a new adventure

For over ten years, I’ve been studying Feng Shui on my own from books and first hand experience. I’ve even led classes and workshops. Now, I am very excited to begin studying feng shui in a more formal way. This weekend I will be attending the first of over twenty classes offered by the BTB Feng Shui School. (Black Sect Tantric Buddhism Feng Shui School) This is the same school the author Eric Shaffert, who wrote Feng Shui and Money gained his teachings. They offer classes in San Francisco and New York City.

The journey will begin with a road trip from Reno, Nevada to Aptos, California. I look forward to learning and sharing knowledge with other Feng Shui enthusiasts and professionals. I am delighted to have this opportunity!

sometimes it is ‘TOO’ late to write a post

Last night I wrote a post much later than I should have, and consequently I had a grammatical embarrassment. The title of the post was “it’s never to late to learn more” … I should know better than to mix up ‘to’, ‘too’ and ‘two’! Now it’s fixed and I’m only somewhat ashamed to share the mistake.

I shall learn from another mistake and get to sleep sooner.

Good night, world.

it’s never too late to learn a little more

It’s been a little while since I’ve put forth real energy in my Feng Shui studies. For the better part of the last year and a half all my learning has been about the human body in some way. Working full time for an online marketing company, attending classes at night and fitting in practical massage hours consumed nearly all of my time. My dozens of Feng Shui books have sat by while I read about massage techniques, anatomy, physiology, sports massage, bones, muscles, brain tissue, nutrition and more. Currently my library hosts Feng Shui, Alternative Medicine, Healing, Stretching, Exercise, Nutrition, Yoga, Acupressure books and more.

Now that some of my time is available again, I can jump back into some Feng Shui books that I was 1/2 way or 3/4 of the way through. I can start all over again with another round of Feng Shui and Money workshops. I can put time into doing consultations in Reno, Nevada. I can begin to study the similarities that exist between energies that flow inside us and around us. Acupuncture and acupressure for the body are analogous to Feng Shui for a home or space.

Life is about learning. Luckily as soon as you learn a little about something, you learn how little you really know. Your world expands and you realize how much more is out there to learn!

I look forward to tweeting more actively again, connecting with other Feng Shui enthusiasts, connecting with other excited and inspired individuals in Northern Nevada, Lake Tahoe, Sierra Nevada and specifically the local Reno-Sparks area. I look forward to connecting with my community. I see great opportunities to thrive and bloom. There is so much information and knowledge to seek from others, and so much enthusiasm to share.

Reach out and let me know if you share similar enthusiasm!

Feng Shui and Massage – Yin and Yang Meridians and Elements

I’m still figuring out how Ijekah Feng Shui and Ijekah Bodywork services are going to morph into a combined business. Offering Feng Shui consultations and providing Sports Massage and Therapeutic Bodywork in Reno, Nevada is a reality, even though Ijekah Feng Shui and Ijekah Bodywork are still in their infancy.The synergy between the two is very high. Energy moves in our environment, and energy moves within our bodies. There are many natural parallels between the two.

In the recent massage education that I’ve acquired over the last two years it is clear that the same principles that apply to energy associated with elements in our surroundings, act in a similar way inside our bodies.

There are twelve meridians (commonly used in both acupuncture and acupressure). Meridians are energy channels in the body. Of the twelve meridians each is associated with one of the five elements (metal, wood, fire, water, and earth). Additionally, for every Yin meridian there is a corresponding Yang meridian.

Lung Meridian / Large Intestine Meridian
The yin Lung (LU) meridian is associated with the metal element. Its paired yang meridian is the Large Intestine (LI) meridian. Both are associated with the metal element.

Stomach Meridian / Spleen Meridian
The yang Stomach (S) meridian is associated with the wood element. Its paired yin meridian is the Spleen (SP) meridian. Both are associated with the wood
element.

Heart Meridian / Small Intestine Meridian
The yin Heart (HT) meridian is associated with the fire element. Its paired yang meridian is the Small Intestine (SI) meridian. Both are associated with the fire element.

