Seetal Cheema Wellness

01/23/2024

My Goddaughter helping to sell T-shirts to raise money for - which helped her big brother with a heart transplant ❤️

05/14/2023

“The day my mother died I wrote in my journal, ‘A serious misfortune of my life has arrived.’ I suffered for more than one year after the passing away of my mother. But one night, in the highlands of Vietnam, I was sleeping in the hut in my hermitage. I dreamed of my mother. I saw myself sitting with her, and we were having a wonderful talk. She looked young and beautiful, her hair flowing down. It was so pleasant to sit there and talk to her as if she had never died. When I woke up it was about two in the morning, and I felt very strongly that I had never lost my mother. The impression that my mother was still with me was very clear. I understood then that the idea of having lost my mother was just an idea. It was obvious in that moment that my mother is always alive in me.

I opened the door and went outside. The entire hillside was bathed in moonlight. It was a hill covered with tea plants, and my hut was set behind the temple halfway up. Walking slowly in the moonlight through the rows of tea plants, I noticed my mother was still with me. She was the moonlight caressing me as she had done so often, very tender, very sweet... wonderful! Each time my feet touched the earth I knew my mother was there with me. I knew this body was not mine but a living continuation of my mother and my father and my grandparents and great-grandparents. Of all my ancestors. Those feet that I saw as ‘my’ feet were actually ‘our’ feet. Together my mother and I were leaving footprints in the damp soil.

From that moment on, the idea that I had lost my mother no longer existed. All I had to do was look at the palm of my hand, feel the breeze on my face or the earth under my feet to remember that my mother is always with me, available at any time.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh

05/10/2023

Spring is the season for wood energy in Chinese medicine. This element governs The Wood element within us governs our sense of vision, the emotion anger, and the sound shouting. Anger in healthy balance helps to create protection and boundaries, spaces for our own branches to bend and grow up to the light. Where have your branches been growing to this season?

03/28/2023

ICU clinicians often face dilemma: compassion or efficiency. Beth Israel study looks at key factors.

03/19/2023

I have these words posted up in my home and read them every day. And yes, anything is possible- even snow and rain and rain and rain in Southern California! Pictures are majestic views from thrbHuntington Gardens, February 26th.
~•~
P.S. I got new glasses, and am loving the clear frames:)
~•~

03/12/2023

“A study published in 2019 found that patients who used ma*****na on a daily or weekly basis needed up to three times the typical anaesthesia dose to stay under while they were in the operating theatre. Smoking w**d before surgery can make patients confused, irritable and sometimes even violent when they wake up. But the problems do not end there. A working paper presented in October, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, suggests that w**d can hinder recovery, too. Of the nearly 35,000 Cleveland Clinic patients assessed, those who used ma*****na within 30 days of their operation experienced 14% more pain in the day after surgery and took 7% more prescription opioids to ease it. “

As more Americans get high, medical drawbacks of ma*****na come to the fore

03/10/2023

Yessss to WOMAN!!! Reposting important history of women’s rights from - I am always surprised at how recently we came to these freedoms, and will continue to fight for these freedoms.

03/10/2023

In 2012, I left my full time position at work. I had been on a race to succeed through high school, college, medical school, anesthesia residency, pain management fellowship, and then finally acupuncture training. I was burnt out. I felt like the sacrifice for rest, for time to sleep and laugh and love, was never going to end. I was depleted. I took 8 months off and traveled. I found a new path eventually, working part time at the hospital as an anesthesiologist, and building a private practice in medical acupuncture.
~•~
During the transition, my dear yoga friend Sage told me to learn to do nothing. I needed to lie on a bolster for 15 minutes. And not move or check email or talk.
~•~
I remember thinking this was sort of waste of time… But she was right…
~•~
I needed to train myself on how to sit in Silence. How to actually Let Go. How to do Nothing at all. I opened myself to an unpredictable and new path of living, letting go of control and allowing for possibility. The space I carve out for myself is so sacred and vital, just as nourishing as a good meal and good company. The time I have for myself, whether it be two hours or ten minutes, is time for me to say “No” to the world and say “Yes” to me. I learned to let go of FOMO (fear of missing out) and embrace JOMO (joy of missing out). My true friends understand this. As they tell us before takeoff on every flight, you have to put the oxygen mask on Yourself before helping others, or you will pass out.
~•~
I share my story so that other women know that they have a Choice to Change whenever they Want to. And the definition of Success is what each one determines whenever she or he says, “I am.” I am strong, I am wise, I am pure, perfect and complete. No matter what. I am. ~•~

