Dance the Night Away!

Okay, so I've recently fallen madly in love with ecstatic dance! Ecstatic dance is simply unguided, free-form dancing to music of all genres in a private or public forum - sometimes I refer to is as Spirit Dancing. Seattle has tons of venues for ecstatic dance, apparently it's pretty popular here. For my first time, I attended a women's ecstatic dance with some women from my community - we started off with a few Qi Gong exercises to warm up, then the music started and we danced, got silly, and even twirled like disco-ballerinas for the next few hours to everything from hip-hop, to pop, electronic, celtic, world beats, and more!! I had so much fun shakin' it, and there was never a moment of awkwardness. Afterwards, its like we were totally blissed out on our own endorphins and I was on that magical, natural high for days. A few weeks later, I attended a coed ecstatic dance on Capitol Hill, which was ever better than the first - I guess the male energy brought something else into the mix! Anyway, if you haven't heard about this lovely Kundalini-inspired artform, now you have - try it, it's an awesome remedy for stagnancy, procrastination, lack of creativity, exhaustion, anxiety, depression, and more! If there aren't ecstatic dances held where you live, no worries. All you need is music and some space (silence actually works too), just 'shake it' like no one's watching and allow your body to express itself through its own healing moves - it knows what to do, all you have to do is follow!

Your Friend,
Rainfaerie

Cheers! A Toast to Success!

       School's out! I really appreciate this 3-week break to get back to a few projects I put aside earlier, as school took priority. Although this was a busy quarter for me, I'm grateful to say that a few things have come to fruition! A little over a year ago, I dreamt of becoming a writer for a wellness publication, and began writing short articles for Wellness Speaks, another blog I author as a companion to World Wellness Cooperative. At last! I was invited to write for Sound Intgrated Health News (SIHN) just last month! SIHN was created by Lisa Price, a Naturopathic Doctor(ND) who happens to be a Bastyr Alumnus, yay! My first article entitled, "Approaching Urinary Tract Infections the Natural Way" was published on 12/7/11, you can check it out by clicking here! I also recently scored a great job at Bastyr Center for Natural Health, which is another dream I'd had since about a year ago. When we first arrived in Seattle, I was looking avidly for employment, but kept missing the mark. I began to realize that apparently, none of them were meant for me, so I waited and kept my dream alive of working in the clinic. After being told a position in the clinic was unavailable, I asked...one more time and the answer was 'Sure, can you start training this weekend?' Of course I said yes and have been enjoying my experience there ever since. I'm so glad that I am working in the clinic because it's a great way to connect with other healh professionals while learning what it takes to run a clinic from the inside out - I couldn't have asked for a better job!
       I will admit that I wasn't exactly happy-go-lucky through the whole process. I did find myself becoming quite frustrated about being told 'No' to everything I tried my hand at, because I am human and who wouldn't feel like crap after sowing so much time, effort, and money with no sign of a good return! However, I've learned that this is one of the reasons why it's important to build relationships with others around you who are positive thinkers. When I felt like things weren't going to turn around, I talked to people who know my character and they helped me stay encouraged. When, I felt I was losing sight of hope, their faith in me was strong enough that I was able to get back on the ball and press on. I'm grateful to have such friend, family, and community support - this is so very precious and important for us as humans, we need other people.
       Anyway, those are the latest pieces of me! I didn't write this to brag about my accomplishments but rather to inspire anyone who has ever felt like throwin' in tha' towel...Dont Quit! Mom always said that when things are at their worst point and it seems all is lost, there's a blessing waiting just around the corner for you, just stay focussed a little longer and don't quit, never give up on your dreams! I'm also sure you've all heard how most successful people have failed more times than one can imagine, but they eventually got that payout - a big one! So here's to being successful, cheers if you're successful (meaning: if you're failing like crazy right now), here's to you, you deserve it!

Happy Holidays!
Your Friend,
Rainfaerie