Chuang Tsu, a Chinese philosopher who lived some 2,000 years ago, makes it sound so easy.

But what if the bidding farewell of what’s leaving and the greeting of what comes weren’t so much a measure of our so-called “enlightenment” or “wokeness” as an observation about the state of our nervous system?

Curiosity is one of the first casualties of fear. When we’re scared—or any of its emotional variations: worried, anxious, obsessive, ruminating…—it’s hard to be curious! That’s because our nervous system is doing the very understandable—if uncomfortable—job of keeping our bodies on high alert (or shutting down) in reaction to real or imagined danger.

The good news is that curiosity can be cultivated.

The other good news is that self-friendliness (researchers call it self-compassion) can be a practice.

The other, other good news is that your nervous system can change!

Would you like to join me tomorrow—New Year’s Day 2022—for a special edition of ReadySetPAUSE? An extra friendly body-oriented meditation class in which I guide you in cultivating friendliness and saying hello to what comes?

If you have any interest in beginning 2022 with care, comfort, and connection, then I can’t wait to see you there! Registration is open and available until 10:30 AM Eastern (class starts at 12 PM Eastern) on January 1.

See you in 2022!

xoHeidi

The post Happy New Year’s Eve and a special (time-sensitive!) invitation appeared first on Heidi's Table.

Also? It’s on me! You can register to attend for free by using coupon code “free!” at checkout. (You will still need to register and complete “checkout” in order to receive the link to join my class.)

Mwah! I’d LOVE to see you there! (Why not take care of your day-after-Thanksgiving-self right now and HERE).

xoHeidi

P.S. Why yes! I’d love it if you shared this post or a link to the class with your friends in a speedy text message, a post in your social media feed, or via a good ol’ fashioned e-mail. Thank you! https://heidistable.com/product/ready-set-pause/ Feel “free!” to share the coupon code as well, of course.

The post This Friday: Ready, Set, PAUSE! appeared first on Heidi's Table.

Tense times have a way of tensing up our dear necks and shoulders, have you noticed? Which is why I’m offering a Therapeutic Self-Massage class (via Zoom), with special emphasis on relieving tension in your neck, shoulders and head.

When? Monday, January 18 at 2 PM Eastern / 11 AM Pacific (Find your local time)

If relief sounds good, why not sign up NOW. (Use coupon code “twentyfive” to take 25% off the class fee. (The coupon is valid only through Friday, Jan. 15. You can still sign up for class after that, but “twentyfive” is only valid through Friday.)

You’d like to participate but can’t make the specific class time?

Even though I definitely prefer to see your gorgeous self in class live, you do NOT have to show up live unless you can and would like to. I will send a link of the class recording to all registered participants within 5 days of the class. So if you’re thinking OMG I need that class, but can’t make it on Monday, that’s cool. Sign up anyway, and then–I recommend–make a special date with yourself to watch it in the coziness of your favorite special place.

Here’s the coupon code again: “twentyfive“. (And HERE’s where to register for class).

What’s that? You’d like to help Heidi fill up her class by inviting your friends? Muah! I adore you! (Please share this post as you please.)

I hope you’ll join me on Monday! (Your body and I thank you.)

xoHeidi

The post Don’t miss this: Relief for your neck/shoulders/head appeared first on Heidi's Table.

An easy self-care practice

When things feel hard and your sense of security is shaky, it can be helpful to notice supportive, easy, pleasant things you get to take for granted. It’s a practice I’ve found comforting and steadying when things feel wobbly, scary or overwhelming… Also, it’s easy! (Requires no appointment or special equipment.)

