Category: Uncategorized

The Coming of Fall – Reflections on balancing light and darkness

I grew up on a farm in rural BC in what felt like the middle of nowhere, and the centre of the earth all at the same time. Time moved slowly, as it does for kids, and I remember from an early age noticing how the seasons shifted my internal experience.

Now, being a city dweller trying to balance community life with work and growing children, the transition of the seasons has become an important touchstone reminding me of my connection to this earth. As I look out at the smoke shrouding the city, reflect on the coming of fall, and tune into my internal experience in this moment, I am filled with sadness and fear (which is not what I expected to write here by the way!). I feel my connection to the earth and I feel the yearning for rain and renewal, a respite from the heat, smoke, and fire. I can’t help but wonder: Is this what our children will know as summer? Is this going to be the new normal? I allow myself to feel this fear and honour it. I witness the sensation of it come and go, and settle back in. There is a knowing I have inside as the fear gives way to sadness, that it is rooted in love; Love for this earth, for my children, for the delicate balance and interconnectedness of all living things. It is a bitter sweet feeling – both light and dark.

The autumnal equinox, which marks the official beginning of fall, is a perfect balance of light and dark; one of two times in the year where night and day are exactly equal. The last of the food in the garden is harvested, the leaves let go of their branches, and the plants shed their flowers and fruit to explore life underground in the darkness. It is a reminder of the constant and changing nature of this life, the trust that is required to enter into the darkness, and the knowledge that in allowing space to honour darkness, the leaves of new growth unfurl.

What are some of the things this season invites us to contemplate?

• Acknowledging the harvest: Autumn marks the end of a growing season, when energy begins to turn inward. Reflecting on the growth and change that has taken place over the last year can help move us forward in the ways that are working, and help us recognize what we want to work on, change, or transform.

• What seeds did I plant this past year, and what has grown?

• Reflecting on the ‘harvest’ of this growing season, what has changed? What am I grateful for? What has been challenging?

• How might I celebrate my ability to navigate these changes?

• Letting go of what no longer serves us and embracing the darkness: In the fall, things need to die in order to create space for new growth; this is true for us too, although it is much easier said than done!!! A strong dose of self compassion and appreciation for why we developed those ways of being in the world that no longer serve us is required.

• What is it that I want to let go of? I know the ways that it has not served me well, but in what ways has it worked to keep me safe either emotionally or physically?

• Is there some way that I can show this part of myself some appreciation for how it kept me safe?

• If I could let this way of being that no longer serves me go, what would I want to replace it with?

• Nurturing ourselves and planting new seeds: As the days get colder, plants die, and the earth prepares for winter and the coming spring. We naturally seek out cozy sweaters, boots, scarves, and hats, that keep us warm and protect us from the colder weather. We eat warmer meals and move indoors for comfort. These external efforts to nurture and comfort ourselves, can be used as reminders to also nurture our internal world, and to plant new seeds.

• What would nurturing my internal world look like and feel like?

• How might this kind of nurturing impact my relationship to myself and others?

• What seeds to I want to plant for the growing season to come?

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Written by: Clinical Counsellor Maija McLean MA, RSW, CCC

Becoming a Mother

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Becoming a mother is one of the most soul shaking transitions there is. No matter how prepared you are, there really isn’t anything that can truly prepare you for the change. It’s a huge shift in your identity, your relationship with others in your life and the amount of time you have to care for yourself. Many changes are also rapidly occurring in your body. It can take a lot of support to feel grounded and nourished during the post partum period.
The postpartum period lasts much longer than our society suggests and can bring with it anxieties, uncertainties and a longing for the simplicity of life before baby. Whatever feelings or thoughts arise for you, know that you are not alone. It is normal to feel afraid, frustrated and doubtful at times. For some people these feelings can become overwhelming, In either case, seeking out support from professionals trained in post partum care can be invaluable. We are not meant to parent in isolation.
Sometimes parenthood can trigger trauma or wounding from our own childhood. This can happen on both an implicit or explicit level. Perhaps we realize that our sadness or anger is related to what we ourselves never received as an infant, or perhaps we feel an overwhelming sense of grief and we aren’t quite sure why. Counselling is an opportunity to heal from past trauma, receive support in the present and cultivate hope for the future.

