Goodnews! Dear Readers, Welcome to the 1st issue of Goodnews! newsletter. So much good news comes our way every day that we wanted to find an easy way to get it to you. Goodnews! comes out four times a year: October, January, April and July. There is no cost to receive a copy via email. To subscribe go to our website: http://www.jagostabraingym.net Enter your email and click on the "sign up" link under newsletter. That's all you need to do. You can also access the current issue of Goodnews! on our website. The format is simple. There will be four sections: client stories, techniques, upcoming workshops, and services. Client stories Each issue will feature one or two success stories, stories you've shared with us about important changes you've made in your lives. Your stories are a witness to your belief in yourselves and your committment to achieving your goals. They demonstrate your willingness to change and grow. Sometimes those changes took place almost immediately. Other times they occurred gradually over months and years. Always they have inspired us. We thank you for allowing us to support you on your journey. We create the framework and make our balance procedures available to you. But it is you, in the co-creative process, who do the work. For this we celebrate you. If you would like to have your story featured in an upcoming issue, please let us know. Techniques We will introduce you to one or several balance procedures you can do on your own to improve your overall health and wellbeing. Techniques have been chosen because they are simple to use, effective and timely. Upcoming workshops We will include workshops which we will hold over the next few months. These workshops are also posted on our website. Services Only those we have experienced first-hand and which we consider to be very worthwhile will be included. YOUR STORIES From Special Ed to Fully Integrated Justin's story Justin began working with us in February 1998 when he was in grade 4. Identified as Learning Disabled in grade 1, he was in a Special Education classroom and reading at a grade 2 level. His mother was quick to point out that the disabilities Justin has are not developmental but organic. In our first session it was apparent that Justin was a highly verbal and self-aware 10 year old. In that first encounter he expressed a lot of negativity around school and his ability to succeed. He had difficulty writing even a simple sentence and his self-confidence was low. His mother stated that Justin was poorly organised, indecisive, easily manipulated and feared criticism of his work. In addition he had trouble in math, reading, writing and spelling. Below is a sample of Justin's writing from the first session. He wanted to write: My mom's name is Jude. Justin is now in grade 8. What follows are highlights from a recent interview with Justin and his mom: Interviewer: Why did you seek help in 1998? Justin: School was hard. I was Learning Disabled. I had a lot of negativity around school and people in general. Mom: He was angry a lot. Children would tease him and he'd get frustrated. Justin: I had a hard time learning. I'd get stuck. I was reading at a grade 2 level. I'd be in the regular class in the morning and in special ed in the afternoon. Basically I didn't like school. Interviewer: What do you think of the work we have been doing together? Justin: I think it's great! I got rid of my negativity. After eliminating sugar from my diet for 2 months, I got focused. Mom: We were all amazed that Justin would stick to the "no sugar" diet. It is very rare for a student who has been identified as Special Ed. to go to a fully integrated classroom. That's what Justin did. At the completion of grade 7, his teachers recommended that he go into a regular classroom. Justin: Also, I really like the opportunities I've had for spiritual development during our sessions. And the recommendations for life style changes and doing the Brain Gym at home. It's really complete. One of my teacher's at Waverly Drive P.S. must have noticed the difference. She'd encourage me to do the Brain Gym movements. She'd say, "Have you done your Brain Gym?" and if I answered "No." She'd encourage me to do them right then and there. She really pushed me. She would make me do stuff I thought I coudn't do and usually I would succeed.She pushed the limits. She believed in me. Interviewer: What disabilities was Justin experiencing? Mom: Reading, writing, fine motor skills, coordination. He was going to a speech therapist. Teachers now say he has the ability to go to a regular high school. Back then Justin was a kid who couldn't express himself, couldn't talk about what was going on in his life. Now he wants to be an actor, he can be funny, he has friends. Justin: In grade 4 I didn't have friends. Mom: His self-confidence has soared! He is becoming a fully-developed, spiritually self which goes hand-in-hand with self-confidence. Interviewer: Do you want to add anything more? Mom: There has been an incredible, remarkable change. Justin