self-care

For the past few days, I’ve experienced an intermittent burning sensation on the sole of my right foot.

#$%

I had the great displeasure of living with plantar fasciitis about 12 years ago and I’m not keen to revisit those days. I immediately took action with the intention of tending to body, mind, emotions, spirit, and energy system.

What does that look like? A holistic approach is about recognizing all aspects of ourselves and investigating what is out of balance. I want to address all factors that could be contributing to the imbalance, not just pushing away discomfort at any cost.

Therefore, I did not take Advil or any anti-inflammatory meds. I don’t want to suppress the pain; I want to treat it. At its source. Inflammation is a message of an underlying problem. Squashing it is like shooting the messenger.

Same for ice. I might consider it if the pain was intense, but I’m not there now.

I didn’t try to stretch it out. The connective tissue is irritated, it doesn’t need me trying to force it to lengthen. Not did I go at it with a tennis ball or other massage tool.

I noticed that a low-grade freak out kicked. That’s an uncomfortable state of being and such a contrast to the inner peace that I’ve cultivated that the shift was obvious immediately.

I checked in- what’s going on? Fear. Fear of pain, immobility, and my life being disrupted.

I let my emotions have some space rather than trying to shut them down. I imagined myself on a mountain top, surrounded by the infinite sky and let out the energetic equivalent of a banshee wail. I live in an apartment, so I turned the volume of my voice way down to not disturb the neighbors but turned intensity all the way up. Quiet anguish. Great for discharging energy without alarming others.

Then I got busy tending to my nervous system. This was pure fight or flight mode. My body was itching to DO something, to GO somewhere, to tackle this head on. While that’s perfectly understandable, we can’t access intuition or cognition in this state. Rather than just doing anything, going anywhere, tackling whatever, I figured it was better to have a plan.

Normally I use my rebounder and some vigorous movement to release this activation, but that wasn’t feasible given my desire to protect my foot. Instead, I did some vigorous breathing, extending my exhales while shaking my arms wildly.

When calm descended, I began to strategize.

I pulled up on my mental screen everything I know about inflammation. Stress and cortisol are great contributors, and I was already addressing this. Gut health factors in, so I considered how I could plan meals around healing foods like bone broth, sauerkraut, and ginger.

I applied a salve I’d made from essential oils, as well as arnica gel. (Best to buy these things at a health food store to assure quality and the absence of chemicals. I like to be able to pronounce all the ingredients of products I slather on my skin.) Aromatherapy oils help to stimulate the body’s healing abilities- which is very different from suppressing symptoms.

I reviewed what I know about the fascia system and how it connects from sole to calf to hamstring and spent some time using a foam roller on my calves, hoping to create some slack that would provide ease for my feet.

I’m not exactly an expert on fascia, despite having a good working knowledge. I turned to Foundation Training, an app I use to relieve pain, build strength and balance, and improve posture. There I found some basic exercises for the feet and integrating the rear fascial chain.

All the while I kept a compassionate eye on my emotions. They were very active. Thoughts like – I should know better. I should have been able to avoid this. How bad will it get? How long will it last? Will I become homeless, live under a bridge, and get eaten by cats? OK, that last one is an exaggeration, but you know how the catastrophising can go!

I welcomed all the thoughts and feelings (vs. suppressing which only pushes problems into the future) and paid attention with curiosity and compassion. I was also careful not to let it snowball into a pity party. Basically, I took the role as the wise, loving grandmother, listening to all the children’s worries and then taking charge of the situation.

I looked at several metaphysical connections to the feet- dragging the feet, standing on one’s own two feet, sure-footedness, slowing down, etc. to see if any resonated and if there was some work that needed to be done in the realm of limiting beliefs.

I viewed my feet through the chakra lens, as part of the root system and my connection to the earth. I made plans to get to the park soon to put my bare feet on the grass to help ground my energy.

I considered my shoes and whether or not I needed more support or more freedom for my toes.

Perhaps most importantly, I saturated both feet (they work together as a team, and whenever one is affected, it can easily spread to the other via compensation or defensive mechanisms) with Reiki.

In addition to infusing my soles with life-force energy, this began the healing of any energetic, emotional, psychological or even spiritual contributions. Plus it’s easy, so I can do it without much effort. It’s portable, so I can practice out in the world, with or without shoes, with or without touching my feet. If you ran into me in public, you wouldn’t even know I was engaged in a powerful healing modality while we chatted over tea.

Essentially, I’m looking for anything that could be contributing to the imbalance and everything I can do to promote healing. It might seem like a lot of effort, but knowing how miserable PF can be and how it usually takes months to abate, I think it’s worth the effort.

