A few weeks ago I pulled a muscle in the front of my thigh and sometimes it flares up when I dance. It almost put me on the benches in one class I taught, with sudden sharp pain and a weakness that left me unable to put weight on my leg for a few beats. I got through the rest of the class by teaching at a gentler level one.

I probably aggravated an injury from a few months back that hadn’t fully healed and left me with a weakness, and a certain combination of Nia Technique footwork uncovered it.

Even though I felt it in my quads, I don’t know if it is a quadriceps injury or whether that is just where the pain is ending up. Knowing I have a pronounced curve in my lumbar spine (a sway back) and have had problems with my sacrum in the past, I consider it a back injury if the pain moves around and I can’t find any specific reason for it. I always have to work at opening and lengthening the front quads and adductor inner thigh muscles so that my lower back stays in alignment.

That’s the way it often is with a back injury, especially a soft tissue injury — muscles, ligaments, tendons and connective tissue — since everything is connected an injury in one area can exert pressure on another, causing adjacent muscles to painfully contract.

When our back is working the way it should, it is all too easy to take it for granted. We bend, reach, hug, lift, stretch,  sway, open, undulate, and dance! When something goes wrong, we quickly remember how much trouble we are in without a healthy back. Maybe it has something to do with what the back is supposed to do, and more importantly, what the back is not supposed to do. I thought it would be helpful for me) as well as you, dear readers and Nia students, to review back care basics, beginning with the structure of the spine. 

Structure of the Spine

The back is more complicated than you think. Under the layers of skin, muscle, fat, and ligaments, we get to the structure of the back.

The back is made up of vertebrae, small rounded bones that stack on top of one another. These bones, also referred to as the spinal column collectively, have openings in the middle which house your spinal cord. The spinal cord runs from the base of your brain all the way to your tail-bone. All of your nerves in your body begin in the spinal cord and branch out to various places within the body. Consider for a moment that each foot has over 700 nerve endings!

There are 5 sections to your spinal column:

• Cervical – 7 movable vertebrae in the neck area
• Thoracic – 12 movable vertebrae in the chest area
• Lumbar – 5 movable vertebrae in the lower back area
• Sacral – 5 fused vertebrae at the level of your pelvis which connect with your pelvis
• Coccyx – 4 fused vertebrae that make up your tail-bone

Your spine has a natural curve which allows you to move with agility. The spongy discs that reside in between each vertebra are another reason why we can move with fluidity. These discs have a soft middle that protects the spinal cord and a tougher outer layer that supports the weight of the vertebra above and below it.

There are spaces between the vertebrae, created by their unique shape, that allow nerves to pass through. These nerves travel to organs, muscle, ligaments, tendons, skin and the like. At lightning speed, impulses are passed from organs to nerves to the brain, and back to nerves and back to the organ. That is why there is no delay from the time you put your finger on a hot stove to the time that you scream and pull your hand away.

That’s the structure of the back, simply illustrated. However, when you’re experiencing back pain, you wouldn’t think so. There is a complexity to the machinations of the back that cause many of us to suffer from aches and pains that seem like a mystery. When you understand that the back is your support system for your entire body, you can better understand the importance of good back care.

Going off the Grid with Feng Shui

Did you know that the ancient system of feng shui associates body parts with the energetic grid used in feng shui called the bagua map.  The part that is associated with the back (and bones) is the Prosperity area of your home. (Read more about the Bagua Map here.)

Next time I’ll talk about the common reasons that can cause that back pain in the first place!

© Deborah Redfern 2011. All rights reserved.

Back Care Basics is a post from: Copyright Deborah Redfern and Cre8ive 2011. All rights reserved.

So consider, are you in your Element? That is, are you aware of your strongest personality traits, and are you using them to be that healthy, wise, loving and caring version of you that is inside?

Throughout history, people from different cultures and traditions throughout the world believed the elements of nature had attributes that gave meaning and definition to their lives and could shape a person’s personality.

What cultures did not agree on, however, was the names and numbers of these all-important elements. In traditional feng shui, there are five elements: fire, water, earth, wood and metal. The system I use follows the Celtic and Native North American tradition of four elements: fire, water, earth and air. Scholars such as the Greek physician Hippocrates and psychologist Carl Jung both based their work on a system of four elements.

Jung’s system of psychological typing was based on the four elements and four directions, which he called the four functions. Jung associated:

• East to the function of Intuition (Fire)
• South to the function of Feeling (Water)
• West to the function of Sensation (Earth)
• North to the function of Thinking (Air)

This system is closely related to the Sacred Circle or Medicine Wheel and is also used in reading Tarot cards.

