A New Moon Ritual is a time for self-reflection and setting goals. Since this is my first deliberate New Moon Ritual, I wanted to design a simple evening that reflected on the previous season and set effortless goals for the next. A New Moon Ritual is also a wonderful time to journal and appreciate the ending of a cycle and the beginning of a new one.

My experimentation with float therapy and a meditation practice not only healed my inner traumas but affected my lifestyle which showed through the health and wellness of my eyes. This allowed me to have more fun with my eye makeup and makeup shopping in general.

Taking care of your eye area produces well-rested eyes that are bright, brilliant, and engaging. Cooling eye pads are refreshing, restorative, and energizing, making this a powerful spa tool. It is both a nap and a cup of coffee and all under 15 minutes, it’s a great way to enliven your eyes.

The more attuned to our posture, the more we experience fullness, expansion, and release. With meditation, dance, and art therapy, learning about the Ribs can make good posture easier, increase oxygen intake, and uplift our spirits.

The Window of Tolerance is the capacity in which one can handle life’s stressors. It is made up of three sections: fight or flight, rest and digest, and freeze. The more you are in a state of openness, wholeness, and presence, the wider your window becomes. I outline how meditation and dance therapy help strengthen our Neuroplasticity, brain-gut connection, and compassion toward others. I also share my experience with a healthy prefrontal cortex and getting to a wide window of tolerance.

A towel meditation draws healing benefits from nature therapy, meditation therapy, energy therapy, beauty therapy, hydrotherapy, and sauna therapy. Simply lay in the sun, protect your skin, stay hydrated, and activate cod mode.

Between breakfastes, I made a cushion cover from a well loved blanket of grass for meditation, prayer, and garden gazing.

Learning a language opens opportunities for self expression and new cultures. It’s a Lit Therapy that expands my brain and builds my identity. Part of the fun is tailoring my learning style and tacking my progress. The process of creating a relaxing learning hobby enriches my life with mental, physical, and social benefits.

God moments can be routine, random, intentional, or awesome and can provide many therapeutic benefits. There are different types of God moments when we appreciate the beauty of living. God moments can be found in any meaningful moment and are worth collecting, experiencing, and feeling a rich gratitude.

During lockdown, my filling fell out and I’ve neglected to go to the dentist since. The other day I experienced severe tooth pain and made an appointment the next day. My dentist taught me a lot about what that pain was, how I could mitigate it, and the next steps to upgrading my dental care. 

There’s something magical about gardening that makes it so therapeutic for me. It’s a peaceful pastime that provides fresh air, cool shade, lovely fragrances, and sometimes food. Plants can be beautiful, resilient, and full of life. Over the past five years, I’ve had several seasons of caring for different kinds of gardens like indoor plants in colder weather, outdoor plants in warmer climates, and maintaining a garden for my pet snails wherever I go. The microecology for a modular garden is a science, an art, and an energetic connection.

In 2011, I took a solo train trip from Portland, Maine to Los Angeles, California. It took four days and the path went to Boston, MA, west to Chicago, IL, south to San Antonio, TX, and west to Los Angeles. Traveling can provide many wellness benefits. For me, it’s part art therapy, meditation therapy, and nature therapy. Looking back at my photos taken with my first DSLR, a Canon Rebel XSi, reminds me of how I used to capture the natural beauty around me.

Naps, waves, and surfers. The southern California coast is a wonderful spot to rest, meditate, and enjoy hydrotherapy from the immense beauty of the Pacific Ocean

Van Nuys, CA

Japanese Gardens have a long history of implementing specific design principles to achieve contemplation and contentment. I volunteered at a Japanese Buddhist temple where I enjoyed the meditation of gardening, focusing on one task, and removing waste to reveal beauty. Other Japanese gardens in Los Angeles are famous due to the influence of Dr. Koichi Kawana. At the Suiho En Japanese Garden in Van Nuys, his design reflects a calm space where we can focus on the beauty of both nature and our lives.

Los Angeles, CA

There are a variety of colors in places of worship and can be seen as a version of color therapy. Design choices include stained glass, colored walls and fabrics, gold-plated objects, flowers, and lighting. Aside from the presence of God, gratitude, and thanksgiving, the lighting perhaps played a role in wellness, release of tension, and enlightenment.

I spent some time last season studying the beauty of sacred spaces like churches, cathedrals, monasteries, and temples. The practice of drawing helps me understand the design decisions made for spaces dedicated to the glory of God. Drawing not only strengthens these skills but creates a meditation as I zone out and simply draw.

Granada Hills, CA

Prema Yoga in Granada Hills, CA offers different types of yoga classes including hath, vinyasa, kundalini, and yin. Other classes specialized in energetic and physical healing such as urban zen, meditation, yoga nidra, and spine health. I would recommend their studio for those who want to try a variety of yoga styles taught by educated and spiritually-minded instructors.

My hair story shares what I was going through, what happened to my body, and how I’m healing. Losing my hair turned out to be a lesson in listening and creating a path to healing, starting with a dedication to meditation, float therapy, and spa research.

The Hall of Healing at the Los Angeles Conscious Life Expo are specialized rooms for concentrated technologies to enhance a meditation experience. This year I’ll be working in these spaces and in this introductory blog post, I’m sharing what they have to offer, what to expect, and how to be emotionally and spiritually prepared. At first glance, the event descriptions sound esoteric and distant but these healing modalities are essentially wellness paths to feelings of love and expansion.

Prayer beads are a system of tracking prayers, chants, or scriptures to bring us into a contemplative mindset and become aware of the greatness of life, God, or enlightenment. Each religion has a plethora of resources and with the average of scholarly publications, I aim to paint a broad perspective on the multiple uses of prayer beads so that we can learn from other religions and maybe incorporate aspects into our prayer practice.