Finding Balance within The Body, A Holistic Approach to Self-Care and Creativity

Self-care has become an increasingly important part of our daily routine, and for good reason. By taking care of oneself through exfoliating and washing the body, one can experience physical and mental benefits and inspire creativity and a sense of well-being. Finding balance within the body through a holistic approach and self-care provides physical and mental benefits that can unleash your creativity and peace in an unexpected but exciting way.

Exfoliating and washing your body with a washcloth is a simple but effective self-care practice that can provide a wide range of holistic benefits beyond physical cleansing. Using a washcloth not only helps remove dead skin cells, dirt, and oil from the skin's surface but can also stimulate blood circulation, promote relaxation, and boost creativity.

Physical Benefits of Exfoliating

Exfoliating your skin removes dead skin cells, dirt, and oil that can clog pores and cause damage to the skin. By improving circulation through washing, the body's largest organ can benefit from increased oxygen and nutrients, improving overall health.  

Gently rubbing your skin during exfoliation can be compared to rubbing away negative energy. Just as negative energy can accumulate in the body. By gently rubbing these impurities away, you release negative energy and allow positive energy to flow through the body. This can lead to a sense of renewal and rejuvenation, both physically and mentally.

Mental Benefits of Exfoliating

Using a washcloth to cleanse your body and care for yourself can be therapeutic and provide a sense of peace and tranquility as well. The repetitive motion of scrubbing can be calming and meditative, and exfoliating and washing your body can also be a great, noninvasive tool and restorative practice, allowing you to focus on the present moment and let go of stress and anxiety. This can be particularly beneficial for those who struggle with anxiety or find it difficult to quiet their minds.

The Holistic Experience Creative Benefits 

In addition to the physical and mental benefits of using a washcloth, exfoliating and washing your body can also have creative benefits. When you take the time to care for yourself, you send a message to your subconscious that you are worth the time and effort. This can increase self-esteem and confidence, inspiring creativity and a sense of well-being.

Using washcloths can effectively help prevent infections and promote healthy skin. While some may associate washcloths with lower socioeconomic status or certain cultural practices, it is essential to recognize that using a washcloth is a simple and effective hygiene practice that can benefit everyone.

So, the next time you take a shower or bath, take a few extra minutes to exfoliate and wash your body, and enjoy the holistic benefits that come with it.

It's time to rethink New Year's resolutions.

It's no secret that we all have the best intentions when creating New Year's resolutions. However, wouldn't it be revolutionary if the time reserved for making resolutions was used differently? Maybe if instead of creating resolutions to make changes on January 1st, this annual tradition would be pushed back until the first day of spring? This kind of thinking could mark a new beginning for how we are transitioning into a new year. This would give us January, February, and a bit of March to prepare for the new year and set the tone for what the rest of the year could look like.

Nature provides a helpful example for this approach. The dead of winter is a time of hibernation, and as mammals, our bodies may also benefit from a period of rest and reflection during this time. Rather than jumping into new goals and resolutions on January 1st, we can use the early months of the year for self-reflection and establishing a foundation of peace within ourselves. This will give us time to set realistic goals and intentions.

To make the most of this time, try incorporating some of these activities, contemplation tools, and restorative art practices:

• Spend time in nature and take daily walks, even if it's cold outside.

• Practice mindfulness and meditation to help clear your mind and find inner peace.

• Engage in restorative art practices such as painting, drawing, or writing to express yourself creatively and find relaxation.

• Take time to journal and reflect on the past year and set intentions for the new year.

• Practice self-care and prioritize rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation.

By starting the new year in March, we can set ourselves up for success and make the most of the early months of the year.

---

1864 - Cultural Erasure

Featured at The Movements Toward Inclusive Education wall installation at Lesley University.

In 1864, national legislation was created barring Native Americans from being educated in their own language and retaining their identities.