Knowing which Elemental archetype you resonate with frees up energy to be glorious in your element, to say to yourself – and to the world, “Who I am is enough!” You do not have to be all things – you are only required to be true to yourself.

Read through these descriptions and see which element you immediately have an affinity with:

Element of Fire

You are a person of the Fire Element if you are influenced by intuition more than any other sense. You often feel instinctively whether something is ‘right’ for you. You also tend to sense things about people, situations and places.

Element of Water

You are person of the Water Element if you are governed more by your emotions than any other sense. You are naturally empathetic, have a strong desire for peace and serenity, and are a reserved and quiet sort of person.

Element of Earth

You are a person of the Earth Element if you respond to life through what you experience directly with your senses – especially sight, touch, and past experience. You are not a person to take another’s word for something, or to put much faith in intuition.

Element of Air

You are a person of the Air Element if you have a passion for Intellect. Your strength in logic and decision making often put you in leadership roles but Air Element people are often inwardly quite shy and reserved.

So, what element do you resonate with most strongly?

Is it Fire, Water, Earth or Air? Or, perhaps two elements call out to you equally? Once you’ve discovered your element, nurture those qualities in yourself by spending time with your element in nature.

• Water Element types could spend an afternoon sitting by a lake.
• Earth types could plant a garden.
• Fire Elements could bathe by the light of the moon.
• Air Element types could watch the clouds.

If you want to know more about your element type, Deborah offers assessments with personalized recommendations to balance your elements. For more information contact Deborah or enroll in her eCourse Healing with Feng Shui and Color.

Tips for Being In Your Element is a post from: Copyright Deborah Redfern and Cre8ive 2011. All rights reserved.

“I never wanted all of this anyway, really all I wanted was what I could carry in a backpack.”

A few weeks ago this thought flashed through my mind out of the blue. The ‘this‘ was all my household items: furniture, artwork on the wall, the dishes, plants, and decorations - almost everything to do with running a house. That inner voice, a very clear and calm one, was a bit shocking — after all as a feng shui teacher  I should really be into the home I create, right?

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am very sensitive to my surroundings and I appreciate being in beautiful ones. I have clear preferences about the styles I prefer and what I consider to be beautiful.

That inner voice was just saying I don’t feel a need to be the owner, guardian and caretaker; to be so attached to the environment I find myself in. Given that I have to live somewhere and a furnished apartment isn’t offering itself anytime soon, I wondered if this voice was really telling me something that wasn’t quite as literal. As I mentally filled my backpack with my ‘valuables’ I knew it would reveal current truths about my life. 

Filling my Backpack

Head of the list: music. I went through a lot of years where music wasn’t important but now that I teach Nia dance it has change from a backseat, would-be-nice to being themost important and relevant thing in my life. I teach Nia with my iphone and a small set of speakers and luckily they don’t take much room in my backpack.

Next, I’d need a computer of some sort because I can’t imagine a world without writing. I’d also want some books, and although I don’t own a book reader, that would be ideal.  Some other electronics, a phone, camera, the accoutrement of cables and power cords and I’m good to go.

Then there is my clothing — the clothing is important and will take up the most room. I want variety, but also functionality. I like uptown workout clothes and being able to change them up with jewellery, scarves and shawls and a few interesting jackets. Then I need to make room for shoes and my wash-up kit.

I want my flute and ukulele. My wallet, official documents, like my passport and driver’s license. Then maybe, if there is room, something to make art with: a box of watercolours, a pad of paper and some brushes.

The more I think, the more items I add and I wonder whether these after thoughts are really defining my current reality and dreams, or whether they are a ‘me’ that is not as relevant in my life now, like music used to be. 

It feels like my backpack is pretty well rounded: work and earning a living are in my backpack. Writing about how we interact with our environment – both the ones we create for ourselves and the outer environments like work and the common places we share — these things interest me deeply. Currently I am happier guiding people to make their own choices and think more deeply about their surroundings than I am coming into their home and telling them what to do. It is much lighter in my backpack, for me to carry at this point in my life.

And Nia dance is becoming increasingly important in my life. It is both a work item and fills a deep social need. There is a gift and a deep meaning in teaching people how to experience being in their bodies more fully – our bodies being our one true home. Why wouldn’t everyone want to ‘feng shui’ their body? One of the things that attracted me to being a dancer and leading others in dance is a sense of freedom, a sense that it would fit into my backpack and go everywhere and anywhere as kind of a universal language. 

