Growing from Foundation to Flow

Uncovering the Magic between Foundation and Flow

In my work I am intrigued and amazed at how the human body, mind and spirit is able to shift from a state of rigidity and chaos to ease and clarity. Our neurological system can learn to be wired for fight, flight or freeze based on our past traumas, injuries, experiences, limiting beliefs and thought patterns. It can also wired for ease, clarity and functional flow based upon our practices, experiences and thought patterns.

Our bodies and minds thrive when immersed in a foundation of safety, security and stability. I frequently encourage clients to invite their bodies to rest back and feel the support underneath them to assist in shifting the nervous system into a more relaxed, embodied state. As the body begins to settle back and relax the body tissues begin to soften and the parasympathetic or "rest and digest" system begins to takeover and influence all body systems.

Recently I have been intrigued by the space between foundation and flow. The space between deep relaxation where the body feels grounded and calm and the feel of functional, neurological flow.

I believe this is the Space where POTENTIAL lies:
- Potential for rewiring the nervous system response.
- Potential for less pain and tension.
- Potential for less anxiety and depression.
- Potential for enhanced range of motion, greater strength and ease.
- Potential for a shift in belief and thought patterns.

From this Space we can invite in what we need and desire. More ease, more joy, more gratitude, more love, more deep and meaningful awareness and connection.

What is possible when we practice finding our foundation and resources that nourish our foundation?

What is possible when we tap into our internal sources of flow- our breath, our heart, our internal sensations and inner wisdom?

Lessons from Nature
From deep within the supportive earth flows the cool, bubbling spring water that nourishes the ecosystem it travels through.
I invite you to find your foundation, find your flow and explore what possibilities you wish to invite into the magical space that is within you!

ReLeaf Bodywork Therapy offers services that support the practice of discovering your Foundation and Flow.

• Body Mind Therapy

• Essentrics ® Movement

• Heart Based Mindfulness

Relax 

• Receive skilled touch therapies that allow your body to relax from head to toe! Therapies include: Acupressure, Craniosacral and Zero Balancing Therapy.  

• Learn how to relax tight muscles and joints while enhancing flexibility and strength through Essentrics ® 

• Learn simple, effective mindfulness techniques utilizing the HeartMath ® Inner Balance App & Sensor to find inner calm, support your practice and monitor your progress. 

Realign 

• Reset your body’s nervous system response and enhance functioning of every body system while receiving therapeutic bodywork.  

• Rebalance misaligned structural patterns that cause strain, pain, body imbalance and reduce mobility.  

• Deepen your internal awareness of sensations, thought patterns, limiting beliefs and expand your perspective. 

Revive 

• Experience a calm nervous system, spaciousness within your body and the increased energy of a more balanced system. 

• Experience more freedom, flexibility and fun in your movement. 

• Experience a deeper connection to the wisdom of your heart, mind and body! 

Move from Survive to Thrive in 2021

Coping Strategies to Survive and Thrive in 2021

What are your coping strategies?

Do you find yourself too exhausted to even explore this question?

Do you get anxious even thinking about exploring your behavioral patterns and emotions?

We as humans are wired to act in the following ways when we are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, anxious or uncomfortable in the situation or emotional state we find ourselves:

1) FIGHT- our bodies tense up and constrict in an attempt to protect or brace against what we fear is going to happen. Our nervous system moves into high alert and informs our muscles and connective tissues (fascia) to constrict as our body and mind prepare to fight against the threat we perceive.

2) FLIGHT- we may find ourselves wanting to run away and escape our situation. This may be demonstrated by the inability to relax and stop running from what we are experiencing. We may look for ways to escape our situation and seek to immediately soothe ourselves through sugar, alcohol or other addictive behaviors.

3) FREEZE- we may find ourselves frozen with the inability to cope and moving into a more depressive state.

How do we step off the crazy train and into a new pattern of awareness, ease, insight and health?

Now more than ever it is important to explore what is or isn't working for you. We know that Covid-19 and the impact this virus has on each and everyone of us isn't disappearing anytime soon.

