Transcending Sexual Violence Through Yoga: 8 Tools for Teaching Trauma-S...

Trauma Sensitive Yoga

Dona Anderson
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I want to share this information with you.

It's a video for Yoga teachers but I think everyone will learn a bit more about how in this case small things like lighting, a smell, someones breathing and others can cause a person to re-experience past trauma and elevate their stress.

Yoga changes lives and there are many types to help with different needs and health issues. 

Even if you're not involved in Yoga I hope you will view this short video.

In it we learn more about how things we may not be aware of can cause trauma and stress to build and ways to help it reduce for these survivors whether it's in Yoga or in other healing and group environments.

You may even have a friend or neighbor who is sensitive to things and this could help explain it a bit.

There's so much we can learn and this is one small piece.

I took a Trauma Sensitive Yoga course a few years ago and found this video a very useful addition to my resources. 

Thank You.

This post & video is for information purposes

only on a sensitive matter. 

Always consult professionals when needed. 

WHAT's YOUR GARDEN ABOUT?

It's that time of year

Planting the Garden

Dona Anderson

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What is a Garden

This is from a few years ago

It seems every year our garden produces one thing in abundance over the rest.  

We never know until the fall what that will be - but wishing & hoping is part of the process. 

The list over the years has included the cherry tomatoes, apples, spaghetti squash, peppers, snap peas, and basil to name a few. 

And it seems that over 200 beautiful walla walla sweet onions is not too many for us to consume every summer.  

We'd grow more but they

don't last for keeping. 

It's my husbands garden.

The late winter is a busy time getting seeds started and then some move into the green house for more start ups. He tends to them until the right time for them to stand alone and be planted. 

He keeps a watchful eye as they grow and we celebrate when it's time for some picking and not shopping at the store.

This month we've been enjoying a mixture of wonderful salad greens, radishes and other herbs.

At each harvest time, I get to see him travelling to neighbors and friends with bowls full of whatever he has, and it's always wonderful to watch the smiles and sparkle in the eyes of others as they gaze at and sample whatever is being shared.

It's just as wonderful to know the gardener passes these gifts on with just a much delight.
 

So it is true - the old Chinese Proverb “he who plants a garden plants happiness”

I’d like to think that perhaps a garden is not just a plot of land for growing vegetables, flowers, fruit or shrubs - to me there may be other kinds of gardens.

I wonder if anywhere we are nurtured and allowed to grow, develop and flourish is a garden setting. 

Our home and neighborhood is a place where we plant roots and provide an environment for our family to be cared for and grow to be healthy and strong.

It’s a place where we want to be and feel nourished, supported, protected and safe. 

Our many levels of schools and learning centers nurture and tends to us from childhood to adults so we can establish a strong foundation from which we can give our best and blossom through our accomplishments.

Our job, hobbies and passions can also be a place for us to establish ourselves, to grow, mature and display our potential and talents.

So here’s the question - could any place that nourishes and supports our body, mind and soul to blossom and flourish also be a kind of garden?

I wonder if perhaps it might even be that place in someones's heart that fills up and sometimes overflows with pleasure, caring, giving and love ... oh, I think this one sounds like the gardener.

Something to think about ...

I really appreciate your visit and I'll let you know how the garden turned out in the Fall. 

You can also visit my Facebook Page 

Take Care & don't miss this years Summer of Music starting July 2.

We're going around and around the World Thanks to YOU

With your Help

we're Travelling the world,

and Spreading Wellness 

Dona Anderson

This is post #567. 

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I hope you'll subscribe to receive these weekly posts.  We're happily spreading Wellness around the World. 

Check out this post it's an example of how Simple words of Gratitude go along way. Over 20,000 views.

I love checking the Blog stats to discover where the viewers are from. I think of the countries I've visited, places I've lived, and now I get to search Google for an unknown country to me to find out where it is. 

My post today is to share with you a list of the countries that have visited here so far this year.  It makes the World seem smaller, and that we can just reach out and there you are. 

Because you're seeing this, it lets me know how easily we're all connected to a common goal.

My Dream to share Wellness around the World is working Thanks to your Help.

Below, I've listed the countries so far for this year.

There may be more, but the stats only show 10 at a time, and this is just for January to yesterday of this year.  So if you're reading this and are from one not mentioned or from last year or before, have fun and please let us know by sharing in the comments.

Here goes -
I'll start with my home country, Thank you - Canada (and I've been to every province and lived in 4.)

