This month we continue with our W.E.L.L.N.E.S.S. theme: W.inning E.very L.iving day thru L.ove N.utrition E.xercise S.erenity and S.pirituality. Serenity is an inner feeling of tranquility or peace. In that light, I would like to introduce you to two people who embody the practice of S.erenity for wellness, parenting and healing.
First, is Misa Tsuyoshi who is certified as a Tai Chi Fundamentals Instructor as well as a Spring Forest Qigong Instructor/Healer.
Originally from Japan, she came to the US 19 years ago with her husband. She had her son here, who is now 17. Along the way, she developed cancer for which she was treated with surgery. She was introduced to Spring Forest Qigong and experienced powerful healing through practicing it. She felt this Qigong would ensure that she would remain cancer-free and developed greater practice in her own healing.
She describes that there were stepping stones which led her from her illness/surgery to a dedicated Tai Chi Instructor, and eventually to discovering the practice of Qigong which she feels has helped with her healing and changing her lifestyle as well as her perceptions. She has now taken this wisdom to help others to heal and has begun offering Employee Wellness classes at the Medical College of Wisconsin to help people learn the practice of Spring Forest Qigong, based on an ancient Chinese Medicine yet modernized and simplified practice which through research has been found to be the most effective combination of simple movements, meditation, visualization and breathing technique for helping stress reduction and pain relief! She has such a spirit of peacefulness and joy. You can find her at https://simplewellnessfacilitator.com.
Next, I also want to introduce you to an Amazing Soul, Katrina Tobey LP. She has been a Psychologist for many years as a marriage and family therapist. She has a gift for healing based on her life experience of having been involved in a fire at the age of 8 years old and being burned on the left side of her body. Children often see this as a natural part of life however her way of adapting to the wounds and scars that resulted from the burns was to ignore the left side of her body, to avoid looking at her scars and to hold her head at a tilt due to the fibrosis that developed. It wasn’t until many years later when she discovered Qigong and incorporated it into her daily practice and worked with a Qigong Master with healing gifts that she learned how to take her life challenges and not only heal herself but also to help others to heal. Through guidance by Master Chunyi Lin she began looking in a mirror and practicing seeing the way she related to the right side of her body that she was able to see the left side of her body and then to use the movements of Qigong to increase the energy flow to her left side and help to improve the way she held her neck in a more straight and aligned way. She practiced sending healing light to herself and slowly her own physiology changed so that her left and right side were more balanced and the scars were less pronounced and slowly healing. She is now a healer for others and has a true gift to help others to use the healing templates innate within them to heal aspects of themselves that need healing through Qigong and Meditation and wise advice that is heart-centered. You can learn more about Master Katrina Tobey @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgVb3Db5APY
As parents, we all come from human families and so often we will find ourselves needing to heal our own child within so that we can give to our kids what they need in this uncertain and stressful world in transition. It is an important practice for we parents to keep ourselves grounded so that we can be the parents our kids need us to be …interested in them, authentic, playful, joyful, supportive, kind, nurturing and predictable! Parenting can be challenging at times and the more we nurture ourselves, the more we have for our kids! We all have moments of joy, anger, happiness, disappointment, frustration, peacefulness, depression, anxiety, fear and contentment. It is important to acknowledge our feelings. It is when we have a continuous replay of these feelings and get stuck that the difficult emotions can contribute to ill health so using our stress busters can be immensely helpful to maintaining our health and wellbeing and these become role models for our kids to help them learn how to deal with the challenges and uncertainties of life!
May you have moments of S.erenity during May through your regular practice of stress-busters whether that be Qigong, Mindfulness Meditation, Tai Chi or Prayer! Have a wonderful month!