I do not share much about politics in my blogs but…
As the midterm elections have passed, I am grateful for all who voted, especially those who voted for the first time, young and old and everyone in between. As I turned to go and vote at the local polling place, there was an announcement that the young black man signing in was voting for the first time. We all shouted and clapped for that was a great moment in him doing his civic duty.
And we in New Mexico voted into office of the governor the first Native American, Deb Halaand, who is from the Laguna Pueblo only an hour or so outside of Albuquerque. What an amazing moment for her and all Native Americans. There were many firsts with the election cycle. The people have spoken with their votes!
The Power of the People
This was one of the best turnouts for midterms! The power of the people expressed through our voting is a huge democratic expression of the true democracy. We need to continue to move forward to support all people in the USA. Our vote resonated throughout the world. My cousin in France was so excited to share her glee as the shift is in motion. Our vote matters.
Yet, I know this but one step to move towards full representation at all levels of our government again. Let us remain vigilant and as a friend shared with me, be cautiously optimistic.
Celebrating Halloween and honoring those we have lost
Late fall brings us shorter days, longer nights until Winter Solstice. We just celebrated Halloween and the Dios de los Muertos here in New Mexico. They complement each other in many ways. It is said that this is when the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest. This can be a time of connection with those who have passed in ways that vary with one’s culture. I know that I have felt the presence of my mother in my prayers.
Medical Qi Gong Exam and IMMH presentation
This has been a busy year for me at a remarkable pace that I did not know if I would be able to keep up. But I did and, in many ways, I thrived.
Now, I have some time to pause and reflect as the year draws to a close.
I realize that I have much to be grateful for. Yes, I give daily thanks for the gifts I have and for those gifts are yet to come. AND being present with the challenges I faced in early October, I grew immensely in the process of completing them. Somehow, I had doubted I could and I did it anyway with a level of grace and grit.
What were my challenges? I was completing and taking a 5-day in person exam in Medical Qigong training which required completing a take home test (to be submitted prior to arrival for the in-person exam) as well as daily cultivation exercises. The daily practices alone could take 45 min up to 1.5 hours a day. In addition, I was offering free sessions as part of the necessary training to become able to administer the Medical Qigong general protocol to learn how to support individuals in their own healing journey.
Then, immediately after the completing the exam, I flew across the country to present at a national conference, Integrative Medicine in Mental Health. I learned during my exam week that 2 key references were not to be accepted which required to rewrite part of my PowerPoint and practice my presentation without those two references.
Delivering my talk was more fun than ever for me as I love to talk about Ayurveda and how it has supported me. In addition, It was well received with lots of question about Ayurveda and Personalized Medicine: The Power of Self-care for Prevention and Longevity.
I even had the opportunity to do two book signings with my book at the bookstore at the conference. I enjoyed being the author at a book signing!
I realized this was another gift for me as I have not had an official book signing until that moment. This was because my book had been released five months after the COVID shutdown had started. (As a reminder, the world had been shut down including bookstores. Zoom was becoming an option but engaging the audience in that setting proved to be quite the challenge. This was unknown territory for bookstores with little support to make it work for the authors)
You may ask how studying medical Qi Gong intersects with Ayurveda. Please know that the roots of qi gong come from Ayurveda. I have personally seen the benefits of combining self-care via Ayurveda and Qi Gong. They complement each other.
I did find it hard to be as complete with Ayurvedic self-care at times due to the study aspect required back in September but now, I am back with a rhythm intertwining the two traditions.
I hope to write more as time goes on as I have the intention to continue with the second year of Medical Qi Gong training so I can share some of the amazing practices for self-care, including daily detox exercise.
In good health,
Judith
