I’m Susan Falkenstein and I LIVE IN NAPLES, FL AND OFFER THIS CLASS I CALL, TAI CHI SIMPLE, A BLENDED PRACTICE OF QI GONG AND TAI CHI THAT IS VERY POPULAR IN CHINA.
I WILL TAKE YOU THROUGH A SEQUENCE OF MOVEMENTS THAT ACTIVATE,TONIFY AND CIRCULATE THE QI. YOU WILL LEARN EASY MOVEMENTS YOU CAN BRING INTO YOUR DAILY PRACTICE.
CLASSES ARE CURRENTLY BE OFFERED:
Unitarian Universalist Church, Naples 1:30pm on Mondays in the meditation garden
KINDLY REACH OUT FOR MORE INFORMATION AS WELL. www.chimoveswithsusan.com
Tai Chi Simple – An easy to follow ancient Chinese health promotion practice for nourishing the body, mind and spirit. Tai Chi Simple will help you become more supple and flexible so you can bend, twist and stretch free from pain. It is a wonderful practice to add to your daily routine. Movements will help you improve your balance and range of motion in tight areas like hips and lower back. Gentle breathing and stretching exercises will help boost your immune system and are considered anti-aging movements. You will feel refreshed and revitalized to take on the rest of your day. The movements can easily be done from a chair.
Key health benefits include: Relief of chronic pain Stress reduction Improved sleep quality Improved cardiovascular fitness, including lower blood pressure Improved balance and coordination for falls prevention Cognitive capacity retention (brain plasticity) More energy
Our work at the Art of Holistic Massage consists of a variety of hands-on techniques characterized by hypnotic strokes that enable inner focus to attain healing through integration of mind/body/spirit. Shiatsu, Swedish, Reflexology, Zero Balancing, Stretching & Movement, Crania-Sacral Therapy, Reiki, Process Acupressure & Chakra attention can all show up in a treatment. Currently offering Amethyst Far-Infrared BioMat Treatment.
Your first session includes a free interview and consultation along with one-hour of customized bodywork. Allow for 2 hours on this initial session.
My name Alvina means many things. It comes from the Latin language meaning “Elf Friend”.
Also “White Lotus Flower”
In India an alvina is a lute, like a guitar.
Alvina can mean “of the vine” like grapes that make fine wine.
I was named after my grandmother since I was the firstborn of an only child Italian American-Heritage man.
That exotic, Latin name wasn’t an easy one to have growing up in rural Connecticut. My mother who was half Italian American and half Canadian French wanted to name me “Rebecca (of Sunnybrook Farm) or “Anastasia”.
I also inherited my grandmother’s nickname which I no longer used once I left home for my second year of college at 17. (I went to UConn Waterbury, CT Branch for 1 yr then to The College of New Rochelle, NY until graduating in 1980 with a Communications Major – mostly photography)
I like that the name Alvina has a certain flavor or essence that relates to lightness, nature, music, wine, beauty, friendship.
My father looked at me once and he said, “You are an Alvina!”
Regarding a flower I love gardening — cultivation– and it has helped me retain my sanity in this changing world. Luckily I have a garden that I can tinker in as much as I like! You might be familiar with the work of Eliot Cowan — Plant Spirit Medicine — and so you know that plants are alight with “fairies” and energy healing which is why we look to it in our medicines and Flower Essences (FES) which help to balance our field.
I suit the name.
My life work has been infused with the energy of healing myself and others – Light comes through me! And, I use music in my work, I make my own oils and I provide a beautiful environment, the soul-affirming Insight Acupressure, consider everyone in the highest personal regard (as Dr Fritz Smith conveyed to me through our Zero Balancing work) and I cultivate lasting connections.
Gratitude to my family, my teachers and to myself!!!
My experience with the acupressure point IA 23 (LI 18) Receive Support and Rush Out.
Assisting a PA Class In Borrego Springs, CA
I was at my teachers (Dr Aminah Raheem) home in Borrego Springs, California, assisting her in a Process Acupressure Class when I learned the power of acupoints for support and healing in a very dramatic way. Although I already knew that acupoints and acupressure are tremendously healing and powerful — it works!! — I had a dynamic illustration of how it works when I partnered with one of the students for her practice session.
Student Practice
She kindly asked me how she could serve me as she did a client intake with me sitting on the massage table in Dr Raheem’s office which was completely covered with photos and icons of saints from all of creation (talk about being supported). Dr Raheem was also standing in the room observing us. I chose a protocol (I don’t remember which one) which had the beginning acupoint IA 23 (LI 18). When the student touched that acupoint I said that I would prefer if she only held the area of the point with her whole hand as I felt I just needed to feel supported there. The student complied.
Altered States
Immediately, I began to cry but only for a moment. Then, I was coughing, like in The Green Mile movie where the actor takes in people’s badness and illness and then lets it out in a stream of gadflies. That happened for a bit, forcefully extracting something from deep down through my throat. I whipped my glasses off (I couldn’t wear my contacts in the desert dryness). As I moved off the table and commenced into a yoga flow that was from an altered state of consciousness for some minutes. One move after the next seamlessly flowing. And then I stopped. I was in a full Camel Pose when I came out of the altered state and I raised one arm up and asked to help me come to a standing position. Dr Raheem told me to go ahead and rest on the lanai the rest of the morning.
Acupoint Name Relevance
Later Dr Raheem came to me to say “That point name is Receive Support and Rush Out”!!!
World Support and Healing
That afternoon was supposed to be my turn receiving a treatment from Dr Raheem as a demo in front of the class. Since I had had such a dynamically transformative session in the morning she gave me the option to have the session or not. I said that I would like to have the session but only if it was gentle. And so she invited me to the table for my session with her. As I was relaxing on the table and she was working around me I had a vision of yellow flowers in a field. It felt as though angels were surrounding all of us and we were being blessed with all love and beauty. Everyone felt it and the room turned golden. It filled with a golden light. We all experienced it.
And that’s how I came to understand that being a support can lend support and healing and bring beauty and love to all. Also, that we don’t have to hold on to any poor feelings or experiences — we can let them go and be well and loved.
I have had the privilege of knowing Alvina for 13 years, and I can wholeheartedly attest to her incredible healing abilities. Our journey began when she worked with my 1-yr old son post open-heart surgery, and her nurturing presence brought a sense of comfort and peace to both my son and me.
Alvina seamlessly transitioned from being a practitioner to a cherished friend and mentor, and her work has been profoundly grounding and soothing. Her extensive knowledge across various modalities is a testament to her dedication and expertise.
If you are looking for a way to improve your well-being, I highly recommend making an appointment with Alvina. Her compassionate approach and deep understanding of healing will undoubtedly leave you feeling better than ever. Thank you, Alvina, for being a guiding light on our healing journey.
Cynthia Sharpe, Naples FL
Note From Alvina:
Due to Cynthia’s diligent parenting and her educational background as a teacher she was well equipped to pursue the needed talents a mother of a down syndrome child would need to create success for her child. Thus, Cynthia has become a healer in her own right, integrating many modalities including biofeedback, meditation & play therapy. CynChronisity.com
She and her husband Doug sponsor a yearly non-profit Art Show for varied abilities contestants at the Naples Botanical Garden. It really is beautiful to be able to offer the backdrop of Nature with the natural gifts of the participants. It’s a natural high for everyone who participates.