Dr. Maria Petrucci

03/23/2025

Meditate much?

Ever try to meditate but gave up because you felt you just couldn’t do it? Maybe you were expecting that you had to stop all your thoughts before you were doing it “right”?

Well, meditation, like many things, takes practice. And you don’t necessarily have to stop all thought to get the benefits.

When I first started meditating about 50 years ago, my mind was full of thoughts or persistent chatter. It still is if I haven’t been consistent. And sometimes it takes several minutes before I feel my mind or body calm down.

Listening to environmental sounds while lying down (with the only sound products available at the time -- vinyl records or cassette tapes) helped me make the transformation into feeling like I was actually meditating.

I also took a class in meditation and noticed that every night we had class, I would need less sleep. (I usually slept 9 or 10 hours in those days.)

Then I became aware that answers to my “every day” or more philosophical questions were being answered. Not during meditation, but the answers would come to me when I would go about my daily routine.

It’s amazing how when you quiet your mind and open yourself up to finding solutions or a better direction in life, you are guided to where you need to go or what you need to do.

Here are some tips to help you get into a meditative state:

1. Start by lying down or sitting up and listening to environmental sounds, relaxing music without lyrics, or sound bowls. All these are easily available on the internet.
2. Focus on one thing, like your breathing -- your rib movement, your belly expanding, the air flowing in and out of your nose. Or find an uplifting/calming word or two to repeat.
3. Don’t feel like you have to meditate 20 minutes at a time to do it “right.”
4. Improvement usually happens over time but not necessarily each time. Some days are easier than others.
5. Do practice, even if it doesn’t feel like you’re meditating. Keep going. Maybe just focus on breathing for a minute or two at a time.
6. Partner up with someone else who is already meditating or just starting, so you can help each other be consistent.

Meditation has many benefits that are worth the practice. It helps you calm down, feel peaceful, release tension, relax, and cope with stress easier. And you may find the answers to your big (or not so big) questions.

For more tips to help you focus, center, and calm, read my blogs at https://mariapetruccidc.com

12/12/2024

Confused? Unfocused? Anxious? Indecisive?
Try Taking a Mini-Break to Get Back on Track

Here are some activities that help with the above. Try taking 10 minutes or more to help center, ground, relax, and balance body and mind. You might want to see my previous post about one-minute activities to try as well.

1. Qigong is a gentle-movement Chinese practice that opens the flow of energy through the body, improving both body and mind. It can help with stress, anxiety, focus, and overall quality of life. See Tyler Trahan’s 10-minute morning qi gong demonstration at https://youtu.be/Ac08kMK-dyI?si=cmBjCr5-awWWTm0m. He also has an evening version.

2. Grounding exercises can help you let go of “monkey mind” and be more aware of the present moment. They help center and calm the nervous system. See craniosacral therapist and teacher Suzanne Scurlock’s grounding process under her free resources at https://www.healingfromthecore.com.

Hope these help. Stay tuned for more posts on this subject!

09/23/2024

Sometimes we can be in a state of mind where we're trying to accomplish something but can't concentrate or think clearly. Maybe there are too many distractions or options to consider or something or someone has triggered us. If we don't take a break, we may waste our time going down the wrong path.

When you find yourself in an anxious, confused, unfocused, or indecisive state of mind, try these simple tools to get back on track.
They will help you get into a relaxed state and reset your nervous system.

Simple Activities That Take A Minute or Less

1. Notice when you’re in an uncentered, unfocused, unaligned state of mind, and remember to take a few deep breaths. You might want to try alternate nostril breathing. Cover your left nostril and slowly breathe in through the right then cover the right nostril and breathe out through the left. Repeat 3 times. Switch to covering your right nostril first, and breathe in through the left. Repeat 3 times. Then breathe in and out slowly through both nostrils 3 times.

2. Calm your nervous system using vagus nerve activation techniques. One simple technique is to gently rub your ear at a specific place in a circular motion. There is a ridge above the opening to the inside of your ear. Feel for the hollow above this ridge – that’s the area you will be massaging. Gently massage this area until you sigh, yawn, or take a deep breath (without trying). This indicates that you’ve activated the parasympathetic nervous system, the nervous system in charge of resting and digesting. For other vagus nerve techniques, see Sukie Baxter on YouTube.

3. Take some Rescue Remedy flower essence when you’re feeling nervous or anxious. Put 4 drops in water and sip throughout the day or put 4 drops directly on your tongue. Repeat later as needed.

I hope these tools help you live a calmer, more focused life. I will be posting other practices that take longer, but can help you establish regular habits toward more peace and calm.

Chiropractor and CranioSacral Therapy Practitioner with Mind-Body Tools for stress and pain reductio

03/25/2023

I love craniosacral therapy (CST)! One of the simple techniques we use is called "direction of energy." It involves placing a hand or fingers on a body part and your other hand or fingers across from the first placement and being open to or "intending" healing. You know some healing is taking place when you feel heat rising, energy moving, or tissue relaxing. The results often feel miraculous...especially when treating an injured, painful area. It can even be used when a person is first injured to bring down swelling.

John Upledger, one of the pioneering developers of CST, tells an interesting story of using this technique on himself for an eye injury. While pruning a bush, a branch hit him in the eye causing excruciating pain and blurred sight. He used direction of energy and voila! -- a short time later it seems (he doesn't say how long) -- it completely healed. Read his fascinating story in a link in the comments below.

12/08/2022

I recently participated in this panel on chronic pain with my colleagues at Nourishing Journey in Columbia, MD (see comment below). Chronic pain is an indication that the cause has not been found/addressed yet. There is still time and hope for continued healing and many healing therapies to try. Medicine only covers up the symptom, which is useful in certain circumstances, but usually not healing.

Our bodies are made to heal themselves and do not do so sometimes because they are overloaded, unbalanced, stressed out and so, not working properly. But given the right therapies, mindset, and personal healing activities, transformation and healing can occur!

11/18/2022

The "future self" process, a piece of my "Elevate Your Personal Healing Power" class. Step in to your vision of your future self. Thank you Taruna Barber and Gennye Lion for teaching me this "tool."

You weren’t designed to live within the confines of your comfort zone. Feeling uncomfortable is a natural process of growth. Those anxious feelings are your soul experiencing growing pains. Embrace the pain and rejoice the beautiful evolution of becoming the best version of yourself! 💖

09/28/2022

Some other uses of food...

09/25/2022

Hi, folks. Here is a little window into an upcoming course I am offering called “Elevate Your Personal Healing Power…Through the Mind-Body Connection.”

If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or frustrated because of an impasse in reaching your goals, goals like...
• Taking the next step in your business or practice
• A health habit you’re trying to establish
• Improving a relationship..there are tools you can use to move things along.

I have noticed a consistent pattern that happens when moving toward important goals that can make or break momentum. The challenges and blocks that surface are not only action stoppers, but potential growth enhancers, gifts that – when handled properly – keep you moving in your desired direction more quickly, happily, and with more ease. I call it the Self C.A.R.E. approach to healing and creating.

Interested? To get more information and/or register for my 6-week “Elevate” course, which begins on Tuesday, October 4 at 7pm, email me at mpetrucci.dc@gmail.com and enter “Self CARE” in the subject line. Space is limited, so act soon.
"There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands." ~Richard Bach

02/09/2022

Yesterday, I heard these words of wisdom about the brain and thought I'd share: "It's meant to be part of the committee. It's not meant to be the queen [or king]." Sometimes we need to get out of our heads (especially when our thoughts do not promote well-being) and into our heart space or even into our bones (grounded and solid).