Getting to Mindful
The Creation of Mindful Bodywork Therapy
White and glowing, the moon and stars, set on a blanket of midnight blue seemed to rest gently on the peaks of the gigantic Rocky Mountains that first night I spent in Colorado almost twenty years ago. College diploma crammed into the trunk of my car along with everything I owned, I headed out west to find myself, my call, or something profound, deep, and true. Excited as I was during the weeks leading up to my great adventure, I felt lost and alone as I drove myself along route 70 from Pennsylvania to Colorado. Tears of sadness filled my eyes and wet my cheeks that night I arrived in Colorado and laid looking up at the night sky. Deep inside my body something felt off; an awareness beyond the racing thoughts and emotions that something about my adventure was not right.
Looking back, I think that moment in Colorado was the beginning of my journey toward mindfulness, the practice of being present. In that moment, I think my spirit, through physical manifestation of queasiness and cold, was realizing that my journey to truth not an external quest but rather an internal one.
Now, I’m a do-er, so it took me a little over a decade to begin to understand what my spirit knew that night in Colorado: that being present in the world is not about what, how, when, how much, where one does in the world. Rather being present in the world is about whom one is in the world and the depth and quality of the relationships one is in with the world, with other life in the world, and with the energy that transcends the world.
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Jennifer Herfurth Ristine, MBA, NCTMB, is a nationally certified massage therapist who completed her massage training at Sanford Brown Institute in 2007. She specializes in listening to clients and is able to provide massage and range of motion stretching that fits the individual needs of her clients. Jennifer’s training includes Swedish and deep tissue massage, neuromuscular therapy, range of motion stretching, and pregnancy massage. She is also a certified Reiki II practitioner and Trauma Touch (TM) Therapist. To schedule an appointment or learn more about her work, contact jenristine1113@gmail.com or 484-213-8239.
Upcoming Events & Programs
Laughter Yoga, Mondays, 10 am
Healthcare Professionals Networking Breakfast,
1st Wednesday 6/6, 9 – 10:30 am
Healthcare Professionals Practice-Building Program Series
Six Wednesday mornings at 9:00 am, beginning on May 9th
The Creative Writer’s Group, 2nd Wednesday 5/9, 7 – 9 pm
Women’s Personal Growth Group, 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 9:30am
> For more info or to inquire about joining a morning or evening group, contact Elizabeth Venart at 215-542-5004 or evenart@verizon.net.
Male Sexual Abuse Survivors Group
Thursdays at 1:30 pm for 12 weeks
The Philadelphia Writer’s Workshop, Tuesdays, 7-10 pm
> More Info
Morning Meditation, Mondays, 8:30-9:30 am
Evening Meditation, Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 pm
Qi Gong Classes, Thursdays, 2:00 and 6:15 pm
Knitting Circle, Second Saturday 5/12, 10 – 11:30am
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FEATURED PROGRAM
Inspirations: A Book Club to Enhance Your Spirit and Promote Resiliency
Monday, 5/21, 7 – 9pm
This Month:
The Catcher in the Rye
Do you love finding meaning and inspiration from what they read? Enjoy being able to hear about different perspectives? Take some time for yourself and join our monthly book discussion group on Monday evenings. Each month will focus on a new theme providing a lens for the book discussion. Themes covered include creativity, empowerment, transformation, intuition, and joy.
The hero-narrator of The Catcher in the Rye is an ancient child of sixteen, a native New Yorker named Holden Caulfield.
Through circumstances that tend to preclude adult, secondhand description, he leaves his prep school in Pennsylvania and goes underground in New York City for three days. The boy himself is at once too simple and too complex for us to make any final comment about him or his story. Perhaps the safest thing we can say about Holden is that he was born in the world not just strongly attracted to beauty but, almost, hopelessly impaled on it.
There are many voices in this novel: children's voices, adult voices, underground voices-but Holden's voice is the most eloquent of all. Transcending his own vernacular, yet remaining marvelously faithful to it, he issues a perfectly articulated cry of mixed pain and pleasure. However, like most lovers and clowns and poets of the higher orders, he keeps most of the pain to, and for, himself. The pleasure he gives away, or sets aside, with all his heart. It is there for the reader who can handle it to keep.
We look forward to hearing your insights and perspectives - and learning your thoughts about the book experiences shared by the author. Admittance to the book club is free! You need only bring your own book - and add your two cents to the dialogue. A fabulous opportunity for learning, connecting in community, and enjoying a stimulating conversation. Enrollment is limited, so RSVP early.
Enrollment is limited, so RSVP early.
> RSVP here
ANNOUNCEMENT
Opportunity for Practitioners
The Resiliency Center currently has both full-time and part-time office space available for healthcare or healing arts professionals interested in joining our community.
Acupuncturists, those trained in infant massage, and other practitioners of integrative wellness approaches encouraged to inquire. To learn more and/or to schedule a meeting to see the space and talk with practitioners in person, contact Elizabeth Venart at 215-542-5004 or evenart@verizon.net.
Resilient Quote
People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.
~ H.H. The Dalai Lama
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