Treats you can Eat!

Many of us are no longer willing to sacrifice our health in exchange for eating sugary treats during the holidays. But what do you do when you attend a party or gathering and know that desert will be served? I have this trick up my sleeve I will share with you! Four ingredients for a delicious and healthy sweet treat you can eat (and everyone else will LOVE too!) My friend Heidi gave me this recipe several years ago and it's been a favorite ever since, and it's super easy to make.
Ingredients:

3 Cups Coconut (shredded)
1 Cup Raw Cacao (powder)
1 Cup Agave Syrup (I substitute 1/2 Cup honey and add 2 TBS Coconut Oil)
3/4 Cup Coconut Oil

Directions:  Warm the coconut oil to liquid while sifting the Cacao powder. Mix the shredded coconut, cacao and agave/ honey with the oil until it is a thick paste and all ingredients are blended. Form into bite sized balls with your hands and put on wax paper covered cookie sheet. Place in freezer until firm. Remove from freezer 1/2 to 1 hour before serving.

Enjoy!

The Darkest Night

As the rain steadily fell yesterday during the most drenching storm in recent history, I heard of yet another dear client whose soul had suddenly departed this earth. As I wished his spirit restful peace and eternal comfort, I became overwhelmed by the power of this time of year. I do not think it is a coincidence that beginning mid-November and ending sometime in January I hear of more grief, more death, more depression and more internal struggle than any other time of year.

I myself have recently been extremely challenged by intrusive thoughts and fears of illness and death. I think it is incredibly difficult for some of us to cope with the darkness that we both see and sense in our world during this season. Indeed, our culture offers very little guidance in this area, insisting we continue to press onward and outward with social gatherings, celebrations, traveling and consuming  massive amounts of resources as we give expensive gifts and eat rich foods. It is no wonder that more of us get sick, feel sad and depressed and even lose our lives during this time. It is as if we are walking without a flashlight along a dark mountain path rimmed by precipices.

I have always wondered  what would  happen if we honored our natural inclinations to focus inward, stay home in rest and contemplation or even experiment by going a day or two without using much artificial light. Instead of pushing against it by all means possible, we could be reveling in the long dark night, using the time to ask ourselves what we may be called to create in the coming days.

There was a time in which I very intently observed the Winter Solstice for precisely these reasons. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, occurring around December 21st.  This holiday has been observed by many cultures and religions since ancient times, and some scholars believe that Christmas and Solstice actually overlap in history and meaning.(source here). For me personally, I found that ritually observing the darkest night of the year and the return of the sun  helped me to make sense of, and even welcome, all of the long dark nights leading up to it. Those darker days sometimes naturally include a sense of confusion, uncertainty and even sadness as we reflect on the events of the past seasonal cycle. And if we are mourning  a loss as many of us are,  this darkness is even more dense. Observing the seasonal cycles reminds us that the light always returns and even the deepest darkness is replaced by new resolutions, ideas, hopes and dreams.

Recently, while at a 5th grade parent meeting at Live Oak Waldorf School, I was reminded of the importance of the Solstice and introduced to the concept of the Twelve Holy Nights (the original 12 days of Christmas, perhaps?)  It is said that the nights of December 25th to January 6th are a time when the veils are the most thin between the spirit world and human world, and very powerful times to go inward in prayer and mediation. While researching this I came across a resource I'd love to share with you.  Lynn Jericho, founder of Inner Christmas, helps guide people through these Holy Nights with daily messages of peace, renewal and purpose.  She has graciously given me permission to share these meditations with you this year!  Please make sure you are following me on Facebook  to receive these shares.

Meanwhile, remember that your inner awareness is your candle and that the darkness simply gives it an opportunity to shine. That is the gift of this time of year.

 

You darkness, that I come from,

I love you more than all the fires
that fence in the world,
for the fire makes
a circle of light for everyone,
and then no one outside learns of you.

But the darkness pulls in everything:
shapes and fires, animals and myself,
how easily it gathers them!-
powers and people-

and it is possible a great energy
is moving near me.

I have faith in nights.

- Rainer Maria Rilke

Image Credit: Piotr Pawel

Bless your Beautiful Heart

Image Credit: Andrey Gorshkav

I had the amazing opportunity to give a massage to an 89 year old woman last week, and it left quite an impression on me for many reasons. It was the first massage this lovely soul had received in her entire 89 years of life. The simple fact that she walked into my office and was willing to lie down on my massage table with complete trust was a miracle in itself. But I was most moved by what she said to me.

"Bless Your Heart", she said, with wonder and awe in her voice. In those three words I heard so much reverence, appreciation and honor. It truly floored me. I was reminded of my Grandmother, who uses that phrase often,  always in such an endearing, true and loving way.

