Holistic Wellness & Expression w/ Terah Kelleher

I'm teaching my first big retreat with some amazing colleagues this coming weekend in the NC mountains! I created a handout for the class and this is the cover. The image is a work in progress but I love it. It captures the 5 Elements of Ether, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. At this and many more, I'll teach somatic and mindfulness practices that embody each of these elements, which massage and bodywork therapists can use in their occupational and personal lives.

I cannot wait to hold a space for my fellow MTs/space holders to retreat, learn, and relax!

I'm behind on sharing big news. My niece Madison Merritt is engaged to Syntel, a sweet, creative, and intelligent man, who has become a part of our family over the past few years.

She's grown! How did this happen!? She definitely didn't have to go through dating numerous duds like I did before finding her match. These two are partners, friends, and wide eyed to take on the world together!

Bluforopo Band, my Daddy's band, played @ Bistro150 Friday, 5/31. Growing up in my house, weekends were usually filled with music nights, with my Daddy singing and playing guitar with his friends. His friend, Dirk (far right in picture), like an uncle to me, would sing.

Life has brought this group of men together and it warmed my heart and soul to hear them this past Friday! It also was a reunion of sorts, bringing family and friends I haven't seen in a while together.

Bluforopo Band, my Daddy's band, played @ Bistro150 Friday, 5/31. Growing up in my house, weekends were usually filled with music nights, with my Daddy singing and playing guitar with his friends. His friend, Dirk (far right in picture), like an uncle to me, would sing.

Life has brought this group of men together and it warmed my heart and soul to hear them this past Friday! It also was a reunion of sorts, bringing family and friends I haven't seen in a while together.

Emily Terrell Roels and I had the pleasure of attending brunch at the Historic Magnolia House in downtown GSO, as a part of Greensboro Bound Literature Event. I brushed elbows with like minded folks, writers, and authors.

The Green Book was a guide for African American people in the Jim Crow era to know what hotels and other travel stops were safe and inclusive for them. The Magnolia House was in the Green Book. I'll do a whole other post on this.

Great food and company!

As a kid, we pretended, which we called, “tending” (insert slight country accent). My siblings and I could ransack a room or the house with creative play. Mom would have us clean up behind ourselves but I remember her saying, “Do ya'll think a fairy comes and cleans up behind y'all?” And when I think about it, maybe I did.

But there’s no little fairy that set things right. It seems the “little fairy” most of the time is a mother, with exceptions.

So on this day recognition, awareness, respect, and helping out the “little fairy” going forward may be more of a gift than any physical gift out there!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the “little fairies”, who run homes like champions! Your managers, doctors, therapists, cooks, and more!

Happy Mother's Day to my Momma, ! Here she is with some of her grandchildren, holding a loving space for them, just as she did for us, her children, and anyone blessed to be in her presence.

High Tea at the O'Henry with Linda Welch Kelleher, Gretchen Kelleher Hill, and Genevieve Kelleher Merritt. Fun times!

So about this time last year, I ate a macaroon at the Florian in Venice, Italy. Today, I had one at the O'Henry's High Tea with my sisters and momma. Man I have the travel bug so bad!

Combine being thrifty and getting older. I don't care that I have no idea if my big blue headphones are in style or the newest technology + I'm wearing a makeshift fannie pack, which is actually a $5 Goodwill purse for my usual walk in the public park.

Please share any similar stories. I'd love to hear them!

Wellness Librarian & Body Awareness Educator Post Series: Mentors & Guides.

I've had my hat on this week. But first, let me tell you that my name is a combination of my parents mentors/guides. Let's start with my first name "Terah". I was named after Terah Cowart Smith (1897- 1989), a teacher, speaker, author, social justice activist, and a pioneer Bahai.

This article stood out to me because it mentions prayer and meditation. In another article, it says she also held journaling in high regard. I had no idea. I only remember her as an older woman my parents visited in a rest home. She died in 1989 when I was 11 years old. It's been a pleasure getting to know her through my research. I hear her telling me to get out there, speak up, and follow my dreams.

As I find more about her, I'll share it. To all the lovely people that knew her, I'd love your remembrances of her. Please share.

Wellness Librarian & Body Awareness Educator Post Series: Mentors & Guides.

I have many guides and mentors for different facets of my life. As I step into the educator role, I feel this dear woman with me - a professional teacher. She taught my Sunday Baha'i classes and was like a grandmother to me and others in our community.

I remember her making birthday cakes for my siblings and I. My mother would pick her up to take her to meetings and gatherings. I can see her in the front seat, next to my mother, a regal look on her face. Even then, I could sense her wisdom but I didn’t appreciate it as much as I do now.

I can only imagine the amount of drive and back bone this woman had to have in the ugly faces of both racism and s*xism. I’m in awe of her accomplishments and again, feel her whenever I teach.

