#Considerbalance

[timeguardians]

misfitpuzzlepieces answered:

The crow’s feet pinched together at the corners of his eyes, brow furrowed as he worked through the wave of pain that was making its way through his leg. “I could’ve done this myself,” which wasn’t a lie. He could have, but it wouldn’t have been as tight or probably neat as what she was managing. “Thank you.”

The rigid texture of the gauze is not as unfamiliar to the socialite as she pretends that it is. Alfred has had plenty of excuses to plaster it to her own form when her night excursions went awry.

"Why do it yourself, when you can have the assistance of another?" Wayne softly challenges. "May I ask who came after you?" She presses. Surely, the FBI agent and Author was capable of finding that out on his own. Still, she can not help but wish to assist.

Then, after a moment of considerbale wavering, Wayne speaks again. "I - may have some technology that could help find the -- perpetrator." She stoically adds, her deep oaken orbs peer up iinto his. "That is, if you wish for further assistance." Truth is, she planned to pay his enemies a visit anyways. Any one of Commisioner Gordon's friends was ally of her's wether or not they knew of her own TRUE identity.

[considerbalance-blog]

Top picture: Sphenoid Bone in the skull Bottom picture: Pelvic Bone in the pelvis Not a coincidence. Cranial Sacral Massage connects these two bones by accessing the spinal column. Sacred work.

[considerbalance-blog]

Taking my own advice and chill-laxing in a Lavender Epsom Salt bath. Yum.

[considerbalance-blog]

Five Elements Integration to Bodywork Sessions

Dear Clients,

Just nine months ago, I transferred to Five Branches University to specialize in Five Element Acupuncture. Combined with the traditional four and a half year Acupuncture Masters Degree program of Western Medicine, Pharmacology, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese Herbology, Acupuncture Techniques and Clinical Rounds with Licensed Acupuncturists -- this additional Certification of the Five Element Program gives me a unique approach to each massage session. With Graduation only a year away, I have been able to incorporate many disciplines of the classroom and clinic rounds into our massage sessions naturally.

One of the many reasons I love Chinese Medicine and the study of the Five Elements is its correlation to the seasons of nature. Just like the Earth has climates, each of us has our own weather system within our body. I see this manifested in the clients on my massage table: a preference for hot or cold, a consistent location of holding stress their body, digestion conversations during Abdominal Massages, or sometimes overwhelming emotions that are released during a session. The Five Elements each have associated emotions, smells, sounds, tastes and seasons, these guiding principles from thousands of years of knowledge help me to see how it's all connected.

In Five Element Acupuncture patients are treated based on their element. This element defines how we exist in the world and assists the practitioner to successfully treat patients at their source. Some of you have resonated with a particular element that comes up in a session as my diagnostic skills increase. To further integrate Acupressure into our sessions I will be including a basic pulse diagnosis before your massage. This five minute diagnostic technique will give invaluable homeostasis information at the time of our treatment to see where your body might need extra attention.   

For those of you who are interested in learning more about the Five Elements, I'll be describing each of the Elements in the coming months, stay tuned!

As our bodywork sessions develop so will our understanding of your Element and how it manifests physically, emotionally and spiritually.

In good health,

Chelsea Day

[considerbalance-blog]

Summer Recovery Massage Newsletter

Dear Clients, 

It's been a busy summer so far - amiright?! 

My highlights include my best friend's wedding on the East Coast, a 10K Trail Run in Pacifica, and an intensive Chi Nei Tsang Abdominal Massage training. All this while juggling my Masters Program in Acupuncture makes the days fly by! 

Luckily, like you, I know the importance of regular Bodywork. Our Massage Sessions this summer continue to deepen my appreciation for all of you and the work we are doing together. Thank you for choosing me to partner with you. 

My other savior has been focusing on my daily meditations. Connecting inwards instead of constantly letting my energy drain outward is essential these days. Even working at my computer seems to zap the life out of me some days... 

Do you have any daily mindfulness-based practices? Baths, gardening, exercise, cooking -- these can all be cultivated into an inward experience too if we aren't multitasking all the way through them. However, the research shows that meditation itself is incredibly beneficial. 

If you are interested in experimenting with different forms of meditation, here's a few of my favorites to try: 

Sunning Meditation

This is a 3 minute sun soak. With your eyes closed, remove your sunglasses to allow the sunlight to open your pineal gland. Just sit in the sun. Let the rays wash over you without any sunscreen to get the full effect. This will stimulate your body to increase your Serotonin levels.* After 3 minutes open your eyes and look around. Everything should be 'polarized' - like having a blue filter on. 