could have fallen into the cracks if we hadn't done this work. His teachers are amazed at his progress.Every one of his teachers likes him. They enjoy having him as a student. He's now reading at grade level. Below is a sample of Justin's writing taken the day of the interview. Notes concerning the work with Justin: Justin started by coming for weekly sessions for a total of ten. Then he came for five more sessions approximately biweekly until the end of the year 1998. He had eight sessions in each of the years 1999 and 2000. Now he comes once every three months. Focus in the beginning was on detoxifying the system, eliminating certain foods from his diet and releasing blocked emotions. Then Justin was put on a daily Brain Gym program to be carried out at home. Initailly this included a repatterning technique to improve neurological organisation by activating the connections between right and left hemisphere. Other movements were added later on in function of his objectives. Next came advice concerning nutrition, proper supplementation as well as environmental changes, energy balance and attitude change. Now each new session starts with an assessment of the dimensions and feedback regarding changes noticed since the last session. Justin brings in the goals he wants to achieve and this becomes the focus of our work. Probably the biggest change overall was noticed when he eliminated sugar from his diet and added the daily Brain Gym program. Justin continues to progress tapping into potential none of us knew existed. His commitment and dedication to his own self-improvement is an example for us all. We suspect he'll be able to go into advanced courses in high school and go on to see his name in lights in whatever profession he chooses. Congratulations Justin! And thank you for sharing your story. "I always felt that in my heart I was a baseball player" Linda's Story: Linda is the pitcher on a softball team. She is also an excellent therapist. Last June she attended a Brain Gym workshop to enhance her effectiveness when working with learning disabled children. Describing herself as only an "average" pitcher, Linda always struck out when she came up to bat. So when it was time to do the "Action Balance for Whole Body Movement" in which participants are invited to choose as a goal an activity affecting the whole body, Linda jumped at the opportunity to work on her batting. In the roleplay activity prior to doing the Brain Gym movements, Linda imagined herself up to bat. As she "saw" the ball coming toward her, she closed her eyes. It was obvious to us all why Linda was striking out! Many people think the primary base of stress is emotional. Stress is often physical, embedded in our physiological habits of looking, listening, and moving with tension. Linda could not consciously control her response, i.e., force herself to keep her eyes open by "trying harder". We then did the Dennision Laterality Repatterning (DLR). (1) Immediately after, Linda again did her role play imagining she was up to bat, but this time her eyes stayed opened. Although this might seem like a small change, it was enormous. This became evident the following evening during Linda's softball game. For the first time in Linda's playing, she was able to hit the ball past the infield or the fringe. That night she hit the ball into the outfield and scored a run for her team, again a first. Usually before a game, Linda was very tense. This time she stayed relaxed both before and throughout the game. She experienced an improvement in her hand/eye coordination. She was able to focus longer. She was able to keep her eyes open in a relaxed way and actually watch the ball coming down. Prior to the balance, Linda would listen for the sound of the ball as it came towards her. The change in her pitch, however, was even more dramatic. We asked Linda what changes she had experience. In her own words: The kind of pitching I do is slow pitch. That evening I was able to hit the board accurately. I struck out at least 4 batters. Usually I would strike out one or none at all. I've been playing for 15 years. I pitched occasionally last year and began pitching regularily for our team this season. I have gone from being an average pitcher to an excellent pitcher. My teams mates said "What the h--- have you been doing!?" When I told them about Brain Gym, they said, "Just keep doing it!". And I did. I continued doing the DLR every day twice each day for 10 weeks. (2) Just before the game and during the game I would drink water (3), do the Cross Crawl and Brain Buttons (4). You told us that your game continued to improve. Can you give us an example? One month into the season I hit a homeroom. I was ecstatic as were my team mates. We just played in the tournament championship. I pitched 3 games on Saturday and 3 games on Sunday. In all six games I only walked one hitter. I got at least 2 strikes on every person. As for my batting, I came up to bat in the last inning. The bases were loaded. When I'm hitting, I can now place