5 Steps to Thriving:

1) Slow down and Pause- Gregory Kramer a meditation teacher and author describes The Pause as follows:

"The Pause lets us step out of our reaction and into this moment. We step into knowing the sensations of our body. We step into knowing the pleasant and unpleasant sensations as they arise, and the emotions and thoughts that never seem to rest. We are aware in this moment."

How can you begin to slow down and pause? If you find this process challenging, I welcome the opportunity to support you in this step either virtually or in-person. Contact me to learn more.

2) Bring healthy, supportive resources into your world daily-
Learn more by viewing my 15 minute video. https://www.facebook.com/Releaftherapywi/videos/712154586343160

3) Give yourself the gift of time for regular self-care- what activities do you participate in on a regular basis that are renewing to your body, mind and soul? Do you take time to actively nurture personal growth? Activities may include journaling, participating in mindful activities at rest or with movement, self-acupressure, experiencing care from your wellness team.

4) Feel the change- take the time to feel how your body and mind are experiencing the changes you have implemented. This is where the magic of positive feedback begins to take over. If you are able to absorb and savor the feelings you get after a therapeutic bodywork session or a renewing self-care activity then you begin to see the benefits of continuing and maintaining the healthy behavior. You begin to re-wire your heightened nervous system response and find greater health within.

5) Repeat- and repeat and repeat....

Wishing you peace, joy and hope in the New Year!

Lisa

Blessings and Gratitude- December 2020

What a year it has been for every being on this planet!

May we take time to reflect on the joy and pain, calm and chaos, and what we have received and what we have lost. Through mindful reflection we can begin to process the depth of our experience, treasure what we have and grieve what we have lost.

As 2020 comes to an end and 2021 approaches, I wanted to share a beautiful poem that I first experienced while standing amongst snowy pine trees during a New Years Eve walk through the UW Arboretum. A naturalist read the poem as the moon shone upon us and the trees protected us from the wintry wind.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

By Max Ehrmann 1927

I wish all of you joy, strength, peace and hope this holiday season and the year beyond. I am grateful for each and everyone of you! I look forward to working with you in the new year as we all "strive to be happy".

With love and gratitude,

LIsa

Changes at ReLeaf Bodywork Therapy and beyond

Change, Uncertainty, Growth

 

The cycle of change, uncertainty and potential growth is swirling all around us at an intense speed. At a more global view we are experiencing COVID-19, racial and socioeconomic injustice, political uncertainty, climate change....the list can seam endless.  At a more personal level we have our own life uncertainties, challenges, heartaches, in addition to the underlying influences of the global challenges. 

Now more than ever we are pushed to our Growth Edges.  The place where we are challenged to see our patterns, our inconsistencies, our incongruencies, our unconscious biases and beliefs. During this time it is so very vital that we discover and utilize supportive, healthy resources to energize us to do the work that allows us to grow. 
 

What supportive, healthy resources do you have and utilize in your world?

Lisa welcomes the opportunity to have this discussion with you.  To explore ways to physically and emotionally support yourself based upon your own body's wisdom.  Lisa offers a variety of methods to facilitate a deeper connection with yourself and foster personal growth.

1) Virtual Body Mind Healing Sessions
2) In-person Body Mind Sessions that utilizes Acupressure, Craniosacral,  Zero Balancing Therapy along with body centered mindfulness.
3) In-person Mindful Movement Sessions utilizing Essentrics ® based movements to enhance body awareness, connection, comfort and strength.

To learn more and book your next appointment click:
https://releafbodywork.com/book
 

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Change & Growth
at
ReLeaf Bodywork Therapy

1) New location

ReLeaf Bodywork Therapy has experienced lots of changes since mid March and along with change comes the opportunity for growth. Life can nudge or sometimes propel us to our Growth Edges. I was not planning to move my office location only 1 month after re-opening yet a growth opportunity landed in my lap. My business still resides at Clock Tower Office Park but my therapy and movement space is now at
The Hampton Building at 6333 Odana Rd. Suite 2A. I am next to Sundell Therapeutic Massage and SPACE Yoga and Healing Studio.

2) New services- Virtual Body Mind Session

Read the testimonial below and decide if this is a service that can support you!

