om… mmmmeditationnnnnn

meditation… how does that word feel to you when you say it?  think about it, do u feel inside your body a beautiful sense of peace and serenity or does the word meditation bring up feelings for you of fear and imperfection and work?

i will now gently take you back into my life for a bit, i grew up with a slightly crunchy, hippie, control freak of a mother… all of those statements are true at the same time and all of those statements helped to mold me into the beautiful being god intends me to be… and they are actually not this story, sooo moving on.

my dear mom introduced me to meditation, i really cant remember when because as far back as i can remember she practiced it, there was never a discussion, it was just something in our lives… much like wheat germ in our pudding, again i digress.  mom sat quietly in lotus position and as a child i have memories of trying to sit and meditate with her.  then the angry teens years came upon me and i was out… rebellion against anything my “crazy” mother wanted to bring to me to enhance my life.  fast forward a few years, throw some life on lifes terms into the mix and i was blessed to hit a spiritual bottom.

reconnection, thats what i needed!  how do i reconnect with the universe, the great spirit, God?  for me part of the answer has morphed into meditation.  meditation in my life takes many forms and its beautiful because there is no right or wrong way to meditate, whatever quiets me and opens my mind to receive divine guidance is a win for me.

with four awesome babies of my own i have to be creative, somedays my meditations consist of placing crystals in my bed and laying quietly before saying prayers; some nights like this past friday i join some girl friends and participate in a guided journey; i have enjoyed the experience of meditating with buddhist monks at an amazing temple; i have had the supreme pleasure of doing my first sweatlodge last summer and my absolute favorite form of meditation for today is being outside, preferably near or in water just BEING, sitting, journaling, and the newest addition to my meditation, again everyday my experiences change and grow and evolve, has been finding stones and listening to the stones as i stack them in the water building beautiful towers called carins.

what an amazing gift meditation is to me, the ability to get out of my head, out of my way and give my will over to my God.  i practice meditation i will never perfect it and as the daughter of a control freak with control issues of her own i like that, i like that its ok for me to not do it perfectly all that matters is that i show up and do it.

so tell me please… how do you show up for you today?

have an awesome day… love

carins

shiatsu?

midlife crisis?  i really hope not, im only 36!  however my lifes journey has taken some crazy twists and turns recently, well maybe my whole life, yes my whole life… i have never been comfortable following the norm or doing what is expected of me, that feels inauthentic  to me.

i married, had babies, worked for the family business, bought the beautiful home and had what appeared to be the perfect life, from the outside.  inside was another story!  my spirit was slowly dying, i felt different and apart from.  about five years ago i followed a path that lead me into a 12 step program for friends and family of addicts and alcoholics… what a life changer!  you mean i DONT have to welcome drama and chaos into my life?  WHAT?!?  eight months ago i was guided into another fellowship which has further enhanced my life.  the best thing about both of these programs is that i have been given permission… yes i need permission… to be me, find me and follow my bliss to live an authentic, happy life.  the life that god wants me to live.  i played unsuccessfully by societies rules of what a happy life looks like, i like where i am now and where im going.  plan b, yes i am the epitome of plan b and it really works for me 🙂

ok so now you have a little bit of background.  since becoming “enlightened” to the fact that it feels good to me to follow my heart and dreams i have thrown myself into learning and growing in practicing the healing arts, i recently decided that a way to enhance my reiki & energy healing practice would be with the addition of massage.  everybody knows of massage, few know what reiki is.  after looking into various forms i came upon shiatsu, which i trained in the practice of recently.  again though, not marching to the beat of the normal drummer, shiatsu is a very specialized form of massage therapy and not widely known in the us as of yet though it is growing in popularity especially in the alternative medicine/ therapy circles. soooo… today i would like to offer a generalized helpful explanation of what shiatsu is.  enjoy!!!

shiatsu is a form of accupressure and massage based on holistic medicine that believes illness is the result of imbalances in the natural flow of energy, or qi (pronounced “chee”) through the body.  it helps calm an overactive sympathetic nervous system, which improves circulation, relieves stiff muscles, and alleviates stress.
practitioners use finger, thumb and palm pressure in a continuous rhythmic  sequence on specific spots, called meridians to improve the bodies flow of energy.  unlike other types of massage, the finger pads are used to apply pressure for most of the treatment for direct localized healing.

a few things shiatsu is really good for include:
relaxation, back pain, headaches, pms, anxiety, insomnia, neck and shoulder pain, tiredness, stress, digestion problems, depression, many many more

 

if you are interested in having a session or have other questions please message me or send an email to heatherbarna@yahoo.com

thanks for reading make it an amazing day

welcome to my world

summer colds… asthma… allergies… YUCK! worse yet is what we put into our bodies to mask the symptoms or messages our bodies are sending us that there is something really wrong, ANTIBIOTICS are our last line of defense, make no mistake when my family is really physically ill and we have fought the good alternative/ homeopathic fight and are losing the battle we make a trip to the doctor… AFTER as i said, we fight with our own bodies and nature 🙂 check back often for tips on how to simply keep you and your family and friends happy and healthy.