New in Mangawhai: alternative healthcare for pets

Pets are people too. It’s something Mangawhai’s first holistic animal healer Marisa Garau can relate to all too well. When her Birman cats became older and started to suffer from discomforts which regular veterinarian treatments weren’t able to relieve, she didn’t hesitate to seek alternative healthcare for her furry babies.

“My cats were my children. When the vet’s regular treatment plan failed to do its magic, I started to turn to more holistic approaches such as mindfulness, Reiki, and cranio-sacral therapy as these had helped me restore my own health after experiencing autoimmune disorders and chronic stress. As a pet parent I did everything in my power to make my cats comfortable while going through their ageing process.”

Reiki, cranio-sacral therapy and reflexology
Garau, who is originally from Amsterdam but lived in Mangawhai since 2007, has just launched her Healing Hands practice which offers Reiki, cranio-sacral therapy and reflexology for our four-legged friends. She has trained intensely under Mangawhai's cranio-sacral master Dawn Sanson, and Auckland’s animal Reiki therapist Jackie Segers, while studying online at the London College of Osteopathy for her qualifications.

Healing hands
A well-known mindfulness expert, Garau uses her 17 years of meditation experience to be fully present for the pets she is healing.

“Just like people, animals respond incredibly well to sincere attention. While treating pets, I enter a state of open, non-judgemental awareness in which animals feel safe to communicate their physical or emotional issues to me. It’s always humbling to see how capable they are of letting me know exactly what area of their body will benefit from the energy of my healing hands. By spending time with them in a quiet, meditative state, I quickly pick up on physical discomforts as well as emotional turmoil, such as frustration, anger, dominance, anxiety or grief.”

Homes and hearts
New Zealand is home to at least 1.1 million dogs and 1.5 million cats, and in the past ten years these companion animals have become a much-loved part of the family.

Garau: “With pets conquering both our homes and hearts comes a growing awareness that animals have a rich emotional inner world like we do. Pet parents naturally want to keep their pets healthy and happy, especially when they experience stress caused by veterinarian treatments, changing circumstances in their human family, or growing older and less mobile.

Emotional issues
When your pet is uncomfortable or in pain, the first port of call must always be the vet. Pet owners turn to Garau’s holistic approach when their pet’s complaints are vague or caused by emotional issues which are hard to treat with conventional veterinarian care.

Animal spirituality
Even though alternative healthcare might seem off-limits to traditionally trained vets, experienced vets know that animals have a distinctive spiritual life, and that a holistic approach can heal emotional issues.

Garau: “It was actually my vet who advised me to take one of my cats to an acupuncturist when we had exhausted all the regular healthcare options. While vets have to focus on curing mainly physical complaints, I can tune into an animal’s spiritual awareness and get to the deeper cause of their issues. Anxious, agitated or grieving pets show great improvement after only a few sessions.”

n Visit Garau’s website, healyourpet.co.nz, for more information and to make an online booking.

Mindfulness expert Marisa Garau uses her 17 years of meditation experience to be fully present for the pets she is healing. Here she applies her healing hands to Pepper. PHOTO/SUPPLIED