Jan. 24th Sunday Meditation w Pierre via ZOOM
Jan. 24th Sunday Meditation w Pierre via ZOOM
9am SUNDAY MEDITATION VIA ZOOM: Our meeting on SUNDAY 1/24/21 AT 9:00-10:15am has the same URL as last week’s ZOOM program (the MEDITATION ZOOM URL will always stay the same). If you are new to our ZOOM program and need info, CONTACT Pierre by Calling 413-992-7012 or Emailing PIERRE.
NOTE: You will not have to RSVP, call or email to participate in Sunday ZOOM Meditations in the future – the meeting URL stays the same – PLEASE SAVE THIS INFO.
Here is the SUNDAY essay for us to contemplate together MEDITATION AS THE GREAT PERFECTION – PART 2 (PDF)
We are doing everything possible to continue our fellowship and practice.
VISIT our Meditation Page and/or CALENDAR on our website for UPDATES.
***ALSO NOTE: Wednesday Evening Meditation 5:30-6:30pm is now held “IN PERSON” AT THE HALL OF SPRINGS (depending on coronavirus status). Located within Spa State Park, 108 Avenue of the Pines, Saratoga Springs. RSVP to PIERRE is required for Wednesdays only.
One Roof Welcomes New Practitioner Courtney Paton
One Roof Welcomes New Practitioner Courtney Paton
New Years Day 9am Meditation w Pierre
New Years Day 9am Meditation w Pierre
9am NEW YEAR’S DAY MEDIATION WITH PIERRE VIA ZOOM: Our meeting on FRIDAY 1/1/21 AT 9:00-10am has the same URL as Sunday’s ZOOM program (the MEDITATION ZOOM URL will always stay the same). If you are new to our ZOOM program and need info, CONTACT Pierre by Calling 413-992-7012 or Emailing PIERRE.
NOTE: You will not have to RSVP, call or email to participate in ZOOM Meditations in the future – the meeting URL stays the same – PLEASE SAVE THIS INFO.
For many it is a tradition to meditate between Christmas and New Year’s Day. It is a time for reflection, to take stock of the past year’s experiences and gain clarity and insight into our basic nature, to be grateful for our family, our circle of friends and acquaintances and the world at large. Come and join others in the community of meditation as we start the New Year.
We are doing everything possible to continue our fellowship and practice.
VISIT our Meditation Page and/or CALENDAR on our website for UPDATES.WED. Meditation meetings: will resume on 1/13/21 now held “IN PERSON” AT THE HALL OF SPRINGS. Located within Spa State Park, 108 Avenue of the Pines, Saratoga Springs. RSVP to PIERRE is required for Wednesdays only. Check for Wed. meeting updates regarding Coronavirus status on the blog here.
A Catalyst for Calm
A Catalyst for Calm
Coronavirus as a Catalyst for Calm:
A Beyond My Battle Podcast – Episode 4
Beyond My Battle has created a special podcast to support you through the many changes & emotional challenges the coronavirus pandemic brings, especially since pre-existing health conditions, disability & accessibility have been major themes during this time.
In this special episode, Beyond My Battle Exec. Dir. and co-founder Martel Catalano talks with Dr. Selma Nemer of One Roof Holistic Health Center about the many ways this pandemic can ease our health and play a role in healing – personally and globally.
You can listen to Episode 4 now on the Beyond My Battle website here, or on iTunes, or YouTube.
In other helpful news, Beyond My Battle has also put together The Battle Kit: Covid-19: At Home Resources for Care & Calm.
Don’t forget, folks: we are here for you! We’ll get through this together.
One Roof welcomes new practitioner, Dr. Andrea Lodico.
One Roof welcomes new practitioner, Dr. Andrea Lodico.
Dr. Lodico is trained in cognitive behavioral therapy, infusing it with mindfulness based practices to address chronic stress, anxiety and depression in clients. She uses a practical, problem solving approach to guide adults and families in resolving the constant challenges associated with thriving and parenting in today’s environment.
One Roof Welcomes Mary Beth McCue, RD, CDN, IFNCP.
One Roof Welcomes Mary Beth McCue, RD, CDN, IFNCP.
One Roof welcomes new practitioner, Registered Dietitian (RD) and Certified Dietitian/Nutritionist Mary Beth McCue. Mary Beth is an Integrative and Functional Nutrition Certified Practitioner (IFNCP), with 20+ years initiating nutrition, wellness, integrative and functional programs in diverse settings. She accepts many insurances and is looking forward to meeting new clients at One Roof. Schedule a consultation today. Read complete details about her and find contact info here.
iTheatre to Present “Guardians of the Treasure.”
iTheatre to Present “Guardians of the Treasure.”
iTheatre Saratoga presents a stage production of the book, Guardians of the Treasure, by Dr. Selma Nemer and Gabrielle Nemer, adapted and directed by Mary Jane Hansen, on Friday, August 2nd at 7:30pm; and Saturday & Sunday, August 3rd & 4th, 2:00pm. All performances will be held at St. Clements School, 231 Lake Avenue, Saratoga Springs, NY. This is a family-friendly performance!
