Phoenix Rising Solutions, LLC

05/10/2025

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY 🌹I haven’t posted in a long time. It’s been a time of transformation for me, and it graciously continues. I’ll be honest in not really missing being on social media, not because of a lack of caring for others. Social media can become a brain drain and time suck from being present in your surroundings and with your family. I’ll just take it one day at a time here with posting and seeing others’ posts. For today, I wanted to celebrate Mother’s Day with everyone via this post.
Mother’s Day is a special holiday. It’s not only for biological mothers, it’s also for adoptive mothers, or being mothering by or receiving mothering from others in different areas of our life. It’s customarily for women, yet we all have feminine qualities of being subtle, sweet, gentle, and caring. Let us reflect on those feminine qualities and embrace them not just on Mother’s Day, but all the days of our lives. Let these qualities be in balance with the masculine qualities that all of us also contain.
For me, the quintessential mother is Mother Mary. This may be true for most Christian believers and perhaps people that aren’t Christian. There may be other female figures out there that resonate with you. If you will, write in the comments below who that might be and also what attributes really stand out for you when thinking of what a mother is. Be well and filled with lovingkindness.

03/03/2025

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, and I’m happy to share with you about a unique experience from this past month.

I was invited along with 20+ other mental health professionals (including licensed counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychologists, and social workers; educators; and psychiatric and/or family nurse practitioners) to tour Sierra Tucson in Arizona. It was a great experience to see an integrative and holistic mental health treatment center in such a beautiful setting. They specialize in anxiety and mood disorders, trauma, and addictions, also offering a veteran’s red, white, and blue program.

Beyond the standard IOP, PHP, inpatient, and detox programs, they offered adventure therapy (e.g., ropes courses), equine therapy, naturopathic medicine, Somatic Experiencing (part of my expertise), EMDR, hikes, art therapy, improv, among other complementary therapies.

Let me know if you have questions about a higher level of care from the outpatient, office sessions that private practice providers offer. We have local places like Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital, which has a wonderful history and reputation for their breath and depth of programs they offer.

However, some may want to stay residentially in a more natural environment with a lot of access to the outdoors. Quite frankly, Tucson has much better weather in the winter than we do, mountains, desert climate, saguaro (sah-wow-row) cactus, and a lovely Native American feel as much of the Southwestern land is owned by different Tribal Nations.

Check out their website for more information. Have a wonderful week ahead! ☀️⛰️🌵♥️

Sierra Tucson is one of the nation's premier residential treatment centers for drug addiction, alcohol abuse and mental health like depression, bipolar, PTSD & co-occurring disorders for over 30 years.

12/25/2024

Second attempt to post this cute graphic 🌟

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and all other holidays and celebrations! May you have a Blessed New Year that brings an abundance of health, joy, and peace. Be the light 🌟.

Join me via Zoom on Monday, December 30th at 7pm Central for Yoga. The class includes nervous system regulation exercises, acupressure, poses, and meditation. Let’s let go of the old to bring in the new.

11/28/2024

Something to help us slow down, to contemplate on the simplest things in life, and to know that even a small gesture is sometimes the sweetest.

Happy Gratitude Day! 🍁

It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

Praying by Mary Oliver

11/07/2024

International Stress Awareness Week

Do at least one thing today that will fill your cup with calm.
- 5-minute meditation, deep belly breathing, or sit spot (forest therapy practice)
- take a slow mindful walk
- self-massage without or with oil (Ayurvedic abhyanga)
- drink your favorite herbal tea, cocoa, apple cider, or other warm drink
- do 5 minutes of yoga, stretching, tai chi, qi gong, or dance
- listen to healing music (Steven Halpern is one of my favorites), crystal bowls, harmonium, calming piano/guitar, adagios, etc
- journal your greatest strengths and what you like about yourself
- eat well today by limiting caffeine, sugar, and seed oils
- take brain supportive supplements that help the nervous system to function better

Ask me about integrative counseling sessions, somatic/touch work, yoga classes, forest therapy walks, nutrition, and more to help you reduce your stress. www.phoenixrisingsolutions.org

10/30/2024

This seems fitting for the time of year in season and with the political divisiveness that has been encountered this year. This is a great reminder to find ways to connect to gratitude and with nature to strengthen your heart in times of stress and turmoil.

Counseling…Yoga…Meditation…Touch Work…Forest Therapy…Nutrition.
Let me know how I can help you find more regulation in your life.

This poem is Blessings by Mary Oliver. Enjoy!

10/17/2024

It’s that time again to celebrate full moon meditation 🧘🏻‍♀️ 🧘🏽 This month’s supermoon looks so luminous with the naked eye this evening as I was driving home. Maybe it will also look that way tomorrow evening for meditation. Join me and other universal love and peace seekers to sit wherever you are or online with .meditation.center or where they have Zoom sessions for the different full moon meditations.
Look to previous posts for inspiration and advice on how to meditate. Here are simple instructions: sit with your spine straight, hips elevated higher than knees /put cushion under you hips, use deep diaphragmatic/belly breathing, and find a neutral or positive mental focus to come back to if your mind wanders (e.g., mantra, short prayer, affirmations, follow your breath). You will find that after regular meditation practice that your focus, memory, mood, and feeling present in life improves. Regular practice would be every day even if for 5 minutes. Typical is 20 minutes per day but you can start out low and slow to build a healthy habit.
Drop a comment ⬇️ about how your meditation practice is going or if you’d like to start one.
Happy Meditating and Happy Hunter’s Moon 🌝

09/17/2024

Harvest/Wisdom Full Moon on Tuesday 9/17 at 9-10pm Central. Join unity and peace seekers in meditating tomorrow evening from the comfort of your own home or through two other yoga centers that I’ll tag below. You can look at other full moon 🌝 posts for guidance on meditation 🧘🏻‍♀️ 🧘🏽.

This is a death anniversary 🕊️ of someone very close to me, so it will be a whole day of mindfulness about this person’s impact on my life amidst the robust and sometimes chaotic energy around the full moon.

Journaling before or after meditation is a great way to further your self-study. You may choose to focus on balance in your life at the nearing Autumnal Equinox, the coming darker days as we usher in Fall and Winter, the various upcoming holidays, the wisdom you have harvested from the year, and/or other topics important to you.

May your meditation sessions be filled with truth, love, and light on this day and subsequent days. Until next time…♥️🌳🌾.

.meditation.center

08/03/2024

It was a great day to check out the forest before tomorrow’s event. I got up close and personal to this cute tree person, the ambassador for the event, and took photos of the trails and brick/stone pavilion.

The land was beautifully, lush and green with lots of insects, especially moths in the cool pavilion. I was definitely right about the shaded pavilion being able to keep us cool. But it was just too hot for many to consider driving out to this little oasis for most of the day. So participants are taking their credit and applying it to another event.

The land told me, “Come back when I’m cooler, when people can really enjoy me, but thanks for showing up today to say hi.” Notice I’m in workout clothes because one could easily sweat out here in the sun. Sweating is good though for detoxing but probably not what others had in mind for tomorrow! 🤔

So there it is, the event will be rescheduled for a later date. Stay cool and be well.