Vital Living Newsletter – November 2021

A Few Background Notes on
Vital Living Spiritual Organization

Although we had been working on the concept for many years, on June 21, 2020 Nicole and I officially created and committed to dedicating ourselves to a non-denominational spiritual organization, Vital Living, based on very specific tenets (principles or beliefs) and doctrines (teachings) as listed on our website. On January 11, 2021 we were granted 501C3 exempt status by the IRS as a public charity. Since then we have been blessed with a growing membership, and have offered a community playshop and monthly outdoor music  mini concerts at the farm. Our intention is to continue our concerts, increase our community playshops, work on a curriculum for Vital Living Practitioners, and now we have regular monthly e-newsletters, as well as gatherings and services at the farm and a U-tube live streaming link for those of you who are unable to join us in person! We look forward to sharing more with you!

Mahalo for your support! Dr. Lori

Comments by Dr. Lori on vitalism, the vital force, the Vis

Tenet #4 speaks of vitalism so I thought it might be a good place to start, considering the name of our organization, Vital Living. Vitalism is a worldview quite different from the more familiar mechanistic material worldview. Vital Living is a way of living rooted in Vitalism, the teaching that life originates in a vital principle, and that there is a vital force operating in all living organisms that cannot be reduced or explained simply by physical or chemical factors. Vital living is the wild mysterious essence of being alive and being awake and aware of this vital force, the divine great creative intelligence or energy, the innate intelligence inherent in the patterns and processes of nature and all living organisms (tenet #4). Some call this God, the Vis, Nature, the Great Spirit, mana, prana, ki, chi etc, each according to their own truth. We call it the Vis, which is Latin for power or force. In Vital Living we believe the true healer is “Vis Medicatrix Naturae” “the healing power of nature” which always repairs, heals and restores the balance of all things.

Most of my childhood and much of my 20s was filled with chronic pain, IBS, sporadic allergies, manic depression, anxiety and the list goes on. All with no real relief. Between the pharmaceuticals that seemed to only bring more problems and the many doctors saying they had no real answers for me, I was left with passionate questions and a constant nagging thought – “There Has to be more.” So I set on a journey to discover that there IS more, and it just so happens to be right in front of our eyes and within our very own bodies.

Learning how to breathe properly (yes, that is a thing), reprogramming myself to drink enough water and to eat more plants – organic plants (yes, that’s a thing, too) were simple, but powerful stepping stones to getting me on the right track to healing. Then to learn that we are made of energy, and our thoughts, our words, our beliefs, our feelings, our habits and our surroundings all have an effect on the overall energy I am experiencing and emitting blew my mind but made Absolute sense to me.

I dove in, created healthier habits and healed many of those health challenges! My journey also brought me to specializing in and utilizing Sound (vibration), energy, breath and working with the mind to help both myself and others overcome health challenges, which I am happy to share with our Vital Living Ohana.

Through the years I’ve come to realize there are a myriad of different paths when it comes to achieving strong health naturally. Thanks to Vital Living, those paths and tools no longer have to be in the shadows. May this community support you in empowering yourself with the natural tools that suit You best in Your unique human experience!
www.SuperNovaEnergetics.com

Vitality is the vibrancy or quality of our well-being. Our vital essence is that which sustains, energizes, & animates us. This essence is present in all things and is the life force energy which rides on the breath. So working with our breath is an incredibly powerful tool to balance and boost our vitality. It’s free, it’s with you always and the benefits are instant. Just take a deep Breath.

The pace and depth of breath communicates to brain and body about the state we are in. Begin watching your breath throughout your day, becoming aware of it in different moments. When agitated, worried or stressed check in with your breath. Perhaps you will find it is shallow, or rapid, you may even be holding your breath. In these moments we are in the sympathetic nervous system, “fight flight or freeze”. Many of us may even feel “stuck” in this response. I think we can all relate to finding ourselves here a bit too often these past couple of years! 

