With Christmas here and the new year celebrations around the corner, the festive season is in full swing. May it be a heartwarming and uplifting time for all!
Thank you for your support this year. Next year, Eighth Element Healing is looking to extend its range of offerings with the arrival of a new healer and coach.
I hope you find something in this newsletter that inspires you.
Love and best wishes,
Junko
Reflection on Winter
The conveniences of modern living shield us from the elements and enable us to go about our activities all day but if we tune into the season, Nature is showing us that it is time to turn inwards and rest. Gathering strength in stillness and reflection is one way for us to prepare for Spring, the season of new life.
Relaxing Facial Self-Massage
- Close your eyes and take a couple of nice deep breaths, focussing on your out breath.
- Rub your palms together until you can feel them getting warm. Then cup them over your closed eyes and imagine the warmth from the hands melting away tension in the eyes.
- Repeat Step 2 and then slide the hands out towards the ears, stroking the forehead and temples.
- Bring the tips of the index fingers to the inside corner of the eyes and stroke down the sides of the nose and over the cheekbones. Repeat.
- Relax the mouth, allowing it to hang open a little, and using the fingertips massage the jaw joint. Breathe deeply as you do this, releasing any tension with the out breath.
- Keeping the mouth relaxed, bring the fingertips of one hand to the chin and give it a good shake by moving the hand sideways.
- Bring the hands to your head and run your fingertips over your scalp and hair, moving from the front of the head back towards the base of the skull.
Winter-warming recipe: Sweet Potato Delights
(Makes approximately 16 portions)
Ingredients:
3 medium sweet potatoes (steamed, peeled and mashed)
1 apple (peeled and cut into cubes)
3 dried apricots (chopped)
½ tsp sea salt
2 tbsp tahini
¼ tsp vanilla essence
30-50g ground almonds
ground cinnamon to taste
rind of 1 orange
a dash of oat or other grain milk
Creation:
- Pre-heat the oven to 190°C, Gas Mark 5
- Dip the apple cubes in salted water (approx. ½ tsp + 100ml water) and place in a small saucepan. Sprinkle with cinnamon powder and simmer with the lid on until soft enough to mash.
- Combine the mashed sweet potatoes, apples, apricots, sea salt, tahini, vanilla essence and orange rind in a bowl. Add the quantity of ground almonds to create a thick enough mixture to form into mini sweet potato shapes. Adjust with the oat milk as necessary.
- Use two spoons or a wet cloth to form the shapes and lay on an oiled baking tray.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with cinnamon powder and serve either hot or cold.
Adapted from Deko Nakajima’s recipe
Upcoming Events
Sunday, March 9th 2014, 2-5pm: Okido Yoga Workshop with Tomoko Mori at Ethos (Energia Studio), 7 Prince’s Gardens, South Kensington, London SW7 1NA. Fee: £30 / £20 for students (Booking Deposit: £10). For further details visit: http://www.okidoyoga.org.uk/workshop_ethos.html