I want to share these words with you too, with hopes they can bring some of that awe and wonder into your heart too.

So, Bless Your Beautiful Heart.

Bless that rhythmic life-sustaining force pumping nourishment to every cell in your body. Bless that luminous center of compassion, which when awakened is bright enough to send love to each and every soul on this planet. Bless the scars and the cracks that run through, across and over your heart, and even those spots that seem to have broken in half,  because that is what makes your heart open to love. As Leanord Cohen sings , "There is a crack, a crack, in everything, that's how the light gets in."

Bless your beautiful heart.

Deeper Connections with your Baby during Pregnancy Sessions

Pregnancy Massage can enhance the overall health of mother and baby during and after pregnancy. The nurturing touch of massage can provide ease and comfort during this transformative time in a woman’s life. By reducing stress hormones massage can reduce birth complications, ease labor and improve infant health.  Massage assists with shorter labor for expectant mothers, reduces the need for medication, eases postpartum depression and anxiety, and contributes to a shorter hospital stay.

 

As a trained Birth Doula, Jessica holds sacred space for women to relax into a peaceful experience of pregnancy and birth.  During a prenatal massage, women often experience relief from stress and pain and a deeper connection with their babies.  Jessica welcomes the opportunity to assist you before, during and after the birth of your baby.

  

Additional Benefits of Prenatal Massage

 

Reduce insomnia

Relieve fatigue

Reduce headaches

Reduce back, joint & nerve pain

Help control blood pressure

Strengthen the immune system

Improve the circulatory system

 

Your Prenatal Massage Session

 

Prenatal massages are usually one hour in length. During your first session we will review your health history & intake form and discuss your goals and expectations. You should check with your health care provider before beginning any new therapy during your pregnancy. If you are experiencing health problems or have a high risk pregnancy, please bring written permission from your doctor. Please contact Jessica if you have any questions.

Bodywork treats more than the Physical

When I tell people I do massage and bodywork for a living I usually hear one of two things. “Oh, if only I could justify that kind of frivolous luxury”, or “I tried that once. It didn’t help!”  These comments usually stem from a lack of knowledge about the vastly different forms of bodywork available.  The bodywork I practice is a highly intuitive, integrative therapy that is very different from what is traditionally offered in a spa, clinic or massage chain. In addition to more typical requests to help relieve stress or treat a pulled hamstring, I often hear a call for help on the spiritual, emotional or energetic levels. 

Image by Asif Akbar

 The biggest turning point in my career was when a new client walked into my office and said, “I’m here for spiritual comfort.  I have pancreatic cancer and I only have two months left to live.”  This man’s confidence in the healing power of touch and presence inspired me to begin practicing in earnest a type of bodywork that integrates body, mind and spirit.   

Most often what I hear from new clients is something like, “I’m here because I feel a blockage in my lower back, and nothing I try to do to release it is working”.  During sessions, they often uncover fear, sadness or anger from early childhood or even before.  Sometimes they are surprised at what they find, and other times they have been working on this same issue for years and feel frustrated and hopeless with a seeming lack of progress.

For these clients, what seems to work best is a certain type of touch. Sometimes what is needed is a gentle, listening touch, and at other times it is a very deep, specific pressure.  This touch seems to provide clients the space to identify a spiritual or emotional issue they need to resolve. Oftentimes the issue lies buried beneath layers of muscles that have been contracted for months or even years, in which case traditional massage techniques are also used.  This intuitive touch, along with gentle coaching, guides clients towards a heightened sensory awareness that often results in a meditative state.   Along with this expanded state of awareness come deep relaxation, calm acceptance and a willingness to see and question limiting feelings and beliefs.

Our issues truly are in our tissues.   Studies have shown the negative effects of traumatic events on our bodies even when we have long since forgotten what happened.  For example, imagine that you are in a fairly serious car accident, and at the moment just before impact, your entire body tenses up and is flooded with fear and panic. You think, in fact, that you may be about to die. After the accident and the time it takes to recover from any acute injuries you’ve suffered, your brain may register that you are healed and safe, but your body tension does not relax.   You now feel an increased level of danger, unrest or anxiety and your body tension turns into chronic pain. It is not only the violence of traumatic accidents that gets lodged in the body.  The grief of a past or future loss, childhood memories of abuse or neglect, or even natural life transitions can become embedded in the body and manifest in various ways (e.g. pain, tightness).  

 The dear man who walked into my office with only a few months left to live put his faith in my hands. As we worked, his body relaxed layer by layer until his awareness was focused on the center of his being. What he was able to discover there was a deep well of inner peace, surrender and acceptance. His face was joyful as he told me he was ready to leave this world for whatever was next.  

