Heart and History

Feb 4

Reiki Practitioner,Rest & Relaxation Coaching

“What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive and that love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.”

Martin Luther King Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?

Once upon a time, the heart was understood in many cultures and traditions—from Egypt, to China, to Mesoamerica— to be the center of human intelligence. Over centuries, all manner of forces in Western culture came to dismiss the heart as a mere mechanical pump. The mind-body split came to be seen as a matter of fact, and the brain was deemed all-important. Seeing the heart as central was viewed as superstition, “backward,” anti-scientific.

But did you know that even in purely scientific terms, the heart is infinitely more complex than ever imagined by this rigid, reductionist worldview? That the heart has an electromagnetic field over 60x more powerful than the brain? The heart, you see, is a powerhouse. The emerging field of neurocardiology shows that love, gratitude, compassion, joy, and other generative emotions associated with the heart are some of the most influential for mental, physical, emotional, even spiritual wellbeing. Research is revealing just how the heart communicates with the rest of the body, setting the tone for a cascade of biophysical and emotional reactions. This research brings us full circle, validating the cross-cultural ancient wisdom concerning the role of the heart.

We are just over two weeks into a regime change in the US that is predicated– pretty explicitly–on chaos. We have been experiencing emotional overwhelm and dysregulation leveraged as a political strategy.

But what if we don’t let them have our hearts?

It is February: a month where we celebrate love, and honor Black history. This month, we at Minnesota Integrative Health Studio aim to do both–and to continue doing so all year long. Our myriad modalities and offerings honor the wisdom of the heart, and nurture possibilities to show love for ourselves and others.

Black History Month Infrared Sauna Special

*Khalilah Shah, “godmother of the Studio,” pictured in her father’s* *Tuskegee Airmen* *beret, posing in homage to Black Panther Party co-founder* *Huey P. Newton*

Khalilah Shah is the “godmother of the Studio,” supporting so many aspects of MIHS operations behind the scenes. If you haven’t met Khalilah, you’ve likely felt her loving energy permeating the space. Khalilah introduced the idea of an Infrared Sauna special for the entire duration of Black History Month: “let’s let the community know they are loved…and have a special for all. We need rest right now. People think things are so bad right now but Black people have been through so much and we are still here…we’re still fighting the good fight…this is why we all need to know Black history.” In honor of Black History Month, Infrared Sauna sessions are $10 for all for every day of February. Unwind, relax, release, and refresh in honor of Black history, present, and futures. All proceeds from the Black History Month special will go to Rise & Remember and Black Immigrant Collective.

Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Heart

Traditional Chinese Medicine, which never lost sight of the heart’s power and complexity, is a founding system of medicine practiced at MIHS. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) sees the heart holistically. This means acupuncture and other TCM modalities like cupping, herbs, and tuina can be used to support our physical and emotional heart–because in TCM, these dimensions are inseparable.

Shen in Chinese Medicine is associated with consciousness, emotion, mind, and spirit. Shen is intimately connected to the heart, which in TCM is considered the “Emperor” of all the organs. Notably, the concept of Shen correlates beautifully with emerging scientific understandings of the heart-brain connection. Emily Nyberg DCM, LAc notes that through Shen, the heart communicates with each of the organs, mediating the diverse expressions of the emotional body (e.g. grief associated with the lungs, anger with the liver). Emily points out that through the TCM worldview:

“there is no bad emotion…they all have a purpose in our lives. We need to feel each emotion, anger, sadness, worry, fear, and joy to fully appreciate and experience the full range of each of them in our lives. "Pathology" as it relates to mental and emotional health emerges when we become stuck in any one state. Being stuck in a state of worry and rumination can have negative impacts on our Spleen, being unable to recognize and healthfully express anger can build up as stagnant Liver Qi and heat in our bodies—our emotions impact our bodies. Chinese Medicine can be used to support us in accessing the full range and expression of our emotions in our bodies and supporting our overall wellbeing.”

Black History, Community Acupuncture, and Love

The history of community acupuncture in the United States is inseparable from Black history. In 1970 in New York City, a group of activists including the Black Panther Party and the Young Lords developed a model of acupuncture to support people with addiction using a simple but highly effective auricular (ear) acupuncture protocol, offered in a community setting. Today, the NADA protocol practiced at Lincoln Detox Center is used throughout the globe, and the community-based model they created was the genesis of community acupuncture as we know it today. Among the practitioners was the late Dr. Mutulu Shakur, acupuncturist and co-founder of the Black Acupuncture Advisory Association of North America (B.A.A.N.A), as well as stepfather of artist Tupac Shakur. Importantly, Dr. Shakur spent 37 years incarcerated as a political prisoner; to learn more of this history, check out the Dope Is Death documentary and podcast.

