My Dad, Morrie I. Thomas, Jr. I dedicate this month to your birthday and your service. My Dad, married to my Mom for over 65 years, and transitioned at age 65 from brain cancer, HBP and gout. As wars are waging in various parts of the world, it is fitting that we pause a moment and appreciate the soldiers who serve their country. I'd like to show this appreciation through the healing tool, I.ve been blessed to share with by offering several breathing experiences throughout the gratitude month of November. While, I know that Veterans' Day was 11/11, I just found out the history of it on that day and why it is always on November 11th, instead of on various days of the week, like other holidays. Many people don’t know this and it’s actually a pretty interesting history. The Allied powers signed a ceasefire with Germany, thereby ending World War I, at 11 AM…on 11/11/1918. Got this info from Dan Altmire @ Dan Altmire <[email protected]>. Email him to get the entire scoop. Jabare Art Originals, is featured here, entitled " The Black Presence in the Military" just one of this series. . Order through PositivEnergyWorks, coming soon in our Marketplace. However, for me, Veterans Day is always the day before my Father's birthday, November 12th, so for years, I have celebrated Veterans' Day on November, 12th. My Dad, Morrie I. Thomas Jr,, was a veteran of World War 2 and a veteran of the challenges that happened to many Black families, who struggled during the depression years. . It took me years to forgive my father from the mental and physical abuse he inflicted on me. But, once I learned his childhood back-ground story I understood. His family was part of the great migration from the south to the north, and once arriving to D.C. from Rocky Mountain, N.C. he worked in low-paying factory jobs due to the industrial revolution in this country. His father and mother married young, moved to D.C., and due to his father's violent behavior fueled by alcohol, I was told, his Mom could not take it. She left his father and the household while he and his brother and 2 sisters were quite young. The abusive father then became abusive to him and his siblings and the cycle of abuse seems to have started here, before my Dad was age 7. At age 17, my Dad married my Mom, Doris Antoinette Mitchell, and was shortly after their marriage, was carted off to France to fight in World War 2, leaving behind his pregnant wife. .When he returned home two years later, he met his son Melvin, and had to quickly take on the responsibilities of being a father, a breadwinner and a husband. Yet, he carried the pain of killing others, seeing blown up bodies and soldiers tortured. Further, he had to deal with disillusion because the VA (Veterans Administration) never treated his tremors or night mares from what he experienced. So this mentally, fragile man from his early beginnings, turned to drugs - alcohol- to push down the Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD) trauma of the ravages of war. . My Brother, Melvin M. Thomas, a veteran of Vietnam, also, struggled when he returned home with PTSD, alcohol and disillusion with medical issues with the V.A. He did find comfort in his jazz music collection, photography, and ,was quite successful in his work as a printer at Howard University. We still live with the mystery, that he passed away by suicide. So, the war compounded my Dad's dysfunctional early family life. He played out his illness, in various ways in which he verbally abused my brother, and showed mental, physical, emotional and sexual abuse on me, as a young girl. I.m. so grateful for breath techniques that helped me overcome the 45 years of in-the-closet substance abuse and 2 years of addiction, that helped me to cope by pushing down an anger that I didn't know the source of.. And, I dealt with years of depression - the anger towards him, turned inside towards "my person' , again not knowing this pain started as early childhood abuse was subconsciously repressed. "I had to breathe thru it to get to that which I had repressed and blocked". Today, after 25 years of addiction free living, I breathe with myself and all others, knowing the power of the breath and the techniques I have been taught.. I.m. not depressed anymore, either and express joy. Transformational breathing opened up and healed the subconscious memory where the root of my trauma started and once healed, the PTSD resolved. And a most amazing thing also happened - I was able to forgive my Dad, with a lot of compassion of what he went through to become who he became. Although he was blessed to have gotten his GI benefits, bought several homes, and got a good job in the government, where he worked until he retired, there was still holes in his psyche, he drank and I believe he carried a number of his "demons", to his grave at age 65. In my Dad's honor and in support of those veterans, who did not get the promised jobs, homes, or security when they returned home from war; who are fighting for their benefits; who are struggling to get the medical and mental health care they deserve; who are homeless; and who are demoralized and disillusioned that while they fought for their country, their country is not fighting for the quality of their lives-- we lift you up and salute you. We keep you in our prayers and in our hearts. For my Dad, my brother Melvin, Damani Handy, my 1st husband and father of our sons, my brother-in-law Warren, Mr. Davies and Mr. Handy, my father's in law, and countless veteran friends, I say "thank-you" with just a small gift of service in return for your service. I was given funds to offer to the first 10 Veterans a token of our appreciation. You are invited to email me at [email protected] and say, YES I want FREE ENTRY to the Zoom workshop entitled "Breathe Thru Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)" on Fri, November 17 @ 6 - 7:30 p.m. EST All who miss the Free entry, we ask that you pay what you can. (the discounted price for this BREATHE POSITIVE LOVE CIRCLE is regularly $33.00) Register closes by noon, Friday. Please, pre-register at: https://www.positivenergyworks.com/current-on-line-services-menu.html Email me also, so I can send you all of the details on how to prepare for this session of life-changing breathology/breathwork techniques to calm your nerves and relax your mind. If you have not gotten a response within 4 hours of your sending your email, please call me at 202-667-2577 to follow-up to ensure your email was received. And feel free to share this post. However the free entry offer is for 10 of our P.E.W. subscribers only. Remember, that "we" can breathe thru it to get through to the source of our pains. "If you are tired of the stress, tired of the pain, ready to heal, ready to change", please take this opportunity of healing and come breathe with me, Ayo Handy-Kendi, the Breath Sekou. With all of my Black Love, I affirm that I will hear from you this month Happy Birthday Daddy and Blessed Veterans Day to you and all who served. Cincinnati Black Veterans gather
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Ayo's Covid Story - How I kicked Covid in 2023 Using Wholistic Remedies by Ayo Handy-Kendi11/2/2023 BLESSINGS AND GRAND RISING: I wanted to share this story right after I was rising from my COVID sick bed and quarantine. But, as usual, I jumped right back into my world, attempting to catch up from the 4 days of illness and the 10 days time that I quarantine myself. While I kept working on my business PositivEnergyWorks/AAHA at the computer, it was a mental shut-down, I allowed myself. I got very introspective about my life, my work, my desire to up-grade my home environment and my relationships with family and friends. So, here I am, more than a month later, writing this blog about my COVID experience while offering some advice for COVID prevention, not as a doctor, but as a breathologist/wholistic practitioner of 50+ years. Therefore, this is my disclaimer, that this blog is not medical advice, but my own opinions from my own studies and practices. Please use at your discretion and seek medical help as needed. MY COVID BACK STORY: I stayed, pretty much quarantined with my immune-compromised husband John, for almost 3 years of the 2019, Covid pandemic. I lived healthy and so did he, as Certified Breathologist, Sound Healers, and wholistic practitioners, doing our work from Zoom within our home. We never caught the virus. John made a decision to transition April 10, 2022 after 4 years of our wholistic treatments which overcame his "death diagnosis" of kidney failure, bladder cancer and prostrate enlargement. Instead all of these organs healed and rejuvenated through natural remedies that I administered and facilitated. Yet, John was tired and stopped eating and drinking and within weeks, he "crossed" over in a "good death" right in our homes, in my arms. By 2023, after a year of releasing my 22 years old marriage, I was just beginning to venture out more in the public to events and affairs, practicing "breathology/breathwork". HOW DID I CATCH COVID: On May 3, 2023, the date of my son in heaven's birthday, I facilitated a session in "breathology/breathwork" in Malcolm X park to a homeless man. He being very tall, and I.m. 5 feet, quite short, he looked upwards in my face, as he sat in my chair for the session. He became relaxed as most people do and began to talk very quickly. He spoke of how he had been hot and sick for about 2 weeks. Then, he described a fascinating story about his homelessness after being booted out of his native African country and his rich parents’ home, because of his gender preference for men. I listened so intensely to his story for about 15 minutes, and began to counsel him. During the whole time, I realized that I had forgotten to put my mask on. The very next day, I woke up with a sore throat, had a headache, body aches, felt tight constricted breathing, felt very lethargic and felt hot and sweaty, .I slept the entire day, waking up only to drink water and relieve myself. Over the years, I have rarely been sick, not even have had colds, so I figured it was COVID. By the 2nd day of much of the same symptoms, I gave myself a COVID home test and just as I speculated, it showed positive for COVID 19 . But, I didn’t care what the diagnosis was – I went into “ wholistic remedy action” taking what I have taken in the past when I have caught a “bug” or felt “out of balance”. . In 2019, pre-COVID days, standing among my great grand girls, to 2021 after COVID hit hard, masked and holding great-grandson,Raheem. Times really changed and we had to change with the times. WHAT DID I DO TO KNOCK OUT COVID; I took Moringa capsules and tea from Motherlands Gold Moringa, ordered through the Black Business Network. Moringa has 29 nutrients giving the body what it needs for optimum health. Instead of the daily recommended requirement, I tripled up, taking 9 – 12 capsules a day. and added ginger and lemon into the morning daily teas. I also took Chlophyl with Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) which boosted my strength. I drank Ms. Rebecca's ABC Aloe Vera, excellent for inflammation release and immunity building and much more; I rubbed Immune Boost 100% pure Essential Oil from Revive on my feet, and gave myself a reflexology treatment; I ate garlic and onions, in my green salads; . Also made a large pot of kale greens and made Fruit smoothies with natural juices that I juiced myself. If I could not have juiced, I would have used the most natural store bought juices. I added into my juices Moringa powder, spirulina, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sea moss blended.well. .All of these nutrient rich foods and juices, made me have full bowel movements and kept up my strength;. I stayed properly hydrated all-day, sipping alkaline water and adding in the juices about 2’x a day; I knew the formula of how much water my body needs to be thoroughly hydrated. Plus, when you sweat out toxins, you have to replenish water; I took hydrotherapy baths with Epsom