words can be a barrier and creator of connection and intimacy in human relationships

this

is

written

with 

love 

for

all

sentient

beings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 surrender

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 thought

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 and

 

 invite

 yourself

 to

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

be

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

human

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

being

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

doing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

nothing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

just

 

 

 

 

 

breathing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and

 

 

loving

awareness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

time to tend

all souls

 

 

 

every

body

 

welcome

yourself

to

repair

and

heal

 

 

 

mind

ancient

wisdom

within

 

when

 

you

 

 

sense yourself       sensing yourself

 

 

unravel

and

mend

the fabric of your being

 

 

 

 

 

 

unwind

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

rewind the film strip of your life
 

 

 

 

stay

tuned

in

 

 

 

to

vibrations

 

 

 

 

 

states 

of 

mind

 

 

 

changing

shapes

 

 

energy

in

motion

 

getting

lost

wandering

trails

of

awareness 

 

 

ride

waves

of 

movement

and

stillness

converging

in

your

body

of

water

and

bones

 

explore

your

internal landscape

as 

you

 embody

every

part

of

your 

one piece body 

 

 

 

travel outside the comfort zone without moving
 

 

suspend

judgement

 

no need

for

good

when

there 

is

no more 

bad

 

 

be

present

to

different

and

unfamiliar

sensation

 

resolve pain

with

presence

 

 

be comfortable

being uncomfortable 

as

you

meander

in

and

out

of the

chaos

of

the

mind

within

the

body

 

invite your essence to return to the vacancies within

 

feel

free

to feel

 

when

you

allow

yourself

to

feel

everything

and

do 

no

thing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

feeling minds

 

communicate without words

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

be

invited

to

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

learn

the languages of the body

 

listen

to 

the

way

your body tells your story

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

consider

the sounds 

of 

inspiration 

 

as you

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

breathe

 

in

 

love

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

luxuriate in this moment 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

everyone

completely

exhale

 

expire

everything

unlike 

love

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

linger

in the stillness

of 

 emptiness

 

 

as

 

 

 

openness

 

 

 

 

 

nature is singing

one song

for 

all

 

 

now

hear 

this 

here

this

now
 

ALOHA

LIFE

ALOHA 

LOVE

 

 

 

 

gently

 

inhale

 

 

 

only

love

 

take

less

than

what

you 

can

use

only 

what

you

need

 

 

 

 

LOVE

 

 

 

 

 

breathe 

out

 

elongate 

 

expressions

of

exhaling

more 

and 

more

light

more

and more

love

 

give back twice as much as you take in

 

 

your last exhale 

will be another's next inhale

 

nature's song never stops singing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the 

only

sense

a

human

cannot

live

without

 

Touch

 

heals
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

all soles 

meld with Earth

 

 

 

drop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

everything

 

 

 

hang

on

 

to

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

nothing

 

 

 

 

every

one

yield

 

 

 

be

 

held

by

our

Mother

who

holds

us all

the

same

 

lose every pound

and

 

give yourself permission

to

let

go

of

control

 

lie on your belly

on top of Her

spread

out

like a blanket

and

cover

 Her

take

your

time

tucking

yourself

in

breathe like a baby

being soothed

by the rhythm 

of your pulse

beating against Her's

 

soften into Her softness

 

while She supports us

we protect Her

 

soften into your softness

slowly 

rock

and 

roll

every

part

of

yourself

home

to

homeostasis

being

one

in

harmony

with

your

peaceful

 mind

in the home

of

your

soul

 

on the home

of

all

soles

 

 

we are  

safe

sound

and

 all in one piece

 

 

precious gifts come in small packages

 

 

 

fountain of youth 

 

hands 

are

medicine

 

 solid

gold

returns to 

liquid

when 

you

meld

 

you

are

golden

 to

me

 

invite

yourself

to

be

a

sol body

 

sunlight 

radiates

through

water

 

float

with

spirit

in

the

ocean

of

universal

consciousness

one

 love

song

ripples

through

bodies 

of light

here

to

help each other

heal

sound

breath

touch

movement

and connection

are

medicine

and

heal more than sitting talking and thinking

 

