“Tragically one of the rarest commodities in our culture is empathy. People are hungry for empathy. They don’t know how to ask for it.” Dr. Marshall Rosenberg
Transitioning from Language of Conflict into Language of Connection (based on Nonviolent Communication)
by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP
Last night I encouraged a couple to take a risk and be honest with each other and to listen to the message in what each is saying while trying not to be defensive. This morning I came across this great piece, author unknown.
To laugh is to risk appearing foolish.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
To live is to risk dying.
Yet risks are often taken,
because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risk nothing
may avoid suffering and sorrow,
Yet he reduces his chances to learn, feel, change, grow, love or live.
Chained by his opinions,
He forfeits the opportunity to contribute
to the growth of the whole.
To risk is our gift and our choice.
Feldenkrais Method® of Somatic Movement Education
Transitioning from Language of Conflict into Language of Connection (based on Nonviolent Communication)
by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP
I have become all to familiar with how corns can disturb a person’s walking pattern. If not treated properly one corn can destroy it! Have you ever felt a constant pain in one spot as you did something as simply as stand or walk? A corn can cause a person to try and not put pressure on that one spot thereby changing how they balance their own weight, stand and walk!
Besides helping those suffering from corns to re-learning how to improve their gait I have been researching on-line for home remedies to soften and reduce these culprits that can eventually lead to canes. I have come across this home remedy one more than once. Have you tried it?
Softening corns using Crushed Aspirins and Lemon Juice
You will need:
Mix the crushed aspirin and lemon juice together first. Add only enough water if needed remembering to make the ingredients a paste that is thick enough to apply to your corn and have it stick.
Use your fingers or butter knife to apply the paste to the corn and wrap your foot with plastic wrap or bag. Take your warm damp towel and wrap your foot over the plastic. Let sit for 15 minutes.
Once you remove the foot wrappings remove the dried past and gentle scrub with a rough piece of lava or pumice stone.
Take time to notice how the corn feels to the touch now after your home treatment. Check in to observe how it has changed. For example: Is it any softer?
Each time you put pressure on this area it is rubbing against something so the corn will be building a layer of tissue to protect this spot. To get ahead of it you will want to repeat this treatment as many times as you can during the week. Beside the poultice and more obvious concerns like tight shoes, you may wish to investigate your walking gait and how you balance your body weight. The feedback I am getting from teaching Feldenkrais® to those suffering from poor balance and walking gait has been, “It has never been explained like this by anyone!” this may be a learning method worth your while to investigate!
Feldenkrais Method® of Somatic Movement Education
Traditional uses and properties of herbs are for educational purposes only. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Every attempt has been made for accuracy, but none is guaranteed. Any serious health concerns or if you are pregnant, you should always check with your health care practitioner before self-administering herbs.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Corns, Corns and Walking, Feldenkrais Method, gait, Happy Feet, Home Remedy for Corns, Walking Gait
by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP
Lilacs
Lilac Wine Vinegar
Lilac Jelly
Observing the finished lilac jelly this weekend I knew I had to share this picture after mentioning lilacs in our last newsletter! The colour and taste is surprising and beautiful. This is a product I will continue to fill my pantry with in years to come! Due to the benefits of lilacs which assist our bodies to cleanse itself of intestinal parasites, this is a plant product I would continue to encourage others to begin integrating into their diets. (I also created lilac wine vinegar and lilac infused honey!)
Researching edible plants and integrating them into my diet brings recognition of how the cycle of plants in nature grow is designed for our greatest benefit. A fine example are plants that first emerge in spring that are used for cleansing with natural laxative qualities, bursts of minerals and vitamins, and that have anti-inflammatory qualities to shed our winter diets! One such plant now considered a super food is one we have grown to dislike – the tenacious dandelion! There is a reason these came with our ancestors to North America.
