Continuing from the Last Blog

More on the Retreat...

What took place: a lot of HUGGING, which is more powerful than a lot of people understand. Sometimes a hug is just what you need, regardless of who provides it. I was brought to tears numerous times, while on the retreat, after hugging people I mehad met only a few days ago. DANCING:We danced every day, and only once was it choreographed. Dancing is a great way to increase your energy and clear your mind. Don't think. Just move your body! MASSAGING: Everyday, at least once, we would get in lines and massage the person in front of us. It always felt fantastic. I felt sore in places I hadn't been sore in a long time.

A few of the take home messages: "When there's a will, there's a way." "Live in the moment." "Think positive." "Be true to yourself." "Let go of past pains."

This week I have fulfilled my vision thus far: I went to Dahn Yoga Center Tuesday night to sign-up for three months of classes and Shim Sung training, and I began classes Wednesday night and had YEHA Thursday night. Throughout the week I found myself using what I learned about myself to help my peers.

I was surprised at how well some of these people (that I just met) could read me this past weekend. One labeled me as the "communicator," which I think is very accurate. Chicago also performed a skit in which I played a witch. I channeled the wicked witch from The Wizard of Oz and had a blast. I had not been on a stage like that since middle school, but more than one person encouraged me to pursue something on stage. It felt so great to be complimented like that! :) I look forward to all that I am going to learn.

Trying to Explain

I know that explaining my retreat to those who did not attend is difficult, but I want to talk about the aspects that I can explain.

The scenery/landscape: I had never been to Arizona before. All around me, on the exclusive Mago Garden Resort, were cacti, mountains, open sky and free roaming animals. I truly believe that more people need to take vacations to destinations such as Sedona. As one of my friends commented, if you are attempting to achieve enlightenment, it's difficult to do in the hustle and bustle of the city. Sedona is peaceful and truly breathtaking.

The people: I have never felt as loved and appreciated as I did on the retreat. I will be sure to blog more as a learn more, but basically YEHA (Young Earth Human Alliance) is the coalition young people practicing together to live with love for themselves, humanity, and the earth. So, on a fundamental level, we are all the same. During those 3 full days, I received more hugs and compliments than I had received in a very long time. I couldn't think of a greater group of people to be with over Valentine's Day Weekend.

Sedona, Here I Come!

I will be waking up in a little more than 4 hours (My wonderful roommate Tessa is driving me.) to go to Midway. I should be already be asleep, but I feel like my Mom, and I'm waiting for that last load of laundry to finish. To be fair... I've had a busy week. Last night I went over to Ema and Lindsay's after work to say good bye to Anique. It was her last night in Chicago. She should currently be back in Ann Arbor, and then she's heading to California to visit Andre for a weekend.

I was really having a hard time comprehending that I won't see her for over a year (unless I go visit :). I definitely got a little choked up once I was actually leaving. She's done this once before though, and we are much better friends now. I have no doubt that we'll be friends forever.

Tonight after work I went to dinner with my co-worker/friend Emily. We went to Cousin's Incredible Vitality an all organic, vegan raw restaurant. I don't really know how to review it. The food wasn't bad, but I'm a person who likes to have a full stomach. For dinner we shared a 3 piece sampler of: thin crust mini flax pizzas (luscious pizzas made with almond cheese, creamymarinara, avocado, olive tapenaude, love and gratitude), sushi make (exotic nori rolled with miso paste, nut pate, avocado, sprouts, fun fillings, love and gratitude) and mujver (spiralized zuchini, walnuts, and chives; toasted withcreamy cashew mayo; spiced with mild curry, love and gratitude) and a "ravioli." I laughed to learn that we both felt the same about raw carrot cheesecake dessert: we were thinking about baked goods. haha

For those of you who want to know a little more about my retreat, here's the light schedule:
12th: 7:30 Orientation Training: Begin awakening your body and mind with deep stretching

13th Morning: Deep training for power and centering Afternoon: The Journey of ChunHwa: Journey through 5 stations in Mago Garden representing the circle of life and the completion of the sole, Meditate on the meaning of life and overcome limitations, strengthen power internally, and let the purest you burst forth. Evening: Dancing and deep training for heart opening and connection with the soul and Cosmic Energy,

14th: Morning: Chunjikuin Training (I have no idea what that is.) Afternoon: Vision Sword Training Vision Presentations: explore trainings and jobs to continue developing yourself after the camp for your personal goals. Evening: Festival: Demonstrations and skits from each region

15th: Morning: Vision Meditation: Make your dreams and goals clear to keep the awakenings you got.


It's been a great past week, so I think this will only make it better. :)

Sippin' on Some Tea

medicinal tea that is... I can't say that it's delicious, but I can't say that it's the worst drink I've ever tasted either. However, there is more of it than I would like. My stomach has been a little uneasy lately, so there's peppermint in there, which I think helps. Otherwise it tastes like I feel boiled tree bark, willows, etc. would taste- a little smokey. I got it after going to my first acupuncture treatment tonight. Luck would have it that I got a sinus infection recently, so to the question of "Where did I get my acupuncture?"A: I got a handful of needles in my face and toward the back of my head, and it felt awesome! It only hurt a bit. Otherwise it relieved some of my sinus pressure.

My digestion's also been a little off, and my stomach's been nauseous, so I got a few needles in my abdominal area. I learned that you can't have needles in too many areas at once, because the body won't know how to respond. So, instead, you focus on a few issues at once. Once all of the needles were inserted, acupuncturist team turned the lights off, lit a few candles and left me to relax. I could feel the qi flowing through those areas. Alexa described it as "groovy." :) To top it all off, I told them that my shoulders had been tense with stress and sickness, so I got a quick shoulder massage before I left.