 

concave and convex shapes and curves

 

meld

your

palms

with

front back sides

upper middle lower

inside of the outside 

outside of the inside

spine
 jaw pelvis

head tail

 wrists ankles

shoulders hips

arms legs

center

chest

ribs

waist

elbows knees

palms arches

hands feet

and fingers toes

move your scalp

 pull your hair

ears

cheeks

eye brows

fingers

and

toes

release your skull when you
suck your own thumb

 

actions

speak

louder 

than

words

 

reconnect your body mind and spirit
 

imprint the Earth

and

let the Earth imprint into you

be yin in the shapes you are in

be yin in the shapes you desire to be yang in

let your legs, arms and head be held above and below your heart

lie on your front back and sides with pillows and props

use courage and balls

to

rock and roll everything on your own

soften all that has remained hard

take the kinks out of your lifelong garden's hose

let love keep flowing in

move like water

rest while awake

inhale like a baby

exhale like a lion

inhale love receiving breath with your nose and diaphragm

no longer inhale fear taking breath
 with your chest nor your mouth

no more taking breath

instead

please

give a deep breath

exhale completely for center strength

take your time

smile

arms overhead

 simultaneously signaling surrender and victory is vulnerability

 be yang in the shapes you desire to be yang in

lie prone

lift

widened

eyes

and mind

higher than your soft and open heart

hold your head up
nod your head yes  

where your eyes go your body will follow

see what's happening all around you

eyes in the back look behind

all eyes on the front face front moving forward

 stretch your fingers toes diaphragm

and

lips

change shape with your strong legs and ass when you rise and shine
 

hinge circle and spiral spine ankles wrists hips
trace figure eights with your nostrils and sitz bones

circulate forehead sternum pubic bones heels

 

X roll

reach right leg behind and yield
your back to the ground

reach left arm in front and yield
your front to the ground

reach right arm behind yield your back to the ground

reach left leg in front yield your front to the ground

and reverse the sequence

now

yield and reach

upper right lower left upper  left lower right

crossing the midline
again

reach left leg behind and yield your back to the ground

reach right arm in front and yield your front to ground

reach left arm behind yield your back to the ground

reach right in front to yield your front to the ground

 

feel core strength through your hands and feet

pull and push yourself on and off the ground

move on all planes and dimensions
 

move on all fours

 

 

in order to move forward the right and the left change together

 

stand up on your own

by 

 

being

horizontal

 

diagonal

 

and

 

 vertical 

!

let

go

of 

 expectations

 

assumptions

and

 

trying

to

be

straight

!

noting in nature is linear

unlock your knees

all joints soft and rounded 

balance concave and convex curves 

gluteus maximus is designed to lift your load and carry your carriage and trunk

one step at a time
unfurl naked toes
hug the Earth with your soles

hug the Earth with your whole body

hug the Earth with your whole being

hug each other

massage the Earth with your resilient soles

heal ball toe
 stop beating up the Earth and my friend with your feet
walk softly and carry your own weight

carry others who can't

walk

all 

over

Her

together

climb high

sink roots in deeply 

be like trees

move 

everything

you 

can

often

and

in the wind
wave 

at 

friendly

passers

by

ground

and

center 

your

self

 

pursue

your happiness

find your

joy

 

 

create internal sunshine
 

 

 look

into

natural light

touch 

hands

without

fear

reach out

with

open arms

keep your container half full 

avoid deficits and overflowing

 balance

expansion and contraction

yin and yang

your

sunny side

and

your

 shadow 

the sun shines beneath your feet 

when

you

make and break your connection with the Earth

there is no wrong way nor right way to 

move

kindly

as long as you

don't hurt anyone

especially yourself
 

choose

your

own 

adventure

and

movements

wisely

 

move

with your

imagination

 

see

your

 

self

 

living

 

your 

 

dreams

 

 

anytime

 

anywhere

 

everywhere

everyone

 

 

rediscover

truth

 

 

you

can

heal

yourself

 

 

 

"feeling is healing" - John F Barnes

 

 

be

really

humane

no

pain

is

the

gain

 

 

 

 

 

we

are

here

to 

help

each

other

 

 

