Please welcome to The Space…

Dr. Lisa Skerritt

Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine

 Acupuncture | Herbal Medicine | Tuina Massage

Lisa has many years of education in Chinese Medicine, Herbology, Shiatsu and Acupuncture from around the world including the US and the UK. She has been practicing Chinese medicine for over 19 years, and has worked in many areas of B.C. including Whistler, North Vancouver, the West End, and 5 years treating addictions in the Downtown East Side. Lisa has much experience treating a variety of ailments, including muscular-skeletal disorders, infertility, addiction, anxiety and insomnia, stress-related illness, digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, and many types of pain including migraines and arthritis. Originally from St. Kitts in the Caribbean, Lisa was brought up by parents with pharmaceutical training. In addition to traditional Western medicine, Lisa’s parents had a wide knowledge and interest in folk medicine that was brought to the island by the native South Americans and Africans. Growing up and seeing first hand the healing powers of herbs insprired Lisa’s interest in Chinese Medicine.

Lisa is available at The Space Tuesdays 2pm-7pm and Thursdays 10am-2pm

Dearest SOUL Family,
 
Many blissful greetings to you!
 
I have been away for a while, and I have finally put together my calendar/schedule for sessions and Reiki workshops in Vancouver and Squamish BC for when I come up. Thank you so much for your patience and your support. I finally have IT!!!
 
I will only be around in town for a short while before I take off to Turkey for the rest of the summer where I will be offering sessions and workshops, although I will still be available to you via the long distance method whenever you need me and all the way from over there!
 
Please take a look at the link below. On the right hand side (upper corner) click on “weekly” to view the dates. Please feel free to fwd it to your loved ones and let me know as soon as you can, which appointment days/times may work for you, so I can make sure to reserve your spot right away.
 
CALENDAR: http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=2a3sm9skc6hhvr8n7r0rognnbs%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Los_Angeles&pvttk=bf519266bc1f3235cddf5e2e0536dbbe
 
*I might add some more dates (both for Reiki attunements and sessions) to the calendar before I leave town. Please contact me directly if you might have other dates to request. Thank you.
 
*Sessions are $120 and payments are accepted in cash or through the secure online payment method. Please visit http://www.ishil.com/payment-method/ to make an online payment. Thank you.
 
As for the Reiki Attunements please make sure to visit http://reiki4purposefullife.blogspot.com for details and contact me if you have any questions to book your spot.
 
Locations for Sessions/Workshops:
 
The Space (Yaletown) #305 1008 Homer Street (@ Nelson)
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6B 2X1
 
The Earthly Crystals Gifts (Britannia Beach on Sea to Sky Highway, near the Mining Museum)
 
Thank you so much for your support and love.
 
I am forever grateful to Spirit to walk this journey with you.
 
ALL LOVE
 
Ishil
 
I.S.H.I.L
Integral.Shift.of.Humanity.In.Love
“Find the courage to go back and change the future”
http://soulpurposealignment.blogspot.com

The Space Vancouver and the Georgia Straight want you to voice your opinion in the Georgia Straight’s 15th Annual Best of Vancouver Survey.

Complete 25 of the 200 questions and The Georgia Straight will enter you into a draw for a $3,000 Flight Centre Gift Certificate!

Visit www.straight.com/bov to cast you vote

By: Dr. Emilie Salomons

The cold and flu season is fast approaching. Here are some tips on how to care for you and your family at the first sign of a cold.

In Chinese medicine, the common cold can be separated into several categories, the most common being wind heat and wind cold. Listed below are a few simple tips on how to recognize which type you have and what you should eat to help your body clear the cold as fast as possible.

1. Wind Cold: Symptoms may include; aching body, clear nasal discharge, headache and chills and coughing up clear phlegm.

What to do:

• Fresh ginger tea (grate ginger into a cup or tea pot, pour in hot water and let steep until there is a strong ginger taste, strain liquid and add honey if you need sweetner)
• Spicy soup (add ginger and hot peppers to a broth based soup, remember that you just want enough spices to break a sweat, nothing more)

2. Wind Heat: Symptoms may include; fever more than chills, sore throat, a hot sensation, yellow or green nasal discharge and coughing up yellow sticky phlegm.