My friend and I had plans to go for a hike this morning. I debated canceling our outing, but my desire to be out in nature and spend time with someone important to me won out. I slowed down my pace and was more mindful of where/how I placed my feet. I’m delighted to report that I didn’t feel even a hint of that burning while we walked or in the several hours since then.

See how the leaves are in the process of changing color!

So, there you have it! Probably more than you ever wanted to know about addressing plantar fasciitis holistically. If you have any tips or tricks that helped you, I’d love to hear them. The conventional treatment is woefully inadequate and there’s no need for anyone to suffer needlessly if there are any natural remedies that can help.

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Plantar Fasciitis- a Holistic Approach

For the past few days, I’ve experienced an intermittent burning sensation on the sole of my…
Interested in giving yourself daily infusions of spiritually-guided life-force energy?

It’s so easy to learn!

Anyone can gain full-time, forever access to Reiki healing energy with minimum investment of time and money.

It’s the most affordable way I know to get consistent treatment for physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and energetic issues.

Chronic pain, anxiety, depression, fatigue, digestive issues, fertility issues, sleep challenges, focus, creativity, peace, joy and freedom are some of the myriad goals it can be used for.

I know because I’ve done exactly that every day for 21 years. And IT’S WORKING!!

Reiki is an ancient healing technique that uses universal life-force energy to cultivate body-mind-spirit balance, stimulate the relaxation response, and relieve stress and tension.

It’s a seemingly magical reset that helps all systems come back online and integrate for maximum wellness.

I’m offering a Reiki 1 certification training, the starting point for those who want to learn how to treat themselves and their loved ones.

We begin on Thursday, October 17th at 6pm in my Mt. Airy (neighborhood of Philadelphia) studio.

This can be the beginning of a new phase in your life if you commit to blending Reiki into your life.

More info here

Contact Pamela to apply

Get Your Lifetime Pass to Healing Vibes

Interested in giving yourself daily infusions of spiritually-guided life-force energy? It’s so easy to learn! Anyone…
Yesterday was the summer solstice up here in the northern hemisphere. It marked the longest day of the year and the moment the sun crossed the threshold into the sign of Cancer.

Woot woot! Happy birthday season to all my fellow crabs.

Tonight, we have a full moon in Capricorn, illuminated by the Cancer sun.

This is a time for reevaluating my habits, therapies and remedies for summertime.

I’m reconfiguring my meds.

It’s crazy, stupid hot here in Philly, especially considering it’s only June. There’s a part of me that wants to just say “screw it” and stay close to the AC vent. But I know how valuable time in nature is to my well-being.

So, I’m adapting.

That means getting out for a hike early in the day. That means shifting my Sacred Start/morning ritual of prayer, meditation, journaling and yoga from first thing to much later. It means having an easy to assemble breakfast on hand for when I come home ravenous.

Basically, it means shifting my comfortable patterns.

It also means there’s no time to check my emails until after breakfast.

A bonus reward as I’ve been wanting to curb my screen addiction.

Luckily the cosmic energies are in full support of self-nurturing and the structure necessary to support that. I do so love a rut, but find these seasonal reassessments are extremely beneficial to me.

So, this morning found me rocking a new look: hiking boots, shorts and a tank, with very, very pale limbs exposed. I’m sporting 50% less hair these days and loving the lightness and feeling of breezy ease. And I got down to the creek to take my medicine before the temps became unbearable.

Is there one small thing you can adjust at this pivotal point in the year’s cycle to better support yourself?

There are two different approaches to building new habits. A) pick the easiest thing and enjoy the quick return on your investment and grow from there and B) pick the thing that will yield the greatest reward and commit to just that one thing.

And don’t worry about getting it perfect. Just take the first step in the direction you want to go and revel in your ability to take action and care for yourself.

Just one step.

You’ve got this!

Reconfiguring My Meds

Yesterday was the summer solstice up here in the northern hemisphere. It marked the longest day…
Ok, so I think Reiki is the best medicine, but laughter comes in a close second, tied with nature.

This video made me literally LOL.

I fold a lot of sheets as a massage therapist/Reiki practitioner. Like, A LOT. Fitted sheets are THE WORST! I’d given up hope of ever having a neat pile of them.

Until I found this little gem. I can practically guarantee you will at least chuckle.

The Best Medicine

Ok, so I think Reiki is the best medicine, but laughter comes in a close second,…
“Everybody has something.”

Tosha Silver leads a beautiful meditation, using compassion and acceptance to embrace the dark, secret, shadowy parts to invite healing.

