Mystic Moon Wellness

creating wellness for your transformations

DeDe and Roger

Moon Reflections

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4/24/17 by DeDe Hinrichs

If you know me, you know I love the moon!  It reminds me of the cycles of life.  The moon is full 2-3 days out of a 28 day cycle, about 10% of the time.  The moon is in its dark (new moon) phase 10% of the time as well.  The other 80% of the time the moon has some percentage of light and darkness.

That being said, our lives mimic this cycle.  10% of our life we can expect those mountain top experiences (full moon).  10% of our life we can expect the dark days (dark new moon).  80% of the time we are somewhere in between.  I call this 80%, the mundane part of our life.  It contains the duality of life, some light and some dark – some “good” and some “bad”.  Too often I find myself dreaming about or clinging to the mountain top experiences or dreading and resisting the dark times instead of being present in the moment I’m in.  What if, instead, I could find peace and happiness in the mundane parts of my life?  Those day in, day out days that don’t seem to be anything special?  This is a good place for me to put some effort, don’t you agree?  What can we do to bring happiness and peace to these days?  I know for myself, one answer is to be present and aware of what is happening in the NOW moment instead of ruminating about the past or worrying about the future.

When those mountain top experiences show up in your life, be fully present instead of trying to cling to the moment.  It will cycle through, just as the full moon cycles through.  Know those days will come again.  Same can be said about the dark times in our lives.  Be fully present in these times instead of resisting.  Know these days will soon pass and they too will show up again sometime in the future.  It’s the cycles of life and the moon is there to remind us of this each night if we are present enough to notice it.

We can use the energy of the moon to assist us in creating our life.  The new moon (dark moon) is a time when the energy promotes brain storming.  What brilliant ideas can you come up with?

As the light creeps back and begins to illuminate the moon, the energy of the moon is ripe to help us create actions steps to move forward with those brilliant idea(s) we came up with in the new moon phase.

The full moon in all its glory is about celebration!  How will I celebrate my diligence in moving forward with these ideas?  How will I celebrate just being alive?  This is a time to pat yourself on the back for what you’ve accomplished and give yourself a break if you aren’t as far ahead as you intended.  It’s all good.  Another new moon will soon roll around to give it another go, if needed.

As the dark begins to reduce the light, the energy of the moon is accelerated to help you begin to let go, release the should and should not’s (and those to-do lists) and clear out anything that is no longer working for you.

Here’s an example that I did quite some time ago:   On the new moon, I decided to walk a minimum of 30 minutes every day.  During the first phase of the moon, I came up with my action steps and put it into motion.  Two weeks later, on the full moon, I reflected on how much better I felt after just two weeks and made myself my favorite whole food, plant based dinner with sparkling water.  I told myself I was doing a great job (even though there were a couple days I wasn’t able to get my walk in).  As the moon began to grow dark, I released my drill sergeant inner voice.  That critical inner voice wasn’t helping me or making me feel happy and peaceful.  I re-evaluated my original action steps.  I realized there were going to be a couple days each week that things get in the way of being able to get my walk in.  I made some changes to my original plan and decided to walk a bit longer each day and walk at least 5 days a week instead of every day.  This offered me the flexibility my life needed.  I cleared out the critical voice and the inflexibility of doing it every day.

Before I knew it, the new moon had returned and a whole cycle (28 days) had gone by and I was left with a new habit.  What would I create for the next moon cycle?

This is a very simple example of how you can use the moon phases to your benefit.  You can do this with anything you want to implement into your life or anything you want to move out of your life.  Give it a try!

Happy Mooning,  DeDe Hinrichs

A Personal Conversation with Myself

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by DeDe Hinrichs 03/20/2017
Recently I read an article by Therese Wade called “How to heal yourself by talking to your body”. I resonated very strongly with the information. It brought back to me information I’ve heard several times before regarding quantum entanglement and other such information about how everything is energy and how we are all affected by it. In the article she took this information and applied it by talking to the cells of her body through a meditative practice. In doing so, she realized a profound healing from a neuropathic condition called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. Amazing.

 
This information has been around for a long time and the research is sound. Cleve Backster is well known for his work in the CIA. He founded their polygraph unit shortly after WW2. In 1960, he became director of the Backster School of Lie Detection in San Diego, CA. It was here, he began his research using the polygraph machine on plants, cells and animals. This lead to his theory of “primary perception”. He claimed that plants “feel pain” and have ESP among other startling discoveries all which were rejected by the scientific community at the time. He claimed this “primary perception” could be measured in all living things, plants, animals and yes, human cells. Years later, his research became popular among certain religious sects such as Hinduism, Buddhism and New Age communities as it mirrored many of their beliefs. The Discovery Channel and Mythbusters got in on the action as well. You can find these shows in the archives if you’re interested – or look up the work of Cleve Backster online. His work has been proven over and over. Bottom line, the research proves quantum entanglement, which is (per Wikipedia), “a physical phenomenon that occurs when pairs or groups of particles are generated or interact in ways such that the quantum state of each particle cannot be described independently of the others, even when the particles are separated by a large distance”. This is a scholarly way of saying that our thoughts, words and actions have an impact on ourselves, others, plants and animals. If we really believed this, how would we do things differently? A very thought provoking question.

