“Your heart and my heart have been friends a long, long time” Rumi Embodied healers Roxane Raffin Chan, RN, PhD, AHN-BC

Just For Me Anna Villalobos   What if a poem were just for me? What if I were audience enough because I am, Because this person here is alive, is flesh, Is conscious, has feelings, counts? What if this one person mattered not just for what She can do in the world But because she is part of the world And has a soft and tender heart? What if that heart mattered, if kindness to this one mattered? What if she were not distinct from all others, But instead connected to others in her sense of being distinct, of being alone, Of being uniquely isolated, the one piece removed from the picture— All the while vulnerable under, deep under, the layers of sedimentary defense.

Oh let me hide Let me be ultimately great, Ultimately shy, Remove me, then I don’t have to… be…

But I am. Through all the antics of distinctness from others, or not-really-there-ness, I remain No matter what my disguise— Genius, idiot, gloriousness, scum— Underneath, it’s still just me, still here, Still warm and breathing and human With another chance simply to say hi, and recognize my tenderness And be just a little bit kind to this one as well, Because she counts, too.

Carry the forest with you The consciousness of trees Suzanne Simard PhD Peter Wohlleben PhD Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) Bum- Jin Park PhD Han & Choi Feeling the earth beneath your feet.

First slide to ground - Talk about Chinese recognition of the power of trees. How QiGong done in public parks to be near trees. Apple – heart/small intestine – fire Poplar – Lungs/large Intestine – metal Cypress – Kidney/bladder – water Pine – liver/gall bladder – wood Willow – spleen/stomach - earth

“I want you to be everything that’s you at the center of your being” Confucius Alternate nostril breathing Mantra meditation Connecting to the universe

Meditate together – begin slowly connecting with the breath through alternate nostril breathing. Let that calm you. As you feel connected and settled in your breath you can stop changing nostrils and relax into the sensation of breathing. Feel you breath move from the air passing through your nose to the movement of your chest. Further still to the movement of your abdomen. Feeling the rise and fall of your breath like the tide in a gentle sea or lake. Perhaps the movement of a hammock strung between two ancient trees. Let the movement of your breathing rock your heart. As you settle allow a pleasant word or vision to come to mind. No need to think of the word or vision to focus on for the rest of your life – just for today. Something with a gentle invitation to sit in calmness. That allows you to feel loved. Like the rocking motion of your breath. Focus on that word or image. As you mind wanders, bring it back with gladness. You never get tired if inviting your self back to your focus. Sit here awhile. Enjoy the silence.

“The eternal quest of the individual human is to shatter his loneliness” Norman Cousins Stephen Cole PhD QiGong Moving within Moving between

Dance

Transformative work done through the heart center Stronger together Back draft Self-awareness Self-care Transformative work done through the heart center Feeling the earth beneath your feet.

Last slide – put on Stand by me and connect before we end