 

 connect with

the light

in your eyes

and

the

smiles

 hands

hearts

horizons

and

eyes

of the 

world

shine the light you and only you can shine

your 

one

of

a

kind

of

 love

be

part

of

one

whole

human

family

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

as always,

the sun returns 

to 

every

one

and

so,

every 

body's

face

feels warmth again,

seeing

their

shadows

come back down

to the ground

together

one foot in front of the other

March

in

Spring

the forces of nature help push life towards the direction of light, growth and change

sometimes she is gentle and other times, oh how she can be harsh

This year, March's gusty winds took down ancient trunks

She spared none of the weak in pursuing survival of the fittest

Mother nature feng shuied the landscape using the most precise pruning tools, wind and water

Rain soaked earth and the roar of 80mile/hr winds created carnage and clearing in our external landscape

Did you feel it from the outside in or inside out?

Tune in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indigo.

Azur...

Yes, blue you, it is you..me and so many else we know and feel like we know.

 

We know the many

kinds of blue

and gray
 

Indigo is in the middle of the spectrum that ends in black or white

 

 

We feel for others what some are too numb to acknowledge they are feeling

 

 

An Indigo is..

Awake

Aware

Bright eyed

Curious

Deep

Enigmatic

Gifted

Sensitive

Sensual

Intuitive

Deep

Expressive

Creative

Innovative

Revolutionary

 

Indigos beat our drums to nature's rhythms

Indigos question the truth we are only told to believe

Indigos experience living instead of expecting life to happen

We won't swallow truth like a pill

Indigos feel their feelings and empathize intensely

Indigos are comfortable feeling uncomfortable

on a stage 

writing

dancing

singing

We rock and roll our own 

We paint, carve and sculpt with the materials of nature

We imprint culture and leave our mark

Indigos create nourishment to feed the lovers of art and life  

Indigos follow intuition

Indigos are guided by Spirit

Indigos are the free spirits of the world

We run wild 

We march forth together and sometimes run in packs

We form tribes

We are not afraid to stand nor walk alone

Indigos are not afraid to swim alone in the counter culture and avoid swimming in the mainstream

We dive deeper in the ocean of emotions than most only dip their fingers or toes

We inspire change beyond what most IMAGINE

We are cannot stand being stuck

We are fluid like trees except, we rip up our own roots and move

Indigos are revolutionary

 Indigos choose to struggle as we wander instead of suffering through a life without wonder

Our wounds are our blessings of our survival

We lighten up the world of truth and darkness

 

Indigo is a label..for those of us who face the labels and diagnosis of living. We are those still being human instead of doing human.  

Indigo is being different.

Different is misunderstood by so many who are not awake enough to open their eyes to see themselves in the mirror.

We mirror the emotional world others judge in fear of feeling

Labels and judgments that too often become life sentences.

Until Everyone learns to LOVE everyone, too many suffer at other's cost.

She, he, they..

me, you

black and blue

happy and new

different lives matter too.

 

 

 

While going through the darkest moments and murky feelings, light will still flow

WE won't borrow trouble

The brightest light will keep shining coupled by it's shadow

There is no separation between Us and them

You are not alone and it's not just about me

It's WE

WE must each do our part by being imperfectly and uniquely ourselves

Together

It is not just Those people 

It's WE the people

WE has a stronger voice than me

WE share the same breath

Your exhale is my next inhale

WE lift ourselves and each other up

WE fight fear

WE open up and WE let love pour in

WE move forward together

Life is movement

LOVE can be a movement

This time WE need more than just hope

 

"Be the change you wish to see in the world " -Gandhi

 

Learn ways to work with the fear and love within and without you

Soothe yourself and each other

WE who are blessed to have a body have hearts and minds that can heal

LOVE conquers fear

 

"...WE are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike

WE are more alike, my friends, 

than we are unalike" -Maya Angelou

yin.yang-

Ode to Indian Summer 2015

My whole being sings Aloha to the days when the air inside is as the air is outside.  Nature know's how to serve it up best..without the alterations of modern living AC or artificial heat.  I'm slurping down bare air and lasting warmth on bits of undraped skin.  I linger in Summer's radiance..swimming in the ocean the last chance I get.  If I could marinade in her energy a little longer..would it be easier to let her go?