"Although I was a bit skeptical about receiving a distance healing session from a practitioner who had never worked with me in person, I was impressed with Lisa's ability to specifically connect and engage with my body and emotions over the phone. Lisa's clear words, guidance, and requests for my feedback, helped me feel grounded and focused throughout the session, and also safe and deeply relaxed. To my surprise, I could actually "feel" her contacts with the joints and acupressure points she used to help me release tension and be more integrated in my body. I could sense changes in my system beginning to occur during the call, and noticed those changes continuing to unfold in the hours and days after our time together. Now, weeks following our session, I have a more clarified sense of my body and am interested in exploring distance healing more. Thank you, Lisa." 
     Jennelle Thimmesch, Viroqua, Wisconsin 

3) Price adjustment

I chose to raise my hourly rate by $5.00 on July 1st.  My last price adjustment was spring of 2017.  I invest in my continuing education to provide the highest quality of service to you.  I hope you choose to invest in ReLeaf Bodywork Therapy for your physical, emotional and life growth!
 

4) Essentrics ® Movement Instruction

Despite a few timeline set backs, I persevered and received my Level 1 Essentrics Instructor Certification 5/11/2020!  This accomplishment means that I can now officially teach 30 minute 1:1 individual movement classes in addition to group classes. I truly believe this work can help all of us re-align our structural imbalances which in turn reduces pain and strain patterns and creates more ease and comfort in our bodies. Essentrics ® is a lengthening and strengthening movement program for everyone!  
Benefits:

• Increases full body flexibility

• helps relieve pain

• unlocks tight muscles and joints

• strengthens spine and core to help treat and prevent back pain

• improves posture, alignment and balance.

• enhances body awareness to help prevent injuries 

Schedule a 30 minute Mindful Movement session and we can begin working from the feet up.  

To learn more: https://essentrics.com/beginners-guide/

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A little glimpse into Change, Uncertainty and Growth in Lisa's world

My dad turned 95 on 6/17 and we chose to celebrate with a drive by parade. He was enrolled onto Agrace Hospice services the end of May and is happy to be able to remain in his home for the remainder of his life.
Our granddaughter Athena returned to preschool part-time in June which allowed me to turn my focus back to business.
5/27/2020 My office re-opened.
6/25/2020 I moved my office and re-opened on 6/29/2020 at 6333 Odana Rd. Suite 2A. 
My hope is that July holds more ease and calm!!
 

Caffeine Clarity Interview with Vicky Franchino and Lisa Tennant

My day job is being the owner and a body/mind therapist at ReLeaf Bodywork Therapy.

My background is in Western medicine: I have an undergraduate degree in exercise physiology and did my graduate work in cardiac rehab and adult fitness. I spent 15 years working in inpatient and outpatient cardiac rehab and much of that focused on education.

During this time, my older daughter started to suffer from debilitating migraines. We went through a lot of testing, drug regimens and even a hospital stay and nothing Western medicine had to offer provided any relief. That was the catalyst that led me to take a more holistic approach. Eastern medicine has been helping people for thousands of years—it seemed worth learning more.

I started out doing Craniosacral work—which involves the interplay between your nervous system and your fascia, which is basically the “Saran wrap” that covers every organ, muscle and nerve in your body.

Over time, I’ve been trained in a number of other healing methods including acupressure, neurovascular integration therapy and Zero Balancing, which is a hands-on mind/body therapy. 

Skilled touch therapies such as these focus on using supportive holds and pressure points designed to assist the body in relaxing from the inside out. They help to cultivate a balanced nervous system response while re-aligning structural and energetic imbalances that can be at the heart of chronic pain and emotional distress. The relaxation of your nervous system has a cascade effect on all physiological systems, which helps create more optimal functioning.

I work with my patients to help them see the connections between their mental and their physical health. Say a patient comes in with jaw and shoulder pain. How is that physical pain related to what’s happening emotionally? Often, when we have physical pain, that causes us to be scared, which causes our nervous system to tighten up even more, which creates a vicious cycle.

Perhaps the most important thing I help my patients do is to find balance. We’re all trying to juggle so many things. If we can find more ease and calm in our bodies and our minds, we can find our true selves, which, in turn, allows us to make better choices for ourselves and others.