Written by Andrea Papin
Registered Professional Counsellor

5 Ways Massage Therapy Keeps You Younger


Being proactive about healthy choices and balance are key to aging gracefully. The benefits of massage are one of the most enjoyable, drug free choices for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and staying in check with your body.
Here’s 5 reasons Massage Therapy can help you feel younger, whatever age you are!

1. Helping you cope with stress
Having an outlet for stress is a major tool for keeping in check when life becomes complex. Massages have a powerful affect on the nervous system, allowing our bodies and minds to deeply relax and decompress. Stress puts major strain on our body’s overall systems, which as we know, can lead to more complicated health problems down the line.

2. Increasing mobility
We should all strive to keep active and get moving, but when an injury arises or our bodies feel out of whack, the idea of getting active and pushing ourselves gets brushed aside.

Massages get you in-tune with your body needs and allows tissues and joints extra space to move more freely and perform better. If you’re stuck in a holding pattern of restriction and discomfort, massage is a great way to help break the cycle.

3. Circulation
Circulation is key to vitality, that’s why getting your blood pressure checked is called taking your vitals! If circulation to an area is sluggish from things like restriction, scar tissue, adhesion’s from tension knots and sticky fascia, it makes it more difficult for fresh blood flow to pump oxygen and nutrients to area’s that need it to open the pathway. Massage therapists work to open these restrictions with added techniques to encourage an increase in circulation.

The post massage circulatory work can continue for days to weeks after a session, so unless you’re Lance Armstrong, you can utilize massage to keep that fresh circulation flowing.

4. Body Awareness
It’s easy to ignore the small discomforts and the subtle signals that the body is out of alignment and needing a tune-up. Checking in with your therapist and getting some self-care is a great way to connect to your body and understand why things are feeling off.

A massage therapist has a mountain of knowledge and education about muscles, movement and biology of how the body works. With the one on one time that you have with your therapist in a session, it’s a great opportunity to inform yourself. They also love to talk about stretching and home-care practices, so you can learn the tools to take better care of issues when they arise.

5. Sleep Support
For many people, getting the hard z’s every night comes with it’s challenges. Not sleeping well puts us in a daze, and lethargy is a tough wall to push through.

Getting a therapeutic massage can be a great tool for getting a good nights sleep. Not only is your nervous system super relaxed, but generally after deep tissue work, your body creates a healthy fatigue to put energy towards processing the changes in the tissue after a treatment. Getting a massage later in the day and then heading home to relax with the intent of getting some sleep, could lock you into some solid lights out time.
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So the next time you walk out of a massage in a happy daze, give yourself a high five for giving back to your body and all it’s done for you – over the years.

Thanks for reading!

Increase the Good Vibes at Home


Nothing beats coming home to a cool, cozy space that you can’t wait to kick back and relax in. I am totally loving my good house vibes these days, so I wrote a list of some of things that help keep my home in a positive groove.
1. Make the bed, er’y day
Once I started making the bed every day, it became so much easier to start on other small chores around the house. And bonus – keeps my clutter habits in check. Even if I don’t make it further then the bed that day, it feels like a win.
2. Great lighting
This is a big one for me. Soft, warm light with lamps and dimer switches, are key to changing a rooms vibe. Calm, low lighting helps me chill and the ambiance is magic.
3. Plants
Recently I read a blog that said having plants at home improves overall health and even life expectancy in women. Major good vibes!
4. Displaying with purpose
I love to show off my collections and art work, but they can easily become an eye sore or clutter trap if I don’t refine what I display. What’s worked well for me is using cool focal points and bringing common items together. When in doubt, try a another layout.
5. Lovely Candles
With amazing local brands like Woodlot and Harlow, beautiful clean burning scented candles have reached a new level of lovely at home. I can’t wait to relax and enjoy a scent that takes me places with a flickering flame in the background…mmmm candles.
7. Share your home with some good peeps
This is why people have house warming parties! Sharing our spaces brings awesome good vibes into our homes. So if it’s been awhile since you hosted anyone, invite some fave people over to shake things up.
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So what are some of the ways you keep the good house vibes flowing at home? Feel free to share!
xo Carrie
 
 

Why Be All or Nothing?


