Archive for the ‘To Your Health’ Category

Sometimes

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

Sometimes the nourishment and warmth of drinking tea is just what I need to change a grumpy day into a gift. But today, I just noticed my tea mug sitting by the keyboard, and realized the tea is cold now, and I  hadn’t even sipped it yet. Having that beautiful hand-made mug by the keyboard was all I needed to create my “sitting down to write for a spell” reality, and stay on track.

…but sometimes? Sometimes the act of picking out dried medicinal herbs, filling the iron teapot with filtered water, watching the steam rise and smelling that first burst of yummy that comes when the hot water hits the tea leaves… Sometimes it is the act of making the tea that tells me I am special, and today is special. It reminds me to appreciate what is, to look for the beauty I’ve been too busy or too stressed to notice (a whole flock of tiny grey Bush Tits all a-flutter in the tree nextdoor). It reminds me of all that I’ve worked to hard to become in the past few years.

You see, learning to make herbal tea from raw dried herbs as medicine was one of the first skills I gained in my efforts to take control of my own health and well-being. I was tired of needing someone else to make me well. I was tired of living on the edge between healthy and unwell. Now, I  have herbs for headaches and bodyaches, herbs to improve my immune system or give me added nutrients and vitamin-C. I have herbs that smell and taste delicious, and that sooth my stresses or boost my confidence. I have herbs for sore throats and dry nasal passages. Herbs that cleanse, that break fevers, promote loosening of flegm, heal burns and sooth strained muscles. I have a whole arsenal of natural wellness, and I get to brew it on my own stove, whenever I know I could use the support, at my own discretion, and IT TASTES GOOD. It’s tea.

So for me, making a cup of tea is a bit of a spiritual act. It’s proof that I think my own well-being is worth the effort. It’s both relaxation and medicine. It’s community and independence. Self-expression and an intimacy of connection to the Earth herself. Like I said, sometimes drinking tea can be a healing act, but sometimes, I just need to sit with the herbs and the hot water and the clay mug, and remember who I am.

Be Well.
ps– If you’re interested, I’m currently on a Chamomile-and-Parsley kick.

| Posted in Blessings, Resources, To Your Health, authored by: S. Brooke Elliott | No Comments »

…more Elliott Wisdom…

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

I told you about my latest book project a few weeks back. Well, here are a few more quotes from my writing thus far:

  • Gratitude gets you farther than whining. Whining just works faster.
  • Man-made chemicals and man-made foods (GMO etc) let us live longer, more toxic lives. Look to nature for healing.
  • Batman was right; it’s not what you have, but what you choose to do with it that defines you.
  • Learning to trust yourself is every bit as challenging as learning to listen to yourself. In fact, they are much the same thing.
  • If we do not consciously and actively make room for the unknown in our lives, it is easy to get stuck in the way it’s always been. But what if there is something better? What we “know” in this moment is so tiny compared to the vast beauty of the Void. Open to possibility, and breathe in hope. Miracles are often tiny, and rarely known or predicted before they happen.
  • No matter what, you are responsible for your actions, or your lack of actions. Become conscious of the life-story you are creating.

Be Well.

| Posted in To Your Health, authored by: S. Brooke Elliott | Comments Off

Weekend Retreat

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

I had an amazing weekend. Basically, and without realizing it until I’d gotten home again, I created my own mini weekend retreat. You see, the best masseuse/kinisthetic energy worker I know lives in Portland. You can find her website at www.melodicmovementmassage.com. You can call her office, or call her directly, and book one heck of an amazing 90  minute healing massage retreat (she combines a glorious array of techniques and therapies) that’ll put you on the road to physical and energetic well-being faster than a good kick in the pants any day. And she’s gentle. And respectful. Seriously. Go there, do that.

So that’s how my weekend retreat started. I spent two luxurious hours on Lindsay’s massage table (with the bio-mat, too!), and discovered that I’ve really been selling myself short as a human being. I’ve been making do, putting up with, waiting until, and generally concessioning myself right out of a well-balanced and happy daily existence. RIDICULOUS!!

Which is when I realized that I, like so many of my clients, do this because I don’t always feel “good enough” for the best this life has to offer. And I worry about being lovable. So I started to think about my store of reasons/memories that tell me I’m “not good enough,” and realized they’re all things I wish I’d done differently. Things I haven’t ever forgiven myself for, nor forgotten about how imperfectly I did handle those situations at the time. Embarrassing childhood gaffs. Relationships I wish I’d left months or years earlier. Pointless purchases and I wish I had that money now… The normal “if only’s.”