My most memorable caffeine was at Caffé Reggio in Greenwich Village. My husband read about it and we had the chance to visit it during a trip to New York City. It first opened in the 1920s and has the first espresso machine that was brought to America from Italy. The café has only been owned by two families and is filled with pieces of art from as far back as the Renaissance. It was a hub for the Beat movement and folk music and it’s been in a number of movies. You can even see the fan from Casa Blanca.

We visited early on an April morning after walking The High Line. It was a weekday and very few people were out, which made it feel even more special.

My current caffeine of choice is a vanilla latte.

My favorite place for caffeine is the EVP at Sequoya Commons.  I enjoy the baristas, the coffee and the proximity to the library and the Nutzy Mutz & Crazy Catz pet shop. My granddaughter and I call it the trifecta experience: I have a beautiful latte, we go and visit the kittens and check out some books.

The people I’d love to share a cup of caffeine with and the world problem that could be solved with the right amount of caffeine go together for me.

Throughout my career in healthcare, I’ve been struck by the many barriers that keep us from being our best selves: barriers to payment, to providers, to location, to knowledge.

I’d like to bring together the following women: Melinda Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and all the wonderful body/mind mentors I’ve met throughout the years.

Together, we could create a non-profit where any female, from infant to elderly, has access to body and mind therapies as often as they want without any barriers. Think of the difference if we each had the ability to show up feeling our best every day.

In the words of Melinda Gates, that would truly be a “moment of lift.”

Letting Go and Opening Up- Fall 2019 Newsletter

Letting Go and Opening Up

LETTING GO
Autumn holds significant transitions for many of us.
Summer is drawing to a close, temperatures are cooling and the duration of daylight is slowly fading. Families are experiencing big changes as the more relaxed pace of summer shifts into structured days of school and evenings and weekends filled with extracurricular activities.

Autumn is the season of Letting Go. Seasonally the trees and plants "let go" of their leaves as they prepare for the winter ahead. (As I was drafting this newsletter a leaf fell gently upon my paper :)) So too, we must begin to reflect and discern what we are ready to "let go of " as we transition into this new season. We may view the process of letting go as sad or difficult. We may be grieving the loss of summer and the moments we have spent with those we love. We may be grieving the loss of a particular stage in our life that has been completed such as a child graduating from high school and moving onto college (yours truly :))

In Five Element acupressure the Element of Fall is Metal and the meridian organs are Lung and Large Intestine. The extreme emotional state associated with Metal is grief or sorrow.

Taking Time to Pause and Reflect on your Body, Mind and Life:

1) As you reflect upon what you are letting go of this fall, honor and recognize any feelings of grief associated with the process of letting go.

2) Take time to explore where in your body you hold patterns of tension. This may be felt as a sense of holding back or an inability to release or relax tension patterns. Where does your energy move freely through your body and where does it feel stuck? Awareness of stuck areas provides an opportunity for delving deeper into information that may be stored in this area.
For example: is there a fear of moving forward or letting go?
Ask yourself what would that body area feel like with less tension?


Self-care Suggestions

We can support our Metal element through breathing exercises that promote a full exhale or letting go breath pattern. We can support a healthy colon by eating some raw foods, minimizing mucous producing foods and exercising abdominal muscles. We can be mindful of clearing our lives of things that no longer serve us including objects, ideas, behaviors and relationships.

OPENING UP
As we begin to mindfully reflect on what we choose to let go of, we can begin to create space to open up to new ideas, opportunities and possibilities. We can explore how different we can feel in our bodies as we let go of holding patterns that create tension, limited range of motion and pain.

Our body can experience more ease and comfort,
our mind can be more creative in the discernment process
and our life can flow more smoothly.

Wishing you health and joy during these beautiful autumn days and beyond!

Lisa

Learning to listen to what is inside- deepening internal awareness.

Learning to listen to what is inside

Our body and mind contain an endless amount of information. When we take the time to truly pay attention and temporarily turn off our outside stimuli, we have a wonderful opportunity to tap into the information, energy and wisdom within. 

Suzanne Durana describes Full Body Presence as follows:

The ability to feel all parts of your body with a good flow of healthy energy moving through you.  It also includes a connection to your inner and outer resources for health and a good sense of personal boundaries.