The thing is we are never completely one thing or another as we learn, grow, change and adapt. Perhaps the biggest gift we have is the freedom to choose. Rather than continuing to carry something that has become too heavy and weighs us down both figuratively and literally, perhaps it is a good idea, every so often to look at see what is in that backpack we are carrying, and whether we need to take it all with us.

I invite you today to ask yourself what you’d put in your backpack?

As  you fill your backpack notice whether what you are adding reflects your current reality and dreams you are bringing into reality, or whether they reflect an aspect of yourself that is not as relevant as it used to be. Notice too, what you do not put in your backpack. This can tell you as much, and sometimes even more about what is important to you now.

© Deborah Redfern, 2011. All rights reserved.

Personal Feng Shui – What is in your Backpack? is a post from: Copyright Deborah Redfern and Cre8ive 2011. All rights reserved.

Have you ever moved your furniture or artwork around, stepped back to see the results and knew immediately whether it was a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ by the way it felt?

Your intuition, if you listen to it, can tell you what is good feng shui and what isn’t. I often find when I do a consultation that things are pretty much arranged the way I would have suggested. Instinctively many people know what to do — they only need a professional to validate, encourage and empower them.

As a professional our role is different for those who are highly tuned in to their surroundings and already practicing instinctive feng shui. We suggest advanced feng shui cures based on the cycle of elements and work on a deeper level with intention and manifesting. Here the work is closer to a coaching relationship, working to clarify what you want to bring into or change in your life, and then working with the energy in the home so that it reflects those goals.

For example if you want a higher income and greater abundance, does everything in your surroundings reflect that, or are there symbols of scarcity or ‘lack’ throughout your space? What does abundance mean to you anyway? And what does a higher income mean? As we work on clarity in your goals, we work on the energy of the home, moving items around, adding objects or removing them.  Changes are made to dove-tail your clear intentions. 

It is a magical process — but it is often not easy to do on your own because we are (all of us) so intimate with the energy patterns, the ‘clues’ if you will, in our homes that we can’t see them, unless we know how to look, or are working with a professional. Learning how to look is the greatest gift of feng shui, and the greatest challenge.

It takes us back to instinctive feng shui. The basic process is to go through your home with a high degree of awareness of what is actually there, looking to see where it feels good and where it doesn’t. As you do this process you may even begin to see pattern emerging.  Patterns can even extends to the layout of the home itself. A clue is if challenges follow you from one place to another, or you continually end up buying and decorating the same way even though you try to do it differently.

At times I feel we put symbols in our homes as lessons to learn. Until we really see and acknowledge them the patterns keep reappearing. Once they are clearly seen and understood we can let them go and move on to creating a new structure with energy patterns that are aligned with our goals and what is important to us.

© 2010 Deborah Redfern. All Rights Reserved.

Intuitive Feng Shui is a post from: Copyright Deborah Redfern and Cre8ive 2011. All rights reserved.

What I do believe feng shui has the capability of doing is focusing attention, through working with intention. One of my feng shui mentors Denise Linn says “Where intention goes, energy flows.” 

As we begin to work with feng shui we have to give some thought to what we want to change or bring into our lives. Using the bagua map helps us to clarify what we want. That is the intellectual layer of feng shui, or the coaching layer as I like to think of it. When we begin to do the physical work of arranging our belongings and bringing in new items, the energy of Intentions becomes activated: when we define and refine our environment there is a match which changes the energy and it can be quite dramatic.

In Wayne Dyer’s book The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-Create Your World Your Way, he discusses the importance of a high quality environment as a tool of manifesting:

Prayers, paintings, crystals, statues, spiritual passages, books, magazines, the colors on your walls, and even the arrangement of your furniture all create energy into which you’re catapulted for at least half of your waking life. 

Feng Shui works with your Intention to create alignment between what you want and how it is expressed in your environment. This combination can powerfully propel your life forward.

Click here to Schedule a consultation with Deborah, or learn about her services.

© Deborah Redfern, 2010. All rights reserved.

Feng Shui for Manifesting is a post from: Copyright Deborah Redfern and Cre8ive 2011. All rights reserved.

With the launch of my Nia fitness classes this week, I was looking at maintaining at least 4 different websites, 2 Facebook Business pages and multiple email signatures. Getting newsletters out became difficult. (Err, which hat am I wearing today?) And forget about describing what I do!

