Health
Michelle Treseler
Wildfire Smoke and Your Health: What You Can ...

Breathing large amounts of particulate matter from smoke can cause irritation of our mucous membranes (in our nose, sinuses, throat and lungs) and it can exacerbate underlying conditions, such as: asthma, heart disease, COPD, emphysema, etc. This year, we have the added challenge of a virus that can also impact our respiratory system. I have received a lot of questions as to how we can best navigate these challenges so, in this post, I am sharing what I have found to be physically beneficial when encountering wildfire smoke.

If possible, and I recognize the inherent privilege of being able to partake in the following, here are some ideas as to how to prevent excessive or prolonged exposure to smoke, protect our respiratory system, and promote well-being.

Wildfire Smoke and Your Health: What You Can Do Right Now to Reduce your Health Risk
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Qi Reactions

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Qi Reactions

Qigong practices are designed to improve the flow of chi throughout the body, and some practitioners report experiencing a range of physical or emotional sensations as a result.  One of the most common sensations of chi is a feeling of warmth, heat or tingling in the body, often accompanied by a sense of relaxation and well-being. Some practitioners report feeling a pulsing, vibrating, or magnetic sensation in specific parts of the body, or a sense of energy flowing through the body. With time and practice, many experience a heightened sense of awareness and a feeling of being "in the zone."

However, not all chi reactions are pleasant.

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Qi Poetry: Nature's Symmetry

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Qi Poetry: Nature's Symmetry

Qigong is connecting to essence.

It's a form of deep listening, not to content but to the essence of the universe: love. We access this by centering, which is a form of letting go in the dimensions of the mind and knowing... of being fully present in your body through sound, breath, movement and visualization.

When you're fully connected, embodied and present: you open. As the practice deepens, any feeling of separateness drops away and one may have a somatic understanding, a felt interconnectedness amongst all things. Here's to openings and continued discovery of our interrelatedness.

These Qi poems are offerings meant as a gateway to revel and delight as well as arrive more deeply home. (In)joy!


A letter for the New Year: 2021!

A letter for the New Year: 2021!

Without tremendous pressure, a diamond will not form. It is sometimes through challenges, pressures, suffering and adversity that we have the opportunity to more deeply recognize the core of who we are and choose anew how we live with respect to how we affect each other, all beings and the Earth. At times it can feel like we’ve all been thrown into a pressure-cooker, and so it is a welcome relief to engage in transformative practices that offer grounding, centering, clarity, peace, compassion and even… joy.

Winter Season: Kidney Energy System

Winter Season: Kidney Energy System

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Qigong, our bodies are not separate from nature, they are a part of nature. As such, it is thought that our bodies and emotions are inextricably interconnected with and may be affected by: seasons, weather and elements.

Qigong draws from the 5 element theory in TCM which is a blueprint that diagrams the intricacies of how elements (both internal and external) interact with and impact each other. The winter season is associated with the kidney energy system. According to TCM, it is beneficial to strengthen our kidneys at this time, as by doing so, one can achieve better health and prevent disease.

Kidney energy practices are beneficial for vitality and help address the following areas and conditions...

Wildfire Smoke and Your Health: What You Can Do Right Now to Reduce your Health Risk

Wildfire Smoke and Your Health: What You Can Do Right Now to Reduce your Health Risk

Breathing large amounts of particulate matter from smoke can cause irritation of our mucous membranes (in our nose, sinuses, throat and lungs) and it can exacerbate underlying conditions, such as: asthma, heart disease, COPD, emphysema, etc. This year, we have the added challenge of a virus that can also impact our respiratory system. I have received a lot of questions as to how we can best navigate these challenges so, in this post, I am sharing what I have found to be physically beneficial when encountering wildfire smoke.

If possible, and I recognize the inherent privilege of being able to partake in the following, here are some ideas as to how to prevent excessive or prolonged exposure to smoke, protect our respiratory system, and promote well-being.

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Loving-Kindness (Metta) Meditation and its Positive Impact on Health & Well-being

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Loving-Kindness (Metta) Meditation and its Positive Impact on Health & Well-being

Loving-Kindness or Metta Meditation is a practice derived from the Buddhist tradition of sending loving-kindness to yourself and others that has many proven health benefits. It is the first of the four brahmavihara, or “divine abodes,” the four qualities of the open heart, as it is the expression of a basic warmth, good will and kindness. Although the intention of this exercise is to foster an enhanced sense of embodied kindness and compassion, it has a surprising amount of other physical, emotional, and social health benefits. You can practice it in just 5-10 minutes. Read more about the positive health benefits and how to practice…

Alone is simply missing an "L": All One.

Alone is simply missing an "L": All One.

With Covid-19 and physical distancing, many of us are experiencing what it is like to be more physically alone. We may be physically separated from the ones we love. Or, if we are mindfully in each other’s presence, we may be no closer than 6 feet and wearing masks. The very real desire for physical human connection is within us all. I invite you to use this experience of being more physically alone as a practice. How can we re-frame this challenge as an opportunity?

Healing in Transformative Times

Healing in Transformative Times

We are in the midst of a transformative experience – a collective call of awakening. COVID-19 is a public health crisis and yet it is not the only plague. We are witnessing or experiencing healing crises – the pandemic, systemic racism, and climate change - on the individual, collective and global level. These challenges reveal opportunities to heal – and to reflect upon and change how we treat ourselves, each other and the earth. As many of us curtail our activities, we have the ability to look at what our actions and our inactions contribute to – and we are called to a greater respect for life. Yet this time of transformation – for ourselves and for society – is a marathon and not a sprint.

Why practice Qigong?

Why practice Qigong?

How do we make this shift from surviving to thriving?

What if I told you that there is a practice which studies show has the ability to lower stress and decrease anxiety? What if I told you there is a technology that improves immune function, improves sleep quality, lowers blood pressure, and reduces inflammation? A practice that in a recent peer-reviewed article appears to aid in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of respiratory infections, including COVID-19?

Too good to be true, right? That’s what I originally thought, too.

My background in public health says: show me the data. Is this evidence-based?