What to do:

• Mint tea (add fresh mint if possible to hot water, let steep for 1-2 minutes, add honey to taste)
• Salt water gargle (for a sore throat, add 2 tbsp of salt to one glass of tepid water, stir until salt dissolves. Gargle full glass and repeat 2-3x/day)

Remember, these remedies should be used during the first few days of a cold. Should your cold last longer or progress in severity, please contact a health professional. If you suspect H1N1 (Swine flu) please contact, Healthlink BC at 8-1-1 and speak to a nurse anytime, day or night.

Acupuncture

With summer just around the corner, many people are looking to ramp up their summer health plans. Whether it is a fitness plan or a vow to eat less heavy food and eat more greens, the warm weather has ignited a fire under us and the spark of motivation has been lit.

With that said, what most people neglect in their efforts to prepare for the activities of summer is a full body check up. Not your yearly G.P. visit, although that’s always a good idea too, but an in-depth look at your physical and mental health. Maybe it’s an old shoulder injury that gets flared up every time you push too hard, or digestive difficulties despite your best efforts to eat well, or perhaps it’s that nagging feeling of anxiety or sadness which isn’t fading with the improving weather. Not only can Chinese medicine and acupuncture help address the roots of these issues, it can also act as a support to your spring/summer health plan by preventing injury, aiding digestion, improving heart and organ health, managing stress and helping you stay happy, healthy, motivated and prepared for what the summer has to offer.

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While there are a multitude of different yogic pranayama (breathing exercises) the highest is also the simplest: savour the breath.

It is quite easy, if one pays attention for a short while, to become aware of the subtle nuances of the breath. This naturally encourages a deeper, more steady breathing, without the use of force. In this breath there is a richness that in turn feeds consciousness: the process of becoming aware postively feeds back on itself.

Begin to notice the brief pauses between the inhale and exhale. The moment of stillness in fullness at the top of the inhale and the moment of stillness in emptiness - a touching on the creative void - at the bottom of the exhale. Hang onto none of these states but allowing your awareness to pass freely through the full range of experience, growing deeper and richer with each passing breath. When you feel you have connected with the breath sufficiently, rather than absent-mindedly falling off into unconscious breathing or thoughts, choose to take three last full breaths before consciously returning to your ordinary awareness and activities.

The transition from pregnancy to motherhood can be tough even under the best circumstances. Socially a woman may feel isolated, she may also feel scared, underprepared and overwhelmed. Although these feelings may pass, in some circumstances like a prolonged or difficult labor, problems during pregnancy or delivery complications, she may develop what is called Post Partum Depression.

Also known as PPD, Post Partum Depression is a type of major depression which affects a new mother within the first year after childbirth. Although it generally occurs shortly after childbirth, it may occur months after the delivery. Symptoms include, crying, irritability, uncontrollable mood swings, poor self care, a lack of interest or resentment towards the baby, excessive fatigue, isolation or a withdrawal from family and friends. If any of these symptoms start to effect daily life, PPD may be the cause.

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By Marta Hernandez

Until recently, Newtonian laws of physics and nature from a few hundred years ago have been our model for our mechanical view of the world.  As this view has emphasized the world as solid and unchanging, so have we responded in our daily lives with a linear and structured way of being.  The deeper human experience and what it really means to be alive has been lost.

This mechanical view of the world has also set the stage for how we interact with our own bodies.  Feelings of isolation, inhibition and depression seem to block or dull the innate life force and intelligence within.  But with the evolving times and the increasing popularity of new fitness regimes such as yoga and pilates, we see people turning away from the repetitive style exercise systems in search of having a deeper connection with their own bodies.

Breath and movement are fundamental to all human beings.  Besides anchoring us in the moment, our breath helps us to sense ourselves more completely and impartially.  By connecting the breath and the movement, we are more able to tap into a deeper authenticity within, thus helping us to find new dynamic ways to promote health and vitality in our lives.  Breath is the impetus for all movement and by connecting to it, we find a place where the body and movement have no boundaries.

Unique to all of us is the ability to move.  Dance is our creative expression of this. Moving through restrictive patterns, acknowledging and feeling emotions or sensations stored in the body help us to not only heal but to feel the essence of who we truly are.  Feeling our body is good, but feeling good in the body is even better.

