healing

I am chillin in front of the fireplace wearing a beachskirt, tank and a homeknitted scarf! I am writing about the weather and some other stuff. Currently I am in between houses and stranded on a beach. Living this close to the ocean surely affects me. Its only 20 steps to the oceanfront where giant surf waves is flooding the beach.

Havet synger utenfor vinduet her

I have never stayed so close to the sea before. When I go to bed in the evenings I fall asleep to the sound of waves and wind in the palm trees, a gentle whisper that has a calming effect on me. Sometimes the sounds awakens me and I am afraid the waves will wash into the ground floor. Just outside the house there are dunes that protect for any small tsunamis.

The last two weeks the waterfall have been enormously. I was not prepared for the rain so I have been running around in flip flops and raincoat. This morning we managed to get drenched in the few meters from the house to the car.

Wet but pretty happy with his lunchbox off to school

The rain plays an hugely important role here were soil and rock are suffering from drought and high fire hazard. Rain, thunder and lightening, storm and small streams is my life right now. I lovet it, remembering college days back home in Bergen, it actually makes me feel even more at home here.

Well, enough about the weather. I actually wanted to share with you a bit of what I am doing here after soon 1/2 year in Cali..I can literally feel the time fly. But I utilize every moment of the day to explore and find my tribe and mojo. I get up early, preparing brekkie and bring kids to school. During the week I will visit at leasts 2 new studios (mostly yoga and pilates) to find inspiration and to gather my ideas. Once a week I have lectures with my Chakra healing teacher Lani Reagan. This includes an hour of daily “loving kindness” meditation and practicing healing sessions.

Leaded meditation

Sometimes I manage to do only a short meditation, and some days I skip.

I am doing the YTT – finishing this spring. I write my blog (and more) and work on instagram for about 2 hours daily. Once a week I am working on the new concepts (“spiritual fitness”) and the plan is to bring some trendy news back to Norway this fall. I do meetings with my colleagues back home – manager Celin Roppen and partner Rikke Schillinger at The Room. One day each week I do Skype workout and coaching with some of you guys back home. I meet incredible talented instructors here which I am filming for the online workout company webtrening.

It is almost impossible to render my enthusiasm for all the knowledgeable people I meet here.

To sum it up, I am as busy here as I was back home, but filled with joy, love and gratitude.

God´s Nature

After a long day with Chakra healing and yoga with my teacher Lani the sun glint from behind the clouds. I guess I have until now seen about 150 sunsets, revealing themselves in a purple, pinkish, orange gold painting – glittering over the ocean and the sand.

Naturens skatter og en solnedgang uten filter

Mahatma Gandhi said:

” When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.”

Skjell på sanden

For the first time I discovered the “Giant Pismo Clams” this afternoon. People get them from under the sand here right on the beach, even though its not actually Pismo Beach:-)

Lukten av livet under vann

I am facing west, tonight the clouds looked like a painting by Rembrandt. When I turned my face east this is how the clouds looked like:

The little surf town is colored by the magic light from the sun

Rembrandt Clouds

It´s in the little things the strength lies. By searching one little heartfelt thing each day you will explore your body and mind getting to know yourself deeper. You will feel more harmony with yourself and with the world around you. It might be the sunset, or even just a quit moment, music or connection to Mother Earth. This is a way to heal yourself.

We usually stroll the beach until the sun is set. It´s a magic moment for all of us and this evening Michael and Johnny celebrated this experience with a little star!

Stjerne barn

Best Wishes Monica

Psoas Major, psoas minor and iliacus together makes iliopsoas which is our main hip flexor. Some people call the Psoas major the muscle off the soul because it connects you to the moment of here and now while experiencing a deeper releasing stretch. This blog is about stretching the psoas in order to reduce stress in our lives.

The muscle is placed close to your hipbone and it affects your flexibility, balance and the connection to your joints. The Psoas muscle helps us standing in an upright position, and its actually this muscle which kicks in when you are about to move (before the bigger muscles take over). When you experience pain here it can give you a pinch sensation or sometimes even like menstruation pains.

Its also possible to do “pranic healing” – or energy healing at the psoas. You will feel better mentally because our bodies are connected to our mental life. This is where the psoas plays an important role, releasing tensions here will positively affect your mental, physical and emotional health. You will also release stress.

Psoas er den eneste muskelen som har en forbindelse mellom ben og ryggrad

Anatomisk fungerer psoas major (iliopsoas) som et bindeledd til dyp hoftemuskel, og til torso og bena – noe som gjør at du kan stå oppreist og gå, sykle, løpe og bevege deg. Det er med andre ord en muskel som brukes absolutt hele tiden og derfor setter det seg mye stress her som kan være gunstig for helsen din å få strukket ut.

Bruk bøker eller en yogablokk for å komme dypere i strekken, du vil uten tvil kjenne hvor det trengs mest. Bli der og pust

Pusten

Når du blir i en psoas strekk så forsøk å ikke fokusere pusten til smertene men heller til de stedene i kroppen det føles behagelig. Vi vil ikke fokusere pusten vår til smerten.

En pusteøvelse

Start ved å puste sakte inn på 6 tellinger, så blir du der og holder pusten på 3 tellinger før du igjen på en utpust teller til 6, bli igjen og hold pusten i 3 tellinger. Dette er en runde. <repeter gjerne 5-6 runder mens du strekker.

Ved å sette et element mellom knærne og presse lett flytter du strekken litt innover. Føl deg frem

Smerter i nakken

Har du smerter i nakken kan det faktisk også hjelpe å tøye psoas major muskelen. Det kan hende det kniver litt i korsryggen så lirk deg forsiktig oppå blokken. Jeg starter med to bøyde ben og så fører jeg det ene benet strakt ut og slipper det forsiktig ned i bakken. Det sitter så mye følelser i hoftene og derfor kan det i starten kjennes ganske sterkt, men om du gir deg selv til og blir i pusten din vil du etterhvert kjenne en mental frigjøring. Mye av det mentale stresset, fysikk og livsstilsvaner setter seg i hoftene og det er først når du begynner å strekke at du kjenner hvor stramt og ømt det egentlig er.

Du kan selv velge hvor høyt du vil heve hoftene. Kanskje er en bok nok for deg?

Spesielt nå i julen der vi stresser litt mer enn det normale, der vi kaver for å finne gaver for å tilfredsstille mange mennesker rundt oss kan det være særdeles godt med en psoasstrekk. Jeg anbefaler deg å velge noen av disse øvelsene men forsøke å ligge opp mot 20 minutter sammenlagt i strekken din. Slik at du merker at ditt kroppslige, følelsesmessig og mentale julestress slipper tak. Dette er godt for hele deg – og faktisk også for de rundt deg fordi du blir litt mer rolig og fornøyd. Sett gjerne på litt musikk som snakker til sjelen din.

Du kjenner kroppen din best og du vet hva som trenges når du er i strekken din

Lurt tips

Om du ikke føler for å strekke kan du gå litt baklengs. Det er faktisk også god medisin for psoas major stress.

God klem fra Monica

rain, sunsets and studies in California

The muscle of the soul