Upcoming time off

My little world has been pretty busy lately, which is why I have been delinquent in my postings here. When I say busy, it is not as though I have been having loads of fun or anything! Not to sound negative, it is more like things have just been steady, unexciting. 

Lately I have been 'picking up' on some sort of under current around me. So many folks are seriously stressed out about the economy (who can blame them) and the state of our politics. I can only guess that this is all part of why I have been feeling the way I do. Clients have expressed concern about anxiety and depression. I wish this weren't so common but it is. Personally I have felt very tired, making it hard to work more then I have been. I am lucky in that any sleep issues I have had in the past are just that, in the past. I can easily sleep more hours then necessary. And then still take a nap mid day! 

In a discussion about this anxiety and depression, someone recommended a book that turns out to be one of Oprah's picks. Good ole Oprah, she does pick some good books though. She really gave The Secret some recognition and I am sure the same applies to the latest. I am currently reading A New Earth by E. Tolle. This is the first book I have read from this author. As I am not to far into it, it is hard to say ya or nay about this one. It is a thinker for sure and I find I am re-reading passages in order for  it to sink into my old brain. 

For health sake I decided to take some time off in June to gather my thoughts and recharge. Originally I was going to take a trip but that had to be put off. However, my health can't be so I will still take off work. A little over a week off and I have to keep telling myself, NO clients! NONE! I plan to turn the phone off too. (Well, I plan to but time will tell.) The extensive trip won't happen but some day trips, some time in the woods, stuff like that. Not to mention, kicking it off with acupuncture in NYC! 

The plan is for me to work on me. Get acupuncture, get a massage, lay by a lake, read and gather my thoughts, spend time with friends, stare at the sky. Sigh..... is it June yet?

Happy Mother's Day!

For many this is a happy time to celebrate and appreciate motherhood. I also expressed gratitude too my mother, I bought her a stepping stone at the local street fair here in York. She really seemed to like it and placed it in her flower garden for all to see. 

To those who have lost their mothers or have had the unfortunate 'bad' parent, this day can just outright suck. How does one pretend to express happiness to a mother who was abusive or neglectful? There can be an overwhelming grief for many today and often no way to let those feelings out. 

For me, I think that holiday's like this one are bogus. Why not express love every day? Why do I have to go out and buy a card and present, as though my mother doesn't know I love her? After 30+ years of cards and dinners and gifts, it gets harder to do. Almost like "Hey we get it.... you  mothered me, good for you!" 

I always tell me daughter not to buy cards. One day I hope that she will write me something personal as that would mean much more then a card randomly selected from 100's on the shelf. This morning she did make me breakfast. Bless her heart, last night she thought she would prepare for it, she peeled and grated potatoes to make this morning. What she wasn't aware of, is that potatoes turn brown if not placed in cold water, which she didn't do. Then for whatever reason, she still made the potatoes, even in their brown state. LOL  There is one mistake she won't repeat. :)

To end my thoughts, I just like to send out some hugs to those who need it. You know who you are. 

HUGS!!!!!!

What has Marley been up to?

Marley got fixed! He only wore that cone for a short time but of course hated it!


Marley is half a shiatsu dog (shih tzu) so I put him to work!



Last but not least, Marley is now a raw food eater! Currently his diet is chicken but we will be adding various other meats as time progresses. He is doing wonderful with it and LOVES his meat.

Happy Easter!

I must admit to not being a big Easter celebrator. But hey, a good home cooked dinner will make the day special!

After noticing that my blog gets many hits from those searching Asian Bodywork Therapies in NYC I wanted to share my actual location. And just when I was thinking this thought, a great friend of mine, Tracy posted this entry. 

Touring the Pennsylvania State Capital

I live 20 miles south of Harrisburg in York, PA. Small town, a lot of history. In the next couples days, I will add information about York to this post.

Muddy days

Last Sunday we took Marley to a dog park in Lancaster. The Buchanan Dog Park is located behind Franklin & Marshall College and is well maintained. However, one can't control the weather and before Sunday, it rained immensely. The fenced in area for the dogs was a muddy mess, not that the dogs care.



Marley doesn't have a new hair thing happening, apparently another dog got him on the head. Needless to say, he got a bath immediately!

Next adventure for him will be getting fixed. That will take place on Thursday. Yes, Valentine's Day. How very ironic for him. But we will give him tons of love while he recuperates from surgery.

YOGA!

A very awesome new yoga studio opened next door to where I do massage.

Yoga Home

Jon Protopapas is a great teacher and interesting man. I have had brief chats with him and each time learn something new. During his class, you are stretching, meditating, relaxing, chanting and discovering new things about yourself. I am excited to continue to take classes.

Marley gets a buzz cut

I realize that summer is some time off but Marley was looking a bit ragged so he went for a hair cut today.

Before:



After:




What do you think? We think he looks pretty cool!

An award!

I got this amazing award from Tracy over at her blog called Pink Purl. It seems I have to include a few weird and random facts about myself. This may take some consideration, because though I am sure there are many, I tend to think of myself as normal! Oh how wrong we can be about ourselves.