How familiar is the “all or nothing” mindset to you?
In the beginning, being all or nothing can be a very powerful energy. It triggers new ideas, creates a positive outlook and makes us feel epowered and driven. We should totally take advantage of these bursts that allow us to get wrapped up in excitement, inspiration and new ways of thinking, it’s great! But what happens when that initial excitement and energy begins to fade? It’s harder to stay on track and maintain the rush that came with the initial goal or commitment.
For many, the rush of the new is addictive. We start and stop things to maintain the high of the start up phase. Being all or nothing affects health choices, relationships, success and happiness. It can serve as a cleverly hidden coping mechanism to keep us feeling up and happy for a time, but can then lead to crashes and negative patterns.
Check in with yourself and try to see the pattern. Make  a productive plan that takes the all or nothing mindset out of the equation. How can you change the thought process and take a different approach before losing the goal?
Try tools to stay motivated and change the cycle

  • write down the idea, goal or project
  • make a plan of action / idea board / visual inspiration / schedule
  • research what you hope to accomplish
  • think about the steps involved to get you there
  • find a middle ground that still keeps you motivated
  • allow space to regroup without giving up
  • take a new route that still aligns with the main goal
  • connect and work with other people for inspiration and accountability
  • track your success so you can see yourself moving forward

Seeing your goals and ideas through, even if you have to veer off course a bit to get there, will give you results, sometimes bigger then you could have ever expected. See the cycle, change it…and maybe you can change.
Written by Carrie – self proclaimed all or nothing person.
Thanks for reading!

Creating a Self-Care Practice


Self-care is about giving back to yourself, allowing space to be kind and nurturing in a positive way.
It took a while for me to understand how to connect with my true self. It takes awareness and honesty to check in and be gentle when you need it most. Our lives become so complex with pressures, anxieties, expectations and insecurities that it can lead to breaking points, where our triggers rule our reactions and we don’t feel connected or see the bigger picture anymore. Now I know that self-care is essential to keeping me balanced, especially when things get heavy.

Depending on the depth of what your triggers are and how you process, finding a plan for self-care can be as simple as taking a few minutes to decompress, or creating a longer strategy. This may include reaching out at some point for professional help to get a better grasp on the bigger issues and negative cycles. Whatever you are dealing with,  remember that we all struggle with hard times, triggers and complex issues at different points of our lives, and showing compassion to ourselves is how is how we can heal, better understand, process and move forward.

Self-care can be as simple as having a tiny ritual that sends your brain the signal that it’s time to decompress. A tool that works well for me is using different scents to help bring my energy back to neutral, give me a lift, and shift the vibe of the space i’m in. The simple act of lighting a candle, spraying an essential oil blend around the room or using a defuser, can be enough to get the process started. Smudging, which uses the smoke from sage or palo santo wood is a popular and ancient healing and energy cleansing tool. It is more intense due to the smoke and distinct smell, so experiment and play with what you like best. Try thinking about what small ritual could create this intention for you, and start making it a practice. It’s a great first step!

It’s unfortunate that our culture has created impossible standards and pressures that can send anyone into a cycle of low self esteem. Each of us has our own stories about how we came to our belief systems and unfortunately, it can create a shaky self image that is constantly being challenged. By doing something healthy for your body with intention you build your self-worth, and self-worth is a HUGE gift that has many rewards. Some ideas to get you started for body self care can be things like: gentle stretches, cooking a healthy meal, yoga, meditation, exercise that you enjoy, going for massage, acupuncture, a spa treatment, doing affirmations, solo dance parties, taking a bath, going for a walk in nature, riding a bike, sitting in a sauna…something with intention towards giving back to your body, that is for just for – you.

