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Well Being Newsletter
May 2007
Vol. 2 No. 5
WELCOME
This month's newsletter is packed! I invite you to print it out and sit down with a cup of tea to fully enjoy it.
The article, “Nourish the Children” emerged after my trip to Colorado and my experience teaching Nia to the refugee children.
There's so much in this issue, I thought I'd bullet it for you in this welcoming introduction:
- Nourish the Children
- Body & Soul-Based Nourishment--free tune-ups
- Lose the Cravings (for sugar and other carbohydrates)
- Nia classes
- Bosnia Internship Benefit Nia Class
- Nia 101 Class
- Introduction to Nia Workshop
- From Intention to Reality: Creating Deeper Wholeness for You and
the World (Seattle and Charlottesville Retreats)
- Reiki Level 1 Certification Class
- Cruisin' with Susan to the Mexican Riviera
In wellness,
Susan Tate, M.A.
Editor
www.wawellness.com
NOURISH THE CHILDREN
It takes a village to raise a child.
African proverb
This well-known proverb seems an appropriate introduction to this article. I saw this concept in action as I recently spent a weekend with thirty-six remarkable children, ages 6-17, at the Mt. Evans Outdoor Education Laboratory in Evergreen, Colorado. A majority of the children were refugees from the African countries of Somalia, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Mauritania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These remarkable children have touched a deep and tender place in my heart.
My daughter, Molly Firkaly, and her co-worker, Denise Lines, planned and facilitated the first-ever “Peace Pals Summit” for the children from four Mercy Housing locations in the Denver area. Denise created the Peace Pals program in 2006 with a goal to facilitate nonviolent collaboration of children from many diverse cultures. The children learn not to bully others, to include others who feel left out and to tell adults when someone is being bullied. Peace Pals provides a nourishing support network that gathers children from a variety of cultures into a safe place of learning about themselves and each other.
The camping excursion began at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 5 as the children from Grace Apartments gathered to await the arrival of the chartered bus. Molly asked me to entertain the little ones while she finished processing last minute permission forms. I sat on the floor in the hallway with about a dozen brown-eyed children. One precocious 4-year-old, too young to go on the trip with her sister, plopped herself up side down between my legs, content to just be squiggling in the midst of the excitement. I asked the children to tell me their names and their home country. Then I asked, “What was the best surprise that you experienced after moving to America?” One little girl quickly volunteered, “I love going to school here! If I make a mistake and don't answer questions right, I don't get a beating!” The two girls next to her joined in a short chant, “No more beatings! No more beatings!” This information was something I was not quite equipped to absorb.
After we arrived at the camp, the children were supported, nourished and surrounded by a dozen volunteers - the village. Many were Molly's classmates from her International Disaster Psychology graduate program. All of these men and women were a treasure. I was in awe of their skill, compassion, enthusiasm, creativity and commitment. Their respect and warmth for the children seeped out the doors and windows, enhancing the Rocky Mountain air.
That afternoon, the children had the opportunity to enjoy kite making (resulting in colorful, free-flowing art), archery (“Ready on the range” was the phrase each archer said as he or she prepared to draw the bow), fishing (in a great catch-and-release pond with a million dollar view), hiking (on the beautiful mountain trails), and thank-you card making (creating cards written to the volunteers and other village people who made the trip possible through donations of sleeping bags, food and water bottles. The squeals of “Ms. Susan, I caught a fish!” or “I saw five deer!” just kept my heart melting most of the afternoon.
After an evening of skits, dancing and free play, the men volunteers guided the boys off to their cabin. After helping with clean up in the kitchen, I found my way to the girls' cabin, ready for a good night's sleep. I forgot that in this village, sleep might be a bit elusive.
The next few hours were hilarious. After washing and teeth brushing, each girl slid into her new sleeping bag. The adults went to each bed, saying good night and gently tucking and zipping the younger ones in with a hug. The lights went out, and then the giggling began. After the giggles subsided, the coughing started. Finally, after much rustling and squirming, the cabin settled into quiet. Well, that was until someone passed gas. And then, we started all over with the giggles, the coughing, the whispers and finally again, the silence. I slid into my own cozy sleeping bag and was so happy to be off of my feet. And then, out of the silence, came sounds of soft snoring. Little girls and volunteers, many breathing heavily through the thin mountain air, created such noise that I thought I might never get to sleep. But I did, well, at least for the hour before sunrise. When Molly awakened me for kitchen duty at 6 a.m., we discovered six inches of heavenly white snow had fallen throughout the night. We quietly slipped out into the fresh morning air and headed for the dining hall. The next task at hand was to make enough pancakes for fifty campers. Before long, the Peace Pals poured into the dining hall, hungry and ready for breakfast.