 
I let this information roll around in my thoughts for a week or two as I looked up additional information online and watched some youtube videos. Then, it all came together for me as I lay awake unable to fall asleep one night. “Why not”, I asked myself. “Let’s try this out”. Just like many of you, I continue my healing around many past traumas. Some lifelong and some shorter term. It seemed like a good time to revisit it and see about untangling another layer. I wasn’t following any formula or plan. I wasn’t even sure what I was going to do or how. So, I did what I always do when I’m not sure what to do next – I started following my breath. Soon I became more centered and began to drop into a meditative state. An idea came to me to get a meeting together between my body, my mind and my spirit. I know it sounds a bit strange. I wanted each part in attendance and I wanted each one to have a voice. I started by stating this meetings intention is to have a conversation to determine what would be the most beneficial thing to focus on to bring healing overall. I knew I wanted to start with my body. First, I apologized to my body for continuing to boss it around and for not doing a good job of listening or even asking for its input. My mind kept telling me this was a ridiculous thing to do and I was just making it all up anyway. I felt like my mind wanted to keep taking over but I was determined to set the mind aside and allow the body to be heard. I persisted, patiently waiting for the voice of my body. Finally, the quiet voice began. It said, “Scan and notice where the body feels tight or restricted”. Right away I noticed my lower back where I often have discomfort. Then more subtly I noticed a restriction in my diaphragm (breathing muscle) when I exhaled. “What are the restrictions from and what can I do to help free them”, I asked. The answer came that it was from needing to be so guarded and on high alert as a young person to survive. Being on high alert had continued to be a normal state for me even though it was no longer a necessity. This wasn’t new information for me. I sensed my body was so tired of keeping this vigilance and it was feeling quite angry about not having a break from it for a long time. Not sure what to do next, I called in the help of my mind and spirit. We came to the conclusion it would be helpful to imagine a dial numbered from 1-10. 10, being how it felt to be on high alert and 1, what it felt like to be at ease. We had already come to the conclusion that it wasn’t necessary to be on high alert and it would be preferable to be at ease. I imagined the dial at 10 and noticed how it felt in my body. I began turning it down to 9, then 8. “How does this feel”, I asked? “A little vulnerable”, came the answer. We waited here for a while until things felt more settled. “Should we stay here or are you ok to go lower”, I asked my body. “I’m ready”, came the answer. I turned it down to 7, 6, and then 5. I checked in again. Everything’s good, so I turned it down to 4, 3, 2 and to 1. “How does this feel”, I asked again? A long pause before I heard the voice again. “I feel relieved, like getting off a 52 year work shift”, came the answer. I could feel my breath moving easier than it ever had. Turning to my mind, I asked, “Are you ok with this dial being at 1”? This is where we went into a logical conversation about how there was no longer a reason to be on high alert and that lowering the fight, flight or freeze response was a very good and healthy thing to do. Especially since these responses could jump back in when they were needed. Turning to my spirit, I asked “do you have anything to add”? “At last”, came the response. “Maintaining this level of vigilance has been a constant drain on our energy”. I thanked my body, mind and spirit. “We’ll do this again soon”. Then, I drifted off to sleep. I awoke very early the following morning, like way too early – 4:30 a.m. early. Eyes wide open and full of energy. This was NOT a normal thing for me. I reminisced over the nights events. Did this really make a difference or was it all in my head? Was it real or just a made up story of a crazy woman? I thought back to the article I read and the research I did online. Did the cells of my body respond to the energetic meeting of my mind, body and spirit? Yes, it appears it did and it all happened on the eve of the spring equinox. Very auspicious.

 
With the information of Cleve Backster’s research fresh in my thoughts, I find myself being much more aware as I water and care for my house plants. Do they miss me when I’m gone like Cleve states? Do they appreciate a sweet compliment or a gentle touch? What about the trees, rocks, water and the earth? What about the grocery clerk or my family? What about my own body, mind and spirit? Do they feel it when I look lovingly at them or tell them how much I appreciate them? I dare say yes, they do. They all do. What about those times when I’m not saying sweet or gentle things to myself or the things around me? Yes, that has an impact as well.
Today my thoughts are on how to implement this as a way to continue to help myself and also help others. I think it would be a good exercise to do as part of a hypnotherapy session. Hypnotherapy is a powerful vehicle for transformation. I’m excited to see how it all plays out.

