Category: Sound Healing

10/6/2020 0 Comments

Member Spotlight: Deborah Brodey

This week's spotlight is Deborah Brodey - Transformation Guide, Yoga Teacher, Vocal Sound Healer and Ceremonial Artist. We invite you to learn more about Deborah as she shares her take on her work, as well as some tips and advice for a healthy, fulfilling, and happy life.

Stay tuned for a follow-up article this Thursday, showcasing our Community Engagement Coordinator's personal experience receiving Deborah's services!

Deborah Brodey
Transformation Guide Yoga Teacher
Vocal Sound Healer

deborahbrodey.com

Contact Deborah

1. How would you describe your work, to somebody that doesn't know anything about what you do?

I am a Transformation Guide, Yoga Teacher, Vocal Sound Healer & Ceremonial Artist and I guide healers & Changemakers who are out of alignment with their self care to come into Radical Self Nourishment so they can unleash their full power, potential & creativity.

My passion is to create transformative learning/healing spaces and experiences that are co-creative and facilitate:

Radical Self Nourishment
Access to your own wisdom & knowing
Your healing
Your truth
Your presence
Your unique Voice

I am the founder of the Radical Self Nourishment Program which I am currently teaching online through my Free 5 Day Challenges and my 7 Week online course.

I also support people in helping them to find their voices through individual Find Your Voice sessions or in workshop series called Embody Your Voice which I co-facilitate with Sound Healer/Composer Wendalyn Bartley.

2. What kinds of issues do you have a particular gift with supporting people through?

Healers & Changemakers struggling with their Self Care.
Self betrayal
Overwhelm and stress
Exhausted, fatigued from over-giving
Grounding
Breaking through core Limiting beliefs
Blocked creativity and self expression

Self doubt and building confidence and self trust
Strong inner critic
Boundary issues
Self worth
Embodiment - Helping people come into their bodies.
Hiding and fear of shining their light in the world.
Fear of their own power

3. What is the most fulfilling part about working with this specific healing modality?

I love creating powerful co-creative containers of love and magic that can hold my clients in deep honour, love, acceptance, so that they have full permission to be themselves and to uncover those parts that may have never been voiced. I love empowering others to uncover who they are, to find their voices and stand in their power and to Love, accept and trust themselves fully.

4. What are some of your go to pieces of advice to help someone cultivate more self love.

Dialoguing with your heart through journaling.
Moving your body. mindful movement- yoga, tai chi, dance.
Meditation
Chanting
Sounding
Ceremonies with the cycles and with the earth and elements.
Creative expression - drawing/painting etc...

Some of my greatest healing experiences have happened when I spend time in Nature, walking, sitting with a tree and just observing Nature. Since we are a part of Nature we can learn much about ourselves by simply being with Nature. A Tree does not have an issue with whether it is worthy of love. It is love. There is no worthiness to get.

5. How does somebody find out if you are a good fit for your services or not?

I offer a free 30 minute consultations. I also run an online Free 5 Day Radical Self Nourishment Challenge a few times a year now so people can have a deep experience with me. The next one is Tuesday October 13 - October 17, 2020 at 2 pm Eastern.

5 Day RSN Challenge

6. If you were to write a self-help book, what would the topic be, and why?

I am writing a book all about 7 Principles of Living Reciprocity. Reciprocity is about living in right relationship with ourselves, the Earth and our communities. As humans we are very out of balance with our true nature. Reciprocity is an ancient teaching that is Universal to all Indigenous, original and earth loving peoples around the world and is key to preserving life and living in alignment and right relationship with the Earth, and all of our relatives. It is the key to our survival and our thrival on planet.

7. Do you have a daily self-care practice or ritual that is helpful for you?

Yes I have a number of practices I do every day. The first thing is having gratitude every morning and giving thanks for being here another day. I especially like to honour Mother earth and all of life and the elements and the directions everyday. I align with the earth and its cycles. I find it very powerful to align with the bigger forces. I then will do a movement practice to get in my body usually yoga or dance. I often incorporate chanting and sound into my movement practices and breathing practice.

8. What do you think are the key ingredients to living a happy life?

The key ingredients for me are cultivating a loving relationship with your self through the cultivation of friendliness, compassion, goodwill to others and equanimity. These are yogic qualities when in balance support our relationships with ourselves and with others and that support us to develop Peace of mind. Other ingredients are good health and energy hygiene, Loving relationships, reciprocity, creative expression, finding meaning and living our purpose, abundance in all of its forms, laughter, fun, playfulness and joy and community.

