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Holistic Wellness

Thirty-plus years of holistic education meets a lifelong love of writing; the outcome is this series of articles! The beginning of a new year seemed a portentous time to start a new project. Especially one that’s been hanging out in my spirit for a very long time. I’ve spent over 30 years in the holistic wellness world, but before that, way before (like when I was in seventh grade), I wanted to be a writer.

These articles allow me to blend these two loves, wellness and writing, in a way that may benefit lots of people. I find holistic wellness fascinating! Whether it is an ancient practice or cutting edge technology, it is likely to be something different from what I learned growing up. That said, I’ve come to realize that my Lithuanian grandmother had a few natural wellness techniques that could easily fall into the holistic category. I just didn’t get it at the time.

The Lithuanian language is partly responsible for this newsletter also. My first language was not English, but Lithuanian, although I was born in America. Learning English was difficult for me. I remember wrestling with sentence structure and separating words into syllables. But once I got to know the English language, I really enjoyed being creative with it. And that creative delight continued through Boston University School of Public Communications, writing for a rock n roll newspaper, producing thousands of informative emails about holistic practices and practitioners, up to today.

So how did I personally delve into the holistic world? It started with meditation, suggested by a 12 step program. I’ll share more about that in the future. But my personal education and practices include not only facilitating meditation, but becoming a polarity practitioner, a Reiki master teacher, an EFT Emotional Freedom Techniques practitioner, and a hypnotist. There is a plethora of information inside me beside my personal practices, garnered from 20+ years of producing a holistic wellness fair that featured hundreds of amazing practitioners.

The community that grows through my site will likely be a gathering of people who are already practicing holistic techniques, people who have heard a little and are eager for more, people who are seeking wellness through a variety of paths and old friends. I’ve already heard from a holistic friend from 15 years ago.

Meditation

Meditation definition: finding peace of mind and spiritual connection

Almost any holistic practice has a piece of Meditation involved. I’m tempted to say every holistic practice. While many images associated with meditation feature a lone person sitting in a lotus position with fingers forming a mudra, that’s only one interpretation. Just as the lotus blossom pictured presents many petals, the practice of meditation can take many forms.

My introduction to Meditation came nearly 40 years ago when I was encouraged to meditate as part of a 12 step program. I knew absolutely nothing about Meditation, but I knew enough to look for help. I hauled out the phonebook (yes, it was that long ago) and called the local Transcendental Meditation Society. They didn’t call me back, even after leaving a couple of messages. I’ve always joked about them being too wrapped up in their meditation to deal with their telephone messages. But in retrospect, I see that that was a necessary part of my journey.

As I started exploring this topic of meditation, I came to see that it was touted as a way to find peace of mind, spiritual connection (which is what I thought I was looking for), and all sorts of physical benefits, including lower blood pressure and better sleep. This all sounded quite appealing; how could it not?

Why? I was at a point in my life where my stress level was running ridiculously high. I knew I didn’t like it, but I wasn’t sure what to do about it. Self medication, including sedatives, alcohol, etc. didn’t work anymore. I was pretty desperate to get control of my life.

I did find in that phonebook, a holistic organization that said something very minimal about Meditation. And they called me back! So that ended up being my first real introduction to Meditation: a brief 10 minute meditation at the beginning of a meeting of holistic practitioners — that was a real mind opener (and door opener) for me.

The actual practice of meditation was (and is) very challenging. I don’t think I could keep my mind still for even a fraction of a minute at that point. It was probably about one half minute of meditation, two minutes of crazy swirling thoughts, another minute of chastising myself for having let go of the meditation and plugging back in again. Not a great percentage of time meditating then.

But two things were happening… I liked that less-than-one minute of quiet in my mind, and I somehow understood that the other 3+ minutes of processing was actually part of the practice. That seems a rather highly developed concept as I look back, but so it was.

I remember coming home from an early meditation session on a multi-lane highway, where I would normally be in the left lane going as fast as the car in front of me would allow. But I this evening I was in the far right lane with the radio turned off, going as slow as the traffic would allow. What an amazing, somewhat mind-boggling, difference. I was very much taken with meditation. In a way, for me, it was magical.

While I enjoyed many guided visualizations with Meditation leaders, my favorite Meditation soon became solo and silent. It was easiest for me when all of my senses were turned off. Not listening, not seeing, not feeling. I slid into my personal meditative state by following my breath, another practice that shows up in almost every meditation discipline.

The results varied… Sometimes I was still at that less-than-a-minute Meditation practice. When thoughts showed up, I tried to disengage, and met with various levels of success. However, even the brief moments of peace were worth the continued pursuit. In time, there were instances when I could sit quietly, totally unaware of the passage of time and be still for 30 to 40 minutes. I have even participated in a 10 day silent retreat. This included Meditation, but not for the entire time. I know I could never have accomplished that without having a solid foundation in Meditation to begin with.