Here are a few things from my get-to-take-for-granted list:

1. The ground. When I wake up in the morning I don’t have to wonder, is the ground going to be there to meet my feet when I get out of bed? No. I get to take it for granted. In moments of unsteadiness or nervous system activation, I can always come back to noticing the ground. (And I swear, sometimes I think it’s saying to me: “Lean back, Heidi, I’ve got you.”
2. Darkness. I love getting to take for granted the darkness at night, especially as I am falling asleep. How kind of our Earth to draw the blinds on light so we can shut off our attention and rest.
3. The sun rising and setting. I notice the length of days getting a little longer again. And that springtime is up ahead. And with it seeds and seedlings and vegetables, and my hands digging in dirt.
4. My Yorkshire Gold cup of tea in the morning. My sweetie gets up before me and has my cup of tea ready when I get up. He has been doing this for so long now that I get to take it for granted. I like noticing that. And I feel lucky.
5. My thrifted Cashmere sweaters. Whenever I put on a Cashmere sweater—no matter what I may be wearing from waist down—I feel luxurious and comforted. Once upon a time, Cashmere was a one-time thing. Then it was once-in-a-while. And one day I said to myself, whyever isn’t this an everyday thing? And then it was. I love thrifting—which I can do online—which makes getting to take Cashmere for granted every day completely affordable. Cashmere as self-care!
6. My 9:15 AM Saturday yoga classes with Jenna Hussey via Zoom. Jenna is AWESOME. Every week she sends out an email with the Zoom link for the following class. (Thanks, Jenna. I get to take your class for granted!) Her class is by donation. And did I mention she is awesome? (If you want to get the link to Jenna’s next class, just email her and ask. Tell her I sent you.)

Noticing what I get to take for granted doesn’t mean I deny the fact that there are things I don’t get to take for granted. These days I miss receiving hands-on professional massage. (Sometimes my sweetie tries but it’s not the same, if you know what I mean.) Yeah, I miss massages. I also miss touching my clients therapeutically, and the entire hands-on aspect of Heidi’s Table (which is still on hold). I also miss going to a restaurant and having food brought to my table. And unmasked strangers.

And you? What do you get to take for granted these days? And what do you miss? Please tell, I’d love to know. Pop me an email or better yet, add a comment to this post so that others can see as well.

Stock your wellness pantry!

I’d like to offer you 25% off the cost of any classes I am offering via Zoom including The Pause, a body-oriented meditation class (meets four times a week, drop-in, no experience necessary) and my upcoming Therapeutic Self-Massage Class on Monday, January 18. To receive this special rate, please enter coupon code “twentyfive” on the checkout page of your purchase. The coupon is valid through Friday, January 15. Come fill your “wellness pantry” up with some some self-care goodies from Heidi’s Table.

Warmly (in Cashmere, naturally),

xoHeidi

The post Difficult times call for easy self-care! Stock your wellness pantry with self-care goodies appeared first on Heidi's Table.

When: Friday, January 1, 2021

Time: 12 PM (noon) Eastern US Time / 9 AM Pacific

Fee: FREE! (use coupon code 2021welcome)

Place: The Pause | It’s at the corner of Now & Notice (where that old dive “Reaction” used to be)

The Pause is a body-oriented meditation class. No previous meditation or focusing experience is necessary. It takes place via Zoom. (You can be as visible or invisible as you choose).

You’ll need to “purchase” a class and enter coupon code “2021welcome” at checkout to have the $10 class fee waived entirely. (Even though you will not be charged, you must complete the transaction to be sent access link to join Friday’s class).

Friday’s New Year Welcome class will be one hour long (rather than the usual 45 minutes). Heidi will guide you settling into a sense of grounding and safety and then offer invitations for you to notice your experience in different ways. Then there will be quiet time to practice in silence, followed by reflections and sharing from class participants (totally optional).

Join us this Friday to mark the turn of year by tuning into your body’s wisdom, which is conveniently right where you are, available for the noticing.

Want to give it a try?

Read more about The Pause and register HERE. (Remember: coupon code “2021welcome”)

Can’t wait to see you!

xo
Heidi

P.S. PLEASE forward to your friends! Let’s welcome the new year in our bodies!

The post A Warm Invitation for You to Welcome 2021 at The Pause appeared first on Heidi's Table.

What’s it like being you today? I wonder if it feels different these days than, say, a year ago today. Here in the States, tomorrow is a big holiday, one in which many people often travel long ways to be with family, whether family by birth, by circumstance, or by choice. And this year, whatever their family situation usually may be, many people are –by circumstance– staying put.

So here we are at home. Our very own now-home whatever and wherever that may be. This year you may not be traveling to be at the home you grew up in. You may not be sitting at a table with the people you consider to be family. Or friends. In fact, you may be sitting at a table just with yourself. Or with the person you’ve been sharing space with, pretty much exclusively, for months and months now.

