After that bitter-cold snap – it’s nice to have some reprieve and sunshine before we get back to the business of Winter. Rumi wrote that “the breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you.” These rowdy morning winds have certainly been telling us something lately!

Already deep in to the first week of February and I’m looking at my personal quarterly goals and scrambling a bit.

This year I’m trying a new strategy with myself – based on “positive psychology” and a book I read some years back written by Dr. Benjamin Hardy “Be Your Future Self NOW.” The super-brief synopsis is that research shows that our past doesn’t exactly command our behavior** – instead we can be “pulled forward by our future.” To simplify the concept: Ask yourself – “How will I feel tomorrow?”

For example: A quarterly goal is to schedule time to do Pilates three times a week. Let’s say, “for example,” that the reminder to do Pilates goes off but I’m kinda “busy” … puttering around with crafty stuff. So I say to myself – I’ll set a timer for 30 more minutes and THEN I’ll do Pilates. And so on, it goes. Rather, I should straight-up say to myself, “Hey! I set this goal because it’s important to me to get my alignment right. If I keep procrastinating, how will I feel tomorrow?” The short answer would be, “Slumpy.” And that would be enough to stop playing and get on the Wunda Chair. My “scrambling a bit” results from repeatedly hitting the 30 more minutes timer and not doing Pilates – so tomorrow arrives and I don’t get to say, “I feel straighter, taller, AND decimated that small goal.” I didn’t let myself get pulled forward by the future – I dug my heels in and stuck with the familiar slump, literally and figuratively. 😉

At least we’re only in the first week of February – I still have time to change my answer for “tomorrow”!

**To clarify: The statement about the past and our future behavior is geared more towards our daily habits/choices. It’s not to belittle the fact that sometimes things happen to us and we can’t flip our perspective when we are lacking the resources/friends/support to keep our nervous systems from getting stuck in dys-regulation – that’s a whole different situation and takes much more effort and support to find the other side of that through deep inner work, embracing compassion, and forgiving ourselves and others. In the realm of CranioSacral Therapy and SomatoEmotional Release, I facilitate a lot of work with trauma and the autonomic nervous system. Our emotions very much impact our health and brain function. If you’re stuck in dys-regulation, please reach out, I can offer resources and support to help you find healthy regulation.

So… yeah… it’s mid-month now, but nonetheless, I’ve finally written out my goals/notions for the new year and have been putting processes into action over the past couple of weeks.

Self-care and creative-time are taking precedence this year: I’ve scheduled it into my calendar to make time for Pilates’ Wunda Chair twice/week and to get back to a regular morning routine of stretching/breathing (Qi Gong). I’ve also FINALLY unpacked my sewing/craft things and ALL of the machines (sewing/serger/embroidery/Dremel) are plugged in and ready to zip along again. Two and a half years of storage were two and a half years too long for creativity to be put on hold. I’ve missed that creative part of self. I need this to thrive – fully. My first project back was to sew a missing button on a pair of pants. Grins. But, in seriousness, the next project was an apron for my cousin’s b-day. She keeps a couple of goats – who are magnificent – so I sewed up a goat-applique apron for her. Today’s project: A tote-bag (with inner-pocket for a water bottle as well as another inner pocket) that was cut out and packed into a “project stack” before I put everything into storage and eventually unpacked in Westcliffe.

2024 was my biggest year of classes taken within one year. I took six workshops: advanced brain work, thorax/lungs, the entire body of peripheral nerves, advanced “listening”/evaluation techniques as well as a fantastic four-day workshop in SLC taught by Stan Gerome for practitioners to do their own work/be more present in their sessions with clients. Everyday, in the clinic, I use at least one or two techniques I learned this past year. And it has made monumental differences in the work.

BUT taking six classes in a year made it apparent that taking a year off from classes is totally okay too – and this year, I’m ready to nurture my soul again, create, play, get out the acrylics, whittle a bit, and allow my mind to wander, expand, and review more of what I’ve learned. Last week, I read a book about the importance of “leisure time” – as poets, philosophers, and physicists would take a century ago. They went for LONG walks and let their minds be/wander/commune with the Divine/God and ideas/solutions fell upon them with ease. My ancestral roots are deep in nature – in the trees, actually – as my family owned a nursery and we lived with the seasons. My grandparents taught me to listen to the forest and to be present. I will say that my grandma’s “swimming lessons” – me tied to a rope – tied to an inflatable boat with lots of rubber-tape over the holes – and pushed out hard in a big pond – were a little, mmm, cruddy, BUT, I did learn to kinda swim OR at least, NOT drown. Smiles.

