Welcoming Spring

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” (John Lubbock)

Spring is almost here! Like many others who live in the northeast, I look forward to being outdoors and enjoying warmer weather after hibernating during cold winter months. In spring Mother Earth awakens from her long winter’s nap, bringing renewal and more light filled days. I eagerly anticipate seeing forsythia, daffodil, and crocus blossoms, harbingers of spring’s arrival.

Nature teaches us about healthy living — going inside and resting more in winter; awaiting new growth in spring; feeling gratitude for the beauty surrounding us in summer; and letting go in autumn as one cycle ends and another begins. Healthy living requires activity balanced with rest, preparing for new growth, appreciating what IS working and beautiful in our lives, and learning to let go of what no longer serves us.

How can we meet and manage challenges faced during life’s seasons? Our cars come with an owner’s manual, yet the vehicles we travel through life in, our bodies, don’t come with a manual or instructions about how to optimize health and promote resilience. Three steps can guide us: (1) increasing self-awareness; (2) using self-care practices; and (3) reconnecting with what brings meaning and joy into our lives.

Self-awareness brings insights about how to operate our whole being in ways that give us quality of life and mileage. Self-awareness can be enhanced in many ways, for example: time in stillness, meditation, prayer, mindful eating/daily activities, walks in nature, journaling, relationships, and hobbies.

Self-care tools and strategies become part of a daily “practice” that keeps us on our life path and connected to our internal GPS. They help us manage stress, promote relaxation, enhance our ability to respond to change, promote heart health, strengthen immunity, build flexibility and strength, improve focus and memory, and empower us. They also enhance self-awareness and enable us to discover and rediscover: Who am I? What do I want and need? Where am I going. Self-care practices can vary over the seasons and years of our life. When choosing self-care practices consider physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual ones.

When we reconnect with what brings meaning and joy into our lives we plug directly into our internal GPS, which sends us guidance through sensations, thoughts, emotions, and other “signals.” Our internal GPS is always available, when we remember to take time to listen and receive its messages.

How will you welcome spring this year, and what self-care practices will you include as part of your renewal?

Acupressure for Stress Release Workshops

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.”  Albert Camus

Happy New Year! As 2017 began I considered the year ahead and how to wisely be with each day. My 2 1/2 year old granddaughter, one of my greatest teachers, continuously reminds me to find awe, simple joys, and laughter each day.  I will take her “advice” to heart this year and have at least one belly laugh each day. As  a therapist, teacher, and caregiver, I am reminded daily about the importance of practicing self-care. As is the case with many of us, some days allow more time for self-care than others. On busier days I am challenged to remember even a five-minute self-care check-in with myself is valuable. On days when I practice self-care I make wiser decisions and use my time more mindfully, and believe this occurs because self-care reconnects me with inner guidance through my internal GPS.

Caregivers’ journeys can be very stressful, the degree of stress often going unrecognized amidst multiple priorities, multi-tasking, challenging emotions, and fatigue. Studies shown a correlation between caregiver stress and health than can impact premature aging, immunity, and depression. Caregivers need to reach out for support before they burn out, and learn self-care practices. Self-care practices enhance caregivers’ ability to respond, help to balance body-mind chemistry, improve sleep, enhance immunity and heart health, and maximize wellbeing.  For caregiver support contact: National Alliance for Caregiving, www.caregiving.org/resources, (301) 718-8444; Caregiving Action Network, www.caregiveraction.org, (800) 896-3650; Family Caregiver Alliance, www.caregiver.org, (800) 455-8106; and Lotsa Helping Hands, www.lotsahelpinghands.com.

Here in New Jersey I teach Seva Acupressure for Stress Release workshops, a simple and easy to learn acupressure program for self-care (Part 1), which participants can also learn to use with others (Part 2). These two workshops are part of the Acupressure for Anyone series, the community outreach program of Soul Lightening International taught throughout the USA. This non-profit organization also brings Process and Clinical Acupressure continuing education workshops to health practitioners throughout the USA, Canada, and in Europe (www.soullightening.com). Here’s my upcoming schedule in NJ for the Seva Acupressure Workshops:

Wednesday, March 22, 6:30 – 9:30 PM, Seva Acupressure for Self-Care (Part 1)

Wednesday, April 5, 6;30 – 9:30 PM, Using Seva Acupressure With Others (Part 2)

Ocean County Vocational Educational School, Adult Education, Toms River, NJ.   Registration: 732-473-3100, Ext. 1000.  Additional information: Ginarose88@comcast.net

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Saturday, April 1, 9 AM – 3:30 PM, Seva Acupressure Parts 1 and 2 combined

Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ.   Registration: 732-255-0404. Additional information: Ginarose88@comcast.net

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I look forward to sharing Seva workshops with YOU.