the ball where I want to. I hit the ball on the ground right on the 1st base line in right field. I hit a homerun and got 3 people in. We all went wild! We came in second in the tournament but consider that we really came in first. The team that won was a stacked team made up the best players from a number of teams. The members from that team were really angry with us. None of their players had struck out before playing against us. I struck out at least five of their players. And, incidently, my catching has improved as well. My reflexes are better. Have your team members wanted to try Brain Gym for themselves? Some of them have and they improved as well. But I'm the only one that will do it during the game. Have you noticed improvement or changes in any other aspects of your life? Up until that time I had never accomplished a physical skill requiring coordination and balance. I now know where my body is in space which I never did before. Last year I took up golf and now my golfing has improve. I play as well as my husband who has been playing for twenty years. The other day I visited my daughter whom I hadn't seen for a while. She said, " Mom, you look different. Your head isn't tilted to one side." My head is more aligned with the rest of my body. I feel focused and relaxed as I play. Brain Gym has allowed me to tap into my Inner Child. I always felt in my heart that I was a baseball player. At 52 I am the oldest player on my team. I had been giving the game everything I had and I still wasn't successful. I won (the tournament games) for myself. I played the best I ever have. Linda, we celebrate you and your successes. Thanks for sharing your sory with us. Notes: (1) Dennison Laterality Repatterning is one of two repatterning techniques taught in the Brain Gym Diploma course. This technique activates the neurological networks across the corpus callosum which separates the right and left hemispheres. This results in the integration of both eyes, ears and hemispheres and improves coordination of both sides of the body. For further information see http://www.jagostabraingym.net. Click on Brain Gym. (2) For best results this repatterning technique should be done twice daily for 10 week. This is usually the time it takes to create new neurological networks in the brain. (3) Water increases and balances electrical energy to the neocortex, moving it away from survival reflexes in the brain stem. It also increases oxygen amount and flow to the brain resulting in better focus and more energy. (4) Brain Buttons and the Cross Crawl are Brain Gym movements which impact on Laterality. See our website for more information. TECHNIQUES Planting Seeds for World Peace As a result of the terrorist attacks on America, many people are experiencing terror and panic. We have noticed in our practice that this has given clients the opportunity to release old patterns and come into a new way of being. We invite you to use these events to evaluate where you stand, in the new way or the old. How do you situate yourself at this time? Are you looking for someone to blame, are you seeking retaliation and vengeance? Are you holding on to old hurts? This is the old way which can only lead to further retaliation, more killings and death. The new way is the way of forgiveness. Forgiveness is defined as recognizing you have been wronged, giving up all resulting resentment, and eventually responding to the offending person with compassion and even love. With each person you forgive, you are planting the seeds for world peace. We have choices about how to respond, in the new way or the old. Practice forgiveness every day. It can be toward someone who is no longer in your life. Just mentally acknowledge the wrong, say,"I forgive you" and send them love. Be part of the new way by bringing peace into your hearts and your homes. We share with you two techniuques for staying in balance at this time. The first one comes from our dear friend and colleagues Martha. The second is from the Hathors, our elder brothers and sisters in consciousness. Simple Stress Release and World Prayer. September 11. 2001. This day's terrorist attack on America has unleashed infinite stress, horror, atrocity and Fear. This is a simple stress release balance that will be effective as often as you choose to use it. It is most important in any shock situation to remain as connected to your centre as possible. This means staying connected. Knowing your place and all of the resources that allow you to feel constant. This flow or life stream will then enable the stress to be brought down to a level that is able to process and free from your system. When you do this for yourself and think of those in the immediate field of attack, there is a sensitive connection that is effective as a "prayer of stress release". This simple process of tapping for stress / fear release will help to bring a connected feeling of peace throughout this Earth. Steps to Take: 1. Bring to mind the ways that help you feel connected. Examples: I love to play with my dog. I love to walk in nature. I love to be creative. I love to relax. I love to exercise........... 