Facets of Healing

 This morning I started a new batch of coconut milk yogurt, using L-ruteri and L-rhamnosus for the culture.  Coconut milk Yogurt The L-ruteri strain was common in our guts 75 years ago, but is rare now.  It was originally cultured by a German physician (Reuter) from a Peruvian woman's breast milk, and is important for the health of the small intestine. Use of this strain increases the production of oxytocin and collagen, and has several additional health benefits. Many with SIBO find it helpful. In the 70s and 80s, I used full fat raw milk from a local dairy to culture my own yogurt, which our family enjoyed.  When making yogurt using plant based milk, it's helpful to add prebiotics and sugar, as coconut milk tastes sweet, but the probiotics need more sugar to culture properly. The medium chain fats found in coconut milk are similar to that in human milk, making it an ideal medium for the culture!  13.5 oz tin full fat coconut milk 1 Tbsp green banana powder or ...

 In neatly 4 decades of offering bodywork and energy seasons, I have collected many modalities and tools. Reiki and other energetic offerings are surprisingly powerful when offered remotely, which gives us the opportunity to work together wherever we are in the World! When we combine Reiki with a dash of creativity, Magïc happens! In 2005, I traveled to my favorite retreat center, Breitenbush Hot Springs for a training in the history and use of  Tuning Forks both personally and in sessions. Already a harpist, I had  studied using sound as a vehicle for balance and harmony a decade before. Our training centered around use of weighted forks on acupuncture points - Ohm tuners and  Acutonics .   Around the same time, I acquired a set of Intentions Tuners (all but one unweighted forks which are  intended for use off the body)  "In water and watery solids, such as the human body, sound travels over 4x faster in the form of photons or sonic shear waves."...

Throughout our lives, we move around. My parents grew up in rural communities, and I was about 3 when we moved from town to the country! At nearly 6, we moved back (to an acre just outside town) so I could go to school and my dad was closer to his job, then I went off to college 12 years later ... Z-man helping  Over the intervening 54 years, I've been in different spaces from one -7 years, and in my little house the last 19! Now, my daughter and son in law are building me a Grannie Flat in their back yard (!!) So after nearly 2 decades,  I'm engaged in downsizing and purging for that move, which will be in stages! During construction, I'll be mere yards away, in a back nook in their home! Able to watch over and bless the process at every stage! Deciding what to take with for that 3-6 months, what can go into short term storage!  I've ordered my new mattress, but for the nonce, I'll borrow one of the kids bed, that fits in the space.  My new room Note to self:  ...

  My feed over on Instagram delivered a wonderful profile with a continuing saga of the artist's adventures ...  Hannah posted about a taking much needed camping trip, which turned into a sodden disaster - and wrote that they hung their 'cloutie flags' upon setting up camp in Cornwall.  Clooties by a sacred well I guessed she meant small cloth prayer flags or banners, and found this when I looked it up: The Scots word ‘clootie’ means ‘cloth’ and this term can also be found in use in the famous Scottish dessert, the ‘clootie dumpling’. The ‘cloots’ of the clootie well are scraps of cloth hung from trees surrounding a sacred well or spring. These sources of clean water have been places of healing for millennia. Traditionally, the well would be visited at special times of the year, such as Beltane, the May Day festival of Spring, or when someone needed a cure for an illness. The well would draw people from across the local area, a social pilgrimage, each taking their...

Tapping creative process can be a powerful way to work with trauma of all sorts. My massage mentor Jeanne Christensen compared our therapeutic work to peeling an onion, one layer at a time, to get to the core.  Medicine Basket Creating a safe container is one of the keys to gently working through layers.  I like to allow time to sit back with my journal/ do metacognitive drawing for process. It's good to verbalize that we will only go as deep as we're ready to process, and don't need to unpack it all at once.  The Intentional Creativity container is already structured in ways that support safety and healing for any issues we and our beloveds come with.   I often begin with basic grounding, imagining my roots going into the earth, and letting any feelings that arise drop down like compost. I keep tea or water handy (await from my paintbrush!) and remind myself to breathe.  In this  Tedx clip  ,  Dr Thelma Bryant affirms the healing powe...

 Yay - that was quick!! I placed my order Sunday, and here it is! I'm a Virgo, and true to form, I have long been interested in health and practices that support it.  I followed instructions in a little book on yoga on HS, and began taking movement classes by the my late 20s  (ballet, and a few years after that, Tai Chi)  My dad always had a garden, and we got whole raw milk from the dairy next door.  I continued gardening, eating whole foods, making my own bread and yogurt (still from raw milk), supplemented with vitamins and  minerals from my 20s.  For most of my supplements, I buy off the shelf or order from the office where I offer massage Reiki and holistic sessions ... but needed more of the  Niacinamide  for my joints, and wanted to try a time release formula. I discovered Niacinamide's use for arthritis this spring, as I was experiencing some pain and stiffness in my right hand, after breaking my wrist in a fall last summer.  New...

 Recently, I binge watched sessions with Simple Shui maven Amanda Gibby Peters , and love her simple tips for incorporating Feng Shui into our daily lives. I've long been interested in Feng Shui, had a consultation for my treatment room, and have taken several mini workshops. Sanctuary First and foremost for harmonizing energy is editing our space (i.e. clearing clutter!) to reflect current interests and activities. Clutter clearing isn't a 'once and done' event- rather its an onging process! One of Amanda's Simple Shui tips is to use salt for an, "everyday, any situation cleanse.  You simply leave a small bowl of (sea or Himalayan) salt out for 24 hours. At 24 hours, dispose of it outside in the dirt or trash - whatever makes the most sense for you. You will feel brighter and lighter immediately."  As I'm currently in process of preparing my home for sale (!!) and pruning my possessions, I love finding simple tools that can help the process!  Amanda...