Excerpt from GSO News & Record Obituary 1999: “She received her BS degree in Education from Winston-Salem Teacher's College, which is now known as Winston-Salem State University. She earned a Master's degree in Education from North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. While teaching school in Madison, Avvie Morrow met and married the late Allison Gordon, also a graduate of North Carolina A&T University. In 1941, Mrs. Gordon took a teaching position in Dublin, Ga., where she taught until 1956. From 1956 until her retirement in 1969, she taught school in La Grange, Ga. Although Mrs. Gordon taught in Georgia most of her career, she maintained her home in Greensboro throughout the years. Since retiring she had taken several trips abroad. Her travels included Canada, Europe, Israel, and Kenya in East Africa.”

Picture: Avvie and my brother, Sam.

Only one spot left in our Massage & Bodywork Therapist Summer Solstice CEU Retreat in June! Click link in bio for more information and to register:

Only one spot left in our Massage & Bodywork Summer Solstice CEU Retreat in June! Here's a link to more information about the 3 days of learning and retreating: https://embodiedconscioushealing.com/summer-ce-retreat-2024

I'm officially an Approved Provider to teach Massage & Bodywork Therapists continuing education to renew their licenses by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork.

The 5 Elements of Body Awareness for Massage Therapists is my first class but many more will be added to the list!

and I went out to dinner to celebrate our Somatic Experiencing Training this weekend. How serendipitous that we came to do this training at the same time. I admire Holly's work and gifts as a Massage Therapist, Bodyworker, and her capacity to hold a healing space! Also, she's a great friend!

I definitely am in the right place with this training and feel things clicking into place. Yay, to learning more about nervous system regulation for myself and my clients!

So after some mindful planning and not the ADD grab bag run by my "what's next" syndrome, I've decided to start the journey of becoming a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. This will tie a lot of things together in my personal and occupational lives! Somatics is not a trend and I decided to go to one the "big dogs" of Somatic education to learn the ropes!! Excited 😄

1st of 4 days of training. Tea time!

Calling all massage and bodywork therapists! Come join us for the Summer Solstice in the mountains of NC to learn, relax, and get your CEU hours!

I met these ladies in massage school in 2002 and we have collaborated to teach what we know. Click the link in bio to learn more about this retreat and to register. Spaces limited and filling up!

Collaborating with my Somatic Sisters to teach at this retreat for the Summer Solstice in the beautiful NC mountains in June! Calling all Massage Therapists who want to earn CEU's plus nourish themselves in nature and wide-open spaces.

The price includes 15 CEU's (ethics included), meals, lodging, and free yoga and sound healing session. Click the link below for more information: https://embodiedconscioushealing.com/summer-ce-retreat-2024

Massage Therapy Retreat in Boone, NC - June 21-23, 2024 | CE Credits Available — Embodied Conscious Healing Join our massage therapy retreat for 15 CE credits in Boone, NC, from June 21-23, 2024. Featuring Archetypes & Ethics, Summer Element Body Awareness, Sound Healing, and Table Thai workshops in a serene mountain setting. Limited spaces – book now!

My Everyday Valentine 😘...

Does anyone else feel it's a treat to make fried bread on a Sunday for breakfast or any day for that matter? Nice and crispy on the outside. Of course my Granny Myrtle would have used regular and not gluten free flour!

Taught a practice run of my 5 Elements of Body Awareness for Massage Therapists 8 hour CEU course today (pic sign incorrect). Had the pleasure of teaching these amazing and beautiful MTs, space holders, and souls:


This class teaches the self-care and nervous system regulation tools I've used to stay healthy in my life and in my long massage career. Each practice embodies the 5 Elements of Ether, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth.

This class and more to come!

How grand to have choices, to learn balance, and to shift with the needs of our partners in life, the ones we share our hearts, beds, and home with. This is the most personal of places that we hopefully have the chance to connect as humans, with desires and dreams that match. One is not carrying most of the load.

I know I'm living the dream of my female ancestors who were confined to certain spaces. I thank them for their resilience and I wish I could go back and tell them they were not crazy for dreaming about bigger things. I'd tell them being angry is a valid emotion for living within the confines of religious and traditional structures that tell you your s*x determines how you govern your life. I'd tell them their s*xuality is beautiful and that feeling healthy pleasure is divine.

I'd also be a witness to and soften for my male ancestors who had to remain strong when facing traumatic events! I'd hold a space for them to know boys do cry and to feel all the emotions given to them as a human being. I'd tell them they're not robots or toy soldiers who "simply" obey. I also mourn the dreams they couldn't live because their role was dictated to them.

It's not a flight of fancy but a visceral fear to be shoved back into a cage that professes they know best. It may not be just our own fear but the empathy of our ancestors warning us of how hard it would be to go back. We may feel the fear of those living within the cages now, warning us to stand our grounds.

What if healing our societal imbalances could heal Mother Earth before we tax her too much? Food for thought and tea time musings by Terah.

Graphic Credit:
*xualequality

Kissy face selfie. T & T time. Rainy Mexican food eating kind of night. Love 😘

Yes, 5 months Botox free. Did it for 2.5 years and happy to work on my worry lines naturally, which means I'm going to wrinkle. They love to taunt me though with these emails grrr 😆. Yes, I know Ideal Image!! Lines are coming for all of us, eventually.

My herbal teacher, Rosemary Gladstar, shared this picture in one of her emails. She also shared this quote from Howard Zinn, American historian, playwright, philosopher, and veteran:

"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”