If you have access to Reiki, let it flow while doing this work. It’s supremely effective!

What’s Your Addiction?

“Everybody has something.” Tosha Silver leads a beautiful meditation, using compassion and acceptance to embrace the…
Goodness, things are very challenging for a lot of people lately. It seems to me like we are being called to let go of all the crud that prevents us from fully expressing our power, creativity and compassion in the world.

Over the past few weeks, I am often reminded of the Carl Jung quote: “Free will is the ability to do gladly that which I must do.” Along with a Zen proverb: “Let go or be dragged.”

Sounds simple, right? But not always so easy. Which leads to this month’s Reiki special offer.

Five Remote Reiki sessions for the price of four.

Book Now!

Reiki is a holistic energy healing modality that fosters relaxation and relieves stress and pain, freeing us up to pursue our goals. Remote treatments are received from the comfort of your own space for maximum impact, minimum effort. We have a short phone call to clarify your needs, then disconnect so I can focus on the energy. Afterwards, I follow up with an email, sharing any pertinent information.

This is double the normal package discount. My intention is to make it easier for folks to get consistent, ongoing support for the challenges they face. Many of the issues I’m seeing are deeply rooted and will require some time to shift. The packages help make that happen as commitment follows investment.

Shedding old skins, cultural conditioning, limiting belief systems, outdated coping mechanisms, releasing trauma, poor self-worth and ancestral healing are all UP these days. Reiki can help get things moving where they’d been stuck and give us the energy we need to keep going in the face of adversity.

For those of us in any kind of transition (divorce, moving, menopause, having kids, kids growing up, grieving loss), those who are beginning a new project and those who are burning the candle at both ends, some extra support and nourishment can make a huge difference. If your energy is depleted, stagnant, stuck, stale or altogether missing, Reiki can fill up the tank.

5 session packages are $400 when purchased through the end of March and good for an entire year. That’s a $100 savings compared to the one-off price and $50 less than the usual five package rate.

Book Now

Learn More

March Reiki Special

Goodness, things are very challenging for a lot of people lately. It seems to me like…
For a few weeks now I’ve been working on this article about clarifying desires for 2024 and moving towards them.

During the writing process, an entirely different article emerged. One about letting the soul lead the way. While there is quite a bit of overlap and the methods are complementary, there’s a distinct difference that prevented me from blending them into one article.

In fact, the second article didn’t really feel like it belongs here on this blog. I don’t want to presume that just because you’re reading these words that you’re interested in embracing the new development.

It’s entirely possible that I’m overthinking things, which I’ve been known to do! Regardless, I’ve launched a new blog.

So, I’ll endeavor to continue reporting on holistic health and healing here. And if you’d like to join me on Substack, you’ll find an exploration of placing the divine in charge of life. Blogs about wheel of the year and lunar cycle practices will be forthcoming, along with chronicles of my journey; including the bumps and blips.

Now back to the main event… Envision 2024

Envision is a process I’ve developed to gain clarity about goals and how to move towards them in a sustainable and empowered way. Below you’ll find the inquiry I utilize to jumpstart the new year. I often share it with my clients and Reiki students who report it to be helpful. You will find no attempts to motivate you to work harder or do more. Quite the opposite, in fact!

This is mostly an internal process. We will need to follow through to experience results, but first we want to get clear about the starting point, the desired destination and the predictable obstacles. Then any activity out in the external world comes from an aligned and inspired source rather than just doing stuff for the sake of doing stuff.

For optimal results, carve out 30 minutes and a quiet place where you can complete the inquiry without interruption. You’ll need a pen and paper or keyboard and screen. Perhaps you’d like to brew a cup of tea, turn on some uplifting music, or light a candle to signify that you are entering sacred space, but really all you need is the willingness to uncover the longing within your heart.

I find that the most fruitful results emerge when I’m starting from a calm, relaxed place and centered within myself. I like to place a hand on my heart and inhale through my nose, deep into my belly, feeling it expand. I exhale with an audible sigh, feeling the sound vibrations in my torso. Ten to twenty breaths can make a huge difference and really help me drop into my body.

If you have a meditation or movement practice, you can spend a few minutes preparing yourself by using the techniques that best help you become present. If you have access to Reiki, absolutely turn it on and allow the flow of spiritually guided life-force energy to support you. If you work with guides, ancestors, or angels; invite them in.

If these past few sentences have made no sense to you, just ignore them and keep on going. You don’t need any experience, special skills, or woo-woo connections to participate.