And hey, speaking of community acupuncture…for Valentine’s Day weekend, we are offering a Community Acupuncture special: Thursday February 13th through Sunday February 16th you can bring a partner, friend, or loved one to community acupuncture for only $20, or for Community Cupping and Acupuncture for a special price of $35. This is a wonderful way to connect with someone you love, sharing the healing energy of acupuncture alongside one another in our Community Room. You will also each receive a special herbal tea mixture featuring the Chinese herb Mei Gui Hua (rose flower), in addition to a small container of our Palestinian olive oil based hand salve.

Love and Bodywork

What’s love got to do with bodywork? At MIHS, so very much.

Eli Pedersen CMT, one of our incredibly gifted and experienced bodyworkers, is offering an Intro to Bodywork Couples Massage Class on Friday February 21st 5:30-7PM. In this introduction to bodywork group lesson Eli will use their expertise to guide you to share specialized back, shoulder, neck, hand and foot massage with your partner. In addition to relaxation and pain relief, you’ll enhance your connection and relationship skills.

Derrick Lundberg CMT, says of his practice, “Myofascial Release is love. As we soften into our beings, and allow ourselves to resonate, we find the opportunity for true healing.”

Well damn, Derrick. Derrick’s words are so beautiful, I’ll let him take it from there:

“The human being is a heart-centered being programmed for love. It is only through cultural programming and assumptions of our own belief system that we assume that we ought to behave in any other way. As we allow ourselves to soften into resonance with our true being, we can start to recognize the patterns in our mind that keep us from loving: others, our bodies, ourselves.

Myofascial Release and Craniosacral Therapy work from the outside, recognizing how these assumptions are projected through our physical form: by holding space for these patterns to play out, we are offered opportunities to un-encapsulate these "energy cysts” and patterns of the mind which play out as our "fascial Straight Jacket."

From this place…we can allow the resonance of our heart to expand beyond our own perspective, and include that of the other, thus engendering compassion, empathy, and the patience to recognize that we are co-creating this experience here on earth, and it is human nature to be loving, compassionate, and kind…only through the lens of our scars do we assume that it ought to be any other way, and that is the healing process: cleaning the lens of our paradigm until we see nothing but the truth.”

Yoga, Loving kindness, and the Heart Chakra

Nadia Alsadi E-RYT is offering two yin yoga classes this month focused on loving kindness and the heart chakra: Yin Yoga + Metta Meditation on Thursday February 6th 6pm to 7pm, and Heart Chakra Yin Yoga Saturday Feb 15th 9:30am to 10:30am. Metta, or “loving kindness” meditation is an ancient tradition backed up by modern science, associated with improvements in compassion for self and others, “prosocial” emotions, and even decreased implicit bias. And what more perfect way to spend Valentine’s weekend than with heart-focused yoga practice? Learn more about Metta here, and the heart chakra here.

Reiki and Heart Energy

Sharing Reiki with clients, I find there is often a particular potency in working on the heart area. Just a few moments with hands over the heart can evoke beautiful imagery, the release of long-held emotions, a sense of opening, calm and comfort.

In Reiki philosophy, three types of “Ki” (life force energy) are represented: Earth, Heaven, and Heart Ki. Heart Ki is seen as the bridge between Earth and Heaven, located in the center of the chest. Accessing Heart energy is believed to allow a person:

“to shine, radiating light to all directions. Hurt, pain, resentment…stress, anger and fear are all resolved in this light, inviting more forgiveness, love, peace and compassion into a practitioner's life…focus moves to the big picture, rather than immediate problems. Issues are dealt with easily and energy is not wasted on worry or fear.” Steine, The Japanese Art of Reiki

Gift Giving Supercharged with Love

We are expanding our heart-centered retail offerings more each month. We still have Extra Virgin Olive Oil straight from MIHS owner Said Isayed’s family olive tree groves in Al-Khalil (Hebron), Palestine. The olives are hand-picked from trees that have been in his family for generations, with some of the olive trees as old as 600 years. Handpicked in Palestine, the olives are pressed at a community olive press, and shipped directly here. For the month of February, when you purchase a gift card worth at least $50 and you will receive a gift of one 250mL bottle of Palestinian olive oil (available in store only). We also have glorious Za’atar from Alsaeed for Herb and Spice in Al-Khalil, a multigenerational business that has been in Said’s family since the 1800s.

Finally, we are honored to be featuring the Watermelon Collection by local artist Katayoun Amjadi, a fundraiser for the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA). These gorgeous watermelon pieces include a heart-shaped pin created last year to commemorate Valentine’s for Gaza. Watermelon pins and keychains are offered here in person at MIHS when you contribute a minimum of $25 directly to Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA). You can also donate directly to MECA here, and find out more about Katayoun’s work here.

Our hearts are powerful. The love they generate is medicinal. When tended to, our hearts allow us the range of emotions necessary to hold the magnitude of history, to meet the moment we are in—and to co-create more loving futures for all of us.

To find out more about Minnesota Integrative Health Studio services, check out our website. You can book online here. Questions? Feel free to contact us, call (612.345.5648), at or stop by “the studio” on our corner of northeast Minneapolis.