Community spaces for art with kids.
I was recently honored to participate in a wonderful and inspiring event for children focused on sharing various different types of art.
I shared the art of making a Tzicuri- also known as Ojo de Dios.
Mary- a teacher, dance instructor, photographer and painter ~ in my opinion the true definition of an artist ~ was one of the organizers of this event. She said in her speech and I am paraphrasing on this part - “Art is a severely underfunded area within our school system. We realized it was a need within our community to have spaces to teach kids to express themselves freely and safely through art.” She guided the kids on the creation of gorgeous acrylic paintings of turtles in the sea.
Aracely- a marketing wizard up here in NorCal was also one of the main organizers of this event. Aracely and Mary found sponsors for this event and worked on the marketing together.
Very grateful for both of their efforts for it was a complete success!
I am honored to have been invited and to have been one of the small businesses participating. Sharing the art of making a Tzicuri was so much fun and watching the kids focus and then be so proud of their creations was the best thing ever.
The attentiveness that they had when listening to me speak about the cutural meaning behind a Tzicuri how it connects us to the elemtents, our humanity, the cardinal points, the heavens and divine - and about the great Wixarika peoples of central Mexico/ Anahuac that kept this art and cosmology alive through the harshest of timelines. The seed of curiosity ever-present about relatives throughout the world and their arts filled my heart with hope for the future.
I hope to continue to be able to experience magical moments such as this, spreading seeds of wisdom and learning so much from our youth as they learn from us.
Exercises to ease neck and shoulder discomfort
Whether your neck tension comes from long work hours, stressors of life, or sleeping in the wrong way etc. -
If your energy feels stuck within the head and shoulders causing discomfort or tightness - these are my go to Qi Gong routines I reach for to help “moisten the joints”.
https://youtu.be/MwPx7NvDXyc?si=bl8LKQokDnNe7-mL
https://youtu.be/2aJ2su6U7Ok?si=0JkUZK5dCFL3Xi3U
https://youtu.be/u8eklKpXP-0?si=c0ATjecPHf0a-DnH
https://youtu.be/GpKTSnaSDk8?si=HkgHqujR_3KCJ1Yg
They are each about 5-10 minutes long and all you need is a small space and your body to do. No yoga mat or special clothing needed. Find a time that is sustainable for you - for example add this to your morning routine, a mid day stretch routine during your 30 min work break, before bedtime or even all 3. There is no rule to this only to do what you feel your body needs.
For an extra boost - practice outside in nature (if you’re able); especially under a tree to experience how the elements connect to your energy/body/movements/ intention.
Pay attention to the wind responding to your own energy, as you follow the sequences- activate your senses and mind to connect to the elements and our plant and cosmic kin. Feel your pores open and receive the sun, moonlight, cleansing breeze.
As you inhale thank the trees for the oxygen they’re creating, and as you exhale gift the trees the Co2 they need to transform it into their own food and nourishment. Welcome these gentle reminders of our connectivity to all things including the plants, water, stars, animals and each other.
The surprise at the Stansbury House
This weekend I was honored to attend a beautiful wedding in Chico hosted at a location called the Stansbury House.
While roaming around the house museum, I was amazed at the history of medicine that was hiding within the historical articles.
The Stansbury house was built by Dr. Oscar Stansbury in 1883.
He was one of the first physicians to arrive when the town of Chico was only 3 years old. Because there was no hospital, he had a room built in his home to treat patients, often travelled to patients homes in his carriage, and worked out of the courthouse building to meet the demand of the times.
Within his extensive collection of medical texts - there were countless of books about different aspects of the body, diseases and surprisingly for those times - the importance of hygiene in preventing disease.
Medical anthropology has always been a deep interest of mine and I never thought I would find such deep history of this in the cute little town of Chico.
Dr. Oscar Stansbury’s collection of medical equipment was amazing - within his shelves there were glass cupping cups that were used in that time for an ancient form of cupping called Hijama - a practice originating back to the middle east and ancient Egyptians among others which is still practiced in some parts of the world today.
Such an important reminder that cupping has been around for hundreds if not thousands of years practiced even by traditional physicians.
I highly encourage anyone visiting Chico to make a quick stop at the Stansbury house. Such a gem of history to see.
-Mayeelin
Tools for Wellness
There are a lot of things we cannot control - but one thing we can control is having tools for our individual wellness when we need it and establishing strong practices of health that help strengthen our capacity for stress.
These are some of my top tools for wellness I reach for when I need to get out of my overactive head and into my body. In other words, from fight or flight/ fawn to rest and calm.
There are a lot of things we cannot control - but one thing we can control is having tools for our individual wellness when we need it and establishing strong practices of health that help strengthen our capacity for stress.
These are some of my top tools for wellness I reach for when I need to get out of my overactive head and into my body. In other words, from fight or flight/ fawn to rest and calm. For some of these all you need is your breath and perhaps some space to move your body a bit.
Qi gong + Deep Breathing with mindful movement
Your breath is the gateway to the ethers. Qi gong is one of my favorite practice to do whenever I’m feeling extra restless. Most sequences are around 7-15 minutes long making it very achievable even for a busy working mom like me. Below are some of my favorite ones I’ve used for the past almost 10 years! There are benefits to doing these practices in the morning and in the evening as well to get even higher quality rest during sleep. Practicing in the morning helps move lymph, awaken the qi (improve energy levels), and improve concentration. Below are some of my favorite sequences:
Herbal Tea Practice to calm the nervous system.
How does the famous quote go. “When drinking tea, just drink the tea”.
Having an herbal tea practice is one of the best ways to connect to the medicine of the earth and the deep healing that happens when we mindfully intake flowers, mushrooms, barks, roots, and leaves from the earth.
Some of my favorite go to’s for anxiety/nervous system relaxation especially at night are chamomile, passionflower, rose, catnip, fennel, fenugreek, hibiscus, red clover, and during these cold winter months canela (cinnamon) is an all time favorite.
One of my favorite places to source my herbs is Mountain Rose Herbs and also my local farmers market.
Adding adaptogenic mushrooms to coffee to make it medicinal. There are so many to explore with but one of my favorite blends contains a combination of a few and combined with cofffee it’s an absolute morning game changer. The amazon link is below although I have found it at grocery outlet before too.
(Please always verify with your doctor if you are taking medication to make sure it is safe to drink with teas. There are certain herbs that should not be combined with pharmaceuticals so it’s best to always double check if you have doubts. None of this is medical advice, just simply wisdom bits I’ve picked up along the way that I think are valuable to share).