2. Think and feel connected -your example-. 3. Tap your fingers on the right temple. This is a place just between the right eye and the right ear. 4. While you gently tap this place. Simply say: "I am free". 5. Then Say: "I am -your whole birth name, the current date and year-, infinity and So be it." 6. Keep tapping and repeating the whole statement "I am free. I am -your name, date-, infinity, so be it, until you feel a softening or relaxing feeling. This feeling of being connected, the tapping for freedom and your name, date, infinity and so be it, will bring the process of stress into a form that is easily released. *Tap for freedom in this way as often as you choose. This is a prayer for world peace. The effect of prayer and this "Stress Release Balance" will help all of humanity. Within your capability is the knowing of your own unique gifts and potentials. When your prayers are sent with love, they are welcomed for the highest good of all. Simply know your gift of being connected and send your love. This healing comes through Martha Hoey at Elm Tree Centre and is a direct channel through The Eloheim / Source / Angels of Peace. Please feel free to contact Martha for further information at: http://www.elmtreecentre.com. Stabilizing in Chaos (1) The Earth is moving through a time of monumental changes in which energies are fluctuating at rates never experienced by humanity before. Many of these changes are chaotic in nature, and especially challenging to the emotional body. Consequently, our emotions seem to be all over the place. Whenever any system moves from one level of order to a higher level, there is a period of chaos in which perturbations are on the increase. This is now happening on Earth at all levels-atomic, molecular, biological, geological, social, economic, etc. are in states of flux or change. The Hathors offer us a tehnique to help our emotional body become more stable through this period of tremendous transition. This technique is in four parts. We offer the first below. We will continue the exercise in future newsletters. Self-Mastery Exercise Part A 1.Imagine a tube of light, an energy conduit, extending down through the center of your body all the way to the center of the Earth (see diagram). This is where you are connected, so to speak. 2.Now, in your imagination, allow that tube of light to move upward above the head, as far into space as is appropriate for you at this time. (some of your will experience the pranic tube going only a short distance above the head, and some of you may experience it going into other dimensions of the Universe. Whatever way and however far it goes above the head does not matter. The distance will be appropriate for you at this time.) 3. With this accomplished, move your awareness into the heart center and allow yourself to breathe with your awareness focused at the heart. As you focus at the heart, imagine and sense celestial energy coming down from above and terrestrial energy coming up from the Earth below so that these two meet in your heart. Experience these two energies flowing from above and below, feeding the heart continuously in a combined stream, whether you are inhaling or exhaling, whether you are pausing your breath or not. Feel the continual flow of prana moving downward and upward. The goal is to get a clearer sense of this low of evergy, of prana, coming down from above and coming up from below. Pause and take about a minute to get a very clear sense of this flow of prana. This is the first part of the exercise. (1) From The Hathor Material, Messages from an Ascended Civilization by Tom Kenyon and Virginia Essene, S.E.E. Publishing Company, Sanata Clara, California, 1996. Combating flu symptoms and allergic responses Many people experience flu-like symptoms at this time of the year. We would like to share with you a technique called "the thymus tap" which we have found very effective. Clinical applications for this techinique include: stimulating the immune system to effectively eliminate colds and flus This techinique is so effective that we have experienced getting rid of colds simply by doing this technique for one minute 3 to 5 times per day. We did not evn take any medication. However, if you are on medication, the thymus tap will help you fell better much faster. The more severe the symptoms, the more often the technique should be repeated throughout the day, even every hour. establishing homeostasis during an allergy attack Clients have done the thymus tap when in the middle of a crisis and have found it to alleviate symptoms. It can also be used for prevention on an on-going basis. balancing your electromagnetic field. Our cell phones, televisions, computors, applliances, lighting and electric power lines emit electromagnetic radiation. This acts on our energy field resulting in fuzzy thinking a sense of general fatigue. Start the day off with the thymus tap and repeat