And right there on the massage table, I started to forgive myself. For each specific regret. And for some resentments I didn’t even know I had against others– and that I felt guilty about carrying around. I tell you, this was a seriously healing weekend retreat!

By the way, have you heard of The Forgiveness Project? I recently found a book about it, and it’s changing my life in really beautiful ways. I’ve already returned the book to the library, but it’s on my “add-to-personal-library” list now. At the top.

Basically, someone scientific went around and cataloged all these ill and injured people. People with deadly diseases like stage 4 cancers and heart disease and such. And then, those who were willing joined an official study in which they participated in counseling and group therapies intended to help them work through their resentments and regrets, and forgive.

The truly miraculous part was that the majority of those ill individuals who were able to truly forgive and let go of their resentments? Their physical illness also receded. And it’s not some crackpot quack claiming that if you give them money and repent, they’ll save you. THIS IS REAL. This is a group of scientists, a professional study, licensed counselors, clinically diagnosed illnesses. And the healing power of forgiveness.

Then, I stayed overnight with a good friend who lives nearby. We talked about forgiveness, relationships, seqx (because any good girl-talk usually includes SOME mention of seqx!), goals, dreams, and setting intentions. I’d really been feeling stuck with my work and my personal life the last few months. I know where I want to be, and I’m just not there yet. This weekend put me on track for some serious personal growth. And it helped me see how far I’ve actually come as a gifted shaman, and as a developing individual, during those very months I was moping around feeling “stuck.”

I hope you take a weekend, a day, even a few hours to honor yourself, your needs, and to discover the opportunities that you’ve ignored because you didn’t think you were “good enough.” Forgive old mistakes and missed opportunities and people that somehow got in the way of your higher good. Forgive yourself. Move forward with joy, and a sense of possibility (and a good massage!).

Be Well.

| Posted in To Your Health, authored by: S. Brooke Elliott | 1 Comment »

Hope Bags for the Holidays

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

I’ve been wondering what to give my little group of heart-friends this winter, in acknowledgment of how much I appreciate having them in my life. I don’t like giving out tons of STUFF just for the sake of giving, and every time I try to mail out Christmas cards, I find an overlooked stack of them months later. It finally occurred to me that what I want to give each of these beautiful souls is hope, blessings, and confidence as we march into the new year.

And, HEY! I can GIVE that. Because I’m actually pretty good at making Shamanic Healing Bags, filled with specific energy and intention for the recipient. So there’s a plan now. A good one that I’m actually really excited about. I’m going to make Hope Bags for all my heart-friends. Filled with blessings, and expressing my confidence in them. It’s going to be a great  new year.

Be Well, reach far, hug often, and hold Hope in the palm of your hand.

| Posted in A Wish For Tomorrow, Blessings, To Your Health, authored by: S. Brooke Elliott | Comments Off

Blathering On

Sunday, December 11th, 2011

Can I tell you how much I LOVE Christmas Lights??? LOVE THEM! Seriously. Little twinkly bits of light where you least expect them, and they cast a really soft glow over everything around them. And they come in COLORS! It’s like a box of crayons scattered all over the house. And WHITE– like mini candles that won’t catch anything on fire, even your favorite window curtain. (Or gather them up in a little glass jar for effect, since I can justify having this kind of decoration year-round!) LOVE THEM.

Of course, you’re also talking to someone who is more likely to sing Christmas carols in July, and hum “happy birthday to you” in December. I try to spread the love. Because really? Birthdays and family holidays are –at their core– about celebrating the love we have for one another. In a brotherly and sisterly and friendly way, overlooking that  one habit of Aunt Edna’s that makes you cringe every time she does it. And we cringe, and ignore, and give hugs anyway because that’s what love is. Accepting a whole person, not just the bits we particularly enjoy. That’s family. And if your blood relatives don’t accept you for YOU– go find some chosen family who do.

Be Well this season.

| Posted in Blessings, To Your Health, authored by: S. Brooke Elliott | Comments Off

YAY for Crafting!

