Using Acupressure Through a School Gun Threat

Let’s face it. School staff shouldn’t need to figure out what to do if something goes haywire, like a gun threat. That craziness shouldn’t be happening at any school, especially a Kindergarten-Grade 6.

But that’s what did happen at Penngrove Elementary School when the staff received a call during recess from a guy who said he was coming to the school with a gun because he was not being allowed to speak to his kid. The call immediately created a two-hour lockdown in which the students were led into rooms with their teachers.

Two hours must have felt like ten when trying to keep a room of kids quiet and calm.

The teachers pulled it off.

The story is that they made it into a game for the younger children to ease tension and avoid scaring them. The games continued when it was time to evacuate by school buses to the local fire station, which became a “field trip”.

That was the “event” day.

But what about the residuals? What about how the parents felt after they were told about the threat and then they had to wait for their children to show up at the fire station?

Understandably, those parents were anxious because they had no way to assist in the situation. What about what some kids were dealing with that night and the following days? What about the staff who managed to keep it together and keep their students engaged and calm during the fiasco but then had to deal with the aftereffects?

Even when it seems like everyone is holding it together, the emotions running under the surface are fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. A child who suddenly gets anxious can easily create a stream of reactions that spreads to others. If an adult who is one of the supervisors get anxious, then the kids will quickly pick up on that feeling.

The key is maintaining a calm and safe environment, which comes from almost everyone there BEING in that peaceful space. It was lucky that the Penngrove staff were exceptional at fulfilling that goal.

Post Event Acupressure Support

Many of the older students also remembered what to do to keep calm even in a stressful situation. They recalled how to do self-help acupressure I’d taught them at a previous school assembly. Their parents and school staff had also participated in related workshops.

About a week after the school fiasco, I had the opportunity to spend time with the kindergarteners and some older students. I was there to connect with anyone feeling residuals from that crazy day.

The purpose was just to be there, listen to their stories, and help them understand that their feelings were natural reactions. And teach them self-help acupressure, which people of all ages can use to handle stress, relieve anxiousness, and let go of being overwhelmed.

Acupressure can help you accomplish that because it helps your body experience energetic balance, expand the breath, create calmness and grounding, feel safe, and rediscover joy and peace by letting go of the pattern of reaction to trauma.

The kindergartners were engaged and interacting as I showed them how to breathe deeper, even when something scary happened. One little guy, who was having a pretty hard day, was even able to calm down when I showed him and his classmates how to do the “jumper cables”.

Doing the jumper cables is the last step in the Daily Clean Your House Flow®, a nine-step self-help acupressure flow I wrote years ago for my clients and students. It’s easy to learn and easy to do.

Here’s a fun, animated video you can download to learn the easy steps. Get the Daily Clean Your House Flow video.

What those 5- and 6-year-olds experienced was a way to find calm and expansion of breath. They didn’t need to know everything else they were accomplishing. They just felt the space of ease.

To do the jumper cables, gently cup each thumb and finger, starting with the thumb on one hand and doing all the fingers. Then go to the next hand. When you do this, you’re connecting with all emotions and helping your body let go of anything jamming up the breath.

When I was with the older students, many KNEW what I was talking about and showed ME what they do for calm and expanded breath! I heard comments like, “It works even when it’s a really bad day, like what happened last week.”

They knew because I’d been with them for that school assembly, and I taught them the Daily Clean Your House Flow, as well as several other acupressure movements they could do to help with clarity and focus, to succeed at whatever they wanted to do better, and to feel healthier.

This was the most popular acupressure pose for calm and breath:

• With one hand, cup the sternum directly below the collarbones.
• With the other hand, hold your fingers on your tummy.

This pose works so well that it can even make a difference when you feel super anxious, like a student who doesn’t feel safe in a drill and has to go under the desk.

This video is an excerpt of a previous assembly I did showing the kids some tips on how to balance their energy and prepare for anxious moments. You’ll even see a 7-year-old share what she does when preparing for working through a drill.

