www.theblisspages.com - Mind Body Soul exhibition
www.theblisspages.com - Mind Body Soul exhibitionLinks on this page: massage : incense : inversion therapy : Dru yoga : Ki energy therapy : boji stones : crystals : bliss : thai massage : ecopods : rock-salt lamps : dolphins
As usual, I was late... rushing around, trying to get everything sorted out, catching up with my reading, getting essential shopping and getting stressed out, all at the same time. My life is chaotic, so I needed an alternative approach - onto the train, then a bus, to the Mind Body Soul exhibition at Brighton racecourse.
I'm not planning to précis the whole show, but to highlight stands, therapies and people who particularly intrigued or impressed me. If you missed it, it's on again every year... You might also like to look at my yoga and new age pages.
If you have any comments, or have found any errors or omissions, please drop me an email.
As soon as I arrived, there was a calming atmosphere, even when it got a bit crowded. There was music in the air together with a strong smell of incense. I found everyone friendly and helpful.
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I started at Massage World, a magazine aimed at massage therapists. They were very friendly and gave me a couple of sample magazines, which I have shown to one of my therapists, Marianne, who has now taken out a subscription. I plan to show it to my other therapist, Julie, when I next see her. They look interesting to anyone with an interest in massage.
Massage World doesn't yet have a presence on the web, but you can contact them via email at massage.world@massagelondon.com.
Subscriptions are £25 in the EU - £20 for students (prices correct in November 2002).
Massage World magazine has kindly given me permission to reproduce some information on Massage Treatments for Clients with Diabetes, which is now on my diabetes page.
I also got chatting to Andy and Rob, who have set up a massage business in Brighton. See Massage Brighton for further details (and an introductory discount).
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Ah, here was the incense I'd smelt on my arrival! The smells from this stall were exotic but calming. No boring incense sticks here.
Instead, clouds of pungent smoke roiled to the ceiling!
After smelling Frankincense, Myrrh and several combinations, I bought a Sandalwood ball, a chakra cleansing mixture, and some charcoal on which to burn them.
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I was intrigued by the sound of this therapy before I'd even arrived at the exhibition, and when I saw someone experiencing it, was even keener to try it myself.
Unfortunately, there was a weight limit of 70 Kg for inversion at the exhibition to protect Nikki Williams, the practitioner - needed as there was a lot of interest! There are only three practitioners of this therapy world-wide. Instead, I had a session on an inversion table, which was a real experience.
On stepping into the table, I pulled a bar towards me, which comfortably secured my ankles. I closed my eyes and relaxed into my breath. I leaned back and Nikki gently allowed the perfectly balanced table to rotate. With no visual clues, I had little idea of my orientation. Slowly the table moved, Nikki guiding me as I sank into a contemplative state.
She then played some Thai cymbals near me, the sounds enveloping my body. The sounds in the rest of the exhibition hall had now muted as my thoughts quieted. A large Tibetan singing bowl was placed on my chest and sounded. The vibrations were amazing as they reverberated around my body.
After checking that I was happy to continue, Nikki allowed me to become totally inverted.
After too short a time, I slowly returned to an upright position and to the tyranny of gravity! I shall certainly be trying this therapy again! For more information, check out www.inversiontherapy.co.uk.
I bought some very good oils from Natural Health Remedies.
The oils I bought were Melissa (organic) Melissa officinalis, Neroli (organic) citrus aurantium var. amarra, Niaouli (organic) Malaleuca quinqenervia, Silver Fir (organic) Abies alba and Tea Tree (organic) melaleuca alternifolia.It's very important to smell oils before you buy them. For example, I was planning to buy Neroli absolute, but preferred the organic Neroli. Both are from the same plant, but the former is created by steam-distillation, whilst absolutes are extracted using solvents. Price is also a good marker - if all the oils are the same price, beware! My 1ml of Neroli was about £12, whilst 10ml of Niaouli was half that.
I bought The Essential Oil Cookbook by Menkit Prince. I couldn't resist a very self-indulgent bar of chocolate either: Frankincense, Myrrh and Gold (with edible 24-carat gold-leaf). In fact, I'm masticating a piece as I write this...
Unfortunately, I missed the demonstration of Dru Yoga, as it was early in the
morning, and I'm not a morning person! However, everyone was very friendly and
Mieke de Graaf gave me a short demonstration and photo-opportunity outside.
Some local youths were sitting on the wall looking into the exhibition and nearly fell off in amusement - their loss! In the short time I observed Mieke, I noticed that Dru Yoga contained flowing movements akin to Qi Gong or Ti Chi, but also had the same sort in precision in the poses as Iyengar Yoga (see my yoga page).
As a handout on their stand said, "In a western world where the whole thrust of life is speed, efficiency, competitiveness and change, the essence of Dru Yoga is flow, softness, gentleness and love."
There are drop-in Dru Yoga classes on most days of the week in and around London; there was a yoga day in Shoreham on Sunday 17th November 2002, which I would have attended but for a prior engagement.
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When I saw the Ki Energy treatment being administered by practitioners from the Chun Do Sun Bup Ki Energy Institute, I was immediately intrigued.
