Blog
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20. 06. 23
As time approaching the end of June, we are entering the Deep winter: The nights are long and dark, the air is damp and cold, and the coronavirus has crawled back to Aotearoa. Many may be suffering from winter blue. Yet, it's also the time of Matariki, a new beginning, a fresh start. It's the perfect time for self-revealing, healing and creating.
When you are feeling low, it's your being calls out for attention and love. So, please don't be alarmed and scared, and never run away or cover it up. Just sit down, give yourself some time and space to reveal what is going on inside. Listen to your inner being and connect with it. Whatever comes up, it's a good time to deal with it. In most times, listening, attention and unconditional love for self is the best healing in the world. You might need someone else to assist you, family, friends or therapy professionals, but the fact is -- you are the one who has the healing power; you are the one who has the key to your healing journey.
Take care and stay warm and cosy in the deep winter.
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20. 03. 02
Come and Dance!
Free the body, free the mind and free the heart;
Being connected with music, movements and your fellow dancers.
Join us on Sunday, March 8th at Dance Studio 4, New Zealand School of Dance,
11 Hutchison Road, Newtown, Wellington.
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18. 06. 25
There are so many of us consider self as a “victim” of anxiety nowadays. First of all, being anxious, worried and panic is a part of natural reactions to environmental stresses. It is normal and we all experience them. Yet, when the frequency and degrees of anxiety becomes overwhelming, it is time that one should look into it. There must be millions of readings about anxiety, from its causes to how to treat it, from scientific reasoning to spiritual guides. Here, I would like to offer an easy guideline of what to do to begin our understanding of anxiety with:
- Close your eyes and deep breathe. Focus on your breath solely. Pay full attention to the air travelling inward and outward of your body. Follow the air that travels into your physical body: nose, throat, lungs, abdomen… feel the fresh air in all the parts of your body.
- Open your eyes and find an object to focus on. It could be anything, but some beautiful objects may be more tempting, such as a plant, or just a flower /leaf, painting, vase, and candle. It can also be a book, pencil, or your own hand. Pay fullest attention to the thing, see into all the details, and fully engage with it.
- By now, your mind should has been slow down and produces much less destructive thoughts that causing negative emotions. And now you can go back to the troubling situation but in a different way – a detached way. Watch your thoughts and feel your emotions, but do not judge or condemn, just acknowledge them. Being there for yourself and witnessing how you think, feel and experience physically, intellectually and emotionally.
- It is usually helpful to write your thoughts and emotions down as well. Whiting down is a good way to unload your pains and burdens. Sometimes, a good resolution may pop up when you doing this comprehensive review.
- Talk to someone that truly values you. Similar to writing-it-down, talking is an effective way to review and reflect the situation and eventually let go of the burden. More importantly, the love, care and sincere attention from your listener will be the most powerful healing energy to you.
- For long term, become a watcher or witness of your thoughts and emotions. If we look through the whole matter more carefully, you will find that it is not the situation troubles you, it is how you perceive it that making trouble. The exact same situation may be totally fine to someone else. And each of your reactions has its reasoning and history behind it. Once you reach this realisation, you have stepped in towards the true liberation from all burdens. Practice more of being a watcher of your own thoughts and reactions to things, people and situations. Understand yourself better and truly, see the patterns of your reactions and behaviours, and be there for yourself. But remember, do not judge, do not deny or fight with your thoughts and feelings, just be with them and accept them fully. By understanding and accepting them fully, you may start to connect with your inner peace – the true being of you.
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20. 02. 04
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Have you tried or thought about connecting your body and soul through dancing? Dance is the language our body speaks and the expression of our emotions and inner voice. Dance is a gift that belongs to all of us, and everyone can dance. However, in modern times, dance has become more and more technical and is believed to require certain skills or experiences. In our practice, dance is simply the way to express oneself: who you are, how you feel, how does your inner voice sound … When you dance with your soul, you let go of your busy mind and your Ego. It’s not about dancing well or right, rather, it’s about connecting with your true being and following your innate currents. It’s a great opportunity to release tensions, worries, anxiety and burdens, and to be truthful to yourself. In a typical session, we’ll start with guided breathing and mindfulness meditation to quiet the mind and to connect with our inner being. Then, we’ll dance with the theme music. Each participant would freely dance to their likes. No rules, no sequences, no limitations. After the dance, we’ll run another guided breathing and light meditation to calm the body and ground the mind. A brief reflection around the group would end the session. If this sounds tempting to you, if you like music and dance, or simply look for a relaxing hour, please join us and share the experience! |
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18. 06. 21
Today, I would like to start our holistic living journey from something easy, handy and arty – home made cleaning and skin care products.
You might wonder: “Why we trouble self to make them at home while we can buy them in supermarkets, shops or online?” Well, the first answer is – it’s so much fun and so much cheaper! Hand-making your cosmetic and cleaning products is like running a magic camp. You get to choose the ingredients; you can control how you make it and how you finish with it. It’s all your call; it is empowering! You know exactly what are in the products which you and your loved ones use daily. Handcrafting is also a great opportunity to practice mindfulness. When your mind and hands are fully engaged with this creative process, you are more likely to be present and mindful. Of course, another important reason for this is to cut down unnecessary, nasty chemicals that harm ourselves and our environment. Our planet has already suffered from those disturbing chemicals in all earthy systems, air, soil, rivers, ground water and oceans, as well as inside of our bodies. By hand making home products, we can at least contribute a small part to sustain our planet.
I started to be interested in homemaking products from 2013 while my son, Linos was born. Like many other mothers, the concern of baby’s health motivated me into more organic, eco-friendly and environmental responsive products. However, reading through many those products’ comprehensive ingredient lists made me longing for more simple and organic options. Sailed from there, soap was the first thing I ever conquered. Then, lotion, lip balm, cleaning spray, cleaning scrum, candles, bath fizz balls, dish wash detergent, dish wash powder, and washing liquid, they all come along easily. I now happily and proudly said Goodbye to those products in supermarkets. The excitement and joy in this process is beyond description. But most important message here is that it is not difficult at all, and everyone can do it at home!
First generation of home made soaps, looking a bit rough and chunky yet lovely
Special winter cream in which coconut oil, shear butter, olive oil and beeswax happily embraced
A small "Gang" of make-it-all-at-home is in action