BY KASEY FUQUA
The Crystal Method Can Stones and Minerals Improve Your Well-being? BY KASEY FUQUA
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very year, a new wellness trend emerges, from eating turmeric to visiting infrared saunas. One of the fastest growing and longest-lasting trends in wellness is actually a very old practice: The use of crystals or minerals to improve health. “Stones, just like any other kind of energy work, plus acupressure, acupuncture and chiropractic, are all considered CAM therapies,” says Melissa Kepley, owner of The Magickal Attic, a crystal and jewelry shop in Newport News, Va. “CAM therapies, meaning complementary alternative medicines, don’t take the place of allopathic [medicine]. They complement what is going on with allopathic medicine.” People use crystals or stones for many different reasons, such as for improving sleep, boosting mood or healing heartache, says Kepley, a hypnotherapist, interfaith minister and psychic. Certain stones are said to promote qualities, such as courage, luck or love. The mineral make-up of the stone can determine how it helps you. For instance, fluorite contains calcium fluoride, a mineral that may work with the calcium channels in the brain. Many people use fluorite to improve memory, perhaps taking advantage of the calcium fluoride.
WELLNESS
Understanding the mineralogy is important, but Kepley warns that reading a few books or blogs on crystals may not help you choose the right stone for your needs. “For a very beginner, stones are going to be very similar to medications,” says Kepley. “Some things you get along with, some things you don’t get along with. Only use books and websites as reference models to get an idea of what you would like to accomplish, then feel out the different suggestions of the stones.” She suggests people take their time when selecting a crystal to use since many different stones can serve the same purpose. Even different crystals of the same type can give you a different feeling. “Feeling encompasses a great deal of parameters,” Kepley says. “When I say the word feel, that can be a thought, an idea, an emotion, it can be tactile.” To receive the benefits of the minerals in a particular stone, Kepley says, you need to spend a lot of time with it, holding it in your hand, carrying it in your pocket, wearing it as jewelry or meditating with it. You’ll only see benefits from the use of crystals if you find a stone with which you connect.
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