My co-worker asked me what all acupuncture can be used for, and I was not entirely sure. Then, I found on PCOM's website the following list:


Cardiovascular Disorders
Essential hypertension

Neurological Disorders
Headache and migraine
Trigeminal neuralgia
Facial palsy (early stage, within three to six months)
Paresis following stroke
Peripheral neuropathies
Meniere’s Disease
Nocturnal enuresis
Cervicobrachial syndrome
Neurogenic bladder dysfunction
Intercostal neuralgia
Disc problems


Musculo-skeletal Disorders
Muscle pain, swelling, stiffness and weakness
Localized traumatic injuries, sprains, strains, tendonitis, contractures
Arthritis
Fibromyalgia
Work and sports related injuries
Low back pain
Osteoarthritis“Frozen shoulder”, “tennis elbow”
Sciatica

Respiratory System Disorders
Acute sinusitis
Acute rhinitis
Common cold
Acute tonsillitis
Acute bronchitis
Bronchial asthma

Disorders of the Eye, Ear, Nose & Mouth
Acute conjunctivitis
Central retinitis
Myopia (in children)
Cataract (without complications)
Toothaches, post extraction pain
Gingivitis
Acute and chronic pharyngitis

Gastrointestinal Disorders
Spasms of esophagus and cardia
Irritable bowel and colitis
Hiccough
Gastroptosis
Acute and chronic gastritis
Gastric hyperacidity
Chronic duodenal ulcer (pain relief)
Acute duodenal ulcer (without complication)
Acute and chronic colitis
Constipation
Diarrhea
Acute bacillary dysentery
Paralytic ileus

Gynecological Disorders
Infertility (Not WHO recognized. Clinical experience proves effective.)
PMS
Dysmenorrhea
Menopause syndrome
Benign irregular menstruation
Benign amenorrhea

Psychological Disorders
Depression
Anxiety
OCD
PTSD
Somatization disorder
Hypersomnia
Insomnia

Other Disorders
Withdrawal from street and pharmacological drugs
Appetite suppression

Cool huh? The psychological orders really interest me. So yeah... I'm not sure if I'll be able to answer a ton, but shoot me questions. :) 60+ degrees tomorrow. Woot, woot!

All Smiles

So when I was out and about running errands today (in my fleece), the temperature on the bank read 56 degrees F, and I bet the temperature reached higher. Don't get me wrong, it was definitely windy, but it was a Spring, Easter-like breeze. It felt fantastic. I had my ipod on; my hair was blowing in my face, and I felt more alive than I have in awhile. My morning started with some yoga, followed by the joys of the warm weather while running errands. Then, I got my hair cut by one of the Moms at my school. I ended up cutting it short again, and I really like it. New season; new hair. From there I went to a sweet potluck vegan meet-up at Timber Lanes. It was pretty crazy. 100 people RSVPd which translates into 100 different dishes up for trying. I definitely left on a full stomach. From there I came into Evanston to babysit for the night. Tomorrow morning my Mom's coming into town, and I am really looking forward to spending the day with her.

I sat in on my class Thursday morning, and I am still feeling good about my decision to pursue a Masters in Traditional Oriental Medicine. Next up: acupuncture on Monday. I can't wait to write about it.

Free Fallin

Oh how I love that song (almost as much as I love Pandora)!

I can't believe tomorrow's already Thursday. Even though I feel as though the days can't go any slower at times, the weeks really do fly by pretty quickly. In almost a week exactly, I will be heading out to Sedona, AZ for my retreat. :) Boy am I in need! It may be little "Anna's" last week, but she continues to make it as hellish as possible. One might think that trying to just accommodate her would make things easier. Not so much. She's been giving me, and the rest of the class, a tough time. She won't go down without some more fight.

So Monday my stomach was still feeling awful. I stopped by Whole Foods before work to pick up saltines and "ginger brew." A guy who works there told me that peppermint oil eases nauseous stomachs, so I went back to my place to pick up some of that as well. Obviously I am into the home remedy stuff, but drinking that made me shake. yuck! Dominique came back from her lunch break to find me laying on the floor; I didn't think I would make it through the day. My stomach oscillated between being in a ton of pain and feeling like I was going to lose it all (aka nothing bc I hadn't eaten in a couple of days). I went to the break room on my lunch and fell asleep on the floor, wrapped up in my jacket and woke up feeling a little better. See... There are multiple uses for "sleepingbag coats."

I felt better yesterday, but I started feeling sick again today. However, this time it's a cough, sore muscles (I feel like a shoulder/neck massage would be so fantastic right now.), runny nose and exhaustion. It's not hard to believe with the number of sick kids coughing on me every single day. I should be asleep right now, but I am a sucker when it comes to checking my e-mails, reading blogs, etc. at night. Tomorrow morning I am sitting in on a class, Fundamentals of Traditional Oriental Medicine, and meeting with an academic advisor at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. I am excited. I just wish the class was a little later. haha Alright, I should get to bed.

Super Bowl Sunday!

Today ended up being much different than I expected it to be. It was nice outside (I was outside without having my head covered!), so I wanted to be out and about and run some errands. I didn't even know if I would watch the Super Bowl. However, around 1 I started feeling really sick to my stomach, so I grabbed a blanket and curled up on the couch and watched some tv before switching over to the Super Bowl Pre-game. From the beginning, I wasn't sure who I wanted to win; I have good friends with ties to both teams. Once the Cardinals lost though, I felt bad, especially with the way it happened. I wish Warner would have at least had a hail Mary in the end zone. The Steelers did break records for the most wins in franchise history and the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl, which is pretty cool.

Is tomorrow really Mon already?