Latest news with #HeavenlyHealing
The Citizen
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
WATCH: TikTok ASMR trend heads to the massage studio in SA
ASMR treatment includes gentle touch, soundscapes and energy work. Imagine a massage that was spawned in a viral universe where whispering, chewing crackly snacks and tapping or slurping through straws reign supreme. ASMR, short for autonomous sensory meridian response, has now hopped across the digital sphere to a real-world experience – and it's now leapt across the Atlantic to Mzansi. An ASMR massage is designed to soothe frayed nervous systems through touch, breath, sensory experiences and ambient sound. Ann-Marie Viviers, founder of Heavenly Healing, has introduced what she believes is one of the first ASMR-based massage treatments in South Africa. Her method is inspired by the online trend that has captivated millions of people looking for calm in distraction in an increasingly messy world. 'It is not just a massage,' said Viviers. 'It is a controlled sensory environment. You are surrounded by soft thunder, rain sounds and intuitive touch. It is designed to quiet the noise that most people carry in their heads.' The treatment includes slow, gentle touch, carefully selected soundscapes, energy work, and ritual elements that blend ceremony and therapy in a single moment. Watch an ASMR massage: Sessions, she said, begin with a mist of water infused with crystals such as selenite and clear quartz, left to charge under the moon. Clients choose the sound palette for their session from rainfall, rustling leaves, to distant thunder, which plays softly in the background. The massage itself involves barely-there brushing using feathers, silk or soft-textured fabric. 'Stones like larimar or amethyst are placed gently on or around the body to support grounding or emotional release.' ALSO READ: 7 things people say to sound deep on Instagram 'There is a softness to this kind of massage that helps people feel seen without needing to speak,' Viviers said. 'Every sound and every touch is chosen to help the body settle and the mind find stillness. It is not about knots or pressure points. It is about emotional reset.' Full body and spirit experience Viviers said it is a full-body and full-spirit experience. 'It is sensual in the sense of being fully present in your senses. Some clients describe it as a spiritual return to themselves. You come in scattered and leave whole.' Psychologist and medical doctor Dr Jonathan Redelinghuys said the popularity of ASMR content online, and now in real-life experiences, represents a move toward sensory-based therapies. 'People are turning to experiences that bypass the brain's usual defences,' he said. 'ASMR works with soft, repetitive, predictable input. The brain reads that as safety. That brings the nervous system down from a constant state of alert.' Dr Redelinghuys said ASMR, once considered internet novelty, has proven its staying power. 'We are overstimulated, overworked and interrupted constantly. ASMR offers a very different kind of presence. Whether it is online or in person, people are responding to that.' Possible reduction in anxiety Clinical research on ASMR is still in its early stages, but existing studies point to reduced anxiety, lower heart rate and improved sleep in individuals who respond to the stimuli. Dr Redelinghuys said it is not a one-size-fits-all approach, but it is meaningful for those who experience the effect. 'This kind of massage is not therapy in the traditional sense, but it is therapeutic,' he said. 'It brings people back into their bodies. That alone can be healing.' Viviers said the treatment has attracted people who do not always feel comfortable with conventional massage. 'Some clients have trauma, some struggle with overstimulation, some just want a way to feel without having to talk. This gives them that.' Sessions typically last between one and one and a half hours and are structured around presence rather than outcome. 'We are not trying to fix anything,' Viviers said. 'We are creating a pause, a space where someone can just be. From the moment the mist goes into the air to the final breath of the session, it is about stillness.' Dr Redelinghuys said the use of ASMR in wellness treatments is not surprising. 'Not all healing comes from analysis. Some of it comes from attention and care,' he said. 'If a treatment helps someone feel safe and calm, it matters.' NOW READ: Sangoma: It's not always witchcraft and curses
The Citizen
23-06-2025
- Health
- The Citizen
Sangoma: It's not always witchcraft and curses
Pretorius said that he often gets clients who face uphill battles, especially at work or with neighbours. When things go wrong at work and at home, and a chinwag at the water cooler becomes more torture than titillation, something's wrong. But that wrong isn't always what people think, says Sangoma Fezile Pretorius of Heavenly Healing. Pretorius said that he often gets clients who face uphill battles, especially at work or with neighbours. 'You are feeling drained. There is tension at work, your sleep is broken, and something just does not feel right,' he said. 'Maybe your neighbour has been acting strange. Maybe your colleague has stopped greeting you. Then things get worse. Appliances break, money dries up, you start to wonder if someone has gone the supernatural route to make your life harder.' It is not an unusual thought to contemplate that you have been bewitched, or a spell or curse was cast in your direction said Pretorius. 'People come to me with this concern more often than you would think,' he said. 'When people live close to each other or work in high-pressure environments, tension builds up. When bad luck follows, they begin to suspect someone has done something to them. They think they are being targeted with muti.' People create their own spiritual unease It's not always the case, though. Pretorius said that many people create their own spiritual unease without realising it. 'In some cases, no one has done anything,' he said. 'What happens is that we know someone does not like us, or we feel guilty about something. That creates a mental and emotional spiral. Eventually, we convince ourselves we are under attack on a spiritual level. It becomes real to us, because we made it so ourselves.' ALSO READ: Fezile Pretorius: The white sangoma shattering stereotypes He said that muti works on three levels: the physical, mental, and subconscious. 'Some remedies work through the body, like herbs or mixtures. Others help us psychologically, to calm anxiety. And some work deep in the mind, prompting a change in how we feel about our surroundings. When it comes to neighbourhood fights or workplace disputes, the muti used correctly often helps us more than it harms anyone else. It brings peace to the one who uses it.' Curses and spells do occur Curses and spells do occur though. Pretorius recently consulted the bones for someone who suspected that they were at the receiving end of this. 'This reading gave me what we call a double positive,' he said. 'That means the energy confirmed the concern. It is not just imagination. There is interference. The bones showed darkness over this person's life, and a clear disruption in their physical and emotional state. They are tired all the time, but can't fall asleep at night. Then in the morning, they cannot wake up. Their energy was depleted. That was not a coincidence.' The source of the problem, according to that reading, was jealousy. 'The bones showed that someone nearby was feeling resentment,' Pretorius explained. 'There was envy about money, and more specifically, about children. The person who cast this negatively onto the client did not feel their own family was being provided for properly. They were watching someone else do well in life, and that resentment turned into spiritual interference.' The muti was not strong Pretorius said the muti used in that case was not particularly strong, but it still had some effect. 'It was weak, but it was active. What was more concerning was the prayer behind it. That is where the real power lies. The intention of someone's will carries energy, and it sticks. That is what you need to deal with.' The bones offered a solution to the client. 'Cleanse the yard. Start by removing any lingering energy in your home environment,' he said. 'Then prepare a traditional meal, cook ancestral beer, and host a ritual of thanks. 'Beat the drum, call your ancestors, and acknowledge all that you already have. When you do that, you create a new energy around you. You take back your space without retaliation.' 'When you change your focus and anchor yourself spiritually, the person causing the harm will often stop. They will see that you are not reacting with hate or fear, but with gratitude and clarity. And that usually ends it.' But before assuming that someone has ill will towards you, consult your ancestors, said Pretorius. He added that the bones do not lie. 'If someone has done something, it will show. But most of the time, it is not the enemy out there who is strongest. It is the fear inside us. That is where the real battle often sits.' NOW READ: Modern stress, ancient solution – facial reflexology