Now for the inquiry:
1. What change would you like to experience in 2024? List 3-5 things off the top of your head. Don’t overthink this! If it’s helpful, you can use the prompts: I’d like to have… I’d like to feel… I’d like to experience…
- Choose one of these desires to work with now, knowing you can repeat this process with the others later if you wish. How will you feel when you have this, feel this, or experience this desire? I call this getting to know your why. What is the deeper desire underneath? Rather than focusing on a strategy, it can be very empowering to recognize the underlying motivation and open the door to any other strategies that may yet to be revealed.
- List all the reasons you can’t have, feel, experience this desire. I call this exposing the “yeah, buts”. (Yeah, I want xyz, but I can’t because…) These need to be addressed, otherwise they’ll disrupt your progress from the shadows. Be honest; acknowledging these fears and limiting beliefs helps to drain their power. We’re looking at the crud lurking in the corners of the basement. Don’t try to dress it up. We just need to identify what’s there, so it won’t sabotage our efforts.
- Review your “yeah, but” list. Are any of these really true? For those that are, can you adapt your original desire to include a workaround? If your wish is simply not possible at this stage in your life, better to rewrite it than to continue longing for something that is simply not for you. For example, at age 52, I’m clearly not going to produce any biological children. If being a mother were my wish, I can acknowledge that my uterus is retired, but it’s still possible to find another way to experience mothering. While intention is quite powerful, it doesn’t supersede biology.
- For those “yeah, buts” that are false or misaligned with your current reality, can you craft an alternative statement to use as a mantra? Choosing a statement to repeat to yourself can help disentangle any conditioning that is not beneficial and begin to rewrite your story moving forward. You’ll want to post these somewhere highly visible and work them into your daily routine. I find that “I am willing to become/learn xyz” is often easier to work with than “I am xyz” for the sake of believability and will help get the subconscious onboard.
- List three simple action steps you’re willing to take in the next weeks to start moving in the direction you’d like to go.
- Make room on your calendar for these steps. Edit them to be doable. If you take on too much, you risk getting discouraged and giving up before you’ve even started.
- If you’re really serious about this goal, go further. Become an embodiment of your desire. This is a simple exercise but might not be easy if you’re new to it. Imagine having your goal now. Feel it in your bones. Savor the sensation of being the person who has what you want. What would it look like? Sound like? Feel (both sensations and emotions) like? Smell like? Taste like?
Adding imagination and your five senses to the process amplifies the power. This practice is particularly potent when first waking up and right before sleep. Spend a few minutes every morning and night tapping into your felt sense of being, doing, experiencing your desire and invest your time and efforts in amplifying your vision.

Ideally, this exploration will have revealed a plan that is actionable, highly effective and quite unique to your circumstances. It’s up to you to follow through while allowing space for adaptations that may emerge.

I’d love to hear what you’re working on! I find that we can often learn a lot from one another. When we do this in a group, there is always a lot of head-nodding and affirmative mmmhmmm… sounds. People hear nuances in others’ statements that help to clarify their own goals or think of things from a slightly different perspective.

And if you want to explore the version of letting your soul take the lead and show you what it has planned for your new year, join me over on Substack.

Pamela’s Substack
Envision Your New Year

For a few weeks now I’ve been working on this article about clarifying desires for 2024…
A new friend asked me the other day how I unwind.

It took me several moments to realize that I don’t. Or at least I endeavor to not need to unwind.

My response was unexpected, so I took a few moments to gather my thoughts. I have come to realize that my thought process is rather unusual, and wanted to provide a gentle introduction to someone who didn’t yet know my kooky ways. They were expecting me to say something like guided meditation and aromatherapy, both of which I enjoy, but not for the purpose of unwinding.

My strategy is to prevent myself from being wound up in the first place. I am not always successful, but I do make an effort to keep myself from getting too tense or overwhelmed. I find prevention is much easier than recovery.

I’ve noticed that the feeling of being wound up or stressed out is highly unpleasant. I don’t like it. Not at all! And I know from experience that I tend to make unwise decisions when in that state, looking for relief that can often be unhealthy, due to sheer desperation to feel better. A distraction. A numbing out. Delaying the unpleasantness and adding undesirable consequences.

Prevention is not only more enjoyable, but also more effective. I don’t have to deal with the uncomfortable body-mind state or the aftermath of the coping mechanisms that just postpone the inevitable.

I’ve learned that when I spend time in the mornings getting my desires and actions harmonized with the day’s agenda, I have smoother sailing than when I don’t. When I set myself up with a hearty breakfast and move my body in ways that feel good, when I pay attention to my needs and emotions, I start off with a full tank and a clean slate. I have more clarity and the means to move in the direction I desire to go.