What’s laughable is the amount of money spent on costly man-made products that have negative side effects. Natures array of healthy edibles encompasses a broader spectrum of whole wellness with only an investment of time and learning. In comparison pharma care products are a large investment for individuals while corporations are realizing huge financial gains. Corporations are founded on trying to copyright and duplicate the effects of nature while viewing us (man, woman and child) as a commodity.
How do I know the benefits? I have been a consumer and major spender myself seeking diet, makeup, health and food supplement products to feel better and look great for years. So imagine my surprise to experience changes I had been unsuccessfully seeking when spending a year exploring the plants outside my door without focusing on any changes in me specifically. My attention had/is on integrating the edible plants in my area as a food source, creating medicinal remedies and body and hair products.
I can tell you the outcome of this past year has had many benefits:
I urge everyone to pick one plant close by to focus their attention on and invest some time getting to know it more intimately. Learn if it is edible and if it is, start trying to eat it raw or in recipes being curious about changes in flavour and in self. I am thankful I have been trained to never stop learning and to remain open and curious by exploring. These are the characteristics that will change habits and provide a better life.
Look for new images on Instagram or visit pages currently being developed to share plant edibles and recipe ideas from the Greater Victoria and area Communities. With the recent rains I have just discovered some sources of Horsetail! Will be getting some pictures soon!
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Homes & Lifestyle, Lilac, Lilac Jelly, Lilac Wine Vinegar
by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP
Upper & Lower Rotation – locked Head
Are you like me? Do you observe body postures in other’s? Even prior to being a movement specialist I focused my attention on people’s body language. I remember a cuz asking me why I was looking at a friend of hers as she was walking towards us. Only I was a teen and didn’t know the answer at that time, which as it turns out is how I take in information!! For me, what people say out loud sometimes and what their body story do not match up. Even at an early age I began listening to body postures, not words!
In this picture above this gal has a nice upper and lower rotation however her head is locked! You can see that her right leg is forward while her left should is rotated forward, however her head is locked in a forward facing position. What does this mean? Her movement is not efficient so she is using too much effort in her activity. What can she do differently? Unlock her head and let is swing slightly as she moves forward. Why? Well let me show you some outcomes of a locked head (securely placed in one position always).
Head falling forward – depression, pain & anger
Head falling forward – neck, shoulders, ribs, & shoulders frozen
Beautiful walking rotation posture enabling balance and ease in holding babies weight!
This posture is nice example of upper and lower rotation in walking. His head rotation is looking over his right leg to look at something on that side of him. However, for a more perfect alignment to support his babies weight, his head could be looking over his left leg.
Can you turn your shoulders left and right while turning your head in the opposite direction?
Learn more about your movement @ an upcoming workshop or class @ Monterey Centre – upcoming calendar. Movement focus events are on; Jaw, Balance, Walking, Breathing, Sitting and Self Awareness in Movement.
A food diversity re-education program close to home!,
by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP
Edible & Not Edible (Can you see the plastic forks)
Edible & Not Edible (Can you see the plastic forks)
For educational purposes I have began putting out plastic forks, to represent the plants in my garden that are edible. and little not edible signs beside those that are not edible. My hope is that those walking by may begin to notice and become curious about the weeds, flowers, plants and trees around them that they can consume free of charge, increasing their health and decreasing their grocery bill. Another hope I have is to encourage my students and clients to become more aware of their environment. It is imperative to good health for one to become present in their surroundings.
In the Greater Victoria Communities mental illness and homelessness is increasing and there is an ever growing demand for food. Greater Victoria businesses, grocery…
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Posted in Uncategorized
by Renee Lindstrom, GCFP
On a cold night in the early winter months I received a phone call. It was on my house phone that normally I don’t answer when I don’t recognize the number. After saying hello the caller asks, “Do you know who I am?” My first thought was, “really?” I said, “no!” He went on to say, ” your number has come to me in meditation a few times so I am calling you.”
He goes on to say, “I am Sun and I am calling from Tibet. I was in Victoria in the fall at the Empress giving a workshop and then he asks, “Did you come?”