But here’s the magic. While the breath will automatically shift according to external situations, it works the other way too! With an intentional slower deeper inhale/exhale, you send signals to the body and brain that everything is OK. Thoughts, feelings and functions will reflect this. Balance and calm will follow as well the physical benefits. With conscious breath. Able to shift intentionally into our parasympathetic nervous system. This is our “Relax, Rest, Digest. “ The chill state. 

Full rhythmic breath engages the diaphragm, massaging our lower organs promoting digestive and reproductive health. “Belly breathing” also engages the Vagus nerve, the major parasympathetic nerves which carry information between the brain, organs, entire body. This is our gut-brain connection. Mindful breath keeps our vagus healthy and activated; lowering cortisol, blood pressure, and boosting immunity. Decreasing inflammation, anxiety & depression. Increasing deeper sleep & feelings like connectedness, contentment and love.

There are breathwork methods and techniques you can explore for just about any and every need, whether thats finding calm in the storm or a needed energy boost. But to start you can really just become more present with it. With awareness we begin to habituate the breathing patterns that bring balance to our mindset and emotions,but also our nervous system, immune function, and more. 

Below a basic breath connection you can use anytime to restore peace and relaxation quickly.  

Bring gentle focus to the belly and the heart, placing hands here is helpful. Take a slow full breath through the nose to allowing  the belly to fill like a balloon a then draw it up (or take an extra inhale) to rise like a wave up into the chest. Filling up the heart space, expanding the rib cage to the sides. Hold here for a few seconds. Now slowly release. Big sigh exhale, let it all go. (An audible sound and extended exhale are the quickest way to shift into relax mode) 

Repeat until calm. 

How amazing that our greatest ally is also the most overlooked. Simply put, when we expand the quality of our breath we can expand the quality of our life, our vitality. 

There are many ways to nourish our vitality! Just as exercise, healthy food, and sufficient sleep are needed to keep body and mind fit, so is music. It was almost a decade ago when the medical community discovered the correlation between music and a stronger immune system. 
According to an article by Live Science, making music also “enhances the immunological response, which enables us to fight viruses.”

Learning to play an instrument has also been shown to cultivate creativity, reduce stress, enhance coordination, use almost every part of the brain, increase memory capability, and foster healthy social connections. So consider putting down your phone and picking up an instrument. In Hawaii we are blessed with the sweet ukulele. Ukuleles are very affordable and easy to play.
islandkambo.com

As a naturopathic physician I am aware that life will constantly look for an opportunity to begin. That could be in the form of vitality or pathogen. Where there is the opportunity for growth, growth will occur. To live in a vital way is to nurture the soil where the seed is to grow; to nourish the temple so that the biology that emerges is life giving. From our microbiome to our thoughts, there are many players in the human field, and they all work together for the greater good of the whole.

Water is one of my favorite modalities for healing. Simply dipping in a cold spring or walking through a forest triggers a cascade of events in the body that fortifies immunity and calms the nervous system. Vitamin N for nature is the best medicine there is. Oh, and there’s dancing! Something about dancing like nobody cares does incredible things for the human body.  Stuck energy dissipates, vitality soars.  Dance your heart out, get daily sunshine and fresh air, and nourish your temple to discover your optimal health and well being!

Special Mahalo!

There have been so many of you who have volunteered your time an energy to our growing organization and we sincerely appreciate you! We wanted to give a special thanks to our wonderful ambassadors (meet them on our website) Jiah@Mediadrink for our website, Babatunji Heath our concert organizer and acting secretary and treasurer, Jason Forester for concert live sound, Skinz of Ayurveda for the People for website video and streaming services, and all the amazing and talented musicians that have joined us so far, The Stephen Inglis Project, DNA Muse, The Elevations, The Doolin Rakes, The Remainders, Honolulu Jazz Quartet, Jamarek, Alika Lyman and the Good News, Hook and Line, Kahnma, and Tiki Taboo! And there will be many more to come! Mahalo, we love you!
Nicole and Lori

Save the date for our next service!
January 22, 2022
5 – 7pm