Are You What You Feel? Emotions and Your Immune System

Just last week, I opened my mailbox and pulled out an envelope from the IRS. Talk about immediate stomach cramp and heightened anxiety. Turns out, it was an unexpected refund, though my pounding heart, cramping gut and throbbing head did not exactly get the message right away. Perhaps you recall...
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Befriending Your Entrepreneurial Spirit

When you enter into a contract to do healing work and hold space for a healing or holistic practice, there is a requirement that you attend to your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions so that you can be a clear conduit for Spirit in and through your work. A...
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The Extreme Importance of Self-Care as a Healing Touch Practitioner. . . . . .and How NOT to Set Yourself Up for Failure © (including “Tools for the Trade”)

As Practitioners, who we are, and how we live, have a direct influence on the healing experience for our clients. Some may disagree and say “it is not we who are doing the healing, so it shouldn’t matter who we are or how we live our lives.” I agree, but...
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Supporting Self-Care with Intention: The Role of Feng Shui

The practice of self-care has gained attention in the lives of care providers including nurses and Energy Medicine practitioners. The American Holistic Nurses Association’s (AHNA) commitment to self-care is clearly stated in Core Value 5: Holistic Nurse Self-Reflection and SelfCare. “Holistic nurses value themselves and mobilize the necessary resources to...
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Strategies for Empaths and Sensitive People

Empaths are emotional sponges who absorb other peoples’ stress into their own bodies. As an empath myself, I know how exhausting this can be. Quiz: Are You an Empath?  Are you super sensitive to the world around you? You may be an empath! Take this quiz and make the first...
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Self-Care: Engaging the Back Side of the Human Chakra System

I would like to invite you to make contact with the back side of your chakras as another self-care tool. The back side of the chakras generally speak to us in symbols, colors, shapes and words. When working with the back side, we are asked to engage noncognitively through “feeling,”...
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Practicing Gratitude

Good food to eat, my kids’ laughter, glimpses of blue sky (I live in Seattle), our tight community of neighbors, for all these things, I am truly grateful.  T’is the season to count our blessings. While Thanksgiving encourages us to give thanks on the fourth Thursday of November, being grateful...
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Finding Motivation on Important But Non-Urgent Tasks

I have a friend who is self-employed, running his own business and doing a great job … except that he finds himself procrastinating on important tasks like writing. No, I’m not talking about myself! Although, to be honest, I do the same thing too. We all do, I think: we...
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Cultivating Inner Peace to Prevent and Recover from Burnout

Burnout. The very word conjures the metaphor of a fire losing its flame. When it happens to you, the exhaustion and devastation are frightening and cause many to question their true purpose. Burnout occurs when passionate, committed people become disillusioned with a career or life from which they have previously...
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Breathe

breBreathe. Breathing can transform your life.

If you feel stressed out and overwhelmed, breathe. It will calm you and release the tensions.

If you are worried about something coming up, or caught up in something that already happened, breathe. It will bring you back to the present.

If you are discouraged and have forgotten your purpose in life, breathe. It will remind you about how precious life is, and that each breath in this life is a gift you need to appreciate. Make the most of this gift.

If you have too many tasks to do, or are scattered during your workday, breathe. It will help bring you into focus, to concentrate on the most important task you need to be focusing on right now.

If you are spending time with someone you love, breathe. It will allow you to be present with that person, rather than thinking about work or other things you need to do.

If you are exercising, breathe. It will help you enjoy the exercise, and therefore stick with it for longer.

If you are moving too fast, breathe. It will remind you to slow down, and enjoy life more.

So breathe. And enjoy each moment of this life. They’re too fleeting and few to waste.

Originally published in Energy Magazine: Issue March/April 2015

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