it mid-day to balance your energy field. It is also great to do after a visit to the mall or as a computor break. If you work on a computor for more than one hour at a time, you need to take a break every hour. Get away from the computor look out the window or go outside, and do the thymus tap. If you work in a sealed building which circulates recycled air, try to get outside for at least 15 minutes morning and afternoon. You will feel more energized and be a lot more effective at work. Here is how to do the thymus tap: Place one hand on your navel. Use the tips of your fingers of the other hand to tap on the thymus in a clockwise circle as shown in the picture. Do for one minute toning Esa Mea Deo. If you can't tone outloud, then tone silently. If you are reluctant to tone then just say the words. If you do not want to tone for whatever reason, just do the tapping. Note: The thymus is a gland located high in the chest behind the sternum. This gland is one of the central contros of the body's immunity system. It is part of the body's defense system which manufactures antibodies and lymphocytes. UPCOMING WORKSHOPS For further information on any of our workshops, please visit our website http://www.jagostabraingym.net or contact us at (519) 822 4491. Brain GymŪ Diploma Course: October 13/14 and 27/28. There is still time to sign up for this wonderful course. It is especially useful for parents, teachers and practitioners. Keeping Children Healty: Brain GymŪ Movements: November 5, 2001 at 8:15PM. Rockmosa Community Centre in Rockwood Join us for an evening of talks and workshops focusing on Children's Health. Talks start at 7pm. Cost is a donation for the Food Bank. For information call Margaret Aitken, telephone number (519) 856-9760. Menopause Naturally: Wednesday, November 28, 2001. 7:00PM to 9:00PM This workshop offers lots of easy ways to stay in balance during this very important time. Tips for women of all ages. Empowering. SERVICES The following are products and services that we would highly recommend. Going to the doctor's What a find! Most of us do not enjoy going for our yearly check-up. If you live in a city like Guelph, you may be one of the 20.000 who does not even have a doctor. Women's Health Watch is a service offered by the Women's College Hospital for both men and women. Their approach is preventive and holistic. They are aware of and encourage the use of complementary medicine. To book an appointment, just call the hospital and ask the receptionist for Women's Health Watch. You will be asked to pay an administrative fee of $50.00 for your first visit. Subsequent visits cost $35.00. They do yearly check-ups including mammograms, bone-density check, hormone levels for those at risk. While there you will see a medical doctor, a nutritionist and a physical therapist. They also have educational films on variety of health-related subjects that you can view while there. Plan on spending two to three hours for your visit. You will be treated with kindness and respect. Take a friend along and book for both of you. The easy way to get there is to take the Greyhound Bus and get off at the terminal. The Women's College is a five-minute walk from the terminal. If you are having problems with incontinence, ask the doctor for a referral to see Dr. Shum, uroligist. A gentle soul, Dr. Shum has helped many women through a simple, painless in-office procedure which involves stretching the urethea. He can also refer you to a physical therapist who specializes in problems of incontinence. Women's Health Watch Women's College Hospital 76 Grenville St., Toronto Tel. (416) 966 7111 Energy Connection Game Jan Yordy, play therapist, has developed an attractive game incorporating Brain Gym, energy and imaging exercises to be used to empower children. It has been designed to be used in a therapeutic environment, at school or at home. Jan charges $147.00 for the game and we think it is well worth the price. Her description follows: The Energy Connection Game is a co-operative game designed to help therapist and educators work effectively with children. Its unique therapeutic approaches teach simple energy balancing exercises, engage children in imaginative activities and encourage children to process feelings. The game includes a manual to explain the concepts behind the game and how to do the energy balancing exercise The Energy Connection game is designed for 5 to 12 year olds and can be used individually, in a small group or with families. A one-day workshop has been designed for those who would like to learn more fully how to utilize the powerful techniques incorporated into the game. For more information about the game, you are welcome to check out her web site at www.energyconnectiontherapies.com Here is her contact information: Jan Yordy P.O. Box 35, St. Jacobs, Ontario, N0B 2NO Phone (519) 664-3568 Fax (519) 664 1390 Her E-mail is: yordy@energyconnectiontherapies.com

Contents copyrighted (c) 2001 Joan Agosta
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