Another “goal” for 2025 is to get back to writing a monthly blog. It’s a creative outlet. I maintained a monthly blog with my last two practices (Ohio & Castle Rock, CO). During the pandemic, I kinda shut down expressing anything online or anything at all, really. And now, here we are, five years later, in a changed world. A lot of censorship – MOST especially noted, in my experience, the “misinformation” about mouse vs chipmunk poo that can be found online. Jus’ sayin’ – the world has changed!! (In many more ways than mouse/chipmunk scat – that was a ridiculous example – but I think you get the point.)

So, anyways, in 2025, may you all find joy and peace in nature and dedicate some time to self-care and creativity.

One of my big projects this year is to host a Community Mini-Clinic, held on the first Sunday of each month from 9:30 – 2pm. 30 minute treatments that allow 15 minutes for intake/out-take for $45. These modalities can be life-changing, in regards to pain/dysfunction/optimal function, and offering these mini-treatments is my way of giving to the community. If you know someone who could benefit, please have them call to schedule. I’m putting some flyers around town too.

Settling back in after two rather anatomically intense seminars this month:  Dr. Jean-Pierre Barral’s NeuroMeningeal 2 – Upper Body Peripheral Nerves in Albuquerque and Visceral Manipulation: Thorax in Denver. 

Excited to be sharing these techniques for conditions relating to Long Covid, migraines, tinnitus, vertigo, neck/shoulder/arm/hand nerve/ligament/joint pain as well as effective techniques to increase function of trachea, thyroid, lungs, and esophagus.  The neck and chest make up a main thoroughfare of blood flow, nerves, and lymphatic vessels with muscles and fascia tucked in there too.  Our bodies really are miraculous!  It’s so much fun to add “new tools to my toolbelt” and amazing to watch the quick results decreasing pain and increasing range of motion/function!  I love doing this work – always more to learn. 

It’s unbelievable to think about all that I’ve learned and how my skills have increased over the past seventeen years after stepping out of massage training.  I was and still am fully enamored by muscles and fascia.  And now – everyday is a new day to work with ALL of the body’s systems and organs encompassed in that fascia.  Everything is intricately dependent on everything else – flow and structure.   Hormone regulation/production to chemical processes – all interdependent!

This month I’ll be presenting at the April Wellness Event held April 20^th from 10-2pm at The Pines Ranch.  This quarter’s event will focus on Stress Management.  Something we can all utilize everyday and as simple as setting aside two minutes to fully breathe (stimulating cerebrospinal fluid flow to rinse our brains and regulating our nervous systems that control all of our organ functions).  I’ll have some cool books at my booth to discuss plus some simple self-quizzes for gauging stress management as well as handouts with easy exercises to quickly regulate the nervous system.  It’s free and open to all ages.  If you missed January’s event, make sure to stop by this time.  We have some great activities/presentations lined up and it’s always nice to get out and see folks after the winter – even if we’re all covered in mud.  Grins. 

In my own life, it’s been quite a journey over the past year and half of living/working in two towns/two practices.  My last day in Castle Rock was Dec 21^st.  It definitely took me a couple months to adjust to slooooowing down the pace and finally get things unpacked and put in proper places.  I’ve re-organized the kitchen three times attempting to streamline how far I need to reach for an emergency potholder or spatula.  I’ve also been readying the seeds for when they’ll get to move outside.  True happiness for me involves a lot of dirt and green leaves.  So far the indoor lettuces, Thai chili peppers, and kitchen and medicinal herbs are quickly growing into strong little warriors.  Playing around with a couple aquaponic broccoli and baby watermelons.  Looking forward to direct sowing more medicinal herbs (for root medicines) outside as well as some pretty things like lavender, yarrow, lamb’s ear, sages, and coreopsis.  The literature categorizes them as “deer resistant” but I guess I’ll have to work that out with the neighborhood herd and might eventually succumb to creative fencing contingent to our agreements.  Windy days like today make it hard to imagine that the sweet young leaves of marshmallow, calendulas, comfrey, hyssop, and feverfew will be strong enough to withstand our climate but I’m open to successful surprises!