Namaste……Regina

Workshops 2015

SEVA STRESS RELEASE:

Part 1 (Acupressure for Self-Care) & Part 2 (Using Seva Acupressure With Others) PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR ALL CLASSES

Mercer County Community College:  Saturday, February 28, 2015 (Information & Registration: www.mccc.edu ; 609-570-3311)

Union County Community College:  Saturday, March 7, 2015 (Information & Registration: www.ucc.edu/noncredit; 908-709-7600)

Ocean County Community College:  Saturday, March 14, 2015 (Information & Registration: www.ocean.edu/cpe.htm ; 732-255-0404)

CARE FOR THE CAREGIVER:  

Union County Community College, Wednesdays, April 8 – 29, 6:30 – 9:30 PM (Information & Registration: www.ucc.edu/noncredit; 908-709-7600)

CRAFTING YOUR VISIONS INTO REALITY: THE CIRCLE OF LIFE COACHING BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS PROGRAM:

Union County Community College, Wednesdays, March 4 – April 1, (no class 3/18), 6:30 – 9:30 PM  (Information & Registration: www.ucc.edu/noncredit; 908-709-7600)

Change and Transition

Happy new year and new beginnings as we bridge the end of 2014 and enter 2015! It feels GREAT to return to my personal and professional routines after several months of change and transition since my last blog post. Time away from familiar activities, both personal and professional, became necessary as my husband and I prepared to sell the home we had lived in for eighteen years and move into a new home in an adult community. After reading ”Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes” by William Bridges years ago, I gained greater understanding about the stages involved with change and transition (endings, in between times, and new beginnings). However, the past six months provided hands-on experiences that helped me practically apply what I had learned. I now appreciate why moving is in the top five out of one hundred stresses on the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale. I’ve recognized, again, why self-care is vital for optimizing health and wellbeing during times of change.

Moving preparations involved clearing out, mixed emotions, and endings. Excitement was accompanied by fear about entering the unknown, along with sadness as I transitioned from familiar roles, activities, and surroundings. Saying goodbye to possessions as we packed was challenging — what do I hold onto and what do I let go of? Memories floated through my awareness as I packed a variety of items and assorted “stuff.” Though time had passed, a storehouse of poignant recollections, images, and memories arose, imprinted on my heart. Clearing out and giving away priceless books and crafts was the most challenging. Whispers from the past echoed through everything I touched.

Change and transition was disorienting, especially between moves, as I began to disengage from how I had lived and how I saw myself. Seasonally we were in a time of transition going from fall into winter. Chinese medicine provided a perfect reflection of what was occurring — fall as a time of surrender and winter as a time to go within.  I felt out of balance and fatigued as I trudged through each day’s schedule, and sensed the need to build up my reserves in preparation for winter. I remembered the importance of self-care practices and balancing work and rest, as part of living in alignment with nature and my human nature. Returning to my morning rituals of meditation, yoga, and journaling is helping me regain my footing. Silence and quiet time reconnects me to my internal GPS, and brings insights about what best serves my life journey now.

Since moving into our new community, I am discovering creative, fun, and stimulating activities such as the Magic and Performing Arts Clubs. Each brings refreshing moments of laughter and joy as my mind and whole being are stretched participating in new adventures. My passion for teaching and writing about health and healing has been embraced by the community, through a monthly newspaper column I have been asked to write. Every experience reminds me that life continuously brings moments of awe and magic, if we remain open to change and surprise. Self-awareness, self-care practices, and reconnecting with what has heart and meaning support us during times of change. New beginnings bring challenges, but they also bring experiences filled with joy, laughter, and grace.

Namaste,

Regina

Fall 2014 Workshops

SEVA STRESS RELEASE:

Part 1 (Acupressure for Self-Care) & Part 2 (Using Seva Acupressure With Others) PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR ALL CLASSES

CONTINUING EDUCATION: 6 CEU/contact hours for massage therapists (NCBTMB), nurses (AHNA/ANCC), Asian bodyworkers (NCCAOM)    

SEPTEMBER:

Saturday, September 13, 2014, Seva Parts 1 & 2:  9 AM – 4 PM, Holmdel, NJ; FEE:  SEVA Part 1: $60; Part 2: $60, information / registration — 908-902-0770

Saturday, September 27, 2014, Seva Parts 1 & 2:  9 AM – 3:30 PM, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ; information/registration: 732-255-0304, www.ocean.edu (Continuing and Professional Education)

OCTOBER:

Monday, October 6, 2014, Seva Part 1: 6:30 – 9:30 PM, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ; information/registration: 732-255-0304, www.ocean.edu (Continuing and Professional Education)

Monday, October 13, 2014, Seva Part 2: 6:30 – 9:30 PM, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ; information/registration: 732-255-0304, www.ocean.edu (Continuing and Professional Education)

Saturday, October 18, 2014, Seva Parts 1 & 2: 9 AM – 3:30 PM, Union County College, Cranford, NJ; information/registration: 908-709-7600, www.ucc.edu (Continuing Education)

