April Showers

Dear Ones, You are all on my mind. I have some announcements and resources for you but first let’s check in. How has navigating the transitions and challenges of the last couple weeks been going for you? Check in with your body. Sometimes I think “I’m doing great!” and then I check in with my body and I’m like, “woahhh okay, maybe I’ve been holding it together but there’s definitely something going on here!” As I said last time, I am definitely feeling all the things. Today I’ve been reflecting on the collective fear happening around me. There are quite a few moments I find myself worried about myself and my loved ones. What keeps coming to me when I am caught up in a fearful place is that this fear isn’t new. I never know how much time I, or my loved ones, have to live. It just isn’t something I try to spend most of my time thinking about. A pandemic makes it so it’s impossible not to be faced with our mortality. When faced with fear, everything in me wants to protect myself. I tend to build walls towards my loved ones, I am rigid and controlling. I am trying to remember that in the end I want to live my life with love. Love lets people in. Love trusts that I’ll be okay even if I lose someone or they hurt me in some way. So, what has been helping me to stay grounded since I can’t schedule myself a massage right now? Journaling in the morning, allowing myself to feel whatever I need to feel. Forgiving myself when I am snappy and not the most loving person. Meditation. Getting outside in my yard or neighborhood for a walk is also HUGE right now. Nature and movement is so healing to me. Some resources for you: Here is a meditation I’ve listened to this week on transforming difficult emotions: https://soundcloud.com/jack-kornfield/transforming-difficult-emotions Here is some information on stress and coping strategies from the CDC. This also has links to a disaster distress crisis line and also a domestic abuse violence hotline. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-anxiety.html I know that many therapists are working from home and using video to continue providing therapy. If you are struggling right now, there are skilled professionals who can truly help. Here are some resources of therapists that I recommend and I know are taking clients right now via Telehealth. The Enlightenment Counseling Center has multiple therapists. This is who I rent my space from and collaborate with. There are multiple therapists: (860) 729-3284 is the referral line. https://www.enlightenmentcenterct.com/ is their website. Samantha Alzate https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/samantha-alzate-farmington-ct/169831 Lauren Vale da Serra https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/lauren-vale-da-serra-farmington-ct/184470?fbclid=IwAR0_y4uaossOthaeXL-cGkhMHZF0JPM8g1W2p8yTOEc90xZ0NVgd8TBgUwM Kim Morales https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/kimberly-a-morales-farmington-ct/405164 Announcements: March is coming to a close. It has been a surreal couple weeks. When I closed down my practice just two weeks ago, I was closing for the rest of the month and told you I would fill you in when the time came. Due to updates from the government and health departments, I am extending my closure until at least April 31st. I would love to open May 1st but honestly, it’s hard to know what will happen. If you have an appointment during April scheduled already, I will reach out to you individually to cancel before the date of that appointment. If you have an appointment scheduled for May, I will leave you on my schedule and let you know by the end of next month if I can reopen. I will be back to work as soon as it is the safe thing to do and the district’s health department permits me to. About 6 of us will be doing the book club I spoke about in the last email. I am still waiting for a few people to get their books to begin, so if you’ve been on the fence, you still have a couple days to decide if you’d like to join us. Again, the book in The Wisdom of Anxiety By Sheryl Paul. We will be meeting via Zoom to discuss our insights. Thank you again SO much for purchasing gift certificates. I would thank each of you personally but it doesn’t tell me who purchased it! So feel free to let me know if it was you- so I can thank you personally. It is sooo helpful to me at this time and I can’t wait for you to come in and get your sessions once we’re all back out and about. The website with e-gift certificates doesn’t allow me to put in a specific service, such as a one-hour session. It is preset with the dollar amounts of my services or you can choose whatever amount you’d like. So if you type in a $100 gift card and then put in the 25% off code “MARCH”, you’ll get the $100 gift card for $75. Here is the link again and if you’d like to purchase one for a gift, just reach out to me. For those of you who don’t follow me on instagram(insafehandsmassage), this week while thinking about quotes to share, I found so many great Oprah quotes that I am sharing one per week day this week. Yesterday’s quote: “Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a new way to stand.” Today’s quote: “ You are responsible for your life...so don’t wait for somebody else to fix you, to save you, or complete you. Jerry Maguire was just a movie. No one completes you.” Okay this has been a long one. Thank you so much for being here. As always, don’t hesitate to reach out. I love hearing how you’re doing. If you’ve used any meditations or resources I’ve shared through the emails, let me know what has worked for you and what hasn’t. You’re all amazing and I’m lucky to know you. In Gratitude, Eileen