I HAD a beam-me-up-Scottie, lost-in-space experience last week, courtesy of an Egyptian therapy rediscovered in the Great Pyramid at Giza in 1979.

An American chap, Patrick Ziegler, spent the night there, totally illegally as it turns out, knowing somehow that he would be tuned into this ancient form of spiritual healing energy.

"Seichem means "the power" and refers to the all encompassing essential force that binds the universe together and is present in all life," writes therapist Zanna Bradbury in her explanatory leaflet, "It is all around us and in us."

Zanna had invited me to the Salisbury Homeopathy Centre in Catherine Street, where she gives Seichem treatment on Wednesday afternoons.

She was already an advocate of kinesiology and flower remedies, as well as being a Reiki master, before she became attuned to Seichem.

"Although I'm a Reiki master, I felt I'd missed something," she says.

"It's hard to explain, but it is as though Reiki is one facet of a diamond, it's part of a whole and that whole is Seichem, so anyone receiving a Seichem treatment automatically receives Reiki healing."

Seichem, she explains, relates to the energy pathways of the body .

"It works along the same principles as energy tapping - it helps to correct the body's balance," she says.

"It seems to be able to access underlying blocks and offers a release from traumas and unhelpful patterning we've taken on.

"It does help with physical conditions, but doesn't make outrageous claims."

More than anything, she says, it is an excellent stress buster.

That was definitely for me, I thought, clambering onto the couch in the light airy room with restful music filtering through and my brain buzzing with jobs to be done and problems to be solved.

Focus on one, I was told, and let the treatment get to work - some people have experienced a Eureka moment, but it's not guaranteed.

"Focussing attention on a particular challenge enhances the benefits," Zanna advises, but then adds comfortingly, "or you can just veg out and enjoy it."

Seichem is non-invasive and can be received fully clothed, sitting or lying down.

Lying down, I confess, is more

my style - just as well as I found it all so relaxing I think I would have keeled over had I been in any way vertical.

I tried to focus my mind and concentrate on my problem, really I did.

But by the time the Journal photographer arrived, I was barely conscious - just sufficiently on this planet to maintain professional integrity and not let the side down by snoring contentedly.

Like Reiki, the therapist places their hands in various positions on or just above the body moving from head to toe on your body.

Similarly, some people experience heat, cold or tingling

Unlike Reiki, there is no set pattern or order.

"It's intuitive, working with the energy points," says Zanna.

Time and again, she came back to my neck and once to a point on my cheek close to mouth.

Why?

She shrugs.

"No idea," she says. "They just seem to need more energy."

I hadn't mentioned the history of whiplash injury and the current toothache (exactly where she had pinpointed on my cheek). I left totally spaced out - somewhere round about Betelgeuse, I think - and stayed pretty much that way for the rest of the evening.

I'm not sure if I solved any problems, but frankly I was so de-stressed, I didn't care.

A Seichem treatment lasts about one hour and costs £30 per session. Contact Zanna on 01460 77076.