Hi everyone.  As you may have noticed we have had some scheduling changes over the past month that may have caught you by surprise.  Feo recently joined our team as Aaron is soon departing for Nelson.  We are excited to have Feo and are already missing Aaron! Along with staffing changes, Melissa’s father has been in hospital over on the mainland. She has been going back and fourth from the island to care for him, and as a result, has had to miss some of her shifts. Please keep her and her Dad in your thoughts and prayers over the coming weeks.

We are always updating the schedule on pocapoint, our booking calendar, if you’re curious about who is working any given day.  We also want to remind you that regardless of who is in the clinic we work as a team here at hemma, striving to provide caring, consistent, and  effective care 7 days a week.  Remember that although you may have a favourite practitioner, it’s you and your body that do the healing.  Which means you can benefit from a treatment no matter which of our acupuncturists is providing it!  Thank you for your commitment to health, community, and for all your support.

With longer days and sunlight, it feels easier to get outside and find activities to do both on land and on water. I know for myself that during these times of solar powered outdoor explorations, my indoor yoga practice tends to dwindle. I still start my day with a short morning meditation practice and some breathwork, but I relinquish the asana that winter months call for…

Why do we do this? We know that yoga is a valuable complimentary practice to summer (or indeed any) activities. It is important to warm up the body to prevent strains and injuries, as well as stretch out afterwards. Yoga, as well as acupuncture, helps to recover and avoid sore muscles so the body can be strong and limber.

After your next hike or cycle tour, roll out your mat on your patio, the beach or in the park, do yoga on a SUP, come practice at Hemma… Whatever you do, keep your practice up! We are here to support you with our unlimited Summer Yoga Pass for July and August for only $175!

Coralie

This season has me thinking about the cycles of the natural world, and how we are inevitably tied to them. How seasons of growth and abundance need to give way at times to rest and decay, decline and hibernation, so that we can re-emerge refreshed and energized once again.

Being misaligned with these natural and necessary patterns can cause illness, anxiety, depression. Mental un-wellness happens for a reason. It is an opportunity, a challenge, and a call to great growth through adversity. We are all capable of recovery, healing, and finding ourselves through our hardship. Yes, it’s rough. So unbelievably rough. Anxiety and PTSD are crippling, they completely change who you are and how you navigate the world. Depression is excruciating. It’s all-consuming, it’s overwhelming, and it feels like there’s no way out.

These are big, scary, and impossible calls to answer to, but there are tools available to help us. By practicing Self-Compassion, we validate our suffering, we offer ourselves support as we navigate the muck. By practicing Self-Inquiry, we dare to ask, dare to listen, to what our un-wellness is demanding of us. And by committing to caring for ourselves, to supporting ourselves on this very human journey of becoming more real, more honest, more whole — we learn to tap into the resources all around us.

Happy Spring, friends. Be well.

Madison

Check out Madison’s upcoming workshop, Self Discovery for Mental Health, May 6th from 2:00-4:00pm, and series, starting May 11th.

Want to read more? Check out Madison’s blog.