It was not easy to find meditation groups at that time. Meditation and all alternative practices were considered voodoo. I chuckle today when I think of Meditation being labeled voodoo. Today so many medical facilities include some form of meditation or relaxation as part of their therapy for any ailment.

Over the years I have led meditation groups in a variety of environments: medical facilities, doctors offices, health spas, my own home, the development where I now live. While another person‘s meditation practice ultimately has nothing to do with me, I experience great joy seeing another human being find peace that they didn’t know was available to them.

Because my first experiential connection to Meditation was at a holistic practitioners meeting, I was also unexpectedly and delightfully introduced to many practices. This was the door that opened to my own pursuits of holistic health modalities. More to come about that in the future.

Let me know if you’d like me to expand on any of the things I’ve said here.

And don’t forget to breathe.

Meditation Amplification

Meditation is such a rich topic that it could be an entire newsletter week after week on its own. There are lots of other practices that I want to share with you, so I will talk a little bit more about meditation and then move onto other holistic practices.

My experience has been that meditation is truly a body, mind and spirit practice. Many practices claim this, but meditation fulfills it. Sitting quietly, which is generally the root of meditation, but not always, has profound effects on the physical body for me. Just sitting quietly rather than rushing about is sometimes quite a unique experience for many, as it once was for me. My physical body gets to let go of built-up tension during the time I am sitting in meditation. The demands I normally place on all my physical systems, including circulation and breathing and digestion, are briefly diminished. Yes, my body keeps on keepin’ on, but at a slower pace while I am sitting quietly. Because I am older and blood pressure issues are part of my life, I sometimes measure my blood pressure, then sit quietly for 15 minutes, and measure again. The difference is always profound and in my favor. It’s pretty amazing that in a world where we are often encouraged to do-do-do, not doing has such beneficial physical results.

Then there is the mind: my mind is often racing, even when my physical body is still. Sometimes this happens, most inconveniently, for example, when I wake up at night. But meditation has helped limit that too. I’m not saying it never happens, but I can certainly say it happens less than it once did. (Of course, when I inadvertently get served caffeinated coffee instead of decaf after dinner, all bets are off!) The grace here is that the practice, the repetition, has trained my brain to be comfortable being quiet. This rest from incessant thought benefits me with clearer thinking later. Sometimes I notice that the brief pause in thinking also allows excessive, non-useful thoughts to slip away. I am left with only the important and necessary thoughts when I come out of my meditation. Scientific evidence has shown us that challenging our minds builds synapsis, creates new pathways, and overall benefits brain health.

However, for these miraculous physical changes to take place, the brain needs periods of rest. The issue of balance comes to the forefront here.... Adequate rest for the mind, but not excessive rest. Adequate stimulation, but not excessive. The concept of balance was absolutely what brought me to the practice of polarity, which we will talk about in an upcoming newsletter.

The third leg of the body, mind, spirit theme, spirit, is a hugely important aspect of my body, mind and spirit health. I noticed that spirit tends to have a bad rep. I believe it cannot be defined for everyone but must be viewed individually. I certainly got a big dose of a certain kind of spirituality from the Catholic Church when I was young. Later in time, foxhole prayers of a certain kind were another connection to my spirit. But for me to very lightly define my own spirit and how it benefits from meditation, I say this: the deepest, truest, possibly eternal (won’t be sure of that for a while) part of me is my spirit. It is my connection to every human being past and present in the universe. It is often covered up and pushed to the background by my attention to my body and my mind. I believe this is a cultural thing. Our ancient forefathers and mothers and whoever had a much deeper respect for spirit. Many cultures, especially in ancient times, associate spirit with nature, which I and many others also do today. Meditation allows the space for spirit to make itself known. For some meditation practitioners, a feeling of separation from the physical body and physical environment is not uncommon. For me, that is when my spirit comes to the forefront and can be recognized and nourished. I love those times! .

Meanwhile, don’t forget to breathe

Whirling Energy

Have you noticed that the sequence of colors in the rainbow are exactly what is noted in the chakra system… red, then orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo then purple. Pretty eye opening, huh?

As mentioned last time, the energy centers within the physical body are called chakras. It is said that the chakras direct the meridians, the energy lines running through the body. There is often some discussion of chakras in yoga classes, so you may have heard something about this. This is the first of three newsletters focusing on chakras. We’ll do the lower chakras this time, the upper chakras next, and then the main energy center, the Crown chakra, will get an entire newsletter to itself. Cuz it’s BIG!