Urinary Bladder Meridian / Kidney Meridian
The yang Urinary Bladder (UB) meridian is associated with the water element. Its paired yin meridian is the Kidney (K) meridian. Both are associated with the water
element.

Pericardium Meridian / Triple Warmer Meridian
The yin Pericardium (P) meridian is associated with the fire element. Its paired yang meridian is the Triple Warmer (TW) meridian. Both are associated with the fire element.

Gallbladder Meridian / Liver Meridian
The yang Gallbladder (GB) meridian is associated with the wood element. Its paired yin meridian is the Liver (LV or Li) meridian. Both are associated with the wood
element.

Just as the elements have certain properties in our environments (our homes, businesses, any type of building, outdoor landscapes and spaces, or even the inside of a vehicle) those same forces exist in our bodies.

Different elements have various properties and energies associated with them.

Summary of the meridian pairs and their associated elements:
Lung (LU) – Yin / Large Intestine (LI) – Yang – METAL
Stomach (S) – Yang / Spleen (SP) – Yin – EARTH
Heart (HT) – Yin / Small Intestine (SI) – Yang – FIRE
Urinary Bladder (UB) – Yang / Kidney (K) – Yin – WATER
Pericardium (P) – Yin / Triple Warmer (TW) – Yang – FIRE
Gallbladder (GB) – Yang / Liver (LV or Li) – Yin – WOOD

LU Yin … LI Yang – METAL
S Yang … SP Yin – EARTH
HT Yin … SI Yang – FIRE
UB Yang … K Yin – WATER
P Yin … TW Yang – FIRE
GB Yang … LV or Li Yin – WOOD

what’s in a name?

So. I changed my name.

I used to be Rebecca Igeka Williams. ‘Igeka’ was very dear to me. It was a middle name that my parents made up and I loved it. Weird, yes. One thing that was slightly annoying was that people always pronounced it “eye” “geek” “uh”, or “e” “geck” “uh”. My mother told me it was spelled wrong on my birth certificate. She said she wanted to wait to ask her grandmother how to spell it phonetically, but they wouldn’t let my mom wait. The hospital staff made her decide right when I was born, and so, in a rush, she was unable to spell it phonetically as she would have liked. According to my father the first two syllables are French and the last is Hebrew. This comes as recent news to me.

If you can say the alphabet in french, then when you get to I, J, K, you have said my name.

For the first 11 years of my life I went by a different last name (long story involving my mother, pseudo-step-father, passports, and living in other countries). At 11 years old, I began to call myself Rebecca Williams, according to my birth name. It never quite fit or felt like my name. My father is William Williams, and hence, Williams has always felt very much like it belonged to my father.

Later, I married, and in doing so became Rebecca Hess. After my divorce, I did not have the energy to do all the follow up required to change a name. As I approached the end of massage school, it was finally time to change my name. I wanted a name of my own on my graduation certificate from massage school and on my massage license. And so, I took my middle name and made it my new last name. The pronunciation remains the same. In the process I figured I might as well replace the “G” with a “J” and add an “H” at the end. And so … Igeka has become Ijekah.

Today, Ijekah gets her certificate of completion from the Ralston School of Massage in Reno, Nevada.

new name …. Ijekah Bodywork and Feng Shui … updates coming soon

It’s official: Igeka Feng Shui is now Ijekah Bodywork and Feng Shui. July 14 is rapidly approaching. Graduation from Ralston School of Massage in Reno, Nevada.

a few more massages in Reno, Nevada

Last week was my first week working in the Ralston School of Massage Student Clinic. I worked on a petite woman who has to lift heavy things often as an event planner. I worked on a woman who has seen many student therapists and had particularly tight rhomboids (muscles that connect your scapula or shoulder blade to your spine). I had the pleasure of giving someone their very first massage in their life. And, I also got to work on a runner who recently strained his back playing racketball a little too hard.

