ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, MODALITIES and HEALING PRACTICES

by Tracey A. Smith, M.Ed., CTRS  of Wellness WRKS, LLCwww.wellnesswrksllc.com, tracey@wellnesswrksllc.com, 215-605-3221

Alternative Therapies actually pre-date modern medicine. Ancient healing practices are ones that are

• Non-evasive, Preventative in nature
• Chemical free
• Designed to provide the support your body needs to balance and heal itself
• Treats the cause as opposed to suppressing the symptoms

What is integrative medicine?
Integrative medicine combines conventional medical care with alternative therapies.

Naturopathy (also known as naturopathic medicine or natural medicine) focuses on natural remedies and the body's vital ability to heal and maintain itself. Utilizing a holistic approach with minimal use of drugs and surgery.

Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine that treats a disease with heavily diluted preparations that are thought to cause effects similar to the disease's symptoms

1. Aromatherapy
2. Massage Therapy – Sports, Swedish, Deep Tissue, Stone, Cranial Sacral
3. Foot Reflexology / Ionic Foot Soak
4. Acupuncture
5. Acupressure/Emotional Freedom Technique
6. Colonic Irrigations
7. Reiki
8. Hypnotherapy
9. Hydrotherapy – Whirlpool/Jacuzzi, Steam Bath, Sauna
10. Sound Healing- Tibetan Singing Bowls
11. (Bach) Flower Essences, Elixirs

12.  Crystal / Gemstone therapy

13.  Pilates  

14.  Sahaja Yoga

15.  Hatha yoga, Hot Yoga, Laughter Yoga

16.  Homeopathy

17.  Ayurvedic

18.  Tai Chi

19.  Meditation

20.  Vegetarian

21.  Vegan

22.  Herbology

23.  Dietary Supplements / Vitamins

24.  Biofeedback/ SCIO

25.  EMDR

26.  Thought Field Therapy

27. Color Light Therapy
28.  Chakra Balancing
29.  Chinese Medicine
30.  Chiropractic
31.  Ayurveda Remedies
32.  Bioenergetics
33.  Ozone Therapy, Far Infrared Red Therapy.
34.  Body work – Raindrop Therapy, Body Wraps
35.  Breath Work
36.  Pet Therapy
37.  Creative arts Therapy
38.  Recreational Therapy
39.  Occupational therapy
40.  Music Therapy
41.  Art Therapy
42.  Dance therapy
43.  Horticulture Therapy
44. Creative Writing
45.  Feng Shui
46.   Prayer
47.  Meditation
48.  Angels
49.  Ancestors
50.  Fitness/Exercise/Sports
51. Recreation, leisure activities and hobbies
52. Chanting
53.  Cassette tapes Cd’s DVD’s
54.  Numerology
55.  Mandela’s
56.  Astrology
57.  Guided imagery/Dreams
58.   Labyrinths
59. Amethyst mat therapy
60.  Pendulums & Dowsing
61.  Six sense – Intuition
62.  Native American – Tools & Practices

       Sweat lodge, Drumming, medicine wheel, dream catchers, feathers smudging, Shaman

63. Nutrition, Weight loss, fasting - Metabolic, Vegetarian, Vegan

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Here and Now

by Dean Solon

none of us has control over the world.
what is included on the earth-plane, where we are, is free will.
it is up to each one of us to be coming to his or her senses.

what each of us is capable of, and is to be working on and playing with, is an integrating of peace and passion.

this is a time of richness, of richness for each and all of us.
this is a time, and place, that is rich for practice.
there is so much to be working with, here and now.

don't be pushing away this world of activity and phenomena,
and don't be swallowing it whole.
be open to be allowing yourself to be encountering and engaging with these interesting times.
be with attention and intention to be living with clarity and with loving kindness.

this is not a time to be shutting down.
this is a time to be opening to all that is
with mindfulness and heartfulness.
this is a time to be awakening
and awake.

may peace be with you.

