Dixie Stewart Therapeutic Massage LLC

SomatoEmotional Release™ (SER) is a therapeutic process that uses and expands on the principles of CST to help a person rid their body of the residual effects of past injuries and negative experiences. SER is based on university research conducted by osteopathic physician John E. Upledger and biophysicist Zvi Karni. Physical forces enter a person's body at the time of an accident or injury. The injured body may immediately begin dissipating these forces and the natural healing process will follow, or the physical forces imposed upon the person's body may be retained rather than dissipated. Drs. Upledger and Karni came to realize that very often the body retained the emotional energy along with the physical force, and called this localized and concentrated area that formed, an "energy cyst." Initially the body accommodates to the presence of the energy cyst, but over time the body weakens or tires of this accommodation, and can develop symptoms of pain, dysfunction, or emotional stress.

SER facilitates a gentle process for releasing tissue memory, thereby helping the person to decrease the adverse effects of past traumas. There is vast research to show that a change in physical health is accompanied by a change in mental health, and it is equally documented that the reverse is apparent. SER is a holistic mind-body somatic approach that may also assist a person in gaining insight as to how that held trauma is influencing their physical and emotional health. SER can support the person transition from dysfunction and unresolved issues towards wellness and optimal function.

Don't leave anything for later.
Later, the coffee gets cold.
Later, you lose interest.
Later, the day turns into night.
Later, people grow up.
Later, people grow old.
Later, life goes by.
Later, you regret not doing something...
When you had the chance.

Life is a fleeting dance, a delicate balance of moments that unfold before us, never to return in quite the same way again.

Regret is a bitter pill to swallow, a weight that bears down upon the soul with the burden of missed chances and unspoken words.

So, let us not leave anything for later. Let us seize the moments as they come, with hearts open and arms outstretched to embrace the possibilities that lie before us. For in the end, it is not the things we did that we regret, but the things we left undone, the words left unspoken, the dreams left unfulfilled.

- Toshikazu Kawaguchi,
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
(2015)
[Image: Elfin Song (1912) by Anglo/Australian illustrator Florence Emma Harrison (1877-1955).]
Poetry, Tea and Me

Me: Hey God.
God: Hey John.
Me: I'm about to break.
God: Why do you think that is?
Me: Because life just keeps getting harder.
God: Then you need to become softer.
Me: Huh?

God: Here is the thing:
glass is hard
but it can shatter
when dropped

rock is hard
but it can be broken
with a drill

gold is hard
but it can be melted
in a blazing fire

don't be so hard
that you break down so easily.
be soft
like wet clay
in the hands of a potter

be soft like
river water
in the summer

be soft like
the breeze through
a row of tall pines
all of those things
survive no matter what
happens to them
they endure because
they haven't built their
existence out of hard
materials

be soft with other people
don't break them
with your words
and don't let them
break you with theirs

be soft with yourself
your heart is more cotton
than iron
your soul is wrapped
in the softest of fabrics
for a reason

the softer you become
the more you understand
how precious all life is
be more of cotton
than you are of concrete

love isn't cold granite
love is shapeless
love is like ocean water
gently passing through your toes

in a world where the hardness of diamonds
helps determine its worth
don't become one yourself
become so soft
that nothing can
break you

- John Roedel

Will you... Hold my hand for a little while?

I don’t need you to save me

No need for you to fix anything

No need for you to hold my pain

But will you simply hold my hand?

I do not need your words

Your thoughts

Nor your shoulders to carry me

But will you sit here for a while with me?

Whilst my tears they stream

Whilst my heart it shatters

Whilst my mind plays tricks on me

Will you with your presence let me know that I am not alone, whilst I wander into my inner unknown?

For my darkness is mine to face

My pain is mine to feel

And my wounds are mine to heal

But will you sit with me here, while I courageously show up for it all my dear?

For I am bright because of my darkness

Beautiful because of my brokenness

And strong due to my tender heart

But will you take my hand lovingly, when I sometimes journey into the dark?

I don’t ask for you to take my darkness away

I don’t expect for you to brighten my day

And I don’t believe that you can mend my pain

But I would surely love if you could sit for a while and hold my hand, until I find my way out of my shadowland!

So will you... Hold my hand until I return again?”

Zoe Johansen
Art: unknown

Maybe right now your journey isn’t about love.
Maybe right now your journey is about you.
Maybe this is the season you are being challenged to be your own saviour, to be your own safe place.
Maybe right now you are being reminded that the people who walked away were only ever leading you back to yourself, were only ever leading you here.
And here, you are okay on your own.
Here, you are rebuilding. Here, you are adapting, and mending, and reclaiming all of the pieces you let them walk away with.
Here, you are being kinder to your soul, you are giving yourself the same kind of love you have always given to others.
Here, you are not rushing your heart, you are not depending on another human being to fix it.
Instead, here, you are doing that on your own.
Here, you are healing ..

Bianca Sparacino 💫
✨Artwork by Masato Tsuchiya

My next sound bath is
August 21st @ 4 pm

$30 per person, standing bowl add on $5

Location: 2311 E. Stadium Blvd. Suit B-1 Ann Arbor, Mi.