9. What is a quote that you resonate with, which reflects what you believe in & what you practice?

Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things. Lao Tzu

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4/23/2020 0 Comments

Quelling Fear

By Melanie-Dawn (Ollenberg) Bessa

The outbreak of COVID-19 can be stressful and overwhelming for both adults and children. According to the Centre for Disease Control, stress during an infectious disease outbreak can include:

Fear and worry about your own health and the health of your loved ones
Changes in sleep or eating patterns
Difficulty sleeping or concentrating
Worsening of chronic health problems
Worsening of mental health conditions
Increased use alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs

(https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-anxiety.html)

Did you know that elevated levels of cortisol also interfere with our capacity for empathy, learning, and memory retention? Daniel Siegal, psychiatrist and leading world authority in the fascinating field of interpersonal neurobiology, explains:

The release of stress hormones leads to excessive death of neurons in the crucial pathways involving the neo-cortex and limbic system - the areas responsible for emotional regulation (Siegel, 1996: 106).

Left unchecked, millions of brain cells in the hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex are destroyed - the areas of the brain responsible for human empathy and impulse control. (Wright, Camden-Pratt, and Hill, 2011). So many of the short-sighted, competitive, violent tendencies prevalent in our society are actually symptoms of a system that teaches fear, shame, and aggression rather than amity and collaboration. Be it the authoritarian, competitive ranking system of our school system, the deluge of "bad" news in the media, or the economic disparities maintained in our societies, it is easy to live in a constant state of self-focused anxiety and shame.

Tips and Solutions to Quelling Fear

Thankfully, we are innately a people of emotion and relationship. Social researchers Miburn & Conrad confirmed that individuals raised under punitive parenting styles tend to prefer harsher law and order policies domestically, and support war as a foreign policy, and oppose pro-environment policies (1996). If we are to take back our own minds and hearts, and create a better future, what can we do?

Sound Healer Valerie Moysey explained to me that the key is coming into coherence: "By introducing / reintroducing a resonant field, we come into coherence". By coherence, in this case, Valerie was referring to the Heart Math Institute's work, which describes coherence as a measure of the pattern in the heart's rhythm, which reflects an orderly and harmonious synchronization among various systems in the body such as the heart, respiratory system, and blood-pressure rhythms (Heart Math Institute, https://www.heartmath.org/support/faqs/research/)

"While a number of techniques can be used (grounding, sound, breathwork, nature, prayer, etc) to come into coherence, the result is an activated parasympathetic nervous system and slowed fight-flight response." explains Valerie.

1. Grounding

When we are afraid, anxious, or overwhelmed, we are ungrounded - we lose our sense of center, get swept off our feet, and lose our ability to make decisions clearly.

Grounding is a process of dynamic contact with the earth, with its edges, boundaries, and limitations. It allows us to become solidly real - present in the here and now - and dynamically alive with the vitality that comes from Earth. (Judith, A. in "Wheels of Life", p. 66)

When we are grounded, we can a sense of inter-connection with life, which brings clarity through stillness, and ultimately enhances our ability to make decisions easily, expand our consciousness, and manifest our goals. In this sense, grounding is quite literally "foundational" to all of the practices suggested in this article. But how do we get there? Valerie Moysey shared a number of easy strategies with me which one can do:

Drink water
Eat something nourishing
Rest

Go for a walk, feeling your feet
Pet your animals
Take time away from screens

Garden or put your feet on the earth
Exercise (eg., do 20 jumping jacks)
Stand with a tree

Valerie also speaks to the matter of "Entrainment" that happens when you spend time and proximity with a person who is grounded. Entrainment describes the way the body gradually syncs up with either a biological or external rhythm. In this case, when one who is in fear is with somebody who is not in fear, and that person is grounded, the fearful person will eventually become more calm. In this way, it is important to choose your company wisely, and ensure you give yourself the chance to resonate with others who are grounded and not in fear. This could be a friend, a family member, or even a paid practitioner. If you'd like to explore or discuss this further, please don't hesitate to connect with Valerie.

2. Take Heart

Human affection produces a biochemical mixture that creates growth in the brain's empathy centers (Gerhardt, 2004), literally building a more empathic brain. According to Heart Math Institute, approaching fear with ease and self-compassion rather than with mind struggle, is key. Heart-based practices for reducing fear:

In prayer or meditation, I would visualize love from my heart streaming into my mind and into all my cells to change my old fear imprints. While breathing, I would hold a conscious intention in my heart to change my old programs of fear and anxiety into feelings of intelligent concern (managed-concern)—which is a much more objective and less stressful attitude than the feeling of fear. (Heart Intelligence: Connecting with the Intuitive Guidance of the Heart, p.223-227).