Several times at networking events,  ‘enrolled’ as my jewellery-lady persona, I was gently asked by friends who knew me ‘before’ to tell what I ‘really’ did, i.e. to talk about my feng shui business, my books and courses. Now, not being one to shy away from an opportunity to talk about my work this was fine, but at the same time it gave me mixed feelings, like serious writers/healers shouldn’t be getting into wacky things like selling jewellery. Or something like that. You could see people thinking: why is someone with published books selling jewellery? Answer: it is light hearted, it is about women connecting: it’s fun!

An impromptu session with a coach got me thinking about all this, getting back to basics as it were. What is the underlying thing that motivates me? It has always been about healing in one way or another; healing for me personally first, and then sharing my observations and adventures with others. The teachers and coaches I’ve known do the same thing. In fact I can’t think of any reason why a person would go through all this only to heal someone else. It has to be for themselves first as the doorway to discovery.

And with this in mind I asked myself, do I need to compartmentalize what I do? Can I be a writer who offers jewellery for sale and teaches dance? And a coach who uses feng shui and astrology? And sometimes, an artist? Because there are times when I think all I need to do is join Epicure and I’d have an ’Eat, Pray, Love’ moment. I love it all, and all is a part of me. But trying to keep it separate has been sucking the life out of each one, even with the ‘passive’ work (i.e. e-courses.)

So the question was put out there: how do I combine these things I’m interested in that have brought joy and healing in my life? And the answer came in dreamtime. First I was shown the four elements representing Body, Mind, Spirit and Emotions. 

• Body – healing through movement (Nia Dance)
• Mind – healing though intropsection (coaching techniques, my self help courses, books, working with Archetypes and Astrology)
• Emotions – healing through sensing/feeling (feng shui, space clearing)
• Spirit – healing through the pleasure principle (outward expression of joy, i.e. jewellery, clothing, colours).

I love this: Body, Mind, Spirit and Emotions connected – not compartmentalized. It also brings in the 4 elements  that I’ve been working with for many years: body is the earth element, mind is the air element, emotions is the water element, and spirit is the fire element. And astrology is based on the 4 elements, the colour theory I use is based on the 4 elements — oh it is just too delicious!

Okay if this is the theme, what is the name of it (I asked)? Out of the ethers came Creative – no, make that Cre8ive, because 8 represents abundance, leadership, self power and cosmic consciousness. It is a good fit for me, astrologically speaking. And if I had to choose one word to describe myself, that would be it: creative. I like it – enough to commit to it — which is the thing. Changing an existing business is not always and it puts me in a vulnerable position. On the other hand I feel like I have a lot of freedom now, to develop the types of services that are really interesting to me, without feeling like I have to do a fancy juggling act.

This explains the changes you are seeing, as it unfolds and settles into being. Just in case you were curious! Now I have a bit of cleaning up to do, for one the front page of my site needs to be rewritten. Do you have any ideas for me? If you haven’t browsed my site in a while I’d appreciate you taking a few moments to see what is new and give me feedback. You can leave a comment on this blog post or email me privately. Thanks!

© Deborah Redfern, 2010. All rights reserved.

Rebirth of my Business is a post from: Copyright Deborah Redfern and Cre8ive 2011. All rights reserved.

There are also times when one element is missing from the chart or underrepresented. Through using Feng Shui enhancements an element imbalance can be corrected, using colours, symbols, and placement. It may also be that imbalances can be corrected by paying more attention to the missing archetypes/energy and bringing that energy into your life.

Fire: Aries, Leo and Sagittarius

The Fire element is active, outgoing, and self expressive, often manifested by a sense of excitement, aliveness, urgency and directness.  If there is too much Fire there can be impatience and impulsiveness, insensitivity, irritability and/or agression. If ther eis too little Fire there can be listlessness, lack of vitality or shyness, the inability to direct anger.

Air: Gemini, Libra and Aquarius

The Air element is analytical thinking, rationality, conceptual ideas, abstract or philosophical thought.  If there it too much Air, there may be a tendency to live too much in the mind, with excessive rationalization, stubbornly holding on to one’s own opinion. It can be difficult to turn off thoughts resulting in sleep difficulties. If there is too much Air there is difficulty understanding abstract ideas.