Are you okay? 

Hear me again as I write it out more slowly: Are you okay? 

If you aren’t sure how to answer that, try this: What happens when you pause for a moment, take a deep breath, and then hear those words somewhere in your middle—think chest, heart and belly area: Am I okay?

For a long time, years and years actually, I didn’t feel okay. The question of “am I okay” always somehow, brought me to the matter of home. And since I didn’t feel at home inside myself, no matter who I was with, no matter where in the world I was, I didn’t really feel comfortable or like I belonged much of anywhere. 

I’ve come a long way and there’s a reason these questions –what’s it like being you? OR are you okay?– mean the world to me.

Around big holidays, my long-time companion “Homesick” often makes himself known inside me. It used to be I kicked him out (or rather, tried to). It used to be I thought that his presence was very bad news. It used to be that I thought that one day, when everything was better and I was with the perfect person and living in the perfect place that then I’d be rid of Homesick once and for all.

But it hasn’t turned out that way. Many things are much better than they used to be. And I am lucky enough to most of the time adore the person I’m quarantining with. But Homesick has not gone away. And, long story short(er), these days I set a place at the table of me for him (even when he feels like a herd of elephants!). Funny thing, the more I welcome Homesick, the more at home inside myself I feel. And the more at home inside myself I feel, the more I belong.

So what’s it like being you? Are you friends with you? Are you frenemies who have called a truce? What’s it like being you once all the ways you show up in the “outside” world aren’t necessary? Because at the end of the day, no matter who is or isn’t with you, no matter whether you share a bed with another creature (whether of the human or of the 4-legged variety) or not, you are the one and only person you are guaranteed to fall asleep and wake up with. 

What would today be like to set a place at the table of you for Homesick or your version of Homesick? I wonder what it’d be like to practice friendliness with you, all of you, however you are feeling today.

That is all, my dear. I wish you a beautiful day. I wish you a welcoming table. And I’d love to hear what it’s like being you.

Warmly,

Heidi

Special Invitations for Pandemic-times Self-Care:

Come practice, with guidance and quiet company, being friendly with yourself at The Pause: Body-Oriented Meditation. Use coupon code CupofCalm to try a class out on me (i.e., free!). Class will not meet on Thursday, 26 November, but we will be back at noon (Eastern time) on Friday! Come!

Missing therapeutic touch? On Wednesday, Dec. 2 I am offering a Therapeutic Self-Massage class that will focus on shoulder/neck tension. Use coupon code FBfriend to get 33% off the cost of the class. (Coupon expires on Friday, 27 Nov.)

The post Holiday in Quarantine: Setting a place at the table of you appeared first on Heidi's Table.

Metaphors aside, The Pause is a body-oriented meditation class I am offering every weekday. (Drop-in, Covid-safe, 45 minutes.)

A sense of grounding and calm –even (and especially) in these challenging times we are living– are a few of the things that dropping in at The Pause can help you experience. Clarity and right action can arise naturally where reaction used to take place automatically.

Want to drop in and try it out? Your first shot of ease or cup of calm is on the house. Seriously, it’d be my pleasure to gift you your first class. (Use coupon code cupofcalm when “purchasing” 1 class.)

No long term commitment is required. No meditation or Focusing experience is required. Come once and give it a try! If you like it, come back every time, a couple times a week, or just when you can.

I miss you, and hope to see you soon at The Pause. (Learn more & see class times).

xo
Heidi

Please and thank you for posting this invitation on social media and/or forwarding it to your friends! I really appreciate it.

The post A special invitation for you appeared first on Heidi's Table.

I’m not telling you this so you’ll feel jealous and left out. I’m telling you because I come offering you options for you to experience this too, even during these days of physical/social distancing…

Two Classes (whether you’re isolating alone or with others) to help you get to experience some much-needed relaxing in that unique way that touch can bring. In both classes I will talk you through and show you –on myself for self-massage, and on Mr. Heidi’s Table for pair/partner-massage– how to do it.

No, it’s not the same as a professional therapeutic massage session. What it is is its very own and wonderfully therapeutic thing. I promise.

(The classes are on sale for 25% off through Saturday, May 9.)