Take a look at this brief video on the
HeartMath Quick Coherence Technique

For more resources, the Heart Math Institute has some really great tips for managing fear from a heart-based space here: https://www.heartmath.org/calendar-of-events/coronavirus-technique-for-reducing-and-overcoming-fear/

Coincidentally, in the middle of writing this blog, I came across an Instagram post by sculptural fibre artist Marina Dempster, whose craft is a transmutation of materials, thoughts and emotions. Marina's work explores human paradoxes: comfort and discomfort, stillness and action, acceptance and change. Her "Dear Friends // Near Enemies" series of tufted cushions explore the paradox in language and get us thinking more deeply about our unconscious beliefs, urging us to go within for our answers. The cushion that caught my eye was F/EAR, pictured below. I reached out to ask if she could describe for me her take on this piece, and how we move through fear, and her response really resonated with the need for self-compassion, kindness. This is what she said:

F/EAR by Marina Dempster http://www.marinadempster.com

When we have the courage to listen deeply to our fears we may just expose a blind spot or a tricky self-betrayal...we may discover ‘False Evidence Appearing Real’ or we may choose to ‘Face Everything And Rise’. We have an opportunity to ask ourselves if there may an unconscious belief which is the source of our perceived threat that may no longer serve us. A shift in perception may help us to find self-compassion rather than a judgment toward our feelings. By meeting our shadow selves in kindness, we may just find the comfort we seek. If the threat is real, all the more reason to honour your feelings and reach out for empowerment, empathetic support and protection. (Dempster, M.)

3. Breath

At a time when so many are struggling to breathe, it's easy to get caught up in the fear and forget to breathe ourselves. I mean REALLY BREATHE. We are always breathing, but doing so consciously gives us constant access to the sacred, and a tool to shift our attention to what is sustaining us.

Michele Meehan

Registered Psychotherapist and Shamanic Practitioner

If you would like to explore more ways to work with you breath to help quell your fears, increase your energy level, or clear emotional energy, please contact me.

Email Michele

Breath offers a powerful, natural way to transform our emotional state. Michele Meehan is a Registered Psychotherapist and Shamanic Practitioner who offers support for integrative healing to bring body, mind, heart and spirit into harmony using shamanic practices, integrative breath work, relaxation and visualization and rituals. In a conversation with her about how breathwork can help us move through fear, she emphasizes that the breath is the connector between body, mind, heart and spirit. This natural function provides us a gateway for transformation. She explains:

Working with our breath gives us a natural way to help mitigate the effects of fear or anxiety. When we feel fearful or anxious, our breathing tends to become shallow – this is a natural response, but it perpetuates the state of anxiety. Deepening the breath helps to shift our mental/emotional state. (Michele Meehan)

Michele explains that the first step is to bring awareness to the breath, noticing the sensation and movement. Then gently slowing and deepening it, we can activate a relaxation response. With practice, a slower, fuller breath will start to become a habit.

4. Vitamin N

Weather you are going for a walk or doing a grounding meditation with a tree, connecting with Vitamin N (N is for nature) has amazing effects on our health generally. Among the health benefits that are being researched, include the impact of nature on fear, anxiety, anger and depression. Researchers in Sweden have found that joggers who exercise in a natural green setting feel more restored and less anxious, angry, or depressed than people who burn the same amount of calories jogging in a built urban setting. Shinrin-yoku, the process of taking in the forest through our senses, was developed in Japan during the 1980s, and is now practiced across the world to reduce blood pressure and stress, while improving immune function, mood, sleep, energy, the ability to focus, and recover more quickly from surgery or illness. No matter your technique, getting outside and really experiencing the natural world can do wonders for releasing and moving through fear and anxiety. Take a look at the video offered here for an introduction to Shinrin-yoku, and consider it an invitation to give it a try!

Enjoy this introduction to Shinrin Yoku

5. Cleaning

While living in a culture that teaches accumulation, it is important to also spend time clearing the physical, mental and emotional debris that we collect. Creating space for the sacred, we bring awareness to the foundation of our being and learn to sift through and release what no longer serves.

7-Week E-Course for Healers and Changemakers with Deborah Brodey April 29-June 10

Outer and inner cleaning belong to the foundation of spiritual practice, and as the monk's broom touches the ground, it has a particular relationship with the Earth. We need to create a sacred space in order to live in relationship to the sacred within ourselves and within creation.
(Vaughan-Lee, L., and Hart, H., 2017)

Whether it's a daily ritual bath, tending to the feng shui of your home, doing a body detox, saging your home, clearing the thoughts that no longer serve you, dusting a shelf, or doing your laundry - it is important to extend your love to clear the clutter (physical, mental, emotional or energetic) as a regular daily practice. In one of her workshops, Deborah Brodey (Transformation Guide, Vini-Yoga Instructor and Sound Healer) emphasized the importance of "saucha", one of the first nyamas in Patanjali's Eight Limbs of Yoga, which translates to cleanliness, and there are a number of techniques to help do this. If you'd like to explore this and other Nyamas further, I highly recommend her Radical Self-Nourishment Program, designed for change makers.