Call to reserve your space. 734-829-8343

My next sound bath is
July 13th @ 1:00

$30 per person, standing bowl add on $5

Location: 2311 E. Stadium Blvd. Suit B-1 Ann Arbor, Mi.

Call to reserve your space. 734-829-8343

My next sound bath is
Saturday July 13th @ 1:00

Location: 2311 E. Stadium Blvd. Suit B-1 Ann Arbor

$30 per person. Standing bowl add on $5

Call to secure your spot; spaces are limited. 734-829-8343

No mud no lotus

What Does No Mud No Lotus Mean and Where Does it Come From?
No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering is a book written by the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh, the meaning behind the title is that without mud, the beautiful lotus flower could not grow. This is an analogy of life—without pain or suffering, there cannot be happiness. The key is to learn to transform your suffering and not ignore it, for which Hanh lays out a detailed plan on how to do this with various helpful techniques.

Both physical suffering and mental suffering are unavoidable, but we can suffer much less if we don’t water the seeds of suffering within ourselves. We cannot simply consume to cover up our suffering; we need to practice spiritual skills to develop the ability and strength necessary to look deep into our suffering and make an inner breakthrough.

“Without suffering, there is no happiness. So we should not discriminate against the mud. We have to learn how to embrace and cradle our own suffering and the suffering of the world, with a lot of tenderness.” So, why not try it today? Try to accept any type of suffering and see how you feel afterwards, you never know unless you give it a go. It may just take you one step closer to happiness.

She looks so pretty in her new home. call to secure your spot; spaces are limited. 734-829-8343
My next sound bath is
Time:June 8th @ 1:00
Location: 2311 E. Stadium Blvd. Suit B-1 Ann Arbor

Sound meditation was discovered centuries ago, and originally practiced in India, Australia and Egypt.

Today Sound Meditation is commonly used as an ‘Alternative Therapy’ Using Gongs, Chimes, Crystal and Tibetian bowls creating a series of sounds and different frequencies.

Sound meditation clears and heals the body with vibrations.

Most importantly by clearing the mind and replacing racing thoughts with high-frequency sound, causing the brain to feel relief therby causing the body to relax and feel less tense.

This therapy may be used hand in hand with western therapy/ medicine.

Why sound meditation?

👉 Puts you into a relaxing state

👉 May reduce anxiety, and depression.

👉 May help with insomnia

👉 Is grounding

👉 helps you to be present

👉 Works with the body’s energy field to unblock, and balance the chakra system

👉 boost immunity

👉 Addresses imbalances in the nervous system

👉 plus so much more!

Sound meditation is relaxing, and takes no physical exertion; it's like getting a massage from the inside 😊

Sound therapy sessions for June are the 8th and 15th at 1pm
$30 per person
space is limited call to reserve your spot 734-829-8343😊
Location is: 2311 E. Stadium Blvd suite B-1 Ann Arbor MI.

Is breathing tied to the psoas? You bet your psoas it is!

The psoas ties directly into the posterior crura (back) of diaphragm. Inhibited psoas can facilitate a diaphragm and its fascial attachments to the anterior neck and jaw.

Dysfunctional breathing and neck compensations occur. In essence you don't have a properly functioning psoas when you need it, so you will hold your breath as a cheat to gain the necessary stability. Even when you walk!

Imagine how screwed up running would be or KB swings? Need your hip flexors then? Yep.

Lesson: ALWAYS evaluate breathing when you assess the psoas.

Picture courtesy of Mary Bond.

Sound therapy session 5-18-24 at 12pm $30 per person; space is limited call to reserve your spot 😊
734-829-8343

It's on its way from Nepal India 21" Standing Singing Bowl 😊 I can't wait to feel the vibration flowing through my body.

I LOVE THIS ANALOGY:

You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere. Why did you spill the coffee?
"Because someone bumped into me!!!"
Wrong answer.
You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup. Had there been tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea. Whatever is inside the cup is what will spill out.
Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you (which WILL happen), whatever is inside you will come out. It's easy to fake it, until you get rattled.
So we have to ask ourselves... “what's in my cup?"
When life gets tough, what spills over? Joy, gratitude, peace and humility?
Anger, bitterness, victim mentality and quitting-tendencies?
Life provides the cup, YOU choose how to fill it.
Today let's work towards filling our cups with gratitude, forgiveness, joy, words of affirmation, resilience, positivity; and kindness, gentleness and love for others.

Source: Austin Tang

Common sound therapy instruments include:
Tibetan sound bowls, Crystal bowls, Gongs, Tuning forks, Chimes, and Voice.
According to Psychology Today, a review of 400 published scientific articles on music as medicine found strong evidence that music has mental and physical health benefits in improving mood and reducing stress.

https://youtu.be/eWUAB194qhU?feature=shared

Lymphatic System Explained In Simple Words The lymphatic system consists of a complex network of lymphatic vessels, glands or nodes, and organs, such as the spleen and thymus, extending throughout the...

Energetic self healing of the heart.
Artist Kitty Mitchell of Ocracoke NC