1. I have always been aware of my dreams and they are almost always a bit insane. For years of my life, I had dreams of spiders chasing me which I think stems from my father torturing me as a child. Thanks Dad.

2. I can not speak well. My mouth can never articulate what my brain is thinking. It makes me feel like an idiot.

3. Due to the above, public speaking terrorizes me.

4. I love tea and my current obsession is Chai tea which my daughter 'discovered' with a friend. Imagine my surprise when she called and asked if I had Chai tea! But of course. So now we share a cup once and a while.

5. I fancy myself a world traveler but have never been over seas. My farthest trip is to Florida and as far out west as Chicago. Not very adventurous. We do plan to go to Alaska this summer though. But this leads me to my next fact.

6. I spent a summer of my youth following the Grateful Dead. The best time of my life, truly. Shame I can't remember to much. :)

7. I am trying to come up with weird but its not happening. I will get back to this last fact.

So there you have it. Thanks Tracy for sending me this award and for writing an inspiring blog for the world to read.

New Year's Day in New York City

Wow.... things have been so busy for the year just beginning. I sure hope this isn't a sign of how the year progresses. Don't get me wrong, I like being busy, just not to busy that I can't do all the things I love to do.

I went to NY after all the New Years Eve hype was over. We stayed at The Hudson Hotel which I must admit was pretty cool. Very retro and comfortable. The room was pretty tiny and from what I hear that is common in NYC but I must have gotten lucky in the past because this room was the tiniest by far.

Here is the view looking to the left and in front of the room window.


Same view in the morning.


This is the front view looking down, we were on the 17th floor.



Here is the room, taken from the bed. Behind that curtain is the shower and yes, you could actually open up 2 curtains and watch your roomie shower.

Check out this funky lamp.

So besides the cool hotel, we ate some good Meditterain food at Taboons and the next day we shopped for the dog. I got that pretty snazzy t-shirt for him up there. After that, off to get acupuncture which was fabulous as always then we got out of there before all the commuting traffic. Plus we were anxious to get back to Marley who was getting spoiled and played out at the dog sitters house. He actually slept most the next day, that is how tired he was. I think Marley will be going back for play time on a regular bases.

My pooch is the coolest

Wouldn't you agree?

By the way, shout out to the place I found this awesome t-shirt.

COCO AND TOTO located at 444 West 51 Street, NY, NY

New Year Resolutions

Who here makes resolutions for the new year? I do but not the ones that most people do. For example, last year I resolved too makes new friends and try to be a better friend to the few I have now.

How did that work out? I think I have one or two new friends but still rarely talk to the friends I had. Folks, I swear I do make an effort, per my 2007 resolution. How many times can you call someone or email someone before it just looks pathetic?

So this year, I have some resolutions:

1. Make new friends.
2. Make some changes in the business to help my body out.
3. Learn something new just for the hell of it. Maybe a new language?
4. Increase my Qi gong practice.

I will continue to take my Tui Na classes but I also have to step beyond work stuff. Learn too paint? Learn Japanese or Italian? Maybe French? Learn to weave baskets! Really, the possibilities are endless, I just have to get off my ass and DO IT! Maybe along the way, I will meet new friends!

My goals related to the business are going to be to put more effort into attracting more Asian Bodywork clients. That is my specialty after all so why not let the world know? I also have to be a bit more concrete with my boundaries. Why do I feel like I have to work extra to get everyone in? I need to take care of ME also so I can keep helping others so I have to learn to say no. It is getting easier actually so that might not be a hard thing to implement this year.

So besides contemplating my goals for the next year, my time has been consumed by our adorable Marley and Christmas and work and ....... that's about it.

January 1 I will head back to NYC after 3 months of absence! I think I have gone through a bit of withdrawal. There is no way I will be there for the New Year's Eve celebration, we will get up there while the city is still recovering. On the second we will see the acupuncturist finally! My body will be oh so happy after that. Time will not permit much else, maybe a bit of exploring. If anything, walking will entertain me. God, I love that city. Marley will be going to a pet sitters home for the night and having a bit of a sleep over with another dog and GASP a cat that likes to play with dogs! I am so exciting for him, I know he will have tons of fun! He will be missed for sure and we did discuss bringing him along, thinking the acupuncturist surely wouldn't mind a dog in the office??? LOL

Have a great New Years and be safe!

First Snow

Our first snow was last week but Blogger was being annoying and not letting me post pictures. I was under the pine trees, walking the dog and took these.




Speaking of the dog, Marley loved the snow. Eating it, laying in it, trying to catch it..... he was our little snow bunny. I wish I could have gotten some of him in the snow but I was nervous to drop the camera.

More of Marley

Marley grows! The second picture he is playing with his brother, who just got a hair cut!

Over all his training is going well. I would guess he is about 80% house broken. He had one accident on the floor this weekend. My biggest issue is getting him to walk on the lead better. He likes to be outside BUT he only likes to walk where he wants to walk. So much for me being the alpha. We will keep working on it though. We do at least 2 15 minute walks a day, most days more then that. I found without that walk time, his sleep isn't so sound at night and we prefer he sleeps all night long. He does that about 75% of the time to date.