One of the highlights of the weekend (no, it wasn't the one hour nap I had in the middle of the night) came when I introduced Nia to the children. Their first taste of Nia came when the volunteers spontaneously began to dance to the Nia song from the Dream Walker routine, “Welcome to my spaceship.” I had the CD player cranked high to keep me from falling face first into the pancake batter, and the tune immediately seeped into the arms and legs of the volunteers serving the food. I jumped up and began guiding the dancing adults through the Nia movements to this lively song. The children stood and watched, plates in hand, mouths and eyes wide open. What were these tall people doing dancing and jumping with imaginary jump ropes in the kitchen? The chorus of the song is, “Welcome to my spaceship, you're beautiful forever.” The dancers opened their hands to gesture toward the children and sang from their hearts, “You're beautiful forever!” And the children felt it. We felt it. I will never, ever forget their joy--or mine.
And we hadn't even done a Nia class with the children yet! That came an hour after breakfast. I taught the older children first and the focus for the class was peace. I read the quote to them that I have often shared in my adult classes:
Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.
This quote from an unknown source, reminds me to seek the peace within, even amidst the chaos. The children seemed drawn to this comforting message. As they danced (some of the girls had never been seen moving their bodies with any kind of free expression before this class), they sounded “YES!” and “NO!” and blocked and wriggled and wiggled and splashed. Then I played the “Welcome to my spaceship” song. They floated their hands in front of their hearts and gestured to each other as they gleefully sang, “You're beautiful forever!” These children have so much love to share. We then gathered in a closing circle and I asked the children to close their eyes, cover their hearts with their hands, and call to mind someone or some place that they wanted to send peace to. One little girl, softly uttered, “Africa!” The sacred circle of children settled into silence with faces exuding hope, trust, love and peace. At that moment, I wanted to take them all home with me for a visit. But then I remembered the giggles and the coughing and the gas and the snoring and was brought back to reality.
The younger children, ages 6-10, enjoyed different tunes as we danced to the zoo--and back, and moved fast, slow and then stopped our bodies with “the freeze.” They also wanted to do the space ship song. Even the six year-old children were joyfully singing to the others, “You're beautiful forever!”
After the excitement and sounds of the weekend, the bus ride home was rather quiet. As I looked behind me from the front of the bus, most of the adults appeared to be napping and the children were glassy-eyed and still. With memories of this Peace Pals summit settling in, the children prepared to re-enter city life.
As the sights and sounds of the city soon replaced the quiet beauty of the mountain campground, our bus finally pulled into the parking lot of Grace Apartments. These children returned home to loving hugs from family--that is, the family that is still alive after earlier years in their home countries of unimaginable violence and strife.
I noticed the open space next to the building and learned that the new refugee community had spent weeks creating a sweet garden space, shared peacefully by members of the village from many countries. The children play adjacent to the space on the ragged, dusty playground, filled with broken glass left over from drug dealers who once roamed this vacant lot. The vast green mountain playground seemed miles away. There is still much to do.
Marilyn French said, “To nourish children and raise them against odds is in any time, any place, more valuable than to fix bolts in cars or design nuclear weapons.” I salute Molly and Denise, the dedicated volunteers and the parents of these youth, for nourishing these precious children with an abundance of love and compassion. The well-being of these bodies and souls, and of all the world's children, must be a high priority for each of us. Is there something you can do to be a child-nourisher in our global village?
BODY & SOUL-BASED NOURISHMENT
I am offering a 20-minute complimentary “tune up” to Well Being Newsletter subscribers during May and June. Call (425) 238-2885 or email susan@wawellness.com to schedule your free telephone or office consult.
LOSE THE CRAVINGS
If you crave carbohydrates or sugar, you are not alone. I recently discovered a program that has successfully leveled my need for high-glycemic foods. When we consume high-glycemic foods, it causes an over stimulation of the release of insulin. If you love bagels, breads, crackers, pasta, potatoes, rice and sugar--did I say, you are not alone? Medical studies show that over 85% of the carbs we consume in the Western world are foods that have a high-glycemic value. Unfortunately, the more we eat, the more we crave. There is a way to reset the body at a cellular level to break the cycle.