Saturday, December 3rd, 2011

Three years ago, I shared an old house with a friend who liked to save money by keeping the thermostat turned to 55* … It was very cold there in winter. Out of desperation, I finally started to make myself an insulated shawl that would cover me from head to tailbone, with a little extra material to fasten around my neck like a scarf– only short enough not to fall in the soup when I was cooking. And there were (going to be) snaps to keep it on, even when I’m chasing rogue cats out of the spare bedroom.

Three layers of bamboo batting, a wonderful purplly-red cotton fabric with ginkgo leaves on it for the outside, and some off-white organic cotton flannel fabric for the inside. All hand-sewn. Mostly. It was so awesome that I started wearing it with the pins still in to hold everything together. And after that winter, I moved to someplace a bit warmer. (60* in winter. sigh… Did I mention it’s Hearthfire Moon this month?  I love a nice warm fire…)

So it’s a bit ironic to find myself in another old house this winter. An even older house, actually, and without the benefit of insulation in the floor. We’ve already had snow, and there’s been ice on the vehicles almost every morning since mid-October. I tell you, it’s COLD here. Imagine my joy at sorting through an old box, and finding THE INSULATED SHAWL with the NECK-WARMER that won’t drop in the soup when I cook! YAY!!! So last night, I got out my needle and thread, and my extra snaps, and finished sewing all the bits together. No more getting pricked in the head by pins that are holding the hood together. No more losing my warm shawl when I chase rogue cats out of the spare bedroom. YAY!! And it’s WARM. I’d forgotten what a great piece of clothing this is. And even better, I’m not allergic to any of it. WARM, without sneezing or rashes on my hands. Can you imagine my glee?!

Be Well, keep warm. Get creative.

| Posted in To Your Health, Workshops | Comments Off

Ummm, Yay?

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

Have you got any idea how difficult it is to come up with a snappy title for “please give feedback, and oh, here’s some I already got?!”

I’ve offered The Self-Centering Woman (Embodiment) workshop series a couple of times already this season, and by request, I’ll be offering it again in January. The whole workshop series has four bite-sized sections, three workshops each. The fourth section is actually a single all-day workshop, titled “Every Seven Years A Miracle.” I offer it by invitation only. The first set of three workshops (I’m told that it’s more of a giant feast than a single bite…) is subtitled “Embodiment.”

You see, when I offer The Self-Centering Woman: Embodiment workshop series, I am reaching out to women of all ages and lifepaths who feel somehow off-balance in their lives. Women who are ready to really figure out who they are, what they need, and how to meet those needs effectively. As we work together in safe and sacred space, my clients find what is missing, how to attain it, and they discover that they are both lovable and unique in who they are, and how they are nourished. We redefine well-being, self-nourishment, and what it means to live “a successful life.”

I call it “Embodiment” because we really explore how our bodies take on our unexpressed emotions, and how we treat our bodies -and ourselves- in relation to how we feel and what we’ve been told by the people around us. When we identify and redefine key words and key phrases from our childhood (such as beautiful, or successful, or responsible, or work, or female), we redefine our own well-being in the world. We change how we treat our bodies and our goals, and we re-examine what we have to celebrate about the life we lead now. In this series, clients learn so much about who you really are, vs who you believed yourself to be until now. It’s life changing. In a good way.

So far, the feedback I’ve gotten is a mix of sheer awe at how far each client has come in just three weeks, and relief. I think the relief is partly that the women in the workshops have learned that they’re actually closer to who they want to be in the world than they previously believed… and relief that there won’t be any more workshop-related homework for a while. At least until they sign up for the next set of workshops.

I don’t pretend that shifting your life is easy. It isn’t. But if you’re ready to do the work of unearthing your authentic self, and willing to risk expressing your real feelings in a safe and loving space, well… The women who’ve already attended the Embodiment workshops tell me they have a stronger sense of self, more self-respect, and more tools for moving their life toward their goals effectively. What would it be like to wake up every morning, and love who you are in the world today? What would it be like to be you?

If you’ve already attended the Embodiment workshops, and haven’t given me your feedback yet, please do. And if you are ready to join me for some whole-life shifting toward joyful being– well– I’ll be offering The Self-Centering Woman: Embodiment series again in January (at the Hillsboro Unitarian Universalist Church) and in March (at the SisterSpirit Office in SE Portland). The second set of workshops in The Self-Centering Woman series is “Mindful Healing.” It is actually just as much of an introductory workshop as Embodiment– and either can be taken first. I plan to offer The Self-Centering Woman: Mindful Healing in April, in Portland.