Harvest flavors are bittersweet. Sun kisses evaporate.  Colors dance and fade while we are cloaked in velvety protection from the ensuing colder air.  Some of us yield willingly to the coziness of contracting inward, while others feel the pangs to hold on.   Nature instructs us to let go.  Whether we sense it or not, our bodies, hearts and minds are innately in tune with nature's vibrations.

 Summer's bold energy has shifted, now we draw into the core.  Sap descends through the interior of the trees settling down towards the roots.   Autumn is the season for shedding the old, beautiful layers and allowing what serves us no longer to decay. Exposed and bare, Autumn reveals what is essential, what we hold precious in life, our unique worth, what we want to reveal to ourselves and to the world.  Our essence.  Our own gold.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Autumn is the season exemplified by the energy of Metal or Air.  Trace elements of precious metals give value to the earth, facilitating disintegration of the fallen leaves fortifying the soil for the new life to emerge next Spring.  The Metal element within us adorns us with our strength and reverberates our self worth.  Grief is the emotion of Metal.  Grief purifies us of what we no longer need, clearing us to receive what's new and pure like seeing the beauty of Winter's crystalized clandestine water.  The two systems in the body most activated in Autumn are the lungs and large intestine. Both organs have the functions of eliminating what's not needed and gathering in what's essential.  Autumn is as much about letting go of staleness as it is gathering in new inspiration.

It's a choice time to let go and grieve what no longer serves us..in body, mind and spirit. The leaves are doing it.  Some seem frantic, dancing there way down with staccato rhythm.  Others languidly waltz along their return path to the earth.
During the season of dryness, receiving bodywork supports our whole being in staying in tune with nature's ever-changing rhythm.  It's a really good time of year to set aside time for a massage, breathe deeply and move fluidly.  Celebrate and embody the time to fall back, let go and gather inwards.    Release the issues out of your tissues and invite yourself to fall in love with the gold the universe has in store for you.  Your own unique abundance is the blessing.

 

winter trees

 

Summertime!  Time to kick back, unwind and hang loose.  Is it easier to hit pause in the summer?  Lay in a hammock and simply listen to the surround sound nature freely produces.  Take a hike or a long meandering bike ride, lose your self and your troubles in the woods.  WE all need to release tension.  Regardless of the season, our muscular and fascial systems need our care in order to flow through life.  Just like the habit of brushing our teeth daily, our tissue needs the practice of diversified daily movement to stay hydrated and healthy.

Hydrating our tissue has less to do about drinking ample water than we'd seem to think.  Fascia is the continuous web of connective tissue that envelops and infuses every cell of our body.  It is the fabric of our biology.  Fascia is formed into microtubules that carry fluid and conduct energy and information, connecting all 70 trillion cells in the body into a 3-D dynamic web of connective tissue. 

Dehydration of the fluid components of fascia can exert enormous pressure up to 2,000 lbs. per sq. inch on pain sensitive structures: nerves, blood and lymph vessels, muscles, osseous structures and or organs.  This can cause pain, restriction in the fascia, limit muscle movement and joint mobility.  Dehydrated, solidified tissue inhibits the body's natural rehydration process.  Tissue can become so solidified that the vessels that carry fluid are not able to flow nutrients and blood in nor out.  Causes of dehydration are compression and friction:  sustained sedentary positions, repetitive movements, physical and psychological trauma, poor posture and inflammation. 

So whether you're working hard, playing hard or relaxing even harder, your tissue needs to be continuously hydrated. 

The combination of short sustained periods of compression with a low grade force, heat from touch, friction and energy create health tissue change. As the restrictions release, tissue melts, returning to a more liquid state.  The body's natural rehydration process is restored.   Massage/bodywork use the combination of touch and pressure from one's body to affect tissue change in another.  Who receives enough hands on work to maintain a tension free body mind spirit?  The gentle pressure created by compressing on foam rollers or balls remodels and rehydrates tissue.  You can do it yourself.  Everyday. side lying inner thigh

spring dogwood

Slide from Snow to Spring

 

Ready for spring?  I bet you are.   We may still feel cold but the earth knows spring is coming.  As it softens around new growth, we too need to soften winter's affect on our bodies. Like the earth, we need to thaw the tension of winter. 