salt 2x’s a day. This helped the aches and pains. The water had to be pretty warm, Because I don’t have high blood pressure, and despite my being a “sage-ing baby boomer”, I made sure that the water was not too hot; I also sipped cool water while relaxing in the tub to keep the balance when I felt like I was gonna faint, since I was sweating out toxins so quickly; And as a Breathologist/Breathworker, I practiceed deep breathing using my diaphragm to increase my oxygen life-force on the cellular level for optimum healing, strengthening my immune system, supporting my lungs and detoxifying with every breath; Further, I used the “prone breath technique” which is deep breathing while laying on your stomach, which opens up the lungs. I used Pax Immune to fortify my immune system, renown for pushing viral issues out, quickly. To contact any of these vendors or suppliers, feel free to check out the P.E.W. website or give me a call. .HOW LONG WAS MY COVID IMBALANCE?: By the 3rd day of laying around my bedroom, I felt a little weak and my legs were wobbly. However, I felt that my room needed to be cleaned and I pushed myself to get up and started moving furniture around and actually rearranged the room. This “push” was exercise for me after laying around, It made me feel energized and productive. By Friday, the 6th day of my exposure to COVID, after giving myself many wholistic remedies, I was up and about. I felt strong enough to drive myself about 22 miles to my closes CVS pharmacy clinic to take their rapid response COVID lab test. It again confirmed positive for COVID 19. While still hard for me to believe, as I mentioned, I seldom have been ill in my 72 years -- I accepted the diagnosis and continued to rest and pace myself, for another .4 days. . I wore a mask around my house to protect my grandsons and great grandchild who live with me, isolating myself most of the time in my upstairs dwelling, But, I did go out to do a wholistic presentation with WPFW Radio, on that 7th day, based on the CVS physicians' belief that if I felt okey, go for it. I also went grocery shoping, keeping my distance and yes, I wore my mask to protect others. I realized what I had realized in the first COFID wave – that when you wear a mask, breathing is harder to do. So, I put a little, tiny drop of Reive’s organic peppermint oil into the far side of the mask which helped with the circulation within the mask. Had to be careful not to get it into my eyes. As I wore my mask, I did something else – I took it off, whenever I felt I was in a “safe zone” which was outside, away from people and close to nature. Certified Breathologist Elaine Williams breathing in our community Capitol Heights on World Breathing Day, April 11, 2021. Check out WBD, 2024. I AM BLESSED NOT TO BE HAVING LONG COVID SYMPTOMS I read that millions of people are reporting that they are experiencing “long COVID symptoms, so I.m. grateful that I.m. not. I believe, my wholistic remedies and practices, pushed out the virus quickly, instead of taking the conventional medicine, which would have suppressed the virus, within my system to cause havoc on it. I felt strong and well by day 10 of my exposure, and only noticed a thickness in my throat which disperses after drinking a hot cup of tea in the morning. I also have been gargling with apple cider vinegar with water, and this has aided that concern immediately. I continue to supplement my vegetarian diet with all of the same, wholistic remedies, I used to kick the Covid virus out of my system. To connect with Long-Covid support groups, we have been working with a few over the internet. WHAT DID I LEARN FROM MY COVID IMBALANCE: While things are going well for me, I must share with anyone who wants to hear me, what I have learned.. Upon telling a friend my Covid story, he said " only the Angels get COVID", While continuing to be a "good somarathon", now, I'm more conscientious of my own self-care while in the public and while helping others. I’m saying “NO” more often as a means of pacing myself and honoring that I can’t help anyone else, if I.m. not feeling my best. I.m. more “mindful” of my surroundings. If I notice a person sneezing, coughing, or nose running, I.m. moving away from that person. And I have avoided events that are jam-packed with people or that have little distance space between the people. Further, I.m. more determined to "live life to the fullest" desiring not to just live a long life, but a healthy long life until my last breath. Thank you for the opportunity to share.. Breathe Better, Live better, If you are struggling with COVID breathing issues, or any breath related issue, trauma, stress or emotional concerns - the first thing I.ve learned, is to look at how effective you are breathing. Let me help you "relearn how to breathe for better life, help, work and longevity".tm www. PositivEnergyWorks.com or call 202-667-2577.
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Ayo Handy-Kendi is reknown as the Breath Sekou, which means in the Guinea language "a master teacher". She has worked with breath techniques for over 50 years and loves teaching "the power of the breath". She has created a system called Optimum Life Breathology (O.L.B.) which teaches 12 common breath techniques with 4 breath practices. As a Wholistic Practitioner she incorporates sound healing, laughter yoga, Reiki, healing touch, movement, behavior modification and stress management and oxygen concepts, such as water hydrotherapy, Aroma-therapy, nutrition, into her trainings.She is creating a "breath movement" to wake people up to their joy and positivenergy with the belief that when you breathe better, you live better. She is also known as Mama Ayo, when sharing cultural presentations or performing as a storyteller, actor, author or speaker. She is the founder of Black Love Day, Feb. 13, the Ritual of Reconciliation, founder/director, African American Holiday Association (AAHA) and founder/CEO, PositivEnergyWorks.
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