Burglar Proofing Your Home

Burglar Proofing Your Home:  Benefits of Emotional Boundaries

By Brittiney George, BS, CRS, ICI, CEIM

Most of us have learned to burglar proof our home.  We lock our doors when we leave, close the windows, and we don’t invite random strangers off the street to come in and rummage through our possessions.  But what about your emotional home, your personal space?  How often do you feel that someone has invaded your space and hijacked your emotions?  All of us have friends, co-workers, or family members that may be invaders.  They break in and take up space and create emotional havoc in our lives.  People that after a conversation leave feeling better, while you’re left feeling robbed.  You can’t always avoid them, and it may not be possible to cut them out of your life, but you can learn to protect your space in their presence.

We often mistake being vulnerable for being open or authentic.  Being authentic doesn’t mean that everyone gets a free pass to all of you.  It means being aware of the environment you’re in and the people you’re with, and choosing what or how much of your story you share.  Your story, YOU, should be honored.  Someone that does not honor you should not get a free pass to go mucking about in your emotional home.  So what do you do?  Start by creating clear personal boundaries.  When you don’t have clear boundaries you can feel walked over, twisted up, bent out of shape, powerless, paralyzed, bruised, or always on guard (in other words, you carry the world in your body and with it a lot tension and stress!).  It can literally be a painful existence.  When you have clear boundaries, others know how to be in relationship with you.  They might not like it, they may not always agree with you, but they know what to expect and therefore how to move with you.  

One of my favorite quotes is: 

“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”-Mahatma Gandhi

I love this quote because you wouldn’t let someone walk in your house with dirty feet, and yet so often we let our experience with another person walk through our minds leaving a trail of mess behind them for us to clean up.  It’s important to protect your space and create emotional boundaries so that your home doesn’t get pillaged.  How do you do that?  Below are some practical tools from some of The Resiliency Center Practitioners to help protect your personal space before going into a stressful environment or as a means to take care of yourself if you feel like your space has been invaded:

Burglar Proofing Tools:  Tools To Protect Your Space Prior To Or During Conflict.

• Essential Oils:  Our sense of smell can be a great grounding tool.  Essential Oils and blends can help support relaxation and grounding.  A practitioner favorite:   “boundaries in a bottle” from Dori Midnight’s apothecary [Insert link: http://www.dorilandia.com/html/apothecary.html]. (Courtesy Elizabeth Venart)

• Visualize Boundaries Exercise: Take a comfortable seat and deeply breathe in and out.  Notice your feet on the floor, and how your body feels.  Begin to imagine that your boundaries had physical qualities.  Maybe it's a big bubble, or maybe a brick wall.  Notice what it feels like to experience your boundaries.  Now begin to imagine yourself at your most comfortable space.  Notice if your boundaries shift at all.  Imagine yourself at school or work.  Notice if your boundaries change in that environment.  Imagine that anyone else's negativity or emotions coming towards you are immediately deflected by your boundary.  Bring yourself back to the present moment, again noticing if your boundaries shift. Notice how your body feels and if any emotions have come up during this exercise.  Slowly blink your eyes open and begin to notice things you see around you.  Practice makes perfect with visualization of boundaries.  The more that you practice this exercise, the easier it is to increase your boundaries when you need more protection.  (Courtesy Elizabeth Campbell)

• Focused Breath and Imagery:  “During conflict, it is common to hold your breath or, especially if you are highly sensitive, to mirror the breathing pattern of the person with whom you are having a conflict. By returning to your own breath and deepening it, you can soothe and calm your nervous system and remind yourself you’re okay. If you feel your energetic space is being encroached upon in a conflict, take deep breaths and in the exhale, imagine your breath carrying you further away from the person to give you more space.” (Courtesy of Elizabeth Venart)

Tools For After A Difficult Encounter:

• Shake Off The Stress: Small rhythmic movement help ease muscles and the nervous system.  Shake out your hands, your shoulders, your hips, your legs, and your feet.  Let your whole body shake and shimmy and let out your breathe in a big sigh.  Imagine the negative energy shaking right off your body and getting soaked up by the ground.  (Courtesy Brittiney George)