Until next time – Namaste, DeDe

Massage & Reiki for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

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Do you suffer from the winter blues?  Me too!  This time of year many people experience many different symptoms:  trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, lack of energy, lack of interest in things you normally like, overeating, craving sweets and carbohydrates, depression, irritability, anti-social tendencies and a weakened immune system.  The thought to curl up in a ball and wait for spring often occurs to me!  Commonly referred to as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), many of these symptoms can be due to an imbalance in the body as exposure to sunlight decreases, affecting hormonal changes in the body.  Not to mention the holidays can also be really tough for a million different reasons!

Unfortunately, most of us lead very busy lives that don’t allow much time for hibernation.  So what can we do instead?  Try getting regular Massage or Reiki treatments!  One thing I love about these types of treatments is they don’t require much effort on my part.  Once the appointment is made, I just need to show up and climb onto a table. From that point on, I can relax and let the therapist do all the work.

What are the Benefits?  Massage releases endorphins, which creates a euphoric feeling and fights depression.  It also lowers the recipient’s blood pressure, improves circulation, positively stimulates the nerve endings, removes toxins and improves energy and concentration. (Massage is also beneficial in relieving back pain, headaches, PMS, respiratory issues and boosting the immune system – and many other things).  The Mayo Clinic mentions massage as an alternative mind-body therapy that may help relieve symptoms of SAD.  (http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/basics/alternative-medicine/con-20021047 ).  The National University of Health Services also promotes massage as an effective treatment (http://www.nuhs.edu/news/2015/1/massage-can-help-those-with-seasonal-affective-disorder-(sad)/ ).

Reiki is known to help reduce pain, alleviate anxiety and calm depression symptoms. It reduces our feelings of stress and it produces a deep feeling of calm by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system.   In a study, according to the US National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health, Reiki significantly reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety both immediately after treatment and 5 weeks post-treatment.  (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3660126/ For further reading on the topic, Psych Central offers this in depth article with several references:  http://psychcentral.com/lib/reiki-healing-and-mental-health-what-the-research-shows/

How often should I get Massage or Reiki?  The positive effects of massage treatments can be felt immediately, but for long-term effects it is advised to receive between two and four treatments a month during fall and winter seasons.  You will experience less intense symptoms and will regain a more positive and healthy perspective on life. Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t able to have the recommended number of treatments.  Do what works for your budget and schedule.  Doing some is better than none at all.  To help with costs, Green Lotus offers a 3 pack of sessions which reduces the per session price.

Some other things we can do to prevent the winter blues are:  eat a balanced, healthy diet, drink plenty of water, have a regular exercise routine, and be sure to get our faces in the sun whenever it decides to show up (in moderation, of course)!

Namaste and Be Well!

Q&A: Can I use my Insurance HSA, FSA for Massage?

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In order for Massage Therapy to be considered a qualified medical expense, it MUST be used primarily to ease or prevent a physical or mental ailment.  Examples of this may be (but not limited to): pain management, anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, back pain, stress, arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, carpal tunnel syndrome.  Here’s the fine print:  IRS publication 502, under the heading “What are Medical Expenses” says: “…Medical care expenses must be primarily to alleviate or prevent a physical or mental defect or illness. They don’t include expenses that are merely beneficial to general health, such as vitamins or a vacation”.  Then, under the heading “What Medical Expenses Are Includible?”, and under the heading of “Therapy” it says “You can include in medical expenses amounts you pay for therapy received as medical treatment.”  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf ).

If you are suffering from an ailment and believe the treatment may fall under the above category, the first thing you MUST do is schedule an appointment with your Doctor.  Let him/her know you have an HSA or FSA and let him/her know you would like to use your funds for massage for treatment or prevention of your ailment and ask for a prescription.  The prescription, from your Doctor, must include three things:

  • Reason: Why do you need massage therapy? (Example:  To relieve or reduce_______ (your ailment).
  • Frequency: How frequent do you need treatment? (Example:  One session every two weeks)
  • Duration: How long should you receive treatment?  (Example:  6 months, or a year)

Bring your prescription with you to Green Lotus so we can make a copy to have on file.  When we have this on file, according to the Minnesota Department of Revenue, it is not necessary to charge sales tax (when the massage is for preventing or alleviating a physical or mental defect or illness and a prescription is shown).  (http://www.revenue.state.mn.us/law_policy/revenue_notices/RN_07-06.pdf ).  Of course, be sure to keep this prescription in your files with your other tax documents.

Please note:  If you are using a debit card that is directly tied to your HSA or FSA account, you may not include tips.  Tips may be paid with cash, check or another card.

This time of year you may be deciding how much money to set aside in your HSA or FSA account for next year.  Remember to include the cost of your Therapeutic Massage visits in your total amount if you have a qualifying medical condition.

Disclaimer:  This article is for information only.  It does not guarantee coverage of Therapeutic Massage for your HSA/FSA.  Please consult with your HSA/FSA professional to confirm eligibility.  Green Lotus will provide receipts upon request, but will not turn receipts in to Insurance, HSA or FSA or take any responsibility for eligibility of services.