Independently Healthy

TEACHERS & STUDENTS - RESPECT & HONORING

I love being a teacher and being part of students' learning and growing adventures, their self healing journeys and evolution into the promise of all they are as human beings and practitioners and educators giving service in this world.

However I also love being a student. Each time I learn more deeply how to honor the teacher, give respect, communicate, ask for what I need when I don't understand and be thankful I am learning from their world of experience.

I also am very grateful to acknowledge how much I don't know and love the part of me that is still curious and excited about discovering and learning. Here Elsepth on our left, Jutte the Chi Nei Tsang Senior Tao Instructor at Tao Garden and myself enjoy a moment in the beautiful garden of high trees. We just did an exercise gathering chi from wonderful trees. Behind  us are ylang ylang trees.

CHI NEI TSANG AT TAO GARDEN IN THAILAND

It is so beautiful to see how truth permeates different paths. Much of what I believe and live is woven into the teachings of the Tao such as: The body is the temple of the Lord. Transformation is true healing. Emotions are not repressed or acted out but transformed. We have a relationship with our body and organs and work things through our system rather than let energy collect and turn into pain. We transform pain through loving connection, attention and touch. We spiral into pain and release it. We work on it and transform energy.

The Chi Nei Tsang Training teaches love and connection first and foremost with the navel, from which our entire body spiraled into creation, and the small intestines that surround the navel. All the main organs are contained within the torso and are essential for life. “We are our organs, Jutta, our Senior Tao instructor says every day - "We cannot live without any of them.”

As we receive the teachings and exchange sessions twice a day I notice changes, releases, emotions rising and clearing, more energy and a brighter feeling. I am very pleased. When I first arrived three weeks ago I had 3 chi nei tsang sessions spacing them two days apart and was able to work out some painful tension and knots in my abdomen.  For the first time I experience the uniquely strong pain where the gall bladder duct empties bile into the duodenum and pancreas duct and was pleased it cleared after the third session.

As students progress through self-healing understanding deepens and the mystery and truth of the body reveals itself. In the beginning of our studies we cannot imagine the depth or potency of our own healing powers, intelligence and wisdom. I look forward to sharing this work in 2008 trainings.

Mornings begin with iron shirt chi gung, followed by fruit and tea (it is mango season!!) and the seven healing sounds. Free time after that for warm breakfast followed by morning class till 1 pm. Lunch and afternoon break and our second session at 4:30 with dinner at 6 – 8.

Every evening at 8pm we do Tap Yin yoga followed by the five healing sounds – transforming the emotions associated with lungs, kidneys, liver, heart, spleen/stomach followed by triple warmer balancing. I feel so calm and centered after and this makes for a good sleep. Sometimes we take an evening off and go into Chiang Mai or take private time. The exercise classes are optional and it is nice to know you can dip in whenever you wish and still have space when you need it.

We have learned to work on ourselves so as I settle into sleep it is time for attention to navel and heart with loving chi touch. Elspeth, our radiant SNM grad from Australia, is enjoying herself, and oh yes, no day is complete without an herbal steam followed by swim in the delightful fresh cool pool. YEAH!!!

LOI KRATONGS ARE SYMBOLS OF RELEASE & WELCOME

LOI KRATONG - FESTIVAL OF LOTUS LIGHTS

The beauty and magic of my third Loi Kratong Festival in Thailand was celebrated this year in Tao Garden Retreat Center near Chiang Mai – an enchanted evening of friendship, music, song and dance. A beloved of an ancient king of Thailand, a lovely queen, united the Hindu and Buddhist traditions by creating the lotus float out of bamboo, banana leaves, flowers, candles and incense.

After our dinner and performances of women dancing with lighted candles, we walked on to the bridge at the dining hall and down the stairs to float our lighted lotus offerings, releasing everything from the past year. Then we lit hot air balloons carrying our wishes for the new year into the sky - as the cotton balloon gathered air from the fire it glowed golden, warm and pulsed with energy, five of us or so holding each one until it was ready to float to the sky with our wishes. A beautiful sight as it rose into the evening star heavens.

I was so happy this evening to welcome Elspeth, SNM Naturopathy grad of 20 years ago, who has been practicing and teaching in Perth, Australia. She brought me there several times a few years ago to share iridology, elemental dance, menopause and natural medicine teachings and is a radiant living example of the teachings She is joining the chi nei tsang training.