*Serotonin is a Neurotransmitter that, when deficient, is linked to depression. Antidepressant medications that work on Serotonin levels aka SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) are shown to reduce the symptoms of depression.

Walking Meditation

For those of you on the run all the time! As you are walking to your next destination be mindful of your feet touching the ground. It helps to have an internal dialogue that goes something like; 'this is my heel touching the ground, this is the arch of my foot touching the ground, these are my toes pushing off the earth' - this on-the-go meditation will help to ground you as you move. 

Microcosmic Orbit Meditation

For those of you that want to dig deeper into cultivating your inner Qi, this ancient Taoist meditation helps to move stagnant energy. Sitting upright this practice includes focusing your breath on each of the points below as you circulate it throughout your body. During our massages sessions I am in a constant flow of my own energy for both our benefits. 

       (Image: awesomeselfhealing.com)

Ming Men– the door (gate) to life in your lower back

Jia Ji– the dorsal gate in the middle of your upper back

Yu Zhen– the Jade Pillow, at the base of your skull

Bai Hui– the crown of your head

Yin Tang– third eye region between your eyebrows

Tan Zhong – middle Dantian in the center of your chest

Shen Guan – lower Dantian behind and below your navel

Hui Yin  – perineum region 

Wei Lu – the end of your tailbone

then back up to Ming Men, to begin another cycle. 

As Gilles Marin, Director of the Chi Nei Tsang Institute and Black Belt Akido Master said, "People always ask me how I have time to meditate and I tell them - If I don't meditate, I don't have time."

[considerbalance-blog]

Are you serving yourself?

Truly? We hear it a thousand different ways but in the end we know we can be are own worst enemy — ignorance isn’t bliss. However, when you tip the see-saw this also means you can be your own best healer.

Apply this well known theory when you enroll in a healing process with a Massage Therapist, Acupuncturist, Nutritional Coach, Naturopathic Doctor, Spiritual Guide, etc — know this: you are doing the work.

*I intentionally leave out Western Medicine doctors as their Healing Process is a minefield of Pharmaceuticals. These are quick fixes -- they don't necessary address the underlying reason of sickness or disease in your body. I believe in Integrative Medicine — a.k.a. please don’t go to your Acupuncturist with a broken arm. And on that same see-saw of balanced advice; please do not trust a Western Doctor’s assessment of your chronic condition implicitly. You are your best health advocate.    

So, if the person you are partnering with on healing is trying to “fix you” or doesn’t hold you accountable for your actions — they do not have your highest good at the top of their priority list. No one else can fix you — only you have that power. Bottom line: Ask for regular assessments. Trust yourself. Do the work. Listen to your body. 

A good healer shines a light on the path for you to walk towards. They point out when you fall off the path and they support you to find your balance. If they aren’t providing feedback on your healing as they are trained to do — move on. The key to success is finding a partner that you can trust to walk the road less traveled.   

Healing isn’t a privilege, it’s your right. 

[considerbalance-blog]

I relinquish the belief I could ever fix anyone — instead I'll keep shining a light on the path to healing. 

[considerbalance-blog]

When you're in the flow, magic happens.

I have journals full of life lessons, mantras and cultivated ways of being that I rely on 24/7. These little nuggets inspire me to be my best self in every moment. I don't always succeed but since it's all the game of life I'm content in having losing streaks -- it makes the big wins so much more satisfying. Lately, I am feeling 'in the flow' and it's pure magic. For me this means that little random everyday things just 'happen'. For instance; I had a stack of cards to send for Mother's Day (new mom friends, grandma, etc etc) in my purse for three days. Oddly they didn't send themselves -- so on a Saturday morning heading out to the Farmers market I was searching for the nearest PO Box, as I looked up to hear a bird chirp the mail carrier was driving down the street. I waved him down, exchanged a lovely suburban chat about the weather and off my cards went. I stood there giggling - I'd never seen the mail carrier in the four months I'd been living here. You know those moments. The phone rings and you just 'know' it's the person you were thinking about. As you chat you feel a gentle sense of gratitude that this person was in-tune to your silent thoughts. As if life is a just one big movie plot with its Hollywood predictable highs and lows, romance and sadness. And-- isn't it just like that? There is also the big things that the flow provides. One of my core beliefs is that we have an ultimate destiny. Yes, free will is involved in our day to day but at the end of our journey we will have completed what was destined for us; it's what we signed up for. Strangers, romantic relationships, family, friends, and teachers/mentors provide opportunities for growth. A chance for us to learn hard truths, gain a new view of an old conversation or open our hearts to unbridled love we never thought possible. If we deny these meetings and/or lessons - we'll stay in that chapter of our life - what we resist persists. Learning the fine art of Letting Go becomes the best course of action... I love the flow. I'm not sure I've ever sustained my swim this long before and it doesn't mean their aren't challenges along the way. However; instead of bucking against them and denying their existence -- I choose them. Hello new car brakes at twice the price I'd budgeted; thanks for keeping me safe. Hello hardest final exam thus far of graduate school that put me on my knees in tears of frustration; thanks for teaching me humility and the greatest lesson of always having a beginners mind. Hello all of my unexpected plot twists; can't wait to see you unfold. And so, I continue to Consider Balance in all things -- big and small.