I made a visual reaction piece to highlight the consequence of this decision, of the forced practice of the "Americanizing" of indigenous peoples. A portion of my artwork depicts numerous generations of women, depicting sending girls to boarding schools, chopping their hair, forcing them to speak English, and denying them the ability to identify with their culture.

So, I wanted to spotlight the symbolism of language, identity, and generations of women, and how these topics relate to one another, how one decision made creates a vast impact on numerous generations that is visible over time with the feeling and a sense of emptiness and not knowing who you are because of something taken away from you. Not because of your choice, but because of fear and forcing control over someone else's rights.

I'm intentional about the layering of symbols and images in my work. I layer symbols and pictures with purpose. I combine photos of the boarding schoolgirls with a young woman representing the future generation of hope and transformation. She wears a colorful tulip headpiece in the composition, conveying a sense of cultivation, growth, and beauty. She's taking a stance attempting to figure out who she is, and while she's not sure, she has a sense of her spirit carrying all of history and remembering the truth within herself.

This young woman is imbued with the spirit and presence of a female ancestor. This is where you can see the silhouette of an older woman with black and long hair and features that resemble a fur coat; she represents her culture's actual identity.

I believe it is critical that we, as allies, have this discourse because we do not have enough dialogues about indigenous people in this nation and the injustices perpetrated against them. And that's crucial because we need unity, and the only way to get that is via conversations like this, so this is my reaction piece.

When you buy this print, 100% of the proceeds go to a Native American small business and community.

Black Woman You Are Beautiful!

“She is vivid, bright, sharp, and colorful. She is fierce and unapologetically herself. ”

— Nadege D. TO

I long for the day when I'm clear as glass. Pristine and reflective, casting rainbow prisms from my clarity of mind. I have no film, stains, or scratches; I'm washed and shining in the sun's radiant light peering from the window of the world. I am journeying my passage to healing.

I long for the day when she can inspire me. Have you seen HER? She is vivid, bright, sharp, and colorful. She is fierce and unapologetically herself. She is not broken, torn, mourning, or lost. She has a collection of arsenals for every occasion. She is not to be fooled with.

I long for the day when I can close my eyes and not see my pain but rather the beginning of my time, where I'm created and formed new and beautiful. Where the void of nothing is filled with bright beaming light that outshines the sun, moon, and stars. My eyes and thoughts are covered by the ocean waves and cleanse by the salt of the sea.

I long for the day to be me, before they broke me, and lost HER, she who covered my soul. I am journeying my passage to healing and will find HER again.

Pain That Leads to Intention.

What inspires me about Frida Kahlo isn't just her body of work, but also her life and how her art served as an outlet for her struggles, pain, and convictions. When you look at her life from the viewer's perspective, it was as if she was born to suffer. But I find beauty in how she chose to deal with her suffering and how she used her art to capture and process her painful moments, not knowing that her work would be celebrated one day.

I used to delay pursuing my dream of being an artist because I didn't know or understand what I wanted to showcase or capture in my work. But Frida's art demonstrates that it isn't about the art itself, but rather how art can serve as a vessel for healing. I admire how she visually journaled her life and probably used it to process her pain.

"I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality."

Frida Kahlo

I've found inspiration in Frida's transparency, and my own art has evolved as I've come to understand myself better. In 2017, I created my first tribute to Frida, which was a simple depiction of her essence. But as I explored my own life and emotions, I realized that my first piece was flat and binary, and life isn't binary. In my second tribute to Frida, I added layers and confusion to represent the dynamic nature that we all encompass within ourselves.

Sometimes life turns us upside down and we don't know why or how to right ourselves. During the pandemic, I can relate to feeling like Frida in her paintings. But what's wonderful about feeling this way is that it's not forever, there is always something to learn, and we become stronger for it. If you find yourself feeling not quite yourself, try taking your feelings and processing them through art or another outlet that helps you understand yourself better. For me, it was creating my tribute to Frida.