Their premise is that Ki, or vital energy, flows through us all. When it flows freely, we are healthy. The flow can be disrupted, however, by stress, disease or emotional blockages. If the Ki is interrupted, it causes toxins to accumulate and our immune system can't function properly, causing us to become sick.
The treatment comprises a vigorous massage, which aims to open up the body's 365 energy channels and 84,000 Ki pores by disarming them with sound - sharp intakes of breath and hissing - whilst working on the energy knot with their fingers.
I found the treatment disconcerting at first - the massage was intense, kneading into my abdomen in the same manner as in a colonic irrigation (only without the tube).
I felt better after the treatment, which is supposed to help everything from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome though migraine to cancer.
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I had to investigate anything called Bliss, and I started with the group!
Bliss are Lucinda Drayton and Andrew Blissett; a partnership both in music and life. They are writers, producers and meditation teachers.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them, and bought their first three albums (Flying Free, The Journey and Through these Eyes). Their latest, A Hundred Thousand Angels, is on my wanted list.
I also bought an album by Robert Gass & On Wings of Song called
Bliss: om Namah Shivaya II.
When I got home, I realised I already have a book by Robert Gass called Chanting: Discovering Spirit in Sound, mentioned on my new age page.
Lastly,
I bought a book By Gill
Edwards called Pure Bliss: The Art of Living in Soft Time, which
looks interesting. It reveals how cycles of Soft Time and Hard time affect our
everyday lives. It helps us to abandon the stress, busyness and limitations
of Hard Time and shift into a more carefree, joyful and creative state - the
cycle of Soft Time.
It claims that when you live in Soft Time, you will: Tap into your inner wisdom easily and naturally, Be more creative and productive and free yourself from struggle and effort, Fulfil your higher purpose, Escape from addiction and codependency, Always be in the right place at the right time, Find your peak performance, Enjoy the simple pleasures of life, Feel more vibrantly alive and joyful, Solve problems effortlessly and Find inner peace. If it does that, it will be eleven pounds well spent!
To quote from the book, 'The truth is that the magical world of Soft Time is real, and lies just a hair's breadth from us. It might take only a gentle whisper, a silent moment of stillness, a gasp of awe or a heartfelt hug to make the shift.'
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Boji-Alive
UK were just selling Boji stones. They call be emailed on grahamandsue@free4all.co.uk.
Boji stones are found near the base of a natural pyramid mountain in Arkansas and they're uncovered when rain washes away loose dirt, leaving the small stones.
They usually come in pairs - one male and one female stone, and are said to bring healing and balance to the aura if you put one on each side of the body. I've had a pair for some years.
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There was a stand selling crystals. I have a couple at home:
Quartz
crystals have been used by healers and visionaries for centuries. The quartz
point is used as a transmitter or receiver. Hold it pointing outward and send
your energy out into the universe. Hold it pointing towards yourself and you
might receive energy.
Quartz assists in meditation and is reputed to purify the mind, body, and spirit.
Calcite is said to strengthen and improve the memory, to help distribute and
amplify energy throughout the physical and etheric bodies, and to activate the
body's energy centers.
Try using it near your bed to help you remember dreams or astral travel.
I like the tactile feel and texture of mine.
Next, I tried some Thai massage with Christine Townley from the Sussex Thai Massage School. She also kindly sent me an article on Traditional Thai Massage. I hope you find it interesting.
I found it much much less intense than Thai massage I've had in Thailand, but that can sometimes be painful, and in rare cases with unqualified practitioners, can even lead to injury.
This was very pleasant and relaxing. You can visit the Sussex Thai Massage School website at www.thaimassageuk.com.
I was intrigued by the Ecopods, which are a revolutionary design in coffins made of 100% recycled paper and hand-finished locally.
They're an environmentally-friendly way to go, as well as stylish! The company is based in Brighton, but can supply anywhere in the UK. See their website at www.ecopod.co.uk.
The ARKA Ecopod is suitable for either burial or cremation, but burial (preferably in a woodland burial site) is strongly recommended as cremation causes pollution.
I liked the look of these lamps, which are claimed to produce negative ions as well as looking good!
Every lamp is hand-crafted, so unique.
See their website at www.rocksaltlamps.com.
International Dolphin Watch (IDW) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to
the study and care of dolphins, especially their relationship with humans. From
this comes dolphin healing and the need to protect the marine environment for
the benefit of the dolphins. What we must do is get away from the idea that
the sea is a resource for human exploitation. See their website at International
Dolphin Watch.
They do ethical research and surveys, for example, to establish dolphin distribution and numbers.
They are interested in healing with dolphins (e.g. by swimming with them in the wild).
They campaign to eliminate the keeping of dolphins in captivity. I used to be skeptical of this, but changed my mind after I read the following facts, from the Captivity Fact Sheet [Dolphin Project Europe, 1996]:
There is plenty of related material available on the Internet. One such site is WDCS (The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society) which has information on the current state of cetacean captivity.
I
saw lots of other interesting stands at the exhibitions, including Feng Shui
and Bhutanese singing bowls.
I bought books, CDs and pinhole glasses and chatted to many interesting people.
Overall, a great day and an uplifting experience.
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: © Mike Bliss 2008