[considerbalance-blog]

It’s not a diet, it’s a way of eating.

For most of my life I’ve struggled with dietary decisions. Food became a constant source of comfort when so many things around me were constantly changing. Growing up a child of divorce I became a master at shape shifting into the environment around me - the one thing that never changed was food.

Luckily, I grew up in families that adored fresh, local and organic before it was hip or ‘artisanal’ - it was just the way we ate. However, my unhealthy relationship with food persisted even with the basis of the ‘farm to table’ ideals. This somehow made it worse as - ignorance wasn’t bliss. I had the knowledge of how to eat well and instead I used food to fill a void of unrequited love, vulnerability, and shame.

Through the years I’ve done all the diets - never fully committing to any of them, as my ego would always get in the way. Somehow I was too smart for them as my waistline continued to grow - ah, irony. I thought I was a master of disguise, wearing layers, mostly black and always dresses. My pictures were from the waist up, any photos that didn’t make the cut would be swiftly deleted - sometimes even from a friend or boyfriends camera. I was doing my best to control an unraveling reality - I had lost control of my own ingest.

For the past two years I’ve been learning about Chinese Medicine, surrounded by health conscious - mostly vegan cohorts at school and been in awe of the pleasure they get from simple food. A bone broth soup that heals from within, while mild flavor on the outside takes hours/days to cook. Delicious homemade Almond milk which also yields precious Almond meal (flour substitute). Nutritional Yeast often referring to as ‘hippie dust’ or ‘hippie crack’ - sprinkled on popcorn (yum).

My taste buds and stomach began to learn too. I didn’t need three full meals a day or a dinner plate full of every type of food to feel satisfied. Instead of focusing on how I was going to lose weight and the shame spiral that would ensue - I just started listening to my body. What was I actually craving if I wasn’t using food to fill a void? Ahhh, a spoonful of peanut butter - the kind that you watch a grinder make out of just peanuts in the store. An avocado with a hit of sea salt. Miso soup with extra spinach for breakfast and a poached egg? Sure.

And so as the void is slowly but surely filling with self love - the dietary decisions get easier and easier. I’ve naturally cut our dairy, grains and most sugars (aka Alcohol) not because of punishment, shame or lacking in love - it’s quite the opposite. I love my temple and for the first time in my life only the most precious wonderful and nurtured foods are going in.

I even attempted to make Cauliflower crust pizza - it was not a total success but I’m learning…

[considerbalance-blog]

In Traditional Chinese Medicine the 7 Emotions are regarded as more harmful to the internal organs than external pathogenic factors. These emotions overtake our system and impede the natural flow of Qi (energy), Blood and basic functions of the organs associated. In a world so full of stimulus it's no wonder we feel so many things -- so often. 

The 7 Emotions are characterized by how they effect each organ: 

Anger -> Liver

Fear -> Kidney

Fright -> Gallbladder

Excessive Joy -> Heart 

Sadness -> Lungs

Worry -> Spleen

Pensiveness (Anxiety) -> Spleen

Turn on the news and you are hit with Fear, Fright, Sadness and/or Anger. Turn on FB and you might find yourself down a rabbit hole of adorable kitty videos taking Joy to an extreme. What, me Worry? Never ;)  

If we could cultivate the ability to feel our emotions and be witness to their effect internally - what could be gained? Would we learn to laugh when hit with Anger over a situation we have no power to change, ex: "That guy didn't use his blinker -- that &^%$#!" - does it really matter in the grand scheme? 

In the Taoist traditions we are taught to transform these negative emotions into positive ones. A favorite meditation of mine is to imagine a "Smiling Liver" -- go ahead try it. Your Liver will thank you.

[considerbalance-blog]

Drop the thought, "I am this body," Abandon the limitation, "I am only here in this specific place and time." Embrace instead, I am not my body. I am not this place. I am not this time. There is no place. There is no time. Realize, I am everywhere, Sustained by infinite bliss.

The Radiance Sutras

<A new version of the vijnana bhairava tantra by Lorin Roche>