Director Mary Jane Hansen says: “Guardians… is a spectacular journey of the heart, mind, and soul that reminds us we are all inter-connected and powerful. With feats of faith, hope, and love [characters] Chrystal and Stephine discover their best selves and how they might redeem an ailing world.”
Two best friends are forced by life events to learn to listen to their gut rather than convention, and in so doing discover who and what they truly are. At great risk to themselves, they discover a Treasure, an intricate part of their past, now woven into the future. A struggle of the forces of dark and light brings them to a new understanding of life, love, and the infinite capacity of the human spirit. Guardians of the Treasure is a magical adventure sure to enchant audiences of all ages!
Tickets are $20/adult, $10/child and are available at 518-584-7780.
Tickets may also be purchased by logging on to: gott.brownpapertickets.com
Psychologist Dr. Selma Nemer is founder/owner of One Roof Holistic Health Center and the Saratoga Stress Reduction Program, in Saratoga Springs. Here’s what she has to say about the magical process of writing “Guardians” with her beloved granddaughter:
Working with my granddaughter was an inspiring process that I encourage others to try! “Guardians of the Treasure” began when my granddaughter Gabrielle was 10. From a different time zone, it was often I, the scribe, who would need to end our sessions, amazed. With aching hand and tired mind, I would hear Gabrielle eagerly ask, “What time next week?”
A year and a half later, the first draft appeared. What a wonderful shared journey this was! As Bruno Bettelheim inferred regarding fairy tales, children not only appreciate, but also intuit the delicate interplay of light and dark. With a grandmother’s trepidation, I would tend towards the protective light, while Gabrielle fearlessly and necessarily added the depth and tension of the dark. We can’t underestimate children’s knowing. She also understood timing and would often say, “No, it’s too soon to say that.”
We not only hope that readers of the book and viewers of the stage production of “Guardians of the Treasure” will have fun in their involvement with the story, we also hope to empower them to trust their intuition, find comfort and strength in nature, take risks, and grow, as our lead characters have courageously done. This is a book (and play) with a positive, powerful message for all ages that includes creativity, self-reliance and leadership. Many of the scenes are metaphorical and expand our vision to embrace the infinite capacity of the human spirit.
Breathe More Fully for a Healthy Heart
Breathe More Fully for a Healthy Heart
An enormous amount of energy has been spent on research for a better means of preventing/treating cardiovascular disease, the #1 cause of death. Reliance on medical saviors obscures the simple fact that our own breathing habits may be the most important determinant of coronary health. This failure to recognize the value of learning to breathe
more fully is unfortunate because we are thereby forfeiting a powerful means of maintaining heart health.
Efficient breathing requires effortless expansion of the thoracic area drawing air into the lungs. Muscle tension in any of the muscles which affect the ribs and breastbone reduce expansion. For example, many adults hold their abdominal muscles tight on inhalation, thus inhibiting the depth of thoracic movement. The shallow more rapid breathing style produced causes hyperventilation syndrome, characterized by elevations in blood pressure.
Essential hypertension (80-90% of cases) is persistently high blood pressure not due to any identifiable medical pathology. Hypertension is associated with substantially increased risks of stroke, heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes. The links between habitually shallow breathing, chronic high blood pressure and the incidence of cardiovascular disease are well known.
We can learn to improve our respiratory habits, breathe easier and reduce our disease risk. A field of study and practice known as Somatics has developed in recent years, as discoveries in neuroscience and biofeedback have shed light on the internal self-regulatory abilities demonstrated by students of so-called “mind-body” disciplines (yoga etc.). A wealth of learning in methods of intelligent self-care and healing await those willing to take responsibility for their own well-being.
David MacDougall MA LMT is a certified Hanna Somatic Educator specializing in intelligent self-care for the reversal/prevention of muscle/joint pain. He will offer an Intro workshop “What is Somatics?” at One Big Roof on Sat. Oct. 13th, 10:30-11:30am. Then, on Saturday, Nov. 3rd, join us for “Somatic Self-Care,” and learn an easy to practice set of somatic exercises that will enable you to reduce unwanted muscle tension and restore/maintain comfort and ease of movement with 10-15 minutes a day of pleasurable movements. Finally, on Dec. 3rd, Dave teaches us “A Somatic Approach to Better Breathing.” Contact Dave to register.
Learning about SOMATICS and CHRONIC PAIN…
Learning about SOMATICS and CHRONIC PAIN…
“Demystifying Chronic Pain, A Somatic Functional Perspective,” By David MacDougall.
How do we measure the cost of chronic muscle/joint pain? A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicates the cost of healthcare spending for back/neck pain is $87.6 billion a year. Studies indicate it is “the leading global cause of disability in 2015 in most countries.” Just stroll through your local pharmacy and note the amount of shelf space occupied by “pain killers,” and you can see that chronic pain is truly a cultural phenomenon. Since back, neck and other chronic musculoskeletal pain are so common, you may have personal experience with the cost and inconvenience/suffering they cause.