 

Winter is nature’s way of telling us to slow down.  Spring is nature’s way of telling us to wake up.  But waking up our bodies after a brutal winter is tough.  We have been tense, taut, attempting to go, go, go when we should have been hibernating.  We sent our bodies mixed messages – go, lead a regular life but watch out at every step, every snowflake and every bit of ice. Now we wake up and need to reclaim a natural rhythm, a natural way of being in our bodies.

Like hibernating bears, we are creatures of nature.  Like the earth’s surface, we are 70% water.  We are mostly a liquid body.  Like the moon and the tides we are in a constant state of expansion and contraction, ebb and flow, waning and waxing, ever-changing.  Our liquid bodies are constantly changing, part of which is due to our body’s fascial system. This system is a continuous web of tissue that envelops and infuses our entire body.   It consists of cells, ground substance (similar to jello) and fibers.  Constantly expanding and contracting, fascia, like water, changes states depending on its level of energy and activity.  You feel it with hardly realizing it. 
 

The protector of our organs and bones, fascia can instantaneously become solidified frozen like ice, stronger than steel and resilient to great force.   Like snow, it has the ability to physically morph from a gel-like state into a liquid-like state and back.  This is called thixotropy.  Healthy, hydrated fascia effortlessly provides balance of flexibility and stability for the entire body by allowing muscles to fluidly slide and glide like silk.  Over time and with stress, fascia becomes thickened, dehydrated and stuck, solidified like wood.  Thixotropy requires energy and responds to heat created by touch or light pressure over a sustained period of time, regular gentle stretching and consistent movement of the whole body.

We live in a culture deficient in movement, touch and body awareness. In this technological age our movement choices have grown monotonous. We are more comfortable holding onto tension than releasing it. We are designed for movement but sitting in front of a device is the default. When we are deprived of what is natural, we shift away from homeostasis.  No wonder it can be challenging to enjoy relaxing into winter’s snow day mentality.  Many of us don't know how to relax or have difficulty because we are so physically – and mentally -- tight.

Our bodies are the vessels that house our minds, our energy and our souls.  Our tissues are containers filled with memories of past traumas, injuries, unexpressed feelings, repetitive movement patterns and sedentary positions - our life experiences.  Our issues are in our tissues! Restricted tissue can be a magnet for tension and this unreleased tension is stored in the fascia.  The way we live affects the way we feel in our bodies. The way we feel affects the way we interact with our world, how we move, and how we treat others.

 

Can we summon up energy to melt tension in the same way the sun’s energy melts snow.  Yes! Using foam rollers, balls and other hands-on techniques to compress restricted areas creates thixotropy, releasing muscular and myofascial tension and tightness.  Gentle stretching elongates and unwinds tissue, realigns joints, reclaims suppleness, restores mobility, improves posture and replenishes energy.  We can create a sense of well-being and facilitate an awareness of the body-mind-spirit connection as an integral part of daily living.  It leaves you feeling like you've had a massage, only you give it to yourself.  You have literally melted adhesions and restrictions.
 

Self Myofascial Release may be one of the missing ingredients to living a balanced lifestyle in the modern world. Giving yourself a "Thix Fix" can mellow you back to homeostasis, a balanced state of harmony within that allows for stress to roll off your back, neck and shoulders.

Honor the transition of the season, winter into spring.   The cardinal is singing his mating call and bulbs are erupting through the chocolate covered soil. Watch the sun’s energy work melting magic on the world.  Find your own internal sunshine, break out a foam roller and start peeling back the layers of winter’s tensions.

 

 

 

 

As long as you live, your shadow resembles you.  It reveals your shape, your mood, your essence.  So does your fascia.

snowy day

 

 

 

Our bodies are the vessels that house our minds, our energy, our souls.  Our tissues are containers filled with memories of past traumas, injuries, unexpressed feelings, repetitive movement patterns and monotonous postures... Our life experiences.  Our issues are in our tissues.

Our bodies tell our stories. Posture is the outward expression of our internal experience.   The way we live affects the way we feel in our bodies. The way we feel affects the way we interact with our world, how we move, and how we treat others.

Posture changes life.  Life changes posture.  We are ever-changing