Most of us treat the body and the mind as two separate projects. We see one professional for the back pain and another for the worry, and we rarely ask whether the two might be the same story told in two languages. In my experience, they usually are. The jaw that will not unclench, the stomach that knots before a hard conversation, the exhaustion that no amount of sleep fixes, the grief that settles into the chest: these are not just symptoms. They are the body speaking.
Mind-body healing is the practice of listening to that conversation and helping it resolve. In my work at Lighten Up Therapies in Worthington, Ohio, I use hands-on craniosacral therapy and energy healing to support the whole person at once. You can come to my office in person, or we can work together by phone or online from wherever you are. People benefit from both, and many of my clients use both.
What Mind-Body Healing Means
The idea is simple: your thoughts, emotions, nervous system, and physical tissue are one connected system, and what affects one affects the rest. Stress raises muscle tension and inflammation. Old emotional pain changes how you breathe and how you hold yourself. A physical injury can leave behind fear, bracing, and a nervous system stuck on alert long after the tissue has healed. Research on the stress response, the vagus nerve, and the gut-brain connection keeps confirming what traditional healing systems have taught for centuries: there is no clean line between mind and body.
Mind-body healing does not mean the pain is "in your head." It means the body and mind heal together, and that gentle, respectful work with one opens a door for the other. Some people call this mind body spirit healing, because for many clients the spiritual dimension, a sense of meaning, connection, or peace, is part of what returns.
How I Work With the Whole Person
I am a Diplomate-certified craniosacral therapist through the Upledger Institute and a graduate of the Barbara Brennan School of Healing, where I trained in Brennan Healing Science. Those two trainings gave me two ways in: one through the physical body and its subtle rhythms, and one through the energy field that surrounds and runs through it. In a session I move between them as your system asks.
Here is what that looks like in practice:
- Settling the nervous system. Nothing heals while the body is braced. The first thing I do, in person or at a distance, is help your system shift out of fight-or-flight so the deeper work can begin.
- Listening to the body. With craniosacral touch, or with focused attention from a distance, I sense where the body is holding and follow it rather than forcing anything.
- Clearing and balancing energy. Energy that is stuck, depleted, or scattered shows up as fatigue, fog, anxiety, and pain. Clearing it allows your own healing capacity to come forward.
- Making room for what surfaces. When emotions or memories arise during bodywork, I use SomatoEmotional Release and a trauma-informed, somatic approach so they can complete rather than get pushed back down.
- Integration. We close with time for you to notice what changed and talk about how to carry it into your week.
In Person or Long Distance: Two Doors to the Same Room
People are often surprised that I offer the same whole-person work by phone or online over the internet. Energy does not depend on distance, and the nervous system responds to focused, caring attention whether I am beside you or three states away. My long-distance clients lie down at home, we talk briefly, and then I work with their energy field while they rest. Many describe warmth, tingling, deep calm, and a sense of being "put back together" that is indistinguishable from an in-person session. If you are curious how that works, I wrote about it in Does Distance Energy Healing Work?
In-person sessions in my Worthington office add hands-on craniosacral work. If you have physical pain, a concussion history, jaw tension, pelvic or digestive issues, or you simply want touch, in person is the fuller experience.
Remote energy healing by phone or online is ideal if you live outside the Columbus area, cannot travel, are recovering at home, or feel safer doing deep work in your own space. It is also how many of my local clients continue between office visits.
People benefit from both. Some clients come monthly in person and have a remote session by phone or online in between; others start long distance and later visit the office, or the other way around. The work is continuous either way, and there is no wrong way to begin.
Who Mind-Body Healing Helps
I see people in every season of life, but these are the situations that bring most of them to me:
- Chronic stress, burnout, or a nervous system that will not switch off (see Energy Healing for Burnout)
- Anxiety, overwhelm, or trouble sleeping
- Grief and loss that have settled into the body (see Energy Healing for Grief and Loss)
- Pain or tension that medical tests cannot fully explain
- Recovery after illness, surgery, accident, or concussion
- Old trauma that keeps showing up as physical symptoms
- Feeling disconnected from yourself, your body, or your sense of purpose
- Caregivers, healers, and helpers who give to everyone but themselves
What Clients Notice
Change from this work tends to arrive in layers. First the body: easier breathing, less pain, better sleep, a jaw or belly that finally lets go. Then the mind: more clarity, less reactivity, a quieter inner voice. Then something harder to name, which clients describe as feeling more like themselves, more present, or more at peace. I cannot promise a specific outcome, and this work is a complement to medical and mental health care, never a replacement for it. What I can promise is that you will be met with skill, patience, and respect for your whole self.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is mind-body healing the same as therapy or counseling?
No. Talk therapy works through conversation and insight. Mind-body healing works through the body and the energy system, often with very little talking. The two complement each other well, and many of my clients see a counselor and come to me for the part that words cannot reach.
Do I have to believe in energy healing for it to work?
You do not. Curiosity and willingness to rest are enough. Skeptics are welcome, and many of my longest-standing clients started as one.
How does a phone or online session actually happen?
We schedule a time, you find a quiet place to lie down, and we connect by phone or online for a few minutes to talk about what you need. Then you rest while I work with your energy field. We reconnect at the end to talk about what you noticed. A remote session runs about the same length as an in-person one.
How many sessions do I need?
Some people come for a single reset. Most find that three to six sessions, spaced one to three weeks apart, let the changes build and hold. We decide together as we go.
Can I combine in-person and long-distance sessions?
Yes, and many clients do. People benefit from both, and the work is continuous whether we are in the same room or not.
Begin Where You Are
Whether you are across town in Columbus, Dublin, Westerville, or Upper Arlington, or across the country, you can start this work from exactly where you are. If you have questions about whether mind-body healing is right for you, I would be glad to talk.
Call or text me at (614) 653-8111 to ask questions or schedule an in-person, phone, or online session.
Sharon Hartnett, CST-D
Lighten Up Therapies
6797 N High Street Ste 333
Worthington, Ohio 43085