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Each chakra is a specific energy center of the body with specific attributes. Actually, chakra is the plural form of the word, with chakrum being the singular form. But in our English language, we’ve changed it up a little bit and we just use chakra and chakras. The word "chakra" translates as ''wheel.” Chakras are believed to be spinning disks (vortices) of energy. I think of the chakra system as a stack of records in an old-time record player. Each one spins like a 45 record disc. The chakras contain the body's energy and each can either be in alignment (health) or out of balance (illness). The lower chakras are generally concerned with the physical body, and the upper chakras are more spiritually oriented. In this newsletter, we will take a look at the lower chakras.

The first, or root chakra, located at the very base of the physical body, is our connection to our world in a physical way. It is associated with the element of earth, not surprisingly. The root chakra is associated with the color red, sometimes brown, or mauve. Each of the chakras is also associated with one of the seven senses: the root chakra is associated with the olfactory sense or sense of smell. Because of this, the root chakra is highly affected by various scents. It’s always suggested that scents be in the form of essential oils that are used sparingly — possibly a few drops in a bath. The quieting fragrances for the root chakra are cedarwood and patchouli. The stimulating fragrances are musk, lavender and hyacinth. As would be expected, the gemstones associated with this chakra are generally in the red family, such as garnet, ruby, and rose quartz. When the root chakra is healthy, we feel grounded, in control, a solid participant in life, able to manage anything. When the root chakra is out of balance or somehow weakened, we can feel frightened, fearful, or anxious. Supporting ourselves by wearing red, walking on the earth without shoes and bathing with one of the appropriate scents can help reinforce and strengthen the root chakra.

The second chakra, or the sacral chakra, is located just below the belly button; it’s all about our sense of/connection with others. This includes our sexuality, co-creativity, creativity and sincerity. The second chakra’s element is water, representing our flowing into others and our relationships with them. This chakra rules the sense of taste, and is connected to the lymph system. Quieting fragrances, for this chakra are musk and amber; stimulating fragrances are rosemary and geranium. Gemstones associated with the second chakra, orange in color, include amber, citrine and topaz. While the root chakra is the energy center most closely associated with the Earth, this chakra of water is very much part of our physical grounding in this world.

The third chakra is the solar plexus chakra, located just below the sternum and extending down towards the naval. This is the chakra of ourselves as individuals. It’s all about our connection with our self, our self-esteem, our self knowledge. This is where the ego resides; it is the seat of our self-awareness, self-will in the energy world. It is associated with the color orange, the element of fire and the sense of sight. The combination sight and self in this chakra can translate into “how do I see myself?” The gland connection is the adrenals. Quieting fragrances, for this chakra are introvert and rose; stimulating fragrances are bergamot and ylang ylang. Gemstones include topaz, malachite, iron pyrites (fools gold), calcite.

While these first three chakras are somewhat earthbound and do not offer much in the way of spirituality, they are the solid foundation upon which the more ethereal chakra energies are built. We’ll examine those next time.

Meanwhile, don’t forget to breathe

Your Body Doesn't End Where You Think

Holistic wellness covers a broad range of practices and modalities, so there’s lots and lots to talk about! So far we’ve only explored Meditation, and we will surely come back to that again in the future, but for now let’s look at some other holistic modalities.

When I became interested in holistic practices in the late 80s, was introduced to a fantastic learning center called The Open Center, on Spring Street in Soho in NYC. This was, to me, an amazing place that was pioneering many holistic ideas, practices and initiatives in a time that they were really considered pretty out there. The Open Center remained for 25 years in that beautiful, welcoming downtown space across the street from an amazing restaurant and bakery, Balthazar, that offered chocolate bread. You can bet that I stopped there on my way to my Open Center class many Saturday mornings. Yum! Today the school is located in the World Trade Center.

The variety of offerings at The Open Center was mind-boggling to me. I took many classes; some were a weekend or two in length including feng shui (Black Hat School), meditation, chakras and other holistic subjects. But then, in one of their seasonal magazines that described their programs, I found Polarity. There was a two page centerfold spread — I knew it was really important. Wow! But I knew right away that it was important to me anyway. Its main premise was about balance. At that time, I felt extraordinarily unbalanced. I had an easy time of throwing myself into a project 110%. I worked too much. I didn’t have time for, well, for anything. This new modality, Polarity, offered me a new, balanced ME!

The program lasted two years of weekends, some evening classes, and covered a huge range. The father of Polarity is Dr. Randolph Stone, an osteopath, who developed Polarity therapy over many years, starting in 1948. His aim was to combine conventional medicine with other complementary and holistic health practices. It is said that at a dinner in his honor, all of his certifications from his various nontraditional studies were set side-by-side and lined the entire perimeter of the room. He spent his life studying holistic practices and creating his own melding of these.