Wonderful to begin a new year of blessings in November while everyone is celebrating Thanksgiving in America. My heart was full as I felt the presence of the Boulder and Iceland schools and all the clients, students and graduates in my life with gratitude, strength and love, wishing us continued self-healing, personal evolution and respect and honor for the teachings that uplift our lives. We are truly blessed to walk this path.  We gave thanks for the opportunity to work with such beautiful souls seeking light and truth over thirty years and sent an offering of heart felt love for all we share and gift to all the lives we touch and it flew into the heavens - a beautiful potent moment.

I talked with Elspeth this evening and received her deep appreciation of her journey with self-healing and the teachings over 20 years.  She has reached a place of abundance with both practice and teaching and her children have nearly completed their schooling. Elsept is filled with enthusiasm for a new chapter beginning in her life. Well done, beautiful Elspeth. I will post pictures of her soon. She is a wondrous testimonial to the truth of the teachings. Love to all  Farida

POTENTIAL, POSSIBLITIES, CHOICES, MARBLES

Have you ever felt the mystery of potential, the magic myriad of possibilities and the multiplicity of choices before you. I loved this marble table in a store in Bangkok's Paragon Center. The illuminated table with the green marbles that can be shifted and changed in beautiful patterns, flowing, rearranging, beautiful. Playing with them carries you into an altered state - the perfect visual for this time of exploration and discovery.

ANDAMON MONSOONS & CHIANG MAI GARDENS

Hi everyone, after a week near the ocean on Phuket in the Andaman Sea, delighting in rain, mild sunny warm weather, quiet and fun family times, I am now in Tao Garden Holistic Health Spa, surrounded by tall trees, such a quiet place, biking, swimming, enjoying herbal steams, and retreat within. Elsepth, our SNM grad from Perth, Australia, will be joining me on the 21st for our Chi Nei Tsang Training and another friend arrives tomorrow from Phuket, a South African lady who homeschools her two daughters and she is ripe and ready to discover detox and better ways of living and share it with her children. Mostly Europeans here, German, Russian, all very talkative and enjoying their time, so that allows me a lot of space. Food is fantastic as always. Doing much work now on the computer - holiday time fading as I return to connection, communication, relationship and inspiration. I promise pictures soon...sending love to all  Farida

HALLOWEEN IN BANGKOK, THAILAND

It is interesting to enter the immense city of Bangkok, intense energy streaming through me after being in wild raw nature on a remote Philippine island. Amidst the excitement, enjoyment and enthusiasm for the energy of the capital of Thailand, and the pleasure of hot baths and cozy beds in a hotel, shopping, restaurants and the joy of being with family. Saw Surf’s Up with my four year old grandson and his dad, my son, and loved it - his dad being a surfer and such a fine story of learning and growing. Saw the more scary Stardust with my nine year old granddaughter on Halloween. She was thrilled by tattoos, a witch hat and acting out with painted bleeding scars on her face. Thailand enjoys Halloween and the Paragon Mall was full of zombies and every scary monster and witch you can imagine – and we went through a haunted house experience and screamed several times – it was really scary. FUN!

At fantastic sales, I bought a dress that fulfilled my criteria for a dress I can be happy in!! as well as outfitting my nine year old granddaughter for the next year with beautiful bargains at the premier malls and supporting my daughter with her fun choices.

Taiwan Reflexology, I had one of the most incredible reflexology treatments in my life by a practitioner who displayed huge calluses along each thumb. He specialized in long deep strokes on various parts of the feet that kept going deeper. Even though he discovered sensitive areas it was done in a way that allowed depth healing. I learned a lot and experienced new techniques I had never imagined. My right thyroid was down, and small intestines were sensitive, and the rest, kidneys and stomach I already knew from my own body and chi nei tsang abdominal massage.

Self Healing is my primary personal agenda during this time of year and I make sure I enjoy my rejuvenation by exploring and visiting and learning and studying at the same time. Every couple of days I take a long herbal steam followed by an oil or thai massage and while they are never quality connected treatments, they do offer relaxation and balancing and renew energy. My regular visit to the Dental Hospital always makes me happy too as the prices are so reasonable, a fraction of what they charge in America, and the work is world class.

Glad to be leaving Bangkok behind tomorrow as we fly to Phuket for a week on a tropical Andaman island followed by Tao Garden north near Chiang Mai. Visiting a wonderful new friend, Nadine, who is creatively active with spa projects on Phuket. More on Phuket soon. Healing adventures continue.