With open arms, I’d like to say hello to you, reader. I am so grateful for this opportunity to support you as a member of this great Siouxland community. The place that so many artists, healers, great minds, entrepreneurs, and most especially, hard workers call home. 

I intend to offer myself as a resource for each of you regarding methods of healing. These modalities all have the ability to deeply heal and strengthen the connection between the mind and body so that you, as an individual, can walk the path of your true self. When we strengthen this connection, it gives us the ability to be well in these beautifully complex bodies which our consciousness. This, in turn, prevents disease so that we do not have to behave reactively to dysfunction in the mind-body connection. 

To begin our journey together, I want to provide you with a window into the perspective I will be taking in my articles.

I have developed such a passion for my role in this community as a healer and yoga instructor. I want to share with you many of the valuable tools I have received walking my path. As complex individual human beings, we can take in many different forms of healing that tap our innate ability to evolve and grow. Throughout the year, I hope to present information about these practices that help you discover the methods that work best for you. When we take the time to self-discover and heal within, it gives us the ability to expand this healing beyond the individual being to other members of our community. 

I will limit my focus to one healing modality per issue. I also intend to make these modalities as accessible as possible. I will provide this by utilizing the great passion I have for the connection between the physiological and physical, with the unseen and spiritual. My perspective with whole human healing is grounded in physical anatomy, human biology, and kinetics of movement. I also take inspiration from Einstein, who stated that the more he studied the physical world, the more he discovered the unseen. By offering a variety of healing methods, I hope to help you develop your self-care and healing routine so that we can reach new and expanded growth as a whole community. 

I have learned to love the sense of awe I feel for the great variety of creative and intelligent forms of healing in our community. They are highly accessible, yet deeply transformational. You have heard of some of these modes of healing such as yoga, massage, and meditation. However, I want to offer you information about alternative healing modalities that may not be as well-known. They offer brilliant opportunities for the transformation of pain, fear, and trauma. 

Many of these modalities I have learned through formal education, but I will also be tapping other community resources to offer you a variety of approaches for your healing practices. One of my main resources will be the Mind & Body Connection, a well-established massage and bodywork clinic in Siouxland. They also have an affiliated massage therapy school called the Bio-Chi Institute. All of the professional massage therapists at this clinic, including myself, also work as teachers for the school. As a group of teachers and healers, we have a wide variety of approaches to healing including effective and outcome-based bodywork, medicinal herbs, hydrotherapy, and martial arts. 

One of these practices I will introduce to you is fire cupping, a traditional Chinese medicine practice that aims to remove stagnation in the blood and tissues and also stimulate the flow of vital energy, or Chi. This practice safely utilizes the heat from a flame to create a vacuum between a glass cup and the skin of the body. The consequent suction has more than a few therapeutic benefits that are especially cleansing and clearing. The practitioner can also make a selection from a variety of cupping techniques, each with unique restorative effects on the body. 

Another unique healing modality is therapeutic partner yoga. This practice involves one partner holding the other in passive yoga postures. Its purpose is to stretch and decompress the body. Partner yoga is especially healing and toning for relationships because the two individuals develop a connection in each posture enabling them to function as one unit while also practicing communication and trust skills. We will also investigate specific types of medicinal cleanses as they relate to seasonal shifts and the organs of the body. 

These are just a few of the many different alternative healing methods we will explore together, all of which are mediums I have explored and learned to love, especially during these times when our collective struggles seem to feel so magnified. I whole-heartedly believe that, as we discover self-healing and care, we can meet these challenges as a whole community. We can become impassioned by transformations we have seen within ourselves and, with a full cup, give the gift of healing to the people around us in our community. 

It is my hope the information I have to offer feels both objective and creatively motivational. This way, you have plenty of space to decide the compatibility of each modality with your self-care practices but also feel safe and excited to experiment. I am deeply grateful and eager to take this voyage of wellness opportunities with you and hope we can harness this opportunity to grow and heal together.  

By, Emily Larson, a licensed massage therapist and private yoga instructor at the Mind & Body Connection in Sioux City, Iowa. With a Bachelor of Science degree from Briar Cliff University in Kinesiology and Human Performance, Emily also co-teaches the Anatomy section for massage therapy students at the Bio-Chi Institute. Most importantly, Emily is a mother to her eight-year-old son, Noah.