So, imagine offering this information and tool for your students’ toolkits. Take it further and imagine offering these same techniques to your educators, staff, and parents. Imagine your entire school community having a toolkit that allows them a way to get on the other side of stress, anxiousness, overwhelm, fear, worry, anger, and even sadness.

Imagine THAT information making a difference if something terrible happens in your school. We don’t want the bad to happen, but it’s all about being proactive to be able to manage stress in high-anxiety situations.

And, no matter what, your students will be more empowered with a toolkit that enhances focus, clarity, and performance, supports a cooperative learning environment, and helps them achieve their potential.

Please contact me to get more acupressure information for yourself, your family, or your school community.

Upcoming Workshop – December 4

Are you overwhelmed by the demands of the holiday season?

Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!

Give yourself the gift of joy and calm.

In just 90 minutes, using only your fingertips, discover how self-help acupressure can

• Reduce stress and anxiety
• Balance your emotions
• Get and keep you healthy
• Improve your sleep
• Create ways to be in gratitude and appreciate yourself

This Ultimate Holiday Survival Bootcamp is for the whole family, people of all ages. It works for both kids and adults and will give you the tools you need to become centered and grounded even during holiday events.

NO CHARGE! This event is Free!

Get all the event details and register today.

Finding Joy and Ease Amid Our Topsy-Turvy World

Topsy Turvy

It is not unusual to discover new crisis announcements every day during these troubled times. Dire proclamations provoke deep unease and may put you in a state of hyper-vigilance. And repeated disturbing news may create a sense of anxiety that takes your breath away. What happens if you burden yourself with anxiousness and dread? The trick is to acknowledge the sentiments that come up for you and help your body let go of harmful reactions.

I want to give you some of my favorite self-help acupressure tips to do that!

These easy-to-do acupressure movements will:

• expand breath
• let go of anxiety
• reduce stress reactions
• help you sleep even with so much on your mind
• and boost your immune system.

Energetic Balance

Your body prefers to be in energetic balance. You need to help your body experience balance and harmony. You are training your body what it feels like to be in balance. When you do, your physical, mental, and emotional bodies will take better care of you.

Help Your Body

A daily practice of easy self-care acupressure helps your body. A balanced immune system can fend off anxiety and stress despite what is happening in the world.

Hold your fingertips on the following acupressure points with a light and gentle touch for several good breaths:

1. Open up your breath. Give yourself a hug by holding your fingertips anywhere on your elbows or upper arms. You’re holding energy points that connect with lung and diaphragm breath. This will expand your breath. You will experience a full inhale followed by a purging exhale.
2. Bring on better sleep! Hold your fingertips on the base of your skull and you will connect with a “sleep center.” Follow with jumper cables—cup and hold each thumb and finger with a light touch.
3. Boost your immune system and it will better be able to take care of you!

• Right hand—cup right shoulder with fingertips where neck and shoulder come together.
• Left hand—hold fingers at left chest immediately below the collarbone.
• Switch hands.

Prepare your body for difficult times

Make the Daily Clean Your Houseflow your go-to daily practice for balancing your energy. A daily practice makes your system more receptive to nurturing.  Many of my clients start and end every day doing the Daily Clean Your House Flow—a 9-step self-help acupressure flow that provides your body with a firm foundation. The flow supports all the organs and systems of the body. You are preparing your systems for performing at optimum levels—bringing stability, strength and vitality to your entire body.

You can find the Daily Clean Your House Flow on my website, deborahmyerswellness.com. Click on the purple button “Learn the Daily Flow” and you’ll get a PDF of the 9 steps, and more energy tips.

I encourage you to view the animated video of the Daily Clean Your House Flow. I created it for kids, and adults love it as much as any kid. Watch it in its entirety on my website at deborahmyerswellness.com/covid19at no charge. I want anyone who is searching for a way to let go of stress and anxiety to enjoy free access during this distressing, unnerving time. Do your body a favor and check out the video. You’ll see why kids, parents, and teachers love this 6-½ minute video for helping to create a more carefree and happier body.

