Indigo Earth Healing Arts

The other day a friend showed a group of us several basic belly dancing moves.  (Yes, I hear you snickering.)  It involved moving different parts of the body, isolating them from all the other parts. I was surprised to learn that there were specific movements for the chest.  And I was even more surprised at how hard they were to perform. 

It pointed out to me what a taboo it is for women to let there chests move around.  When dancing the hips are allowed to move, but not really the chest.  Especially not lifting the chest, or moving it from side to side.  No wonder it was so difficult!

Since then I've been practicing (and yes, I can hear snickering again).  I walked downtown this afternoon lifting my chest as we were shown to do.  It is different than sucking my gut in (which, if your chest is sunk in, gives the gut no place to go), forcing my shoulders back (which just makes them stiff after a while), or lifting the breasts. 

This is more of a lifting of the ribcage and sternum, which automatically makes the shoulders go down and the long back muscles work the way they're supposed to.  I was amazed at how straight my spine was and how much less effort it was to walk.  And lifting the chest this way doesn't feel like work, either.

Now I'm really wondering what would happen to the osteoperosis epidemic in this country if women were allowed to lift their chests without shame.  (More snickers, I'm sure.)  Ladies, try this exercise and then pay attention to how much time you spend unconsciously trying to diminish your breasts and distract attention away from them.

Also, we learned a move where you step forward while you lift your pelvis on the same side.  I tried that while walking too, in a more internal way.  Again I was amazed at the grace and power that came with it with much less effort. 

Again, I wonder...if women were allowed to move as they were designed to, would we need exercise regimes and diets?  I bet a lot of indigestion is due to this caved chest syndrome.  What else can you think of that would be related to this?

  

For me, both the longest and shortest days of the year are powerful times.  I can usually feel the energy humming.  Even without all the intellectual and philosophical ideas I have learned about these times of the year, watching the sun go down resonates at a deep level that seems to be outside of mind, body and even spirit.

 I could explain it, if I wanted to, by researching what the long or short days do to our biochemistry.  I could write and enact a ritual that would mimic what the pre-Christians did to celebrate it.  I could study the myths of the sun god and fairies and use them to explain why I feel something special on these days.  But lately - just today, in fact, although it feels like it's been coming on for a while - I think there is something else, something outside of the confines of being human and the human idea of divinity or a greater power -  that happens when we take the time to stop and watch the evening light shimmer. 

I have the advantage of living in a more northerly place with lots of green foliage and green space.  The light slides in through my northwestern windows and sets fire to the sparkly things on my altar, something I just discovered a couple of weeks ago.  Different walls are illuminated in the summer than in the winter as that last slice of amber light finds its way through the leaves- corners that are dark most of the rest of the year.  Maybe it's an aberration of the wiring of my brain, but I've always found things like that to be magical and healing, if I let them.  My friends from the cities over the years have never quite understood why I think things in nature are so compelling and charming.  I can't really explain it.  Lightening bugs still make me happy, as does the thrill of a thunderstorm.

Whatever this is in me that responds to nature this way is the same part of me that does the real work when I do what I do, whether it be give a massage or energy session, guide someone into their own intuitive knowing, play music or make art or even write this blog entry.  It's good on special days like these to stop and honor that part of all of us. 

I challenge you to go out and soak in the twilight tonight, or whichever night you happen to be reading this.  Just soak it in, where ever you are, and see what it has to tell you about yourself.

When I was a little girl I loved this time of year.  i wasn't so much into trick or treating as just the general ambiance of the world around me.  Evening twilight felt magical with red sunsets and the musky scent of fallen leaves.  Jack 'o Lanterns were usually carved right on Halloween, not before.  I loved the mysterious faces flickering out at me from people's porches.

In ancient Celtic cultures (from which Halloween comes), this was the time of year when the connections between the living and the dead were considered the strongest.  I don't know why it became about scary spirits.  I'm certain that back in the mists of time the ancestors were honored with love, not fear.  Today's Day of the Dead celebrations in Latino cultures is a great example of that.

For me I've noticed that my psychic (yes, psychic) abilities are enhanced this time of year, especially from Halloween to Christmas.  I am able to receive messages from the Dearly Departed, as I call them.  It's easy for me anyway but right now the lines of communication are particularly clear.  The messages I get aren't usually very complex.   Mainly the Dearly Departed want to pass on messages of love and comfort.  I'm not much into prediction. 

If you would like me to do a reading for you I am available in person if you're in the area, by phone, or via e-mail.  Normally I am paid a dollar a minute for this, but from now until Christmas I'd be happy to do 30 minute sessions for $20.   Contact me to schedule a session.

If you want to explore your own intuition, this is the time of year to do it.   There are a lot of great books out there that can help you get started.   I've collected a few of them here:  Intuition Books

I have read some of them but in the end it happened spontaneously.   One day I was talking to a friend of mine and I had the strongest sense that her grandmother was at my shoulder.  I said something to my friend about it and felt compelled to tell her things about the grandma's personality so she would recognize her.  Then I was overwhelmed with unconditional love.  That was the beginning.

One thing I'd advise is that you start small and be sure you have a strong support system.  There are lot of not-so-pleasant things lurking around in the part of the mind that's connected to the Other Side.  Old baggage from our own lives, mainly, but often in the form of something you'd find in a fairy tale and not real life.  It can be very confusing and even terrifying.  Been there, done that.   In fact, I have a theory about how it works but that's for another blog entry.

In alternative healing circles there it's common to hear practitioners talking about how all disease can be traced back to tension and stress.  Most people dismiss that as too simplistic.  After all, there are bacteria and viruses out there, right?

In the middle of September I found myself spending an all expenses paid weekend on the sixth floor of the Roy Carver Pavilion at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics which resulted in me getting my gall bladder removed.  I had a lot of time to lie there and think about healing and stress.  I know without a doubt that stress and tension resulted in the gall stones. 

I was also very aware of how prevalent heart disease is, both from listening to other people's stories and from how surprised the nurses and doctors seemed to be that I had no heart related illnesses.  The first thing they asked was if I had any kind of heart disease.  Sure, eating high cholesterol foods and being sedentary is bad for your heart, but so is constant unnecessary tension.

Adult onset diabetes can also be traced  to stress, because stress blocks insulin from being released causing an imbalance over time.  (See Stress - All About Diabetes for more info.)  Not to mention reaching for something sugary is a common stress buster.

If you think about it I'm sure you can see how even the common cold can be attributed to higher stress levels because the body's immune system is compromised.  So, the goal for each of us should be to remove as much tension and stress as possible because it can prevent our bodies from healing themselves naturally. 

The work I do as a massage therapist and energy worker is primarily to lower stress and tension levels on many levels.  Certainly people can find other ways to do this but it doesn't hurt to have someone else give you an hour's worth of focus on just that.

Obviously it would be great to be able to prevent disease with relaxation but our society rewards us to overwork ourselves and compete, so I don't think it's going to be possible to completely replace seeing the doctor with getting a massage any time soon.  But, even while being treated by a doctor relaxation can play a key role in helping you heal better and faster.  Sometimes even the stress of the treatments themselves needs to be addressed. 

All of us would benefit by making relaxation and true re-creation a priority whether it be from getting a massage or practicing meditation or prayer, playing with your kids or just making sure you get a good belly laugh in once a day.  It would change the world if we could afford to make it a priority.  I don't know how we can not.