Category: Self

The Bodhi Clinic , located in Millersville, MD, helps enable clients to remove those factors that bring about disease in their lives, ideally using natural methods. Run by Dr. Stephany Porter, a licensed Naturopathic Doctor, the clinic views medicine as a continuum, where optimal health is ideally reached by the least invasive modalities, like lifestyle, diet, and exercise, but sometimes must be attained by pharmaceutical or surgery methods. Naturopathic Medicine operates with the notion that optimal health results from the harmonious functioning of our internal (physical, emotional, spiritual, genetic) and external (social, environmental) world. Based on that model, each person’s disease state requires unique medicines specific to their specific needs.

Baltimore Nia is an expressive, barefooted, dance/fitness practice with a wholesome focus on body, mind and spirit. Nia creates weight loss while providing the proper weight maintenance. This form of dance also improves muscle tone, calms the mind and relieves stress. Created by Carlos Rosas and Debbie Posas in 1983 Nia, is now brought you by Megan Charles Founder and instructor of Nia Baltimore. You can get involved through classes located at 3000 Chestnut Ave. on the first Sunday of every month, beginning in January.

More wisdom from "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life," by Wayne Dyer. The 21st verse of the Tao is a poetic musing on the mystery of the all-knowing, all-providing energy that surrounds us always. The last two lines read:

How do I know the ways of all things at the beginning?
I look inside myself and see what is within me.

The Tao comes from the truth that is inside of us at all times. Another version of this, from the Sufi poet Hafiz:

If you think that the truth can be known from words
If you think that the sun and the ocean can pass through
That tiny opening called "the mouth". . . .
Oh! Someone should start laughing!
Someone should start wildly laughing –
Now!

One of the categories of GOforChange is "Inspiration." I’ve always been fascinated by the etymology of words that we tend to throw around unconsciously. "Inspiration" comes from the Latin, inspiratus , or inspirare : "inspire, inflame, blow into," from in -"in" + spirare "to breathe." Breathing is such a part of life that we often are completely unaware of it. When we take a bit of time to notice our breath, we become more open and expansive. This stillness helps us navigate the challenges of life.

I’ve been listening to Wayne Dyer’s "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life," which is his exploration of the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching , as applied to our modern world. Each day, I listen to a verse of the Tao, along with his musings on what it means to us today and how to apply it in simple, practical terms. For example:

11th Verse of the Tao Te Ching

Thirty spokes converge upon a single hub.
It is on the hole in the center that the use of the cart hinges.

Shape clay into a vessel.
It is the space within that makes it useful.

Carve fine doors and windows,
but the room is useful in its emptiness.

The usefulness of what is
depends on what is not.

As an architect, I have always been attracted to this verse, with its embrace of the void, of the spaces between. Continued

Solar Publishing is located in Owing Mills, MD and is a multi-media production company. “We utilize print, video, animation and web-based media to encourage humanity to embrace our connection with the environment.” “Solar Publishing promotes cultural awareness, planetary responsibility and holistic living.” Their books help teach kids about the environment and the diverse peoples around them ultimately giving a stronger sense of themselves and the world around them.

Quantum Yoga, located in Mount Washington at the Lake Falls Village Center, offers a wide variety of classes in yoga and wellness, including beginner to advanced yoga, kids and teen yoga, yoga nidra, flow yoga, pilates, and Qigong, as well as acupuncture, shiatsu, and Gua Sha. The center is operated by over a dozen men and women, many of whom are certified in various forms of yoga and Qigong. Visit their website for extensive information from frequently asked questions to detailed accounts of the services offered and the research and benefits that comes with them.

Tanquili-Chi Massage and Wellness is a holistic approach to life maintenance. Located off Northern Parkway in the Mt. Washington area. Types of massages include Swedish, Deep tissue and Myofascial. See a list of their incentives by visiting there website.