Valentine’s day sent some love to the women of DASH, the District Alliance for Safe Housing, Inc., in the opening of the Cornerstone Wellness Room. Brought to you by Anahata Grace and funded by Verizon, services offered in this room will include acupuncture, acupressure, Thai massage, yoga therapy, cooking classes, and other wellness programs for women who have been victims of domestic violence. There to partake in the ribbon cutting ceremony was acupuncturist Nicole Mires, who shares with us a bit from her first day offering what wellness her hands are able to provide.
I had a great time yesterday. Anticipation on my way to the house… worrying if the women would like me, if they’d like the treatments, and if we could really make a difference here. I worked as a behavioral health counselor while I was in grad school, but that experience was years ago and miles away, and not a very positive one. I wondered if the women would look at me as a privileged middle class white girl with no experience of need or pain. I wondered if they would accept their treatments without me telling them “you can trust me, because I’ve seen the bottom”. I shuffled through these thoughts and insecurities and then I realized with a pang that my ego was running away with me. This isn’t about me. This isn’t about me being able to tell my friends and family, with my chin held high, that I was doing something selfless for someone else. This isn’t about my experience or my ego or my expensive shoes. I’m a conduit. The treatment works. The healing is in them, as they have probably already figured out. I’m just a conduit, and whatever I think I might be able to add to their healing is stubble and hay, burned away by their own curative fire.
Continue reading 'Room to Heal'»
DC Local Projects, Teacher Guest Blog
| 
acupressure, Acupuncture, anahata grace, cooking classes, Cornerstone Wellness Room, District Alliance for Safe Housing, Domestic Violence, Inc. (DASH), Nicole Mires, reiki, Ribbon cutting ceremony, Thai massage, Valentine's day, Verizon, yoga therapy
Fall is proving to be a busy time for Anahata. Below is a list of upcoming events and opportunities for our Anahata Friends to add some more seva to your day.
- September 4th, please join us in the upper level of Meridian Hill park for a yoga class open to all (and taught by the lovely Emilia) followed by a potluck/picnic for Anahata volunteers and those that are interested in becoming volunteers. It’s a great way to spend some time getting to know like-minded wellness activists + have some time outside doing what we love – moving with breath. More details about our monthly potlucks can be found here: http://www.anahatainternational.org/index.php/news/volunteer-potluck/
- September 12th, Flow will have a table up at this year’s Adams Morgan Day Festival – a crazy time on 18th street with lots of people and opportunity to spread the word about the yoga studio + Flow’s outreach which includes Anahata! I will be there but need a number of volunteers to take 2 hour shifts to help chat with folks as they stop by the table. All help is appreciated :).
Continue reading 'Lending a Hand'»
Events, Fundraising & Outreach, General
| Acupuncture, Adams Morgan Day Festival, Afro-Brazilian dance, afterschool program, Alexis Mitchell, Ana Abram, Angela Cerkevich, Angela Ingram, Borromeo Housing, Dawn Hennessey, DC Global Mala, Elementary School, Emilia Retta, Fall, flow yoga center, Global Mala, homeless women's shelter, International Fellowship Program, Jamie Larson, Layne Morrison, low-income neighborhoods, mental health, Meridian Hill Park, Michell Stanley, N Street Village, Nicole Mires, nutrition, October, Outreach, PTSD, reiki yoga, Riana Ackley, Sarah Walter, Scott Carson, September, seva, summer program, therapy, Troop Retreat, Veterans, Volunteer Opportunities, Wellness Committee, Yoga Nidra
Every week, Anahata Grace will honor our volunteer and staff experiences through a weekly blog. This week, Finding Grace volunteer and acupuncturist Nicole Mires will discuss a recent New York Times article about the financial burdens of wellness, specifically acupuncture. Remember to check back weekly, as our journey of compassionate action has just begun.
In these times of instant gratification and tightened budgets, it can seem overwhelming to invest a chunk of money into something which you may not immediately notice the results. The results from receiving acupuncture for pain or stress relief can certainly be noticed immediately, but if the patient is not willing to follow through with consistent sessions, those effects wear off over time.
Continue reading 'To Put a Price on Health'»
Teacher Guest Blog
| "Acupuncture Is Popular, Acupuncture, but You’ll Need to Pay", Chinese Herbs and Medicine, Cosmetic Acupuncture, Fertility Treatments, Hormones, New York Times, Nicole Mires, Pekoe, Wellness
Comments (0) 
Valentine’s day sent some love to the women of DASH, the District Alliance for Safe Housing, Inc., in the opening of the Cornerstone Wellness Room. Brought to you by Anahata Grace and funded by Verizon, services offered in this room will include acupuncture, acupressure, Thai massage, yoga therapy, cooking classes, and other wellness programs for women who have been victims of domestic violence. There to partake in the ribbon cutting ceremony was acupuncturist Nicole Mires, who shares with us a bit from her first day offering what wellness her hands are able to provide.
Themocracy