Four, hour long massages from paying clients who did not know me. They seemed very pleased. I’m delighted to be working on people, learning how to focus on the energy in their body, respond to what they ask for, listen to their bodies and find a way to bring them relaxation, relief and comfort. Based on each clients’ needs there was some amount of relaxation work, deep tissue work, some “shortenings” to relieve tight strained muscles, and some acupressure work.

If you’re interested in having some body work done, please call the Ralston School of Massage Student Clinic at (775) 827-1800 and book an appointment with Rebecca. Appointments with Rebecca are available Monday – Thursday at 5:30 PM and Saturdays at 10 AM, 11:30 AM or 1:00 PM.

feng shui and massage … the connection

My initial introduction to Feng Shui, was much by accident. It came from a visit to a bookstore, and grew into something I wanted to learn more and more about. Much like that accidental introduction was my relationship with massage.

When I was 13 years old I went on a ten day backpacking trip in the Adirondack Mountains of North Carolina. At the end of each day we massaged each other. People always wanted to sit in front of me in our massage circles. From that day forward people’s bodies and my hands gravitated towards each other.

Years later, while hiking the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail), I found myself massaging other hikers on the trek between Mexico and South Lake Tahoe. While teaching skiing and snowboarding at TASS (Tahoe Adaptive Ski School – Disabled Sports USA) and giving someone a ten minute back or shoulder rub, they would ask, “Are you a massage therapist? Are you a physical therapist? Where did you learn this?”

At that time, what I knew was no more than most of us know about breathing. We simply do it. No one taught us how to breathe. We know how; it’s what we do. Lucky for me I have an intuitive sense of touch. Some months ago, I decided to pursue that fascination and love of the human body a little more seriously. I started taking classes at a massage school.

I’m pleased to say that yesterday, was my the first client who walked into a school and booked me for a massage. I was a little nervous, mostly because I didn’t know the routine, what papers go where for the school (intake forms, etc.), if I get the client to fill out the intake form or if the school official does that. In any case it was a very positive experience to work on my first client in a professional setting, the school clinic.

I am excited that I have three quarters of a year to work on clients in a clinic setting, and continue to learn more about our amazing bodies. I once read (in the Feng Shui and Money book, I think) that Feng Shui is to your home what acupuncture is to your body. I look forward to my journey of learning more about how Yin and Yang energy flow and interact in both our bodies and in our surrounding environments.

where have I been? answer: massage classes

I’d like to share a little, since I’ve been missing for a while. Much has changed in the last year, and particularly in the last few months. I’ve begun massage classes, and am really enjoying them. I’m learning new things daily about the body, and about people.

I’ve also been very fortunate in my daily work life in the corporate world. I work for a great company, have a great boss and can still pursue personal interests.

Financially, life has taken many turns for the better, in dramatic ways. I am blessed in so many ways! At the moment, I’m putting forth a great deal of energy into daily life, working full time in a highly demanding job, and still finding time to switch gears and learn massage skills in the evenings and on weekends.

I’ve just taken a three day TouchPro chair massage class. I’m extremely excited to learn more, to practice, to become proficient at massage, and then one day to be able to combine massage and Feng Shui services to help others.

momentum

I think I need some momentum. Things feel very slow and sluggish.

I guess I need to take some of the advice that I would give someone else and use it for myself. Many things are changed from a year ago. I live in a wonderful new home. I no longer have any debt or major financial worries, which I did in the past. I have cleaned up some financial troubles, and transformed my financial life.

Physically, there have been changes for the better and for the worse over the last year. I’ve had periods of time where I felt healthier, was more active and felt more energetic. Then again, it is winter now, and I often feel like a bear who hibernates in winter.

Repeat to self: less is more.

It’s that simple. Every day, I need to get rid of a few more things than I accumulate. If 5 pieces of mail come in, I need to find a way to throw away 6 pieces paper or mail, some from today, some from before.

Although I feel a bit under the weather, tired and have a touch of abdominal pain tonight, rather than lay here in bed, I’m going to go find 10 things to throw away. That’s where I’ll start.