I eat a good variety of wholesome foods, but for the last five years I have over-used chocolate to sooth my soul. My chocolate habit was clearly associated with the sweetness missing after experiencing a very painful divorce. I still LOVE chocolate, but I no longer need to eat it daily or in the amounts I was consuming. I finally realized that as high as my blood sugar spiked, it fell to a matching low and it did not fit in with my overall level of health and fitness. I was eating well, doing Nia several times week, had a great spiritual practice and was still chasing down many meals with my favorite chocolate! It also kept me feeling constantly hungry. The clinically tested 5-day behavior modification program I experienced has totally reset my metabolism. It is also proving to be successful in jumpstarting healthier eating habits in my clients. Please email me at susan@wawellness.com if you would like to know more.
NIA CLASS SCHEDULE
May/June 2007
The Dance Space
124 N. 103rd Street
Seattle, WA 98133
Tuesday 9:30 am (Anna)
Thursday 9:30 am (Anna)
Thursday 6:15 pm (Susan)
Saturday 9:30 am (Susan)
Saturday 10:45 am GENTLE NIA (Susan)
Nia classes worldwide: www.NiaNow.com
Seattle classes: www.niaseattle.com
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS & SPECIAL CLASSES
Complete descriptions available at: Washington Wellness Calendar
Bosnia Internship Benefit Nia class
The Dance Space
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Noon - 1:00 pm
Instructor: Susan Tate
By donation
Proceeds from this class will go toward my daughter's expenses for her summer internship in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Molly has spent the last two years working with refugee families and children while studying for a master's degree in International Psychology at the University of Denver. Her internship placement will be with a non-governmental organization (NGO) for ten weeks. Molly will be providing psychosocial interventions for children and adolescents who have been affected by the war. If you are unable to attend this benefit class but still want to contribute, please send your donation (checks written to Molly Firkaly) to Washington Wellness Associates, PO Box 722, Edmonds, WA 98020 Thank you!
Nia 101 Class
The Dance Space
Seattle, WA
Saturday, June 2, 2007
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
$13 drop in or use your class card
Instructor: Anna Israelsson
Introduction to Nia Workshop
The Dance Space
Seattle, WA
June 16, 2007
1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
$39
Instructor: Susan Tate
Registration: Call Susan (425) 238-2885
From Intention to Reality:
Creating Deeper Wholeness for You and the World
The Dance Space
Seattle, WA
Saturday, June 23, 2007
1:00 - 4:-00 pm
$45
Facilitator: Susan Tate
Reiki Level 1 Certification Class
The Dance Space
Seattle, WA
Sunday, July 15, 2007
10:30 am - 5:00 pm
$225 ($200 early registration)
Instructor: Reiki Master Wendy Vigdor-Hess
From Intention to Reality:
Creating Deeper Wholeness for You and the World
Studio 106
Charlottesville, VA
Saturday, September 15, 2007
1:30 - 4:30 pm
$45
Facilitator: Susan Tate
Cruisin' with Susan to the Mexican Riviera
Aboard the Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas
November 4 - 11, 2007
Enjoy Nia and Body & Soul-Based Nourishment at sea
Facilitator: Susan Tate and Karen King
Great rates starting from $693
Book now - $250 holds your spot. Space is limited.
Call Beth Young (206) 433-0721 or toll free (800) 762-1446
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
We are standing for the world's children and
grandchildren, and for seven generations beyond them.
We dream of a world where all of our children have safe drinking water,
clean air to breathe, and enough food to eat.
A world where they can have access to a basic education to develop
their minds and healthcare to nurture their growing bodies.
A world where they have a warm, safe and loving place to call home.
A world where they don't live in fear of violence--in their home, in their
neighborhood, in their school or in their world.
This is the world of which we dream.
This is the cause for which we stand.
Source: www.standingwomen.org
I welcome your comments and would love to hear how this newsletter supports your wellness journey. Please email me at susan@wawellness.com
Please take a few moments to add this address to your email address book in order to give the Well Being Newsletter a better chance of reaching you.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is meant to support and guide you as you make choices to enhance your well-being. It is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment. Contact a qualified healthcare professional if you need medical assistance.
Feel free to reproduce, copy or distribute
this newsletter with people you know who want to enhance
their well-being. When doing so, please forward it in its
entirety, including our contact and copyright information.
If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Susan Tate is required. Joyful wellness is communicable! Thank
you for spreading the word.
Copyright © 2007.
Washington Wellness Associates.
All rights reserved.
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