• Rinse Off The Stress:  Water is a great energy conductor.  Run water over your arms and hands.  Imagine that you’re peeling an energetic glove off from your elbow to your fingertips and letting the negative energy or anxiety run right down the drain.  This is a great exercise to do in the shower.  Imagine that you’re washing of the anxiety or stress and letting it all run down the drain. (Courtesy Brittiney George)

• Ton glen Meditation:  Breath in how you are feeling-whatever the emotion is without judgement or analyzing.  Breathe out love.  Repeat for 5-20min. (Courtesy Jen Perry)

• Releasing the Judgement Meditation:  Breath in love. Breath out all of the could haves, should haves, and would haves that no longer serve you.  Repeat mantra as needed. (Tama Kieves Breath Meditation-Courtesy Brittiney George)

• Visual Laying Your Burdens Down:  “To begin, sit with your eyes closed and envision an all-powerful, supremely comforting being in whatever form that takes for you, standing at the end of a road. See yourself carrying a large sack, box, or other container, imagining that all your worries are inside it. Watch as you make your way to the being of your choice, and lay your baggage down at their feet. Allow yourself to feel the lightness and relief of this action, express your gratitude, and surrender. You will be amazed by how this simple meditation can liberate you from a burden you were never meant to carry.” - (Excerpt from Daily OM-Laying Our Burdens Down-Courtesy Karen Steinbrecher)

• Play:  People often underestimate the power of play and recreation.  Find a way to participate in an enjoyable experience.  It releases pent up energy and allows you to reconnect. (Courtesy Tracey Smith)

• Walk Barefoot in Nature:  The earth is naturally grounding. Take off your shoes and connect to the earth.  As you stand or walk, imagine giving the burden or the energetic charge you are feeling from the exchange to the earth. (Courtesy Jen Perry)

• Music:  Music is a great way to shift your energy. It not only lets you get out stress and anxiety vocally, but can help to move stuck energy in the body.  Sing in your car; sing in your shower, sing anywhere you’re comfortable.  It doesn’t have to sound pretty or even melodic, just put on your favorite song and let yourself sing!

Brittiney George, BS, CRS, ICI, CEIM, is a Movement Practitioner offering Rubenfeld Synergy, and gentle, exploratory movement classes at The Resiliency Center.  She also co-leads Connection, Expression and Movement (CEM), a monthly workshop series focusing on body-mind integration. Brittiney helps her clients find their ground again when they feel thrown by life by tapping the wisdom of their bodies so they can live from their heart, speak their truth, reduce stress, and create new patterns of movement and choice in their life.  For a complimentary 55 min. Rubenfeld session contact Brittiney at 610-389-7866 or lifeimitatingheart@gmail.com.

Gender Identity: “Is this just a phase?"

by Stacey Vinci

“Is this just a phase?” is a question I often get from parents looking for help with their teens.  You begin to notice your teenager changing their appearance, experiencing mood swings, keeping to themselves, engaging in less eye contact with you and almost only engaging with the video, snap, tweet, or gram on their phone. And you think to yourself: “Yeah, this is what I expected…This is what I read would happen during this age… It’s just a phase”.

For some parents, it is just that- a “phase”. A developmental period in which their child is transitioning; growing and changing into a more physically and emotionally mature young adult. For other parents, however, there is much more happening. Along with the expected adolescent mood swings, style changes, and social life influence, they are also navigating the world of gender identity issues: from significant changes in appearance, clothing choices and hairstyles to requests for puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and frequent struggles in everyday life and society to exist as their genuine self. These parents have taken on the role of helping and supporting their child with their exploration of gender identity.