Spending time every day taking care of YOU assists your body to get to that place of balance and harmony. Your body will know you are taking care of it. A daily practice might include self-help acupressure, meditation, exercise, walking, enjoying Mother Nature, gardening, singing, dancing, resting when you need to, reading, writing. The list of what could be part of your daily practice is up to you. Choose the activities that help your body feel better and more vital, including what brings a smile to your face.

My desire for you is to experience joy and ease!

Changing Patterns

I love being around young children. One reason is that I’ve never grown up, and I love to play! Could also be because they can so quickly go from one project to another and just have fun! They can change patterns with ease.

Another reason is that I love how they so easily step into whatever they notice is making a positive difference in their lives and make sure they keep on doing it. I see that in every family and every classroom that starts using the Daily Clean Your House Flow™.

Ask young folks what they’re noticing different in their lives and you’ll get answers!

When I was in Minnesota visiting family, I showed my two great nieces the Daily Clean Your House Flow animated video. The 7-year-old was thrilled! Presley loved the video itself and with a great big smile said, “Aunt Deb, I’m feeling this buzzy happening.” Morgan, the 9-year-old was introduced to self-help acupressure through her mom, and grandma saw that it was a fun way to do her energy work. And she loved the book I’ve written.

The next day, Morgan shared what she had learned with her teacher, and he invited her to teach her classmates. They sat around in a circle, and she walked them through the Daily Flow. The next day the same scenario took place. That happened to be the day of standardized testing. The teacher noticed something different in the room. His students were calm, focused and not in angst over the test. And they did better than ever before.

Show and Tell

Mr. Weiss asked Morgan whether Aunt Deb would be able to come to the classroom, show the video and teach them about self-care. Well, of course, I’m going to show up for that and luckily there was one more day before I had to leave.

Mr. Weiss and I had a great conversation before the students filed into the classroom. He said that it was noticeable how centered the kids were for the test the day before. And how the Daily Flow had helped with calming and breathing.

Meet the Author

The 4^th graders were thrilled that a “real author” was in their classroom, and they had lots of questions about writing a book. They, of course, were all over the animated video. I had to tell them I wasn’t the illustrator! But we spent time talking about how the video came about. And they loved how much fun it was to do the Daily Flow to the video.

And then came the questions about acupressure and what they can do for themselves. Keep in mind that this group of kids were never previously introduced to acupressure or energy balancing. They did not know about acupuncture so I couldn’t make a comparison. So I had lots of fun teaching and sharing. I loved that the kids realized that THEY can make changes happen. Changing patterns is easy when you know how. Questions revolved around aches and pain, studying and tests, doing better in sports and activities.

In the end, I said, “So you’ve now done the Daily Clean Your House Flow three days in a row. I’m getting that many of you plan to continue doing the Daily Flow. Right???  So what change have you seen that makes you WANT to do the Daily Clean Your House Flow?”

What Kids Say

Their responses brought smiles to my face:

• One girl said, “I slept last night. That is different.”
• Another said, “My brother and I are getting along. Now that’s crazy.”
• And a young man said, “I don’t like tests, and I never do good. Yesterday I did good on the test.”

Now, really? Nine-year-olds not sleeping? Nine-year-olds stressed over studying and tests? Kids recognizing that a relationship had changed in three days? That had to be a significant shift for it to be aware of it.

Changing Patterns

I’m excited that kids are seeing changes happening when they do their Daily Clean Your House Flow! Check out the website to read more comments from the children, their teachers, and their parents. Go to www.dailycleanyourhouseflow.com to see the first 90 seconds of the animated video and see how easy it is for both kids and adults to learn and then want to do their daily energy work!

Practicing to be Santa!

Practicing to be Santa!

The act of giving is a big one for children to discover. It truly can become an art — but to get to that point we have to do a lot of practicing. It’s like practicing to be Santa!

Artful Giving

When you were a child do you remember ever having that moment when you were supposed to give someone else a gift that you really wanted to keep for yourself? That was a big one — to go through that experience and then to realize that once we got over the trauma and drama, we really could feel good about it. It was the memory of the “feeling good” that created the space for more of the same to occur. And from there, the pattern of artful giving was shaped.