Hearing that my number came to him in meditation was suspicious as I believe spirit doesn’t give out phone numbers. He went on to ask as though to confirm, “you are an energy worker, are you not?” This is something I don’t announce loudly in my community. It this is personal to me and woven in my work and teachings. It is not a persona. I have witnessed too many people create a guru self-image or persona they haven’t integrated into their behaviour. My experience is that too many people have been unable to act in alignment with the self-image they portray. Rather than be a guru, I am interested in each person finding their own guru qualities within themselves.
I reflected that this person did have a slight accent and the phone line did sound hollow in the background. Hum, I ask myself, is this a new sort of scam? However I was curious and guarded. This seems to anger him and he began demonstrating his frustration in how he spoke. His way of speaking was abusive and his manner was power over. He was trying to put me in a victim position to form of manipulative connection. I thought wow and wondered how many are falling for this? Is this the direction scammers are going?
I had questioned the direction I wanted to go in the Heart Centered Coaching I do with regards to sexual issues in the week leading up to this call. I have been the confident of a range of sexual experiences and actions of others and on occasion I reflect how this is for me. I happened to be in one of these periods of self-reflection. Listening to this man proclaiming to be a Tibetan Guru asking me if I wanted the Tantric White Light, I wondered if this by chance or was something else at work here?
I heard instructions that fit with ceremony that I was familiar with and in this context, I realized that who ever was speaking with me could see what I was doing. I looked outside the windows and no one was around. I could hear others in the house settle for the night and there wasn’t anyone in the house that I didn’t know. That is when I realized the person on the phone was using remote viewing. He knew if I was doing the actions he was telling me to do. He knew what room I was in and that I wasn’t obeying his commands. At this point I was half in and half out of being committed, and now I wanted to know how far it he would go. I stayed on the line and half heartily followed along. Eventually there was silence.
During the ceremonial aspect, his instructions became absurd and, whether this was the form of a Tantric White Light Ceremony or not, I do know that in past Tibetan Buddhist ceremonies transmissions as he was suggesting he was preforming is preceded by meditation and extensive teachings that happen in a dedicated retreat. At the end of such a retreat one is then given a transmission. This telephone voice was trying to take me through a transmission ceremony with no connection to who he was or what his teaching were. What was the commitment and responsibility. Was he trustworthy? etc., etc.
All the while my inner observer was alive and partly intrigued and partly in shock. Disbelief is how I would describe it. My concern of course was that this trending tantric phenomenon was becoming a scam. This man was not invited by me to enter into my space by phone or remote viewing and certainly he was not invited to be my teacher.
As I sensed my space during this phone encounter and his remote viewing, I experienced that his energetic imprint wasn’t strong enough to engage me on a physical, mental or emotional level. I was intrigued, not convinced or committed but skeptical. Afterwards I had to laugh as the ridiculousness set in.
I did type Tantric into Google search and saw the number of professed Tantric Practitioners with western names in my area. I thought about the lineage I studied and how the teachers were born into the cultural source of the teachings that is a lifelong experience. It was not a weekend, a week or even two. It used to be a lifetime commitment.
In conversation with a mentor and friend a few days later, I was given a broader context. I heard and agreed with them that even if this person was a Guru from Tibet, they had a lot to learn about Western Culture and behaviour in relationships. As far as my phone number was concerned, I heard the perspective that my number was given to him by someone here in the community. I was told that my energy work is well-known here in the community even if I don’t focus on it in any particular way.
What I manifested from this personal experience. real or not, was an answer to my inner questions of working with sexual pain people share with me about in our sessions. Whether it is a session for Functional Integration, the movement releases held sexual tension, in Heart-Centered Empathy Coaching, or healing Personal Environments, sometimes sexual issues need to be witnessed without judgement.
My commitment may have not been to Sun, however it is to experience sexual healing in a unique Western Way. Remember, I am interested in the person becoming their own Guru, not in being their Guru!
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