By Emilie Salomons

October 2008

As we approached the Kisoro hospital on our fourth day in town, we could see a lineup of patients winding through the courtyard and reaching around the building right up to the exit. It was 8:30 in the morning and already about two hundred people had lined up for acupuncture; the group at the front of the line had even slept overnight to ensure they received treatment. It was clear that it would be a busy day.

Kisoro is located on the southern tip of Uganda, bordering Congo and Rwanda. The cultural influence of its neighbours is very apparent in the area, who for over two decades have been escaping their turbulent homes in favor of the stability of Uganda. What is also apparent in the region is the toll that the mental and physical trauma of war, genocide, displacement, poverty and a general struggle for survival has taken upon its inhabitants.

The Pan African Acupuncture Project (PAAP) has now trained 162 healthcare workers throughout nine districts around Uganda. The healthcare workers have then introduced acupuncture as a new treatment tool into their small, rural health centres, clinics and hospitals. Kisoro Hospital was one of the largest and most advanced centres we had trained in to date, although it’s lack of functioning equipment demonstrated the great need for new, affordable and sustainable treatment tools such as acupuncture. The hundreds of patients who traveled from all around the district to receive treatment only emphasized this void in the current healthcare system.

The hospital superintendent was ecstatic about our training week in his hospital. He mentioned that although he had initially been unsure about what acupuncture actually was, the fact that our acupuncture clinic had managed to clear all of his hospital wards of patients certainly cemented his support for our work.

Pain was a very common complaint among patients, including chest pain, abdominal pain, headaches and musculoskeletal pain. Because of the strenuous way of life and limited healthcare in rural areas, many injuries had been left untreated for years. We also encountered many patients suffering from cysts, STDs, fungal infections and malaria whose health issues had long been without medical attention. In fact, we were often the first medical professionals to address the complaint.

As the word on the efficacy of the treatments spread throughout the community, so did the growth of our line of patients. The word was out, the acupuncture clinic was here, and its doors were open to everyone!

Upon our departure, as we had done the week prior in Mukono, a town just north of the capital, we informed our patients on the location of the clinics where the newly graduated ‘acupuncture protocol specialists’ were working. This way, patients could continue their treatments once we left. So, with smiling trainees, a very pleased hospital staff and the head of district health services bidding us farewell, the PAAP team headed off on our mountainous 14-hour, 300km journey back to the capital.

Two more districts, another 52 acupuncture trained healthcare workers later, my second trip with the Pan African Acupuncture Project in Uganda was a fabulous success.

Emilie Salomons is a licensed Practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Vancouver, BC.

Yoga is the process of becoming whole. It starts with the physical process of opening up tight muscles and strengthening and encouraging movement through the body and then goes much deeper. It connects not only the physical parts of ourselves, making the body more unified and graceful, but also brings us greater awareness of our minds and our emotions and how these influence, and are influenced by, the functioning of our bodies.

Yoga begins right where you are sitting now. Beginning students often feel that they are somehow disconnected from the practice because they are stiff or inflexible and that the postures as they imagine them to be are not possible. Yet this is exactly where we must be if we wish to pursue this goal, that of wholeness and self-knowledge. Simply being in the postures, for a few moments, a few deep breaths, initiates a deep process in the body. Tensions our minds wish not to recognize are brought to the surface, a humbling experience for all of us, yet simultaneously our body begins to let go. This takes time and patience and so the real challenge of yoga is to quiet the restless mind and simply let the process happen. Almost immediately we begin to receive some assistance: as the muscles relax we begin to feel the mind and the emotions relax and so the whole cycle supports itself. Yoga becomes easy.

It is appropriately ironic that the stiffest, most inflexible people are often the ones who benefit most from a regular yoga practice. Likewise, people experiencing a high degree of mental stress in their day-to-day life find tremendous calm and serenity by giving themselves permission to slow down for an hour or so each day. Time spent in active relaxation is rewarded by increased mental clarity and efficacy, and by a deeper, more satisfying sleep. The practice of physical yoga seeds a return to wholeness that spirals out into the rest of one’s life, encouraging harmony, balance, and insight. It is to consciously choose the highest path in one’s life.

Written by Chris Tucker -A Vancouver Yoga teacher… one of our teachers at the Space.