Experiencing Joy in our Bodies

The journey to feeling good and experiencing joy is one that is super important. All parts of our bodies (physical, mental, and emotional) want to be happy and be in a place of energetic balance and harmony. A body that is in balance doesn’t have to work so hard to not have unhappiness or stress or anxiety. It just more easily moves to that place — without effort!

Once the pattern for “feeling good” is part of our make-up, the body will  find ways to be there — including that place of “giving just because it feels good.” And, let’s face it — this is the time of year to feel really good about giving because it’s such a big part of the holiday season.

To help your children more easily discover that “I want to give” mode and be like Santa, try these energy tips:

1. Gently cup middle fingers to help let go of frustration. (Helps let go of frustration, including any that is about giving when “I don’t want to”).
2. Hold upper arms by folding arms across the chest. (Helps bring in breath which will let go of any anxiety. Anxiety can come from being uncomfortable with what is happening which will cause breath holding).
3. Hold right fingers at area of heart and hold left fingers at base of ribcage. (Helps connect feelings of happiness and love with breath).
4. Hold right fingers on left cheek and hold left fingers below left collarbone. (Helps with ability to fully express feelings, thoughts, words).

Doing the Daily Clean Your House Flow on a daily basis can go a long way to helping your children be happy and healthy. That will create a firm foundation. The extra energy tips create even more “letting go and finding balance.”

Enjoy the season! And have fun giving and being Santa!

Ensuring Student Success

Thanks to our School Professionals!!!

There are so many people who play a part in ensuring the success of students. American Education Week is a dedicated time to recognize all those professionals who touch the lives of our children: teachers, administrators, counselors, office staff, food service employees, health care employees, safety officers, custodial and maintenance employees.

Each and every one of them help keep schools running and students safe, healthy and ready to learn. Student achievement is a reality when they receive quality education. Without all of these professionals we would not have a school environment that creates the space for education to be a journey in discovery.

Good Memories of School

Do you have memories of school being fun, engaging, beneficial, and worthwhile and that you wanted to be there? I’m lucky to say those qualities are what I experienced when I was a young student, and that it was primarily the adults who were on the school campus who brought that to fruition. They fostered my desire to study and learn, and to have fun doing so.

Creating Success for Our Kids

Maybe its those memories that brought me to the place of wanting to create a program that allows teachers to have classrooms that are calmer and more productive, to have students who aren’t anxious and stressed and have more clarity and focus. However I got there, I am passionate about bringing the possibility of that environment to our schools. My animated video of a self-help acupressure flow is helping teachers and parents create a balanced calm space — at school and at home.

Check out the first 90 seconds of the six minute video called the Daily Clean Your House Flow. Teachers and parents are saying, “This makes a huge difference at school and at home.” And kids are saying, “Everything is easier.” Studying, doing homework, taking tests,  sports, music – kids are having more success in all they do. And they’re having fun learning an easy way to get there!

And that’s what they should experience! Life should be filled with successful moments that give them the inclination to keep on being involved, trying, learning and stepping into their potential. I love hearing kids telling me the good things, the happy moments, the “I like being in school,” and “my teacher is the best,” and “I’m doing better.”

And I know that teachers and school staff feel the very same way. Otherwise they wouldn’t be doing what they do – helping children step into being the best they can be. Thanks to ALL of you who are there every day for your students!

Homework Battles – A Thing Of The Past!

Homework Battles – A Thing Of The Past!

Has homework made your household a daily battleground?  Let’s face it — for your children to be successful at school, homework is a necessary thing to do. But a lot of kids have a real hard time getting beyond the “it’s no fun.” Guess what? It often times isn’t fun for them! But then here you come — requiring an action that butts up against their belief and you have a battle.

The key is to help them change their belief  from “it’s no fun” to “it is a part of the day that is enjoyable.” It’s all about changing their perception which in turn can change the pattern that is in place.

Change the Pattern

Here’s the clincher, patterns can be changed! We can do it by moving the blocked energy that has been getting and keeping your children stuck in their old way of being. And, even better — it will be super easy. It’s all about getting the mind and actions to match up so new patterns have a chance to become automatic and natural for your child. To help that new pattern replace the old one, you can do self-help acupressure. And, it will happen faster if you have a consistent daily practice.