A more challenging self-care practice is to give your system a break from something you feel is becoming a crutch. Obviously, the weight of what that crutch is and provides varies from person to person, but if it’s something you feel is adding to stress or your triggers, think about taking a mini break from it and see how it effects you. From my own experience, being extreme in this practice may create more anxieties then helpfulness, so start small and be mindful of what’s realistic in your situation. Create a break in the cycle and see how this makes you feel, good or bad. It may help you step back from the crutch or even eliminate it altogether, and if nothing else will allow you to feel the underlying reason for it’s purpose.  This practice of self-care can be intense so be prepared to reach out for support and move forward in baby steps if you need to.

Your practice may help someone else start there own process. Keep the topic of self-care out in the open by having discussions about it, you may pass on ideas and inspiration to someone else at the perfect time.  Check in with your friends, family and colleagues, share your practices and how they make you feel when you do them.

What practices and rituals do you utilize in your self-care practices? Share your tools, experiences and stories in the comments section below as to how self-care has been a positive practice in your life.
Be kind to yourself and keep moving forward, thanks for reading!

Carrie

Is Your Massage Therapist Authentic?


As a client, it can be hard to find a massage therapist who is the right fit. There are many options to choose from and it can be hard to know who is in fact “authentic” in their practice.
It’s quite a lucrative job market out there in RMT land these days. With more schools in BC now pumping out more new grads then ever, advertising campaigns for massage colleges offer grads “the job of a lifetime”, “almost 100% hiring rates” and “be your own boss”. Sounds great, sign me up!
What many therapists don’t realize is that in reality, building a practice is actually a HUGE amount of work. Just because you get a job, doesn’t mean you will be busy or making any money.
This is an example of where the lines of authenticity can be blurred. Massage therapy in many respects, is a business as well as a practice. As with other health care practitioners such a Chiro, Physio, Acupuncture and so on, the pressure to fill the schedule with returning clients is high.
Guidance from your therapists about re-booking treatments for your individual needs and care is helpful and necessary. Depending on the reason for your visit, multiple treatments may be suggested. That being said, if you get the feeling that you’re more the target of a  pressured sales pitch, this should raise a red flag.
As a client, if you’re unsure if your RMT is the right fit, assessing whether the vibe you get from your therapist is authentic or not may help you find an RMT that can better compliment your needs. An authentic therapist is holding your best interest in mind, will take the time to get to know you, understand your lifestyle and personality and with that, create a treatment plan and booking schedule that is right for you.
What are some of the ways that your massage therapist shows they are authentic?
Carrie

What’s Fascia?

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So what’s fascia?

It is one thing and everything.

I love the way Brooke Thomas (of Liberated Body) defines it:

…a seamless piece of tissue that Saran wraps you just underneath the skin … it is a richly multi-dimensional tissue that forms your internal soft tissue architecture. From the superficial (“body stocking”) fascia, it dives deep and forms the pods (called fascicles) that actually create your musculature like a honeycomb from the inside out. Imagine what it looks like when you bite into a wedge of orange and then look at those individually wrapped pods of juice. We’re like that too!

Besides making me think of honey and oranges together, she clearly lays out why healthy fascia makes us feel good. According to Thomas, these are the top 5 things that matter about fascia:

it’s got to stay hydrated

we’ve got to move it in a variety of ways

it’s all connected (hence, compensations)

it is springy & wants us to bounce it

it is the largest & richest sensory organ of the body

To really get the magnitude of this amazing substance that is not just in us but is us, read her article,The Top 5 Ways Fascia Matters To Athletes, and watch Thomas Myers in “Fascia 101”. He mentions oranges too.

Written by Tracy Dixon SI

Structural Integration Practitioner in Mount Pleasant BC