Granted, I’ve built a life over the past several decades that is centered around having this luxury of a morning ritual. It’s what works for me and I’ve strived to give it to myself most days. I get that it isn’t for everyone. It’s not the specifics of what I do or how I do it that I’m championing. My way is uniquely mine.

What I’m here to suggest is a simple shift in perspective.

If I could propose just one thing to everyone whose path crosses mine, it would be to get proactive. Conjure up some courage and motivation to get off the merry-go-round of repetitive behavior patterns and do something differently if you want to experience different results.

You might need to experiment a little (or a lot!) to figure out what you need and how to provide it in a way that makes sense for your personality, circumstances, and resources. Even a quick 10-minute breathing/stretching/dancing/walking/journaling session will be effective if tended to consistently.

Find your thing! Know that it will evolve over time. It may even be different on a day-by-day basis. It’s the act of committing to doing something, anything really, for yourself on a consistent basis that will help you stay unwound and free you up from the more challenging task of unwinding in a healthful and productive way.

What’s just one thing that you can do today? I bet you already know what it is. Take that first step and you just might sense the universe meeting you halfway. When tomorrow comes it will be easier to take the next step because you’ll have the knowing that you can do it and that you’re on your path to creating a more enjoyable future for yourself.

If you need some support getting started, check out my December Reiki special. Clearing the chakra system is one way to jumpstart a new habit.

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Chakra Special

Unwinding

A new friend asked me the other day how I unwind. It took me several moments…
The word is getting out about this amazing healing modality and lots of people are curious and eager. I mean, what’s not to like about an infusion of life-force energy that can be directed towards healing any malady or supporting any goal?

Chronic pain, anxiety, fatigue, procrastination; developing intuition, patience, compassion, motivation, productivity; releasing stress, anger, grief, resentment; healing old wounds, psoriasis, digestive issues. These are just some of the reasons people come to me.

Taking the first step towards experiencing Reiki can seem daunting to folks. Just like anything new, there might be some hesitance. Often clients come for their first session and say something along the lines of, “I’ve wanted to try this for years and now I finally am.”

If you have a friend, colleague or loved one who fits in this category, consider gifting them with a remote Reiki session. It’s the most wonderful treatment! Folks can stay at home with all their creature comforts. They don’t even have to get dressed or comb their hair or navigate to an unknown place in the rain.

Remote Reiki sessions begin with a phone call to discuss the goals of the session. I’m a compassionate listener and it’s pretty difficult to shock me with statements like: I know it sounds weird, but…

I’ve pretty much heard it all in my 20 years of practice!

So, a brief phone call with a kind person (that’s me!) to clarify the intention. No judgment, no advice, no trying to turn the spotlight back on myself. Many people find this short conversation to be as healing as the treatment itself.

Then we disconnect the call so I can focus on the energetic connection and applying Reiki towards the goals we discussed.

That’s it! There’s nothing that needs to be done other than a willingness to receive the energy. Some people like to light a candle or burn some incense, meditate or listen to soothing music. Others just carry on about their day.

IMO, it’s the simplest, most user-friendly introduction into a brand new world. A world in which the flow of life-force can enhance and support any desire that is in one’s best interest.

Now, if $100 (that’s the minimum as it’s the cost of a session and I think it’s uncool to give a gift that requires the recipient to shell out their own money) is more than you want to spend, there’s nifty feature on the site that allows you to share the cost with others. You’ll see the “Group Gift Card” option on the first page.

A screenshot of the webpage. There are a wide variety of themes to choose from.

And if you’re thinking, wow, that sounds great, I wish someone would gift me a Reiki treatment, now is the time to share this valuable information with your inner circle. You can take the pressure off someone trying to choose the right gift out of an endless sea of possibilities.

If you’ve already received a gift and want to schedule a session, you’ll just need to send me a message. You can have a look at the online calendar to see what’s available if you like, but sadly the system won’t let you schedule it yourself. No worries, I can handle it from my end quickly and easily.

Gifts are easily purchased online and you can even decide when the email notification goes out to recipient. Supply is limited: I only offer as many as I can absorb into my schedule in a timely fashion. I don’t want anyone having to wait for months to experience their gift.

Certificates can be used for any service I offer, including coaching, in-person Reiki and massage. If you’re outside the Philly area, you might like to share with your recipient that you’re gifting them a remote Reiki treatment to avoid any confusion.

Feel free to message me with any questions.

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Contact Pamela

Reiki Gift Certificates!

The word is getting out about this amazing healing modality and lots of people are curious…