Oh, and I’ve restructured the workshop fees for all of this:
-The three Embodiment workshops cost a total of $75, due at the first meeting.
-The three Mindful Healing workshops cost a total of $175, due at the first meeting.
-The three Inspiration Series workshops cost a total of $175, due at the first meeting (this includes supplies).
-The final workshop in the series, Every Seven Years A Miracle, costs $180 for the day.
** I offer these workshops so inexpensively because the resources and tools I provide through them are so important to our well-being as women in this world. Your well-being is important to me. I even offer scholarships.

I hope to see you at a workshop soon.
Be Well.

| Posted in Register Now!, To Your Health, Workshops, authored by: S. Brooke Elliott | Comments Off

Going Green the Mother Earth Way

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

I’ve been working to pull together a workshop on Green Living for about six months now. But it never felt quite READY, so I haven’t actually offered these workshops. And now that I know what I’m doing, I’ve got some serious updating to do on my website. www.BeWellmedicine.com

At first, I had a series of four workshops that functioned as an intro to all things Green– food, cleaning & furnishing a home, building green, etc. But I realized that the folks most likely to attend such a workshop probably already had their intro years ago… So then I added a fifth workshop on the Spiritual element of Green Living… which was more exciting to teach than the other four combined.

And finally, it hit me. I’ve done a ton of research on going green, but it’s become relevant to my life in the past few months because I’ve been struggling with new food allergies and new chemical sensitivities. And as a result I HAVE to go green. From my perspective, its as though Mother Earth decided that if I was going to be serious about protecting the Earth (it’s the only one we’ve got), I’d better live my life by Her standards. Clean UV-filtered water. Local organic produce. No artificial preservatives. No artificial fabrics, either. Natural cleaners and soaps and detergents. And I’m purchasing a cotton-filled Thai Massage floor mat as my new “bed,” because my regular bed gives me hives.That’s the easy stuff.

So, finally, I know what the workshop series is supposed to be about.
I’ll be offering this series for the first time in January/February of 2012:
The Mother Earth Way. And we’ll talk about food and allergies and health. We’ll explore resources and alternatives for folks with chemical sensitivities (or who want to avoid getting them!). And we’ll talk about the building and decorating materials in your home and your furniture that are slowly poisoning you– and what to do about it all– on almost any budget. This is my offering to the Earth, so I’m asking $20/workshop –which is a total steal– the fees cover the basic space and materials for the workshop. While my other workshops might make your life more worthwhile, this series will keep you alive long enough to do that.

And instead of pretending that all this is separate from my real life, I’m making it personal. This is about what I’ve learned, what I’ve tried, and why– and that includes my responsibility as one of Earth’s Protectors. It’s about my physical health, my mental health, my emotional health– and my spiritual health. And now, through The Mother Earth Way workshops, it’s about your health, too. I hope you’ll join me in January.

Be Well.

| Posted in Research/Info, Resources, Staci Says..., To Your Health, Workshops | 1 Comment »

On Gluten (or how to get off it)

Saturday, October 29th, 2011

By popular request, I’m writing more about gluten intolerance, food issues, and resources.

In one of the many books I borrowed from my local library, when I realized I was probably seriously gluten intolerant, I found this list (and it explained a lot!):

Foods or Food Labeling Terms that Indicate or Suggest the Presence of Gluten

  • Barley starch
  • Binder
  • Bran
  • Bulgur, cracked wheat
  • Caramel color
  • Cereal
  • Cereal Protein
  • Couscous
  • Dextrin (unless derived from corn, potato, arrowroot, rice, or tapioca)
  • Durum wheat
  • Emuslifier
  • Fillers
  • Flour (unless made with pure rice flour, corn flour, potato flour, or soy flour)
  • Hydrolyzed plant protein (HPP) (unless derived from soy or corn)
  • Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) (unless derived from soy or corn)
  • Kamut
  • Malt or malt flavoring (unless derived from corn)
  • Malted barley
  • Maltodextrin (unless derived from cornstarch or potato starch)
  • Maltose
  • Modified food starch (unless arrowroot, corn, potato, or tapioca)
  • Monoglycerides or diglycerides
  • Natural flavoring (THIS ONE REALLY MAKES ME MAD– ITS IN EVERYTHING!)
  • Oat bran
  • Oat germ
  • Oatmeal (rolled oats) (AND GLUTEN-FREE DOESN’T ALWAYS HELP!)
  • Pearl barley
  • Rusk
  • Rye starch
  • Semolina
  • Stabilizer
  • Thickener
  • Triticale (a grain crossbred from wheat and rye)
  • Vegetable gum (except carob bean gum, locust bean gum, cellulose gum, guar gum {which some folks are unable to do anyway}, gum arabic, gum aracia, gum tragacanth, or xanthan gum)
  • Vegetable starch

