Based in Stroud, Nicky Ferry’s Empowered Self Coaching offers a contemporary holistic approach to healing, which aims to connect you to your ‘deep inner knowing’.

SNJ reporter Jamie Wiseman popped along for a session.

Nicky's sessions are designed to help people unlock stress, gain insight, let go of fear and clarify your vision and future direction.

“This programme has been designed to deeply relax you and work with your conscious as well as your sub conscious mind, enabling you to live and work at your very best,” she said.

“I support you to align to your empowered self, which typically you will experience as a very open and clear state, enabling you to address issues standing in your way.”

Having never experienced anything like this before, I went along with an open mind.

After a quick chat, we decided to do some relaxation healing, which was designed to help me completely relax and open my mind.

Settling down in a comfy chair, I listened to the sound of her voice.

As the minutes past and her words became softer and softer I could feel my body in the chair but everything in else around me seemed to disappear.

Very slowly, she instructed me to imagine beams of pure, bright light flowing into my body through the bottom of my feet.

During the next 10 or so minutes, under her instruction, the light seeped slowly up into my body, relaxing every muscle and limb in turn.

By the time the light reached moved all the way up to my shoulders, I could no longer feel the rest of my body – it was as though it had sunk away.

Now in a state of total relaxation, Nicky asked me to then imagine another beam of light coming down from above and flowing into my brain.

As this new tingling sensation seemed to seep into my mind, it was as though I could actually feel my brain exist separately from the body.

Free and weightless like this, my mind seemed expanded and almost electrified. With all consciousness concentrated in the one place, images I could see in my mind’s eye were suddenly clearer, brighter and more vivid.

My brain felt like it was running at two or three times its usual pace, with thoughts flying past in seconds. It was quite remarkable and very enjoyable. And despite this huge intensity, everything was equally as relaxed.

Very slowly the voice guided me back into the room and back into my body. Twitching my foot and fingers, I began to feel my limbs again.

When I finally opened my eyes my body still seemed so heavy and I didn’t properly move for another five minutes.

Everything still seemed so warm and comfortable.

I was shocked to hear that I had been in this state of meditation for almost 45 minutes, though it seemed more like 15.

It was an immensely interesting experience, unlike anything I’d ever undergone before. Nicky is obviously very talented and has a great amount of knowledge about this kind of practice.

She is a very good listener, and obviously very perceptive and comforting.

I can easily see how these sessions could be of huge benefit to someone trying to focus on serious issues in their life.

As I experienced, allowing the mind into this state of relaxation helps it to focus and flow freely, allowing high levels of concentration or particular ideas or issues.

This, I have no doubt, would be extremely useful for dealing with issues like insecurity, self-consciousness and anxiety, or identifying issues that you were feeling unconsciously.

And regardless, it was an amazing mechanism to achieve a weightless, open and thinking brain, which is an amazing sensation.

  • To try a session for yourself, contact Nicky on 01453 766334 or visit her website at nickyferry.com