See you in class, I hope!

The post Too long since your last professional massage? Let me help tide you over until your next one. appeared first on Heidi's Table.

Also upcoming: Therapeutic Self-Massage Class on Wednesday, 22 April 2020 at 7 PM. If you’re missing seeing me (or your massage therapist) in person, or are feeling a lot of tension and having a hard time relaxing, I hope you’ll register. (The class will be recorded — everyone registered will be sent a recording within a week of the class.)

The post Time Sensitive: This Saturday (18 April) 1 – 3 PM EDT (10 – 12 PDT) appeared first on Heidi's Table.

On March 18 I closed my office for in-person therapeutic massage work. (This is temporary, my part in minimizing the spread of COVID-19). It’s been an adjustment! (I miss you.) I, like probably you, am physically/socially distancing and going through quite the range of emotions: fear, sadness, lonesomeness, anxiety, anger, contentment (in my garden), joy (the buds. on the trees. have you noticed?), scared again…

Yesterday, when I sat quietly and tuned inward, I sensed a heaviness in my chest area. When I turned toward it in a friendly and wondering kind of way, it seemed like a stone: big, though not as big as a boulder. And smooth, like a river stone whose roughness has been polished by constant water. I wondered: why not just get rid of the stone, wouldn’t that feel good? I was surprised to sense, from my body, that no: not only didn’t the stone want to leave, but my heart and chest area actually liked having it there. I sensed then that this big river stone was somehow related to my massage work and specifically my touch and contact with my clients’ bodies, and to missing that, suddenly quite intensely. I sat there quietly for a few minutes, trusting the process, no matter how odd or strange what appears might seem.

Trusting the process. It wasn’t always like that for me. Practicing has certainly helped. I’ve learned that my body knows so much more than I think it knows. And having practiced now for many, many years, I have built up some pretty darn good awareness “muscles.”

These are challenging times. I haven’t been to a food market in over a week. (For someone who loves to browse the aisles not in malls but in food and farmers markets, that is something.) I haven’t been—

What about you? I imagine that you are washing your hands a whole lot, physically distancing and staying home. Your list of “I haven’ts” might be long, like mine.

But there is also something I HAVE done, something new which I am hoping you might—now that you know about it!—do with me.

Every day at 12 PM Eastern time (9 AM Pacific) I am leading a COVID-safe, drop-in, virtual class: “At Home in Your Body: Focusing-Oriented Meditation.” It’s only 30-45 minutes long. You can come every day, you can come once a week, or just once in a while. No long-term commitment is needed. And I’d LOVE you to join.

The cost of the class is $10. (Though right now it’s on sale for $5, in anticipation of you reading about it and wanting to try it out—you’re very welcome!) I understand, too, that these are financially trying and wobbly times and that some of us have lost our income from one day to the next, so if the cost of the class would keep you from participating (or participating as often as you’d like), PLEASE drop me a line and I will send you the access link so that you can join regardless of how much you can or can’t pay.

Tuning in and turning toward ourselves with friendliness. That’s what I and anyone who joins me in class are learning and practicing doing every day.

You know the big river stone on my heart yesterday? When I sensed how it wanted me to be with it, it showed me it wanted me to oil up my hands and rub it. Yeah. That felt right. I didn’t have to figure it out, change it, or make it go away. And while it didn’t replace me getting to work with my clients and their bodies in my office, much relief came to me from noticing the whole of how it was in a friendly way.

I’m sorry about what our dear human species is experiencing these days. I’m sorry for our dear planet and how thoughtless and mean our species has been to it. I’m so sorry about the loss and death so many people around the world are experiencing. I feel sad and scared and angry all at once.

Connection sure feels good, even if it’s in a different way than we’ve ever connected before. Maybe I’ll see you in class!

Warmly,

Heidi

P.S. Please forward widely. (Thank you! I really appreciate your help.) What if everyone in the world came out of this extraordinarily difficult experience friendlier toward themselves and each other?

Learn more/Register for “At Home in Your Body: Focusing-Oriented Meditation“

The post You are warmly invited! “At Home in Your Body: Focusing-Oriented Meditation” Classes (COVID-safe, virtual, drop-in) appeared first on Heidi's Table.