 So what is gender identity and how do you know if your child is struggling with it? Gender identity is most easily explained as the way in which a person defines themselves on a scale of maleness to femaleness.  Individuals may identify as male, female, neither, both, or “fluid”. An individual’s gender identity does not need to match their sex (genitals) and it does not define their sexual orientation. These three terms are often mixed together by mistake, when they are very separate entities. Although there is a rise in teens and preteens expressing struggles with gender identity, it typically begins much earlier in development. Here are some additional signs that your teen may be struggling with their gender identity:

Expression of or desire to be the opposite or alternate gender (can start at 2yrs)

Discomfort with or rejection of one’s genitals and overall body appearance

Disagreement with assigned pronoun; request to be called an alternate pronoun

Changes in play activity; peer group

Appearing withdrawn or depressed in affect or experiencing significant distress*

*Keep in mind that not every child will identify with a specific gender, nor will every child experience distress with their gender identity. It is important to take into consideration the teen's personality and overall comfort with their body and identity and to support them in their expression of self.

Parenting Tips

If you think your child may be experiencing issues with gender identity, the most important first step is to create an open, safe, and trusting place for communication and support. Secondly, put in place the professional support system that you and your child will need during this time. By contacting a therapist or counselor specializing in this area you now have a built in system of support, resources, and guidance through each step of your child’s process in achieving a healthy, strong, and positive identity.

Author

Stacey M.Vinci, M.A., LMFT is a PA Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist working with teens and their families struggling with anxiety, depression, and trauma-related issues. She also specializes in working with youth in the LGBT community, particularly teens identifying as gender non-conforming or transgender. Stacey’s Trans Teen Therapy Group is currently accepting new clients.

For more information on individual/group openings or alternate resources to help support you and child, contact Stacey at staceymvinci@gmail.com or 267-989-9113.

Self-Care for Parents

by Katie K. May, NBCC, LPC

Sometimes as parents, we think that the focus needs to always be on our children. We might think that it's selfish to take time to ourselves, or that we can't focus energy on our own well-being until our children are emotionally balanced and their behavioral issues have been addressed. These beliefs, however, are counterproductive. Modeling good self-care and finding ways to recharge your own batteries are the best tools you have to effectively help your children manage their feelings and behaviors.

Below are some ways to incorporate self-care into your daily routine. 

Breathe. Take a 30 second vacation, close your eyes and notice the way that your breath feels as it moves in and out of your body. Do not underestimate the power of your breath.

Read. Steal 20 minutes of your day to indulge in a good book. Make yourself a cup of coffee or tea and absorb the stillness around you.

Talk to a friend. Meet for a quick cup of coffee or chat on the phone on your way to picking up the kids at school. Finding ways to connect with others is what makes your life meaningful. Adult conversations help keep you grounded.

Take a bath. Light some candles, play some music and draw yourself a warm bubble bath. 

Give yourself a time out. Lie in bed in the dark, or give yourself a one hour break from the glow of a screen. Life's demands can be overwhelming, especially with the added demand of being a parent. Giving yourself permission to take a break is crucial.

Exercise. Physical activity is a great way to help you balance your emotions. Take a walk or run outside and enjoy some fresh air. Or, join a group class for the added benefit of social connections. Moving your body helps to ease stress and unlock negative emotions.

When you take care of yourself on a daily basis, you become a better parent because you're better equipped to handle life's ups and downs.  What will you do today just for you?  Share with us on The Resiliency Center's Facebook page to hold yourself accountable and inspire others!

Katie May is a teen therapist who hosts weekly groups for teens. Contact Katie at 610-813-2575 or katie@creativehealingphilly.com and visit her website [Insert link to: www.creativehealingphilly.com ] to learn more.

Deepening Self-Care

by Jennifer Perry, MSEd, MA, LPC

We all know that self-care is important. Perhaps you’ve heard the metaphor about the oxygen mask and putting your own on first. Or the saying that you just can’t pour from an empty cup. For caregivers and everyone else, it is imperative that we make our self-care a non-negotiable. 

Why? 

Because we matter. For those of us who are focused on caring for others, hearing that we matter may not be incentive enough to prioritize self-care. Or it may feel at odds with our caretaking of others. But how we show up for others makes a difference. And prioritizing our own self-care helps us show up with love and energy.