So for a 4 month old puppy, I am happy with his progress. He also attends training class which isn't going well but only for the fact we don't continue to do the exercises. I really only want him to sit, come and stay on command but the class gets into all sorts of things. It is also very late and I am grumpy when we go. They just changed the class time so maybe it will go better. Unfortunately we are behind in our exercises though. Shrug.

My postings related to ABT and massage have been pretty non-existence I know. Marley is taking up the bulk of my free time and I haven't been on the pc much. Sorry!

Puppy update

Marley is growing a bit.... getting hairy! Last Sunday he had his first puppy cut at the groomers and he got to play with his brother Ozzy for a while.

Revealing the new website!

Calm Spirit Bodywork

There are still some things that need fixed but I think you will get the drift. I hope that everyone shares their opinions with me and if you see a typo, PLEASE tell me. :)

Off to play with Shiatsu dog.

New family member

We have a new addition to the family. A 12 week old Shih-Poo. That is half Shih Tzu and half Poodle. So I have a Shiatsu dog, sort of. :)

His name is Marley and he is a great puppy!

Good ole liniments

Back in early 2007, I began my exploration into making liniments with Chinese herbs. While my intent was to just use them on clients and my loved ones, I have found a demand for them.

My first batch was made in January, my second batch in June/July. I made a die da jiu (trauma liniment) and a tendon relaxing liniment. At first, if someone had a jar, I would sell it to them that way. Later, I bought some nice amber colored bottles with dropper's to make it easier. When the liniment is handy, it is also easier for clients to use it, rather then have to go to Kamwo and have it shipped. Good for everyone all around.



One positive comment from a man who hurt his knee and didn't know what to do. I suggested his wife lightly massage the trauma liniment into the knee and surrounding area a few times a day. She reported the swelling decreased within hours. I also suggested san huang san but his wife wasn't to interested. :)

More information on treating common injuries can be found in Tom Bisio's book A Tooth from the Tiger's Mouth as well as practical information on prevention, diet and exercise.

And just a small suggestion. After you buy the book, you will read of various products that are good to have on hand for when that injury does occur. Trust me, from experience I can tell you, have that stuff handy. Many things can take days to ship and by then your injury is worse. I highly suggest everyone have some trauma liminent and san huang san, just to name a few. If you are local to me, I can supply both those things. If you know me, you got my number. :)

Peace!

Pain in the neck ~ Part 2

I wrote Part 1 two months ago, click here to read about steps you can take to prevent headaches. Eventually if you are like so many of us, one creeps into your body. So you got a headache. What now? You grab the OTC med's and pop a few. But after awhile, you need more of those pills to ease the pain and after all the reports on the news about various side effects, who really wants to take that stuff?

One thing that has been suggested to me for headaches is magnesium. Be sure to check with your doctor before taking additional supplements though. Personally it has helped me in preventing headaches and I even take less then suggested. A herb called butterbur is known to help with migraine headaches. Always remember to do your research before taking herbs, especially long term. I am not an advocate on taking any single herb long term and rarely take any single herb to begin with. In Chinese Medicine, herbs are prescibed in formula's only.

Got it in the sinuses? Try a drop or two of ravensara essential oil on the sinus cavities and a cool cloth. Have a partner push gently on the following acupoints: Bladder 2, Stomach 3, and Large Intestine 20.

More to come in the next post. For ex. headaches that present in the front of the head, or the sides of the head..... this time I won't wait so long to write the next part. Promise.

One photo to please the masses

OK.... masses is a bit of an over statement. I believe there are 3 people who read my blog. :) THANK YOU 3 glorious people who find me either pathetic or amusing.

I had another glorious day in NYC this week. It was a tad ugly out at first but luckily no rain. Later in the day the sun did pop out. I was up there for an acupuncture appointment and my body was grateful. Before my appointment I was walking about uptown, checking out the Cathedral of St John the Divine. Amazing from the outside, I promise to go back when I have more time to take a tour.

On 110th Street, I saw this crazy guy staring down at me:

Has it really been this long?

I swear my thoughts were always on my blog. However, real life gets in the way. Things such as re-doing my living room. This meant 2 trips to Ikea's as well as countless trips to throw old things away. Out with the old, in with the new. Hours spend assembling tables and shelves, rearranging stuff, ect. Unfortunately I am not done, as I got sidetracked with a weekend spent in NYC.

More tui na studies! Hurray. It was amazing. Good food, one place I can remember called the Zen Palace. Don't go there if you are in a hurry though as we were late getting back to class and missed some piriformis work.

Here is a demonstration going on at Union Square. The place was packed and it was hard to get a good photo but I tried.




Sunday morning before class I sat in the park eating my bagel, watching all the dogs with their humans. Some crazy squirrel tried to eat my leg too! Once he realized I wasn't a nut, he left. Boy was he wrong. :)

All and all, things are moving along fine. I will be holding somewhat regular Tui Na clinics in order to get some practice in. I am hoping that I get a full schedule with that.

My website is coming along. I haven't been able to get with the designer till today for updates/changes but it should go live in no time.

Peace and love!