~•~
Photo 3: Full Moon Gazing, Evening of March 6, 2023

03/08/2023

“Dr. Cheema takes the time to get to know who she is working with and tailors her treatment accordingly. She is very knowledgeable and dedicated to her work. I felt a significant amount of tension release from my back after her treatment, and she was gentle and created a comfortable space.

I also enjoyed her relaxing course on yoga and meditation, which taught practical techniques for being present and calm in everyday life.” - Mudra C., January 2023
~•~
Thank you for the testimonial!
Come see me at East Meets West Holistic Center in Miracle Mile/Mid-Wilshire.
~•~

03/07/2023

It took dear friends visiting the City of Angels to remind me of the Fun in my backyard! I finally got to visit the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures - and do yoga with R2-D2 (yes, I am a huge Star Wars fan:)! The views of Hollywood reminded me of the beauty of this city. We often get so wound up in our daily work routines - and forget to explore and embrace adventures. Especially after this long pandemic, it was so much fun to laugh and explore with these ladies:)
How are you embracing Fun in your Lives these days?
~•~

03/07/2023

Recently I completed a two year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification training, founded by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. Over two thousand students worldwide participated online - all during pandemic. I met with my small group of six twice a month, and once a month were also led by our wise and caring mentor, Amy Love. I listened to many audio lectures, read books, and journaled. At least once a day, at least a few times a week, I did some sort of mindful practice for myself - whether it was sitting in silence, walking meditation in my living room, or putting on the dance music and moving my body. I led two group practicums workshops. What I really learned the most of all - is that Sangha, our community, is what keeps me growing and centered the most. I can read and read… and it is hand in hand that we truly blossom. It is the group conversations and sitting with others in our deepest vulnerabilities - being able to cry and laugh — this is so precious beyond words. To all who have helped me along this journey - I bow deeply in gratitude.

On our last teaching weekend, a closing ceremony was held. We were asked to bring a thread as a blessing cord, as used in rituals across India and Asia, as a symbol of the thread that weaves through all life. This thread connects us together, and becomes the cord of our hearts. The color red may be considered to be one thread from the robe of a
nun, or a monk, or someone who has committed themselves to a life of compassion.

We tied three knots in the thread. As was explained to us, the first represents commitment to remember to live our life
connected with our deepest spiritual refuge or deepest spiritual source.

The second is the knot of compassion and the resolve not to bring harm, to resolve to live with honesty and integrity and care… to let the spirit of compassion to alleviate suffering, to live in a way that not only doesn't harm but cares for the treasure of life around you.

The third knot represents our own vow or commitment to our intentions as we go forth with these teachings.

02/28/2023

Winter in Chinese medicine is governed by the element of water, and the emotion of fear. I saw this pneumonic on social media many years ago: F.E.A.R. — Face Everything and Run or Face Everything and Rise. Fear is protective - keeping me safe so that I don’t put my hand on on the gas flame on the stove. And yet, I still put my finger on the tea kettle to see if it is hot. I see my fears. And I sit with them. Learning which scary feelings are just stories that I have blown up in my head to be big nightmares, and which ones can be consoled and climbed over. I am learning that I like to embrace fearlessness - the warrior’s path. If I feel something is impossible, I look at how to conquer the challenge. I rise every time I feel I have fallen, and strive to grow bigger. For example, when I finished medical school and then residency, I struggled to find my path of work. Now I have found my passions, and have a career bridging both eastern medicine and western science in the hospital and in my community practice. Many times I thought this was not a possibility. When I let life just flow, the opportunities came. And keep coming. And so I remind myself to feel these areas of my body that are nervous, timid, scared. And I see if I can soften these areas - allow some melting of the ice picks of fear in my chest - with the comfort of knowing I can I can I can do More… And Rise again and again. To the next river waterfall, to the next torquise lagoon, to the next salty shoreline.