After a serious bout with rheumatoid arthritis and some emotional issues that left her bedridden, 47-year-old Cathy Iveson sought help.

The Hampton woman was driving home from the library one afternoon when she saw the sign for Signature Healing, a new energy healing center in the Hilton Village area of Newport News. She had recently read some books in this type of healing, and she decided to check it out.

Since then, she says, her world has completely changed.

For three months, Iveson has participated in PSYCH-K sessions about twice a week. The therapy uses a process called “muscle testing” and “balance” to reprogram your subconscious beliefs.

Aparna Shah is PSYCH-K facilitator and owner of the Newport News center.

The sessions, which cost $100, can last about two hours and include a series of questions and statements that try to examine what your subconscious truly believes.

During her sessions, Iveson stands with her right arm held out to the side and lowers her eyes to the floor. Shah then poses statements to Iveson such as “I deserve the very best that life has to offer.” She then asks her to repeat the statement and tells her to “be strong.”

For the “muscle test,” Shah pushes down on Iveson’s lifted arm to gauge her subconscious response.

According to the method, if Iveson’s arm lowers, her subconscious does not truly believe the statement.

“What most people don’t realize is that our subconscious does 90 to 95 percent of the work for us,” Shah says. “Your subconscious tells your muscle how to react before your conscious mind can make a decision on whether it believes the statement or not. It really is a good test to see whether you have self-limiting beliefs or not.”

At a recent PSYCH-K session, Iveson tested “weak” on the statement: “I give myself permission to do what I love.” In order to change that belief, Iveson practiced the “balance” method. To do this, she held both arms out to the side and envisioned the two hemispheres of her brain in each palm. As she focused on the statement, her hands came together, and Shah told her to “bring the new belief into her body.”

“I’ve learned that it’s all about your expectations,” Iveson says. “What you think you deserve is what you attract, and the changes in my beliefs have literally changed the world around me.”

Each PSYCH-K session is tailored to the client, Shah says. Whether you need help with grief, anger, pain or relationships, the therapy statements are written to reflect those issues. And the work isn’t all done at the Signature Healing office.

Shah gives her clients homework, including reading, writing in a journal and doing one good deed a day.

All of this, she says, helps reinforce the subconscious positive beliefs.

As a practicing and teaching nurse, Iveson says she definitely brought some skepticism with her to the first PSYCH-K sessions. She even tried to force her arm to stand strong when she knew she didn’t believe certain statements like, “My name is Tom.” But after she began to trust Shah and her method, Iveson became such a believer she hopes the therapy can be used in schools and taught to teachers.

“I’ve learned that until I started healing myself spiritually, I wasn’t able to get any better physically,” she says. “It could be such a great community tool to reinforce positive beliefs. Just imagine how successful our kids could be if teachers knew how to talk to the kids and affirm the positive.”

WHAT IS PSYCH-K?

PSYCH-K stands for psychological kinesiology, a technique developed by Robert M. Williams, a professional psychotherapist in Colorado.

He says this practice offers different change techniques, called “balances,” for reprogramming the subconscious mind to achieve consciously desired goals and aspirations.

Muscle testing is used to establish a communication system with the subconscious mind, which controls motor functions in the body, such as muscle movement.

Source: changeyourbeliefschangeyourlife.com and psych-k.com

NEWS TO USE

What: Signature Healing, an energy healing center. Aparna Bararia Shah, a PSYCH-K facilitator and Reiki Grand Master, also offers the Reiki method, a laying-on-hands technique that channels positive energy through the facilitator to the patient, mudra hand yoga and acupressure.

Where: Hilton Village area, 10368 Warwick Blvd., Newport News

Cost: $100 per session, which usually last between an hour and two hours, or $680 for 10 sessions. Senior citizens and children pay $75 per session.

Information: 597-4533, www.signaturehealing.com

https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-20080701-2008-07-01-0806300063-story.html

Other centers

St. Joseph Catholic Church, anointing of the sick. 5:30 p.m. Mass, first Saturday of the month. 512 Buckroe Ave., Hampton. 851-8800.

Grace Episcopal Church. 10 a.m. every Wednesday. 111 Church St., Yorktown. 898-3261.

St. Martin’s Episcopal Church Healing Service. 9 and 11 a.m. first Sunday of the month. 1333 Jamestown Road, Williamsburg. 229-1111.