Water: Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces

The Water element is feeling: perceiving through the emotions marked by sensitivity and empathy.  If there is too much Water, there can be a tendency to be highly charged emotionally, very sensitive to other people’s emotions and feelings, perhaps even taking them on, moodiness, and/or neediness. If there is too little Water there is difficulty connecting with one’s emotions, problems ‘feeling’ things, a lack of empathy and insensitivity to others.

Earth: Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn

The Earth element is perception through the tangible senses: touch, seeing first hand, concrete action.  There is dependability and sameness, seeing the practical solution. If there is too much Earth, there is a tendency towards being overly cautious and relying on their own personal experience and proof, difficulty adapting to changes. If there is too little Earth there can be problems dealing with the practical aspects of life, being ungrounded, unable to stick to things and see them through, difficulty with structure.

© Deborah Redfern, 2010.  All rights reserved.

Astrology and the Four Elements is a post from: Copyright Deborah Redfern and Cre8ive 2011. All rights reserved.

One of my esteemed feng shui teachers Denise Linn (Interior Alignment®) gifted this delightful list of things you can do in your home to attract a higher vibration of energy into your home and your life.

Ten Simple Ways to Lift Energy is a post from: Copyright Deborah Redfern and Cre8ive 2011. All rights reserved.

1. Clutter releases blocked energy. We get used to seeing the same things in the same places and after awhile we don’t even see what is there anymore. It is like we are blindfolded in our own home. When we clear out a cluttered drawer or a closet that blindfold is removed and we begin see things the way they really are, such as objects (and emotions) we’ve been holding on to and decisions we’ve been putting off. Once we get started, we can let go of that blocked energy. It is the best way I know of to feel lighter on all levels.  
2. Clearing clutter is powerful. Because it does release blocked energy, on its own without doing anything else, clearing clutter can change your life. Among other things, as you sort out what is staying, it can teach you what you value most in life.
3. Clearing Clutter can make you more ‘mindful’ of the resources you are consuming because everything we own will need to be disposed of (eventually). Some people adopt a rule of one thing in, one thing out. It is mindful when you realize you need to make room for the new thing. It also encourages you to ask: do I really need this or is it a passing fancy? Do I want to add to the things that need to be taken care of, recycled or disposed of? 
4. Doing a tidy-up and clearing out is contagious. As you work on your own stuff, family members  often begin sorting out their own things as well.
5. Clutter taught me about living more simply. When moving from one coast to another, I pared down to the extreme and had to dispose of most of my belongings. As our things left and went on their separate journeys I began to consider the true value of all the things we had gathered around us. My conclusion was the true treasures of my life are the ones I carry inside me: not to say that my belongings brought me pleasure and comfort, but that most of them were replaceable.

What has clutter taught you?

© Deborah Redfern 2010. All rights reserved.

5 Reasons Why Clutter Can Be a Powerful Teacher is a post from: Copyright Deborah Redfern and Cre8ive 2011. All rights reserved.

Using the Bagua Map
I start with the floor plans of the home, a separate plan for each floor, e.g. the ground floor, the basement, the upstairs. Starting with the ground floor, I orient that bagua on the architectural main entrance of the house. With the bagua map properly aligned, your front door (or entrance door to a room) will be in one of the three orienting bagua areas: Self Knowledge, Career or Helpful People. Repeat for each floor of the house, orient each floor in the same direction as the front door.

The bagua map can also be applied to each room, e.g., the living room, the kitchen, each bedroom, etc. Then map out where all the other areas are located on that floor or in that room. Unless your home is square or rectangular shape, you will find the bagua map won’t fit. A part of one or more of the grid will be missing.

What this Tells you
First, it tells me the the vibrational colour to use for each area, for example red in the Fame area. Secondly it tells me the element I want to work on. Again taking the example of the Fame area, the element is Fire. I want to take note of what room is in that area and I’m thinking about the energy that the Fame/Fire element brings into our lives. Does the room purpose fit the energy of the bagua area?  Is it present in the home? That is an important question because not all homes are a straightforward square or rectangle. Modern home design have extensions and recesses which must be taken into consideration. Is the room under-used or over-used? Is there clutter in this area?

With the ‘story’ for that room or area, we can begin enhancements. Enhancements, or feng shui ‘cures’ modulate the energy. By deliberately bringing in certain colours or design features we enhance that area or life aspiration.

What I love about feng shui and the bagua map is the ability to fine tune and go as deeply as desired to bring beneficial change.

© Copyright Deborah Redfern, 2010. All rights reserved.

The Bagua Map Overview is a post from: Copyright Deborah Redfern and Cre8ive 2011. All rights reserved.