Low back pain is a prime example of the persistence of the medical enigma of chronic musculoskeletal pain. Much of the money spent treating back pain is allocated for diagnostic testing in an attempt to determine what is causing the pain. Yet despite the enhanced sensitivity of new imaging devices, typically no definite pathoanatomic site is found, and no theory of what causes regional back pain has stood up to scientific testing. The structural bias inherent in most of medical thinking obscures the fact that many regional musculoskeletal disorders do not respond to treatment as diseases because they are not diseases.
Medicine and Somatics each seek to determine the underlying causes of maladies such as back pain, but Somatics takes a broader perspective. The medical viewpoint is affirmed, but with Somatics the focus is not on “what” causes the illness as much as it is on “how” the physiological system has adapted to stress and trauma. Symptoms are seen as an indicator of strain due to dysfunction within the involved systems. Since muscles are the agents of function within the musculoskeletal system, it seems logical to focus our attention there. Indeed palpation of the hip and back muscles of back pain sufferers commonly reveals hypertonicity and soreness and softening of these tissues via manual therapy often brings temporary relief. But we must bear in mind that muscles contract only when activated via a signal from the motor nerve. If we wish to evoke a lasting change in muscle tension, the change must occur within the central nervous system that regulates nervous activation of muscle action.
Various methods may induce de-contraction of hypertonic muscles, but when the muscle contractions have been habituated and the condition has become chronic, an internal reorganization of the sensing and activation of muscle actions must occur before the changes evoked by therapy can persist. Those suffering must take an active role in developing more efficient self-regulation of muscle action.
The somatic exercises developed by Thomas Hanna, PhD are a proven time efficient, gentle means of enhancing voluntary control of movement and posture. The exercises are based in methods of somatic education developed by Hanna during 17 years practice of the Feldenkrais Method, and are informed by current theories of motor learning and biofeedback training. Helmut Milz, MD, former consultant to the World Health Organization, said, “these exercises could make a real difference for the vast number of people who suffer from musculoskeletal ailments.” Since enhancing the efficiency of bodily movement enhances vitality in all functions whether physical, emotional or mental, students find that as they lose the pains they have suffered with for years, other benefits occur as well. In the words of Thomas Hanna, “Somatic Exercises can change how we live our lives, how we believe that our minds and bodies interrelate, how powerful we think we are in controlling our lives, and how responsible we should be in taking care of our total being.”
Mark your calendar and register today for Dave’s Workshop on Saturday, Nov. 3rd, “Somatic Self-Care,” and learn an easy-to-practice set of somatic exercises that will enable you to reduce unwanted muscle tension and restore/maintain comfort and ease of movement with 10-15 minutes a day of pleasurable movements. Then, on Dec. 1st, Dave teaches us “A Somatic Approach to Better Breathing.”
David MacDougall, MA, LMT, is a certified Hanna Somatic Educator specializing in intelligent self-care for the reversal/prevention of muscle/joint pain. Contact Dave to register.
What is Somatics?
What is Somatics?
By Dave MacDougall.
Somatics is a term coined by Dr. Thomas Hanna to describe a field of study and practice that focuses on a person’s own ability to use internal awareness to improve physical function. Based on his studies in neurophysiology, biofeedback, yoga and the Feldenkrais method, Hanna devised a self-care routine he called the “Daily Cat Stretch” which he presented in his book, Somatics: Reawakening the Mind’s Control of Movement, Flexibility and Health (1988).
Habitual muscular tension is at the heart of a wide range of health problems from chronic pain syndromes such as backache and headache to a variety of arthritic complaints. We 
know muscles have no will of their own, so we can see that the problem lies not in the muscles themselves, but is instead a consequence of deficient regulation and control. This functional deficit in the nervous system’s management of muscle function represents a lack of voluntary control that cannot be remedied by any amount of structural reengineering. Change must come from the inside out.
In other words, the illnesses of hypertonicity are not medical problems needing treatment, but instead are sensory-motor problems requiring somatic education. Since studying with Dr. Hanna in 1990 Dave MacDougall has taught the “Cat Stretch” and other somatic exercises to over 3000 people desiring to prevent or eliminate chronic muscle/joint pain and stiffness.
Mark your calendar and register today for Dave’s Intro Workshop “What is Somatics?” at One Big Roof on Sat. Oct. 13th, 10:30-11:30am. Then, on Saturday, Nov. 3rd, join us for “Somatic Self-Care,” and learn an easy-to-practice set of somatic exercises that will enable you to reduce unwanted muscle tension and restore/maintain comfort and ease of movement with 10-15 minutes a day of pleasurable movements. Then, on Dec. 1st, Dave teaches us “A Somatic Approach to Better Breathing.”
David MacDougall, MA, LMT, is a certified Hanna Somatic Educator specializing in intelligent self-care for the reversal/prevention of muscle/joint pain. Contact Dave to register.