Saturday, October 25, 2014, Seva Parts 1 & 2: 9 AM – 3:30 PM, Mercer County Community College, West Windsor, NJ; information/registration: 609-570-3311, www.mccc.edu (Center for Continuing Studies)

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PROCESS ACUPRESSURE 1 (PA 1): Gateway to Soul

Process Acupressure (PA) is a simple, yet profound, holistic method that combines traditional acupressure (to a fully-clothed body) with a process approach to consciousness. It facilitates healing and the natural growth process that arises from within the individual. Process skills taught facilitate clarity in mind, emotions, and spirit. Soul centered development is emphasized. Although acupressure is a lifelong study, this course will empower you to work effectively with energy flow in the body, including meridians and chakras, toward greater balance. PA can be used alone for self-help or can easily be given to another person. PA can also be combined with other body modalities such as acupuncture, chiropractic, CranioSacral therapy, massage therapy, rehabilitation, and more. In this class you will learn how to empower self and clients toward greater understanding and responsibility for health and growth. You will also learn Chakra Tai Chi, a movement meditation for increased self-awareness, health, and personal growth and development. No pre-requisites. 

CONTINUING EDUCATION: 24 CEU/contact hours for massage therapists (NCBTMB), nurses (AHNA/ANCC), Asian bodyworkers (NCCAOM)

November 6 – 9, 2014, 9 AM – 5 PM, Naples, Florida

Information/registration: 978-456-0300, registrar@SoulLightening.com

FEE: Super Saver till 9/7/14, $595; Early Bird 9/8 – 10/6, $695; Full Price after 10/7, $795

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CRAFTING YOUR VISIONS INTO REALITY: The Circle of Life Blueprint for Success Program

Do you feel unclear, stuck, stressed, or have difficulty balancing, prioritizing, and moving forward in our life? If you could change anything about your work, health, relationships, confidence, environment, or your life, what would that be? Come learn a simple, step-by-step, structured process that will assist you with making powerful life decisions. You will assess 12 areas of your life, current challenges you face, and readiness for change. You will establish a blueprint for change and create weekly action plans and goals that incorporate body-mind self-care practices for reducing stress. Using personal strengths, resources, and group support, you will learn to navigate life choices in a focused, healthy, and empowering way.

Wednesday, October 1, 8, 15, 22 (4 sessions), 6:30 – 9:30 PM, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ; information/registration: 732-255-0304, www.ocean.edu (Continuing and Professional Education)

Thursday, October 2, 9, 16, 23 (4 sessions), 6:30 – 9:30 PM, Union County College, Cranford, NJ; information/registration: 908-709-7600, www.ucc.edu (Continuing Education)

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BOUNCE BACK:  THE POWER OF RESILIENCE

Friday, October 17, 2014, 9 AM – 3:30 PM, Battleground Country Club, $85 (light breakfast, lunch, and refreshments included in registration fee)

We never know when a life changing event such as death of a loved one, life threatening illness, natural disaster, divorce, financial losses, or a car accident can cause us to feel like we are on a physical and emotional roller coaster and in great need of survival tools and support. It is because none of us is immune to the bumps in life that BOUNCE BACK: THE POWER OF RESILIENCE CONFERENCE was conceived by GEIRS (Grief Information, Education & Recovery Services), a 501c3 nonprofit organization that provides services to assist individuals, families and organizations recovering from a wide range of losses. This conference is designed to educate, empower, and enrich both community members and health and educational professionals who serve them. Participants will discover new skills from within and resources in the world in which they live, in order to survive and thrive as they recover from serious life challenges.

Keynote Speaker: Dan Tomasulo, PhD, TEP, MFA, MAPP. Dr. Tomasulo is a highly acclaimed psychologist, clinician, psychodramatist, teacher, author, and international speaker. He writes for Psychology Today as an expert on group therapy, authors the daily column Ask the Therapist for PsychCentral.com and their Proof Positive blog on practical applications of positive psychology. He was recently honored by Sharecare as one of the top ten online influencers on depresion. He is the creator of Interactive-Behavioral Therapy and the Dare to be Happy experiential workshops.

Six Breakout Sessions:

When You Can’t Stop the Waves, Learn to Sail: Resilience Through Self-Care, Regina Rosenthal, PT, MA, author The Heart of Healing: Discovering the Secrets of Self-Care

Money Matters: Recovering From a Financial Setback, Kathy Lo Bue, Managing Director Glen Eagle Advisors, LLC

The Many Faces of Grief: Diverse Responses to Loss, Humanity Players, GIERS’ Dramatic Educational Troupe

The Domino Effect of Divorce: Putting the Pieces Back Together, Tina Munson, Esq., Eastman, Lomurro, Davison & Munoz

Turning Lemons Into Lemonade: Finding the Positive in Adversity, Charles Fleisher, author and founder, The Opportunities Guy

We Grieve Differently: Helping Children and Teens Recover from Loss, Shari Carpman, MS, LPC, Children and Teens Grief Counselor