In an Unspoken Voice- how the body releases trauma and restores goodness,
Peter Levine, PhD describes Embodiment as follows: 

Embodiment is about gaining, through the vehicle of awareness,  the capacity to feel the ambient physical sensations of unfettered energy and aliveness as they pulse through our bodies.

Guidelines for learning to listen to what is inside during your bodywork experience:

1) Be curious.
2) Be open to whatever you may discover with a non-judgmental approach.
3) Be in awe of the amazing human body.  Explore gratitude and compassion for your body and mind.
4) Be patient with yourself and the experience.
5) Consider sharing/discussing your experiences with your body mind practitioner to enhance exploration, verbalization, connection and insight.

What to look for? Information may come in the form of Sensations.  

For example: warmth, coolness, tingling, tension, softness, heaviness, lightness, pain, ease/comfort are just a few descriptors you may wish to explore.

You can learn through exploring opposite sensations.  First explore areas of connection, comfort and ease.  When you have a strong sense of body areas that feel these sensations, then venture into areas of tension, restriction and possibly pain.  Return to areas of connection, comfort and ease if you begin to feel anxious, overwhelmed or a heightened feeling of pain.  Practice navigating between the opposite sensations and always finish your exploration with connection, comfort and ease. 

Lisa can assist in guiding you through body centered mindfulness practices that support your experience.

If you are interested in deepening your embodied self awareness, consider scheduling a 75 or 90 minute Body Mind Session. Invest in yourself and your life!

Lessons from our environment

Lessons from my dog

I had been pondering the addition of a pooch to our home for a few years. My analytical and practical brain could not find a logical reason to add another being with needs to our busy household. Still, the kid in me wanted the unconditional, fun, tail wagging furriness of it all!

The initial, focused search began the summer of 2017. I was led to a wonderful organization by the name of Lola’s Lucky day who rescues dogs from Texas and brings them north to loving, new homes. I drug my husband reluctantly through the home visit process to become approved as a dog owner worthy home. On December 10th 2017 Ziggy Tennant became a full fledged household member. He had been initially rescued from a shelter in Houston, TX a month after Hurricane Harvey at the age of one. A loving and generous foster family cared for and trained him for his launch into his new life in Wisconsin.

Ziggy had a rough start to life. I may never know the specifics of how he entered the Harris County Pet Shelter in Houston,  but what I do know is what I observe in his behavior on a day to day basis. He appears to seek what we all want and need in life from the basic needs such as good nutrition, a cozy comfy bed for resting, a loving environment complete with touch and kind words and physical and mental stimulation.

Ziggy is a reactive, anxious dog. Our walks are filled with self-regulation training. I observe how he gradually becomes more agitated and reactive with new, potentially threatening stimuli. He sees another dog and immediately goes on the defense with barking. I believe this is a learned survival behavior which is slowly being rewired as he begins to experience other dogs as non-threatening. We practice sitting and settling to help him feel what calm, safety is like in his body and mind. Then we gently move forward onto the next experience that lies around the corner. When he gets overwhelmed (seeing more than 4 dogs in a 30 minute walk), I pick him up, hold him close and remind him that he is safe. He immediately begins to calm when held and can’t seem to experience enough close, safe contact.

I am reminded that I too need to approach each moment and day with an awareness of my own mental, emotional and physical state.

• What am I feeling and experiencing in my body, mind and emotions?
   

• What events are occurring in my life that are activating an elevated response in my body, mind and emotional state?
   

• Am I taking time to pause, relax and reflect on my current state and choices before moving forward or do I carry all of my built up reactions with me as I move through my day? (this is where the re-wiring of non functional patterns begins)
   

• Am I taking time throughout my day, week and month to experience renewing self-care?

If you wish to learn more about techniques to help you pause, relax, reflect and renew contact Lisa to create a self-care routine that fits your lifestyle.

Ornament picture I purchased in November of 2017 before I knew of pending adoption of Ziggy (there was some interesting connection occurring that brought us together)

Ziggy (amazing likeness of holiday ornament)

Thank you Ziggy for all the lessons and love!!