6. Sounding Through Fear

When the vagus nerve in our bodies is overstimulated (eg., due to stress or fear) or inactive; the right frequencies can bring it back to normal working order.

“In your ear, there’s the vestibulocochlear nerve, which connects to the vagus nerve, the major parasympathetic nerve in the body. Your parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for relaxation and digestion such as reducing stress, lowering blood pressure, and relaxing muscles. (Dr. Martinez-Perez).

"Sounding for a minimum of 5-9 minutes is one way to do this", explains Sound Healer Valerie Moysey. She has offered this simple process / technique to help us all sound through fear:

Get Grounded
Set your intention (to receive support through your fear, to move through fear, to release fear, etc)
Start with a monotone vowel sound (aaa; eeee; ooo; etc), beginning with the outward listening of the sound
When you're comfortable, begin to listen to the sound from within - it will actually become a multi-layered sound. Listen to it being made from inside, and it will carry you through all sorts of intense emotion.

Note: If you are experiencing intense fear or are having a difficult time getting grounded, it's important to have support. It could be a friend or a professional, depending on your situation - somebody you can feel safe with, and who is also grounded and not in fear, themselves. For guided support, contact Valerie: [email protected].

Valerie Moysey

Sound healer and palliative support

If you would like to receive some guided support in sounding through your fear, Valerie is available for remote sessions.

Email Valerie

7. Prayer / Intention

The coronavirus pandemic is indiscriminate, affecting lives across races and religions. This global angst has simultaneously inspired interfaith unity and solidarity. There are examples around the world of leaders coming together across faith groups as well. On April 22nd, in fact, Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Druze religious leaders in Israel were set to hold an interfaith virtual prayer Wednesday afternoon amid the coronavirus pandemic (The Times of Israel). In a Statement from the Parliament of World Religions, it invokes in us the need to "find new ways to bring comfort to one another, to cooperate with one another, and to overcome the ravages of disease and death." Meanwhile, the The Canadian Interfaith Conversation was pleased to participate in the development of the statement, "Hope, Gratitude and Solidarity: A Message to Canadians from Religious Leaders in Canada in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic," released March 30, 2020. They also offered an interfaith message for spiritual and religious leaders to be beacons of support during these difficult times. "Together with over 80 leaders of religious communities, we pledged to "witness hope to each other and so become beacons of light during these uncertain times."

While we witness this outpouring of support and solidarity from spiritual and religious leaders around the world, many of us are also turning to prayer more and more in our own daily practices, to ask for support in with our fear. When we bow our heads, bring our hands to our hearts, or kneel on the ground in prayer, we open up to the invisible world and the intangible presence of our heart, mind, and soul. When we listen with all of our senses from this place, we connect, participate with, and witness the Divine and attune to the sacred.

Valerie also strongly recommended prayer: "Set a strong focus / intention for help, ask what is it that you need to move through this time, and listen to what comes through". It reminded me of this quote by Rumi, which seems to thread all of these tips and strategies together.

Make everything in you an ear, each atom of your being, and you will hear at every moment what the Source is whispering to you, just to you and for you, without any need for my words or anyone else's. You are - we all are - the beloved of the Beloved, and in every moment, in every event of your life, the Beloved is whispering to you exactly what you need to hear and know. Who can ever explain this miracle? It simply is. Listen and you will discover it in every passing moment. (Rumi)

This quote really touches me, and the words can carry all of us through each of the practices recommended throughout this article.

May you be blessed by these medicines as you listen to, navigate, and learn from your fear, into a place of beloved expansion, compassion, and hope. And through all of this, please know that you do not need to navigate this alone. You are supported and loved.

Living Seasonally

Self-Care Tips for Spring

Sigil Making
to focus and manifest intention

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YOUR CART

Member Spotlight: Deborah Brodey

Quelling Fear

Tips and Solutions to Quelling Fear

1. Grounding

2. Take Heart

3. Breath

4. Vitamin N

5. Cleaning

6. Sounding Through Fear

7. Prayer / Intention

Archives

Categories

257 Danforth Ave Toronto

Connect

E | [email protected]
T | 416-569-7241
Hive | https://inner-arts-hive.mn.co

YOUR CART

Member Spotlight: Deborah Brodey

Quelling Fear

Tips and Solutions to Quelling Fear

1. Grounding

2. Take Heart

3. Breath

4. Vitamin N

5. Cleaning

6. Sounding Through Fear

7. Prayer / Intention

Archives

Categories

257 Danforth Ave Toronto

ConnectE | [email protected]​T | 416-569-7241Hive | https://inner-arts-hive.mn.co

Connect

E | [email protected]
T | 416-569-7241
Hive | https://inner-arts-hive.mn.co