There is an intricate connection between body mind and spirit, and bodywork can help integrate these seemingly disparate parts of us. The next time you notice pain in your body, breathe deeply and put your attention on the sensations of your body. Ask, “What is here for me to learn?”  You may be surprised by the wise answers you will receive from within.

Setting Limits

Throughout each day I think of many interesting and helpful things to blog about, but then as soon as I sit down at the computer my mind goes as blank as the page. Which explains why it's been over a year and a half since I've posted a blog (!!).  Today I decided I would write anyway. Even if it has nothing to do with bodywork or wellness or anything at all.

This morning it rained. The beautiful, blessed, drenching rain was a symphony for early morning drowsing. But yesterday, as the clouds gathered and humidity rose, I felt my muscles and joints gather tension and pain as if the moisture was gathering in my body too. I woke this morning aching and fuzzy, and as I looked at my schedule I realized I had a four hour chair massage fundraiser and 3 hours of bodywork on the books. 

Instead of berating myself for making such a poor choice (I am well aware that kind of day is overtaxing to my body, mind and spirit), and then forcing myself to do what I had agreed to do, I simply picked up the phone and cancelled my afternoon clients. 

I cannot begin to describe how good that felt. Instead of the all too familiar "tough love" approach, I was finally parenting myself with patience, care, and logical limits.

Unbelievably, before I finished the second text the aches and pains had completely disappeared from my body and my spirit soared. It was as if my body no longer had to try to set my limits for me, because I had finally taken on that role for myself.

I am left wondering how often do our bodies manifest symptoms to try to get us to slow down? What would have happened had I listened to that little voice that said, "Hey, that's a little too much work for one day!" If  we started listening to those voices, would our bodies stop creating so much pain and anguish?

I'm so grateful  for this beautiful rain today! I'm so happy for the opportunity to learn how to set better limits for myself. And I'm so excited to post a blog, even if it's not really about anything at all!

Image credit Michael Smolla

For the Mamas

Happy Mother's Day! I think of my Mom a lot this time of year! I'm missing her a lot, because the distance between us hasn't allowed a visit for a while.

When I was growing up  I spent hours with my mom in the garden and the kitchen. Growing food, harvesting and preserving jars of tomatoes, peaches and cucumbers, and lots and lots of weeding! We also scoured the meadows and forests for wild flowers, herbs,  and mushrooms (of course always on the look out for fairies).  I have fond memories of drying herbs on cookie sheets or paper bags, or on lines strung up in dark corners of the house. In the summertime she always had a gallon or two of herbal  tea brewing outside in the sun.

My Mom made a delicious blend of peppermint tea and apple juice that we all loved, but what stands out most in my memory is the raspberry leaf tea that was the staple beverage of our house. We weren't milk drinkers, and my mom chose raspberry leaf tea as our primary source of easily assimilated calcium, which, along with it's ample supply of Vitamin C, made this beverage highly nutritious for growing bodies. 

When I reached that long awaited rite of passage of womanhood, my first menstruation, raspberry leaf increased dramatically in value to me. My mom taught me to relieve my menstrual cramps and other premenstrual symptoms with the herb. My mom knew that raspberry leaf tea has been used widely by herbalists and midwives to tonify the uterus both before, during and after pregancy. These attributes are due to fragrine, an alkoaloid that strenthens the musles of the pelvic region, including the uterus.  It's benefits are reported to include reduced miscarriage and increased fertility. 

Susun Weed, a wellknown herbalist, attributes the following benefits to Raspberry leaf: 

~ Increasing fertility in both men and women. Raspberry leaf is an excellent fertility herb when combined with Red Clover.

~ Preventing miscarriage and hemorrhage. Raspberry leaf tones the uterus and helps prevent miscarriage and postpartum hemorrhage from a relaxed or atonic uterus.

~ Easing of morning sickness. Many attest to raspberry leaves' gentle relief of nausea and stomach distress throughout pregnancy.

~ Reducing pain during labor and after birth. By toning the muscles used during labor and delivery, Raspberry leaf eliminates many of the reasons for a painful delivery and prolonged recovery. It does not, however, counter the pain of pelvic dilation.

~ Assisting in the production of plentiful breast milk. The high mineral content of Raspberry leaf assist in milk production, but its astringency may counter that for some women.

I recommend doing a bit of your own research before starting any herbal therapy, but my opinion and that of many others, is that the the vitamin and mineral content of raspberry leaf is beneficial for any body. 

I usually get my herbs from Sunrise Natural Foods awesome bulk herb department.  It's easy to brew the tea at home.  Usually I start with a quart jar with 2-4 tablespoons of raspberry leaf, add very hot water to the top, cover, and let it sit anywhere from 1/2 hour to overnight. I then strain and drink a cup at a time, hot or cold. Lately I have been loving a blend of raspberry leaf, nettles and red clover, all excellent herbs for women's health.