Now to other places I've been lucky to visit

Thank you to these great places - Germany (lived there for 5 years) and visited, France, Netherlands Austria, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, and also Mexico!

Now to the rest of my

wonderful visitors - 

Thank you to - Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh,  Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chili, China, Columbia, Congo/Brazzaville, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia,  Ecuador, Egypt, Georgia, Greece, Guinea, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy. 

There's More - Thank You to Japan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Moldova, Montenegro, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Unknown Region, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

and Thank you to those countries that got missed.

thank you, thank you, thank you for all your Help

My Heart IS very Happy.
Let's keep this going, You and I.

Take Care & new post next week.

Summer of Music starts July 2.

I need to travel more - 
my list isn't very long  

Before you go, 

did you sign up to follow by email.

It's Never too late to Write MOM a Letter?

It's been so long

and 

much to Say

Dona Anderson
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I never know what will inspire me to write each of these posts.

It can be a word, a picture, a smell and this one was hearing a man on TV saying he wrote a letter to his Mom some 30 years after her death ... it touched a place in my heart to do the same.   

Love this picture of her 

My Mom passed the month I turned 29.

She was 66.

The year before we had just returned from living in Europe for 5 years and a month later she was sick with Brain cancer.

It's hard when you don't live in the same place and my 2 older sisters and I all lived an 8-10 hour drive away, all worked full time with families.

We felt lost and sad that our Dad was all alone but he kept us up to date and we all made it to where they operated to hold her hand, give out kisses and support our Dad.  I don't know what she knew as she couldn't talk and didn't seem to know what was going on.

In her recovery she had to relearn to talk again and other basic needs. My sisters and I all took turns going home to visit, talk to her and support Dad until her passing about a year later.

I remember my Dad saying the first time you return home after the passing was awful.  You're all alone after years of being married. He said it was the worst feeling ever.

I had a tough time with it all and grieved badly for many years. I missed her and instead of focusing on celebrating her life like I should have, I held on to all the wrong things.

The month she passed, who am I going to talk to, my kids want their grandmother, you have more to tell me and on and on.

All those selfish things, the me and I's

Although I still miss her all these years later, I know that grief changes over time and I finally got comfortable with all the wonderful things I did receive.

And, all these years later I've had friends in their 60's & 70's who still had their Mom so I reminded them how lucky they were.

I guess it's never to late to Write your Mom a Letter.

Some of what I'd say

Mom never got 
a chance to see ...

Mom never got a chance to see her little Grandchildren grow up into amazing & successful adults and become wonderful Parents to all her beautiful great Grandchildren.

She didn't know how my Sisters and I grew in life as unique individuals that keep passing on many of her talents and wonderful qualities in our own way.

Learning Life Skills

the old fashioned way...

Looking back I realize that even though our time was Short she gave us many life skills that prepared us for life at the time, and that I used later.

As a child I watched her for hours cutting out material for our clothes and having to have all the fabric placed right, all the patterns match up, and then sewing it all so the darts, seams, buttons and zippers were all straight and perfect.

I remember getting her to help me with a sewing project I had to do for school, a nightgown. I had to tell and remind her it can't be perfect as I was suppose to be the maker.  She agreed but still got 85% on it.

My Mom loved Christmas, bowling and playing bridge. I watched her cooking our meals every day, baking and making cakes and pies to go with our family Sunday Supper and other celebrations.

It was different times way back then.

We didn't have today's modern conveniences, so growing up we had to help with lunch & supper dishes everyday, with the meals, help with laundry, do our ironing (which in the earlier days was pretty much everything we wore and that required dampening first, no wash & go from the old wringer washer).  Later on the automatic ones helped a bit.

Oh, and yes We also had to have our house cleaning,  yard chores and homework done or we couldn't go out. Later on, I had lots of don't complain examples to share with my kids.

And from a young age I remember having to go out to get groceries with the list, and walk around town to pay the utility bills so I knew what things cost and the places where money went every month.

All this later became 

valuable gifts ...

In my Heart, MOM already knows and sees all of what the letter to her would say and since I've been crying every time I've been working on this over the last several months, the letter will have to be for another time.

The letter will have to be for another time...

Love you MOM.

Mom's name was Lydia

and 

Happy Mother's Day 

to all Moms here

and in Heaven!

New posts weekly

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Does Heaven receive mail like the North Pole does for Santa Claus?