And then came a whole page of food products that are likely to have one or more of these glutenous ingredients in it… It’s a very depressing list, really. It includes pretty much all condiments and salad dressings or marinades, nearly all canned soups, and most low-fat or flavored cottage cheese, shredded cheese, yogurt, ice cream, processed or american cheese products, candy, etc.

Also, “The Gluten Connection” is a great book that talks about a wide variety of diseases and disorders of the mind and body that have been scientifically shown to have a significant relationship with gluten sensitivity and celiac’s disease. ADHD comes to mind. Bloating. I’ve actually had a much easier time fitting into last year’s jeans since I got off gluten. And I don’t skip any meals, either. Skin irritations, adult acne, etc etc. Osteoperosis, too. Which I started developing at a very young age. Because if your body can’t process wheat or gluten, and you eat it anyway, it keeps your small intestine from absorbing most of your food’s nutrients. So you may eat really well, and still be horribly nutritionally deficient.

Check it out. And…
Be Well.

| Posted in Research/Info, Staci Says..., To Your Health | Comments Off

October TripleThreat

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

Where’d the month go??!

For the past few weeks I’ve been focused on three things:
–Doing some much-needed inner work.
–The new workshops and consults I’ve offered this month.
–The rash on my forehead that won’t go away.

Of course, I’ve been eating gluten every day, so that I could finally get the gluten-sensitivity testing done. Maybe the rash isn’t such a mystery after all. And boy-howdy does gluten hide in SO MANY RIDICULOUS PLACES!  …like M&Ms… And vanilla yogurt. And well, anything marked “Natural Flavor” on the ingredients list. Sigh.

In fact, discovering that I’m allergic to basically all preservatives (nitrates and sulfides), and highly sensitive to gluten in all it’s insidious forms, has really been life-changing from a dietary perspective. No more pre-made foods. No more eating french fries and no deli meats. No canned soups. No cheap yogurt. No more Nuttella, either (since I’m also apparently allergic to Hazel Nuts!). No bread. No salad dressings and no sauces or marinades, unless I make them myself– from raw ingredients. Our new, expanded, raw-foods-only grocery bill has also been life-changing.

Did I mention that I’m finally admitting that my skin is unhappily sensitive to polyester and nylon, too? No cozy fleece sweatshirts for me this winter. No UnderArmor long-johns. No dress pants, either, unless they’re linen or something else straight from the earth-plant. Because, oh-yeah, I’m also allergic to wool and lanolin. And rayon. etc. So I’m wearing my all-cotton clothing quite frequently these days, and enjoying the sudden lack of skin irritation in my world.

Basically, the cost of being highly sensitive (as in: empathic, oracle-like, intuitive, etc) is that I’m sensitive in ALL areas of my life. Including what I put into my body, and what I put onto my body, and where I live (city, country, neighbors, building materials, you name it). And when I think about the healing work I’m able to do in the world since I’ve been working to embrace my sensitivity, I think it’s a fair trade.

That’s October for you. And for me. And I must say, I’ve cooked some really awesome meals as a result of these new restrictions. In fact, the restrictions actually mean I HAVE TO EAT REALLY GOOD FOODS. And I GET TO SPEND TIME CRAFTING TRULY DELICIOUS MEALS FROM SCRATCH. And also, I HAVE TO BUY CLOTHING WITH A CONSCIENCE. It makes me very happy, really, because these are the foods and clothing I prefer. Though the three bags of dried fruit (from our home food dryer, since I can’t do sulpher) were a bit excessive last week… Spent a lot of time running to the potty with all that fiber running through me. Live and learn, I guess.

More about October’s inner work tomorrow, since it’s what I really intended to write about when I sat down…
Be Well.

| Posted in Staci Says..., To Your Health | 1 Comment »

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