The Power of a Daily Practice

I know a lot of families who are doing the Daily Clean Your House Flow to start the day and then again before homework. The Daily Flow is a acupressure flow that adults and children can easily do. One parent says, “I’m blown away by how much easier it is to start the day, get my kids to school, and then how there are no more bouts of anger and frustration around homework. It just gets done and I’m no longer the mean mom. And it only takes us 6 minutes each time. That is good use of time for all of us.”

To see how easy the whole process is, try holding these acupressure points to help open up and expand breath.

• Hold your upper arms by folding your arms across your chest.
• Then, while still holding your right fingertips on your left arm, move your left hand to the base of your right ribcage.

You have just touched three separate points that when held in conjunction with each other, remind your body to breathe.

See How Easy It Is To Not Have A Battleground!

It’s that simple! I have a lot of other “pointers” (pun intended!) on my website. Go to www.dailycleanyourhouseflow.com to see what I suggest for you and your family! And see the first 90 seconds of a 6 minute animated video of the Daily Clean Your House Flow.

You will discover that you no longer need to be the battalion chief. And that you and your kids will have more fun — even when doing homework!

Self-esteem and Gratitude

Self-esteem and Gratitude

Self-esteem and gratitude. Those two really “big words” are being batted about. Have you ever thought of how they go together?   

The Building of Self-esteem

First off, let’s look at self-esteem. It is a real important attribute to have, especially for children. A child with a high level of self-esteem will easily be able to step into all the possibilities available to her because she can actually see her options. But even before she can get to that place, that thing called self-esteem needs to be shaped by perception — her own and those of important people in her life.

Then comes a sense of security and belonging, a place where there is a degree of safety and comfort. From that space, your child can move into having goals that give her purpose and direction and allow her to achieve her desires. “Your child will feel empowered and in control of events when she is able to make or influence decisions that she considers important.”

For the entire article “Helping Your Child Develop a Healthy Sense of self-esteem,” go to https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/gradeschool/Pages/Helping-Your-Child-Develop-A-Healthy-Sense-of-Self-Esteem.aspx. The American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes that our children need to be fully engaged with recognizing their possibilities before they can even take the steps to reach their end objectives.

Creating The Space For self-esteem

How do we help our children have a sense of purpose that allows them to channel their energy toward achievement and self-expression?

All of us, no matter our age, are walking around in bodies that are hungry for an energetic balance that will enable us to have clarity, have direction, be creative, be productive and experience success. We can more easily be there when we help our bodies discover what it feels like and then consistently remind them how to be in that space.

There’s an easy-to-do self-help acupressure flow called the Daily Clean Your House Flow that helps our bodies create the foundation for all that we want for our children. Check it out! There is a purpose for each of the nine poses that will assist your child to reach her full potential. And the animated video of the Daily Flow makes it a real easy and fun way to bring the routine into home life and into the classroom.

Bringing self-esteem And Gratitude Together

Now For Gratitude

It’s really quite simple how self-esteem and gratitude go together. A person who has healthy self-esteem is happy and easily functions in her day-to-day life. And that person can more easily see all the good things that happen. When we recognize and acknowledge those good things, we truly are in the space of “being in gratitude.” And that is the space where more good things come from.

In this season that is so much about recognizing what the good things are, let’s help our children discover how easy it is to be there and consistently live in a state of gratitude.

I was just telling one of my clients who is an amazing writer and poet about my self-esteem and gratitude article. Vilma proceeded to say, “self-esteem without gratitude is egoism.” There you go — self-esteem and gratitude are two really great partners in life!

May all of you have the best of the two in YOUR lives! Sending “good things energy” your way! Happy Thanksgiving!

Photo credit: Frederick Homes for Sale / Foter.com / CC BY-SA

Letting Go of Fear

Deborah Myers standing on the zip line platform

Deborah Myers rappeling from the zip line platform

Does your child experience anxiety or fear?

