your left hand across the forehead, with the little finger/outer edge of the hand just skimming the eyebrows.
2. Your right hand then goes across the occipital ridge at the base of the skull. So that the thumb joint is positioned in the middle of the little dip at the top of your neck.
3. Remember, this is about light touch, it’s not a massage, there is NO movement of your hands.
4. Close your eyes.
5. Breathe in and out through the nose, bringing the breath right down into the bottom of the lungs. Sense the rise and fall of the tummy, rather than breathing in and out of the chest.
6. Feel what’s happening underneath your hands and in your body.
7. Hold for 2 to 3 minutes or longer if desired.
8. Ensure you go easy and don’t stand up in a hurry.

This is a beautiful way to start and end your day. Particularly at bedtime because you can go straight off to sleep.

Here are some images so you can see the hand positioning.

For a loved one—sitting position

Sit your loved one on a chair where they can comfortably relax. Make sure they are positioned so you can comfortably stand next to them for a few minutes.

Ensure they know that they can ask you to stop at any time if they are uncomfortable.

It’s similar to the above, with slight modifications because you can’t twist your hands around the same way.

1. Stand on their left-hand side and get yourself comfortable so you’re not fidgeting and moving around.
2. Gently place your left hand across the forehead, with the little finger/outer edge of the hand just skimming their eyebrows.
3. Your right hand then gently wraps around their occipital ridge at the base of the skull. So that the little finger/outer edge of the hand just skims the little dip at the very top of the neck.
4. Remember, this is about light touch, it’s not a massage, there is NO movement of the hands.
5. Ask them to close their eyes.
6. Encourage them to breathe in and out through the nose, bringing the breath right down into the bottom of the lungs, rather than breathing in and out of the chest.
7. Feel what’s happening underneath your hands. Notice whether a pulse starts to be felt in one or other hand, and whether you can feel any particular sensations like buzzing, vibrations, or waves.
8. Hold for 2 to 3 minutes, and check in with your loved one if they would like you to continue, or if they have had enough.
9. When removing your hands, do so gently and slowly to give them a moment to adjust. Allow time for them to enjoy the feeling of relaxation you have helped them induce.
10. Ensure they go easy and don’t stand up in a hurry.

For a loved one—lying down

Ideally, you will have your loved one lie down on a massage table so that you can sit or stand at their head.

If you don’t have a massage table, just get them to lie on the bed with their feet at the pillow end, and their head at the foot. Then you can position yourself either standing or sitting at the foot of the bed. Or if you’re both feeling nimble, you can pop them on the floor, and just sit at their head.

1. Sit or stand at the head and get yourself comfortable so you’re not fidgeting and moving around.
2. Gently place your left hand across the forehead, with the little finger/outer edge of the hand just skimming their eyebrows.
3. Your right hand then gently wraps around underneath the occipital ridge at the base of the skull. So that the thumb joint is positioned in the middle of the top of the neck. The hand positions here are similar to when you do this for yourself.
4. Remember, this is about light touch, it’s not a massage, there is NO movement of the hands.
5. Ask them to close their eyes.
6. Encourage them to breathe in and out through the nose, bringing the breath right down into the bottom of the lungs, rather than breathing in and out of the chest.
7. Feel what’s happening underneath your hands. Notice whether a pulse starts to be felt in one or other hand, and whether you can feel any particular sensations like buzzing, vibrations, or waves.
8. Hold for 2 to 3 minutes, and check in with your loved one if they would like you to continue, or if they have had enough.
9. When removing your hands, do so gently and slowly to give them a moment to adjust. Allow time for them to enjoy the feeling of relaxation you have helped them induce.
10. Ensure they go easy and don’t stand up in a hurry.

The body’s responses

What you’ll notice as you experience this head hold, is the body’s natural responses to the nervous system receiving the ‘relax and slow down’ stimulus. You may feel any or all of these:

• A tangible pulse beneath your hands – this might be different under each hand
• The breathing rate will no doubt slow down
• The heartbeat will probably slow down
• The muscles of the body will also start to relax
• The digestive system will take the opportunity to kick over into high gear, so gurgles and processing might be felt
• A smile might naturally make its way to your face
• Sometimes when we’re really relaxed and give ourselves gentle care, the emotional body takes the opportunity to release stored emotion. This might be experienced as tears quietly falling, sighing, yawning, shaking, or getting really drowsy. Allow for the gentle waves of this to pass in their own time, and see what emerges in its wake. An even more peaceful state is likely to arise.

Teach it to the young people in your world too. They’ll love it.

If you want to experience this head hold during a session with us in the healing room, you can book a spiritual alignment here at this link.

Enjoy beautiful souls!

Shelley McConaghy
High-dimensional healer