Song to listen to as you read: The Village by Wrabel. What medicines do our villages need and what medicines are you gifted at giving?

Updates

I just want us all to remember how big the universe is and how big time is. The above is an image of the Pleiades which is 450 light years away formed about 100 million years ago and will likely last about another 250 million years. Context is really everything. Pleiades over Half Dome; Image Credit & Copyright: Dheera Venkatraman

Speaking of context, I gave my first session of Swedish massage to a friend in the new Sabathani space, and all I could think about was our ancestors probably very happy about what was happening. Yes we share some ancestral lineages AND I believe many of our ancestors would have “get it girl” moment in regards to us receiving bodywork.

How Often Should I Get Bodywork?

It depends. So lawyerly of me, and I highly recommend receiving one massage a month. If you experience high stress in your life or job, chronic pain, or engage in intense physical exercise, come in twice a month or weekly to prevent the build up of chronic stress in your body. Massage helps with recovering from injury, both physical injury and the moral injuries. That’s your loving reminder to get bodywork from anyone, not just me. If you do want to receive from me though, schedule with me here. We can discuss sliding scale, frequency, whatever your questions are ahead of your appointment or at the beginning of the session.

I’m back in MN and savoring my time here as I prep for another big trip to see my family in Honolulu in February. I’ll be introducing my family there to Olivia’s mami and papi since many of them could not make the trip to our wedding in MN a year ago. Island solidarity for those of us who have been mutually colonized by the U.S. empire is tangible and I’m eager to create solidarity between our islands and families. Read this article about Bad Bunny’s commentary on tourism and colonization in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Play the song!

What is Somatic Experiencing Coaching?

The somatic experiencing (SE) coaching and craniosacral therapies I offer are more psychologically intimate than massage and bodywork I offer as we do delve more into trauma and healing work both verbally and somatically. With SE coaching we use your body’s sympathetic and parasympathetic systems to increase your body’s capacity to experience all emotions more fully while integrating and transforming past traumas/triggers into languages and memories your body can experience in a softer and more regulated way. We use your imagination, non-linear time, and your body’s innate ability to heal, dream, experience, feel, pendulum, and repair to do so. It’s a creative process, has done wonders for my own nervous system, and it’s an honor to witness and guide with others. I will keep including more information about SE coaching in these newsletters and I will write a longer piece about it to put on my website.

Community Events

Imbolc is coming up, Saturday February 1st.

Lunar New Year Dragon Dance at United Noodles is on Sunday February 2nd, at 2:30p.

Ricardo Levins Morales’s Book Launch at Moon Palace Books on Thursday, February 6th from 6-7p, masks required. The Land Knows the Way Eco-Social Insights for Liberation.

Library Patrons Union has a new members meeting on February 23rd from 1-2p, go to events/meetings to access the details including the Zoom link. You can learn about who they are and how to engage. In my mind this group is trying to make libraries what they should be, free and safe places for people of all ages to learn, grow, read, and feel safe. Libraries help people understand who they are and how they are connected to others which is what makes them powerful and also threatens people who don’t want us to understand that.

One Voice is Minnesota’s largest LGBTQIA+ and straight ally choruses. I went to their concert this past weekend and it was real cute and also how I found The Village song above. Sign up for their email list to stay up to date on their upcoming concerts.

That’s it for now! xoxo Eiko