Polarity includes energy work (my favorite), a nutritional piece based on Chinese medicine, counseling, craniosacral adjustment, the elements, reflexology, chakra work, exercise and Ayurveda. Everything I learned was utterly fascinating. My first bit of amazement was learning about energy; in other countries they call it chi or prana. Here it is called life force energy, because we don’t actually have a specific English word to describe it. It’s new to our western thinking.

The easiest way to explain energy or chi is this: while we generally think our physical body ends where we can see the physical, the body doesn’t end where we think it does. There’s actually energy that extends beyond that physical plane. It took me a little while to tune into the energy because it was such a new concept to me. But once I got it, I really enjoyed noticing and playing with the energy. And it is so telling! Polarity energy work always begins with a scan of the client, the practitioner simply sweeping his or her hands through the energy fields of the client. I had a client who had an extraordinarily strong, painful energy around her heart chakra when I did the scan, it was quite profound and unusual. When I later reported this to her, she told me that her mother had died two months ago and she was upset with herself because she hadn’t “gotten over it” yet. Needless to say, there was lots of pain around her heart chakra that her energy revealed.

One of the ways I teach people to notice their own energy is to have them rub their hands together briskly until there’s some heat there. Then separate the hands by about 8 inches, palms facing each other. Notice the feeling of thickness between the two hands. Then very slowly and gently, try to bring the hands together. Notice the thickening of the field between the two hands as they come closer and closer. You may even notice that there’s a point where they can’t come any closer together because of the energy. It’s quite amazing. It takes practice to tune in because it is a whole new world for us Westerners.

Another aspect of Polarity that was wonderful new information for me is the chakra system. The chakras are energy centers within the physical body. It is said that the chakras direct the meridians, the energy lines running through the body. There is often some discussion of chakras in yoga classes, so you may have heard something about this. I will do a couple of newsletters devoted to chakras, but here’s a quick overview:

A chakra is a specific energy center of the body. The word "chakra" translates as ''wheel'' and chakras are believed to be spinning disks (vortices) of energy. The chakras contain the body's energy and can either be in alignment (health) or out of balance (illness). We will look more closely at individual Chakras another time — you’ll love it!

Meanwhile, don’t forget to breathe.

Managing Anxiety Naturally—without Medication

Managing anxiety naturally—without medication—really comes down to helping your body feel safe again. Anxiety isn’t just mental; it shows up physically through your breathing, heart rate, and muscle tension. The good news is that when you work with your body in simple, supportive ways, you can start to calm that stress response pretty quickly.

One of the easiest and most powerful tools is Breathwork. When you feel anxious, your breathing usually gets fast and shallow (even if you don’t notice it). That actually tells your body something is wrong. But if you slow your breath down, you can send the opposite message—that things are okay. A great place to start is this: inhale through your nose for 4 counts, then exhale slowly for 8. Always twice as long out as in. That longer exhale is key—it helps your body relax.

Another simple technique is belly breathing (also called diaphragmatic breathing). Put one hand on your chest and one on your stomach. As you breathe in, your stomach should rise more than your chest. It might feel a little awkward at first, but after a few minutes, it becomes really calming. Doing this for even 5 minutes a day can make a noticeable difference.

If you like a little more structure, try box breathing: inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4. It gives your mind something to focus on and can help you feel more in control when things start to spiral. And honestly, even just pausing during the day to take a few slow, deep breaths can stop anxiety from building up. If variation on this that I frequently use is to inhale for a count of 4, hold for a count of 7, release for a count of 8. This one gives the lungs some time to expand.

Beyond breathing, gentle movement helps a lot. Things like Yoga, stretching, or just taking a walk can release tension and clear your head. You don’t have to do anything intense—just getting your body moving a little can shift your mood. You can find a lot of examples of morning stretches online that take as little as 10 minutes. But your body will feel so much better.

Your daily habits matter too. Cutting back on caffeine and sugar can help prevent that jittery, on-edge feeling. Eating balanced meals and getting enough sleep also go a long way in keeping your mood steady. When your body feels supported, your mind usually follows.

For your thoughts, Meditation can be really helpful. It’s not about “emptying your mind”—it’s more about noticing your thoughts without getting pulled into them. Journaling is another great option if meditation isn’t your thing—sometimes just writing things out can bring instant relief.

And don’t forget about connection. Talking to someone you trust, spending time outside, or doing something calming that you enjoy can all help you feel more grounded. Some people also explore things like Reiki or sound healing, which can add an extra layer of relaxation.

At the end of the day, managing anxiety naturally isn’t about being perfect—it’s about having a few go-to tools you can rely on. And your breath is always there, ready to help you reset. If anxiety starts to feel overwhelming or constant, it’s always a good idea to reach out for extra support—but these simple practices can make a real difference in how you feel day to day. Starting with today.