Do you notice how it affects their ability to be present and that it can actually create worry about the future? Frequent bouts of anxiety, worry, fear, trepidation (no matter what word is used) create a pattern that the body gets used to. THAT means the body is caught up in a state of “being in stress” which in turn creates a tendency to take the breath away and a tendency to be stuck in the emotions and the feelings.

No matter the age, these feelings are not imagined. They are THERE and can affect what we’re willing to do and/or how easily we step into the activity. We can be talking about going to school, meeting new people, studying, taking tests, playing sports, trying anything new.

An Adrenalin Rush

I love to fly through the air on zip lines. It’s an adrenalin rush for sure. But more than that, for me it is the experience of loving the feeling of freedom and joy. Several weeks ago, my kids joined me for a night time zip line for my birthday. Loved that anticipation! And I was ready. I go myself energetically centered and grounded. (I do my energy balancing before I step into the harness.)

There are usually eight people in the group, so it’s not unusual to not know everyone who you go up on the platform with. I noticed right away that a young woman in our group was in a state of worry. Even during the initial practice, she was second guessing her decision to do the zip line. By the second platform she was in a major state of fear — she had discovered an intense fear of heights that surprised her and took her breath away. By the way, when that happens, there is no going back. You have to finish the next six zip lines (there are a total of seven plus two sky bridges and a rappel). I offered some self-help acupressure tips, but by that point, she needed assistance. I taught her husband and on each of the platforms we did energy balancing (held acupressure points) before she zipped to the next platform. Long and short of it, she made it to the end, though the hardest was the very last one where you need to rappel yourself to the ground.

Perception is Your Truth

The reason for the story? The stressful experience someone is going through can be that kind of intense or it can be something that appears relatively easy to another person. My belief is that each and every “stressful experience” has a reason for showing up that way. So it needs to be addressed with “let’s change this up and make it different.” We can do that by learning and doing simple energy balancing movements that can re-pattern the body.

First Aid for Fear

Here is what did I do for that young woman on the zip line:

I did the following. And, YOU can do the same thing for your child if he or she is experiencing stress, worry, anxiety or fear. Hold each point with light, gentle touch and hold for several breaths.

• Hold your fingers at upper back near middle of shoulder blade
  (Keep that hand there while the other hand moves)
• At the same time, with other hand, hold same side upper arm above elbow
  • Move that hand to elbow, then to thumb
  • Then move to base of ribcage.

This simple movement gives the body a chance to open up lungs and diaphragm and open up breath.

And you can do this in the midst of the “anxious moment” or as prevention! The body wants to be in flow, not be stuck in  “I’m not okay with this way of being”. We just need to show it how to get there and stay there!

Let me know how it works for you!

Happy Kids Make for Happy Lives for Everyone!

Originally posted on Health at Your Fingertips blog.

It’s summer time! And life is super full — especially if you have children in your life. Whether you’re a parent or a grandparent or a caregiver or a teacher in hiatus — some portion of some days are spent keeping those kids happy. Happy means that they are active with something that keeps their attention and that they are content with what is happening. All of requires that they are content within their bodies. What on earth do I mean by that??!!

Content within our bodies means that our bodies are in a place of ease and balance, that our bodies are energetically prepared for what we’re going to ask them to do and prepared for what might come at them. THAT means we will have clarity and focus, ease in actual physical movement and ease in creative expression. In addition, balance brings the ability to handle our emotions so they don’t get too big, take our breath away and cause us to get stuck IN the emotion.

For example, have you ever noticed that irritation can sometimes lead to frustration and maybe even anger? When we don’t address our reaction to what is creating the irritation, it can quickly turn into a bigger, more intense emotion. That increase will be what takes our breath away and causes us to be in the throes of the emotion and then everything escalates.

So imagine what a child is experiencing when all of what I have described is happening and they have no experience in how to handle irritation or frustration or anger. Dealing with emotions so they don’t get too big is a learning journey. You can help the children in your life more easily experience their emotions, get the information they need from the emotions, and gain life lessons.

Here’s how! Show them the Daily Clean Your House Flow! And see how much easier life can be — for them and for you.

You will notice: increased attention span, reduced stress, improved performance, improved health with less illness, increased cooperation, less acting out and increased self-esteem.