Consider a parenting challenge faced daily in many homes: Bedtime. If you are grouchy because you haven’t eaten, are dehydrated, haven’t slept well, or are still carrying significant stress from your day, it may be very difficult to bring the same patience and care to your child’s nighttime protests. If, on the other hand, you are in a good mood and feel at ease, you are much more likely to bring humor and creativity to any conflicts that arise. Or at least to move through the challenge with greater calm and perspective.

Strong self-care allows us to live fully engaged, vibrant, resilient lives in the face of whatever ups and downs life is throwing our way. 

In my work as a counselor and parenting coach and in my own healing work, I have come to appreciate three dimensions of self-care. While most of us are familiar with the first, examining all three may be the most helpful in deepening our thinking and expanding our practice of caring for ourselves. 

The first dimension includes common self-care practices. These include exercise, diet, meditation, drinking water, spending time on hobbies, spending time with loved ones, giving yourself a treat, etc. Unfortunately, this list can sometimes feel like a weighty list of “shoulds” against which we measure ourselves, defeating the purpose and becoming a source of stress instead of a sanctuary.

The second dimension is less about specific activities and much more about the way we approach every task and moment in our lives and less about what we are doing. Can we be present while doing any mundane life task (including any from the list above) in a way that acknowledges we are a living, human being whose energy matters. We are not machines to be judged by what we accomplish everyday. Instead, our everyday tasks are our lives, not something to power through so we can live in some distant future moment when everything is done and we’ve been productive enough. Some examples include listening to favorite music while doing the dishes, calling friends to talk while commuting, picking up fresh flowers weekly for your office, lighting a candle before you work or pay bills, cooking dinner as a family. The possibilities are endless and can be as individual as your fingerprint. If we are doing the tasks in the first category but rushing through them or simply checking a box to say “done,” we may find ourselves just as depleted as if we were not engaging in self-care practices at all. The how matters.

The third dimension is all about our self-talk. In my individual work with clients and in my mindfulness and self-compassion group, we look very carefully at our inner dialogue. Are we talking to ourselves with kindness and support? Or is our inner world full of sarcasm, self-judgment, and self-deprecation? Is our inner world a safe, caring place to dwell? Our patterns of self-talk are mental habits that can be examined and, over time, shifted towards greater kindness and generosity. With empathy and self-compassion practices, we can learn to soften the harsh, critical voice in our head and turn our inner world into a self-care haven.

Painful experiences in the past may have instilled challenges to all three dimensions of self-care, making it hard to recognize that we are worthy of care, setting up patterns of rushing or avoidance that make mindful attention to the present moment difficult, and creating recorded critical messages that are all-too-easy to play in a loop internally. As a trauma-informed therapist, I understand the impact of these painful experiences and partner with individuals, couples, and groups to help them unburden the weight of the past so that they can experience greater freedom and care for themselves well. You deserve to enjoy your life. I’d love to explore with you ways you can do just that.

Jennifer Perry is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Peaceful Parent Educator and Coach. She is passionate about mindfulness and loves her work helping people relate more compassionately to themselves and to others while learning how to thrive and build lives that they love. She can be reached at 215-292-5056 or jen@heartfulnessconsulting.com www.heartfulnessconsulting.com 

Footprints

by Dean Solon

on the buddhist wisdom path it is said we are living in a world of activity and phenomena.  there is no judgment in this;  it is a description of what is.  it is a description of the human predicament on the earth and it may be a description of the significant footprints we human beings leave on the earth.

an experiencing of meditation may allow you to enjoy the quiet.
the experiencing of meditation may allow you to appreciate the silence.

i wake at 3:53 a.m.  i wake disturbed.
all i am remembering of the dreaming is...an alternative life as a young boy and young man, a life in which i traveled frequently and extensively.
i am feeling there was nothing negative about the life i dreamed.
i suspect it to have been a means of revisiting and reintegrating this life i have lived.

the disturbance?
is the world i am living in
and seeking to be making sense of
and seeking to be living with heartfully and mindfully.

the world i am living in and with is one of activity and phenomena,
is one of much disturbance,
one of much turbulence and turmoil.
will we humans calm our asses down?
will we quiet our hearts and minds?
will we lighten our heavy footprints
as we are walking on the earth?