Hello dear ones.
I have visions of sharing a few more birth stories before I officially complete my "Bali adventures" blog but at the moment I want to give a little update from my bike accident as many of you have asked.
I have healed amazingly well from my run in with the dog in my little village of Nyuh Kuning. I could not have picked a better place to have an accident than down the street from Bumi Sehat. I received more support than I would have ever imagined and I believed it created a new imprint of what health is - on a cellular level. I had to learn on an even deeper level the power of surrender. I kept wanting to go back to work but was not allowed! I guess I had this irrational fear that if I really stopped working and did nothing for awhile, that I would start liking it and never want to work again. Well it ended up just being a really wonderful resting time, and yes a reminder to move slower - but definitely not a loss of my passion to work and do good things in this world. It was really wild for me - over and over folks reassured me that there was enough volunteers at the clinic, that my body was asking me to rest, and that there was no way I could do a water birth anyways with all my healing wounds! So rest it was.
I want to share some of the sweet healing that I received from the Bumi Sehat crew and beyond. The clinic Acupuncturist, Bobbi, this hilarious and sometimes downright abrasive ex-patriot who has been volunteering at Bumi Sehat for 4 years, came over and stuck about 30 needles in me on a few occasions. She is not the gentle type of Acupuncturist but she does help people! She did these "surround the dragon" protocols around my wounds - ouch(!) and helped relieve the inflammation in my left shoulder and arm. She also had me apply yu nan bia yao powder topically to help my wounds dry up ( Yu nan is the chinese herbal formula for stopping bleeding - we give it to women to drink with honey postpartum to prevent hemorrhage ). In the tropics it is easy for wounds to get infected because it is so wet. It was a little intense for my raw skin but it did create some mighty interesting scabs. My dearest friend Shannon was also a huge help. She is an energy worker who had just arrived from North Carolina and had actually been biking with me the day of the accident. She kept me sane and helped me find the teachings and wisdom of being down on my back for 2 weeks. This amazing Naturopath/Nutritionist Esther did this type of applied kinesiology called Body Talk on me immediately after the accident and a few times afterwards. There is a whole Body Talk emergency first aid protocol that helps the brain release shock and trauma. I found it extremely helpful and am now curious to study it myself (another thing to learn! ). And actually I watched her do it a few times with the moms and babies and saw it clear whatever was in the way of the birth process, help with successful breastfeeding, etc... My sweet friend Lisa, an excellent homeopath from Oakland, arrived for a visit just in time to wean me off arnica and prescribe bellis pereniss for deep bruising and ledum for healing puncture wounds.
So I give many thanks. Oh wait- I didn't even share this amazing story. So I got brought to the clinic immediately after the accident to be bandaged up and such and about 2 hours after being there Leonid walks in. Leonid was my craniosacral teacher and while I had been laying there I was thinking oh I am going to need Leonid to come and assess if I broke or sprained anything. And all of a sudden he was there. How did he know to come right then?!! I couldn't figure it out as he rarely came by the clinic in his normal life but at that moment it didn't really matter- I just felt like I was looking at an angel : ). He sat down and did his magic and told me that it seemed like nothing was broken but it would take a lot of rest. There is that rest word again...
Well I hope that you all don't mind my sharing a little of my healing journey. I believe I have always been on a healing journey actually - that one that some of you may know - healer, heal thyself - but the acute healing experience is a whole other journey and I am grateful for every moment of it. They say that Bali chews you up and spits you out. Ya - I think I would agree.
So 40 hours later I have arrived back home in Berkeley - my second day of experiencing February 29th - yesterday I was in Hong Kong and it was also Feb. 29th. Spiraling in and out of time and space I land here and settle into a meal of my roommate's farmer's market steamed veggies, the beauty of the redwood tree out my back window, and my first sweatshirt and socks in 3 months.
Hello dear friends.
After several days in bed healing from flying in the air and landing on the cement ( ! ), I am back in the world feeling better than ever. They say that Bali chews u up and spits u up and I feel honored to have received a little "Bali magic" ; ). I received tremendous support from the volunteers here and wild things happened like my craniosacral teacher showing up at the clinic hours after the accident to drop something by ( which he never does). I looked up at him like he was an angel - how did you know to come? I didn't understand but was grateful to receive his healing touch so soon after being hurt. I also received all sorts of healing powders and creams that were applied to me by friends. One has to be careful in the tropics as open wounds can lead to infection all too quickly. The acupuncturist, Dr. Bobbi came by to see me as well. She is an amazing doctor and a very intense acupuncturist. She stuck a million needles in me - interesting treatment called surrounding the dragon- putting needles around the wounds. I made my friend Shannon stay with me for moral support because it hurt! But it seemed to help and I am grateful. I also received some interesting work called Body Talk. It is an advanced form of muscle testing that works with first aid, trauma, past lives, chinese medicine...The woman who does it is a Naturopath who has been using it very successfully with the moms and babies and of course I am now excited to learn it and add one more tool to my medicine bag.
I did my first shift back at the clinic and got to catch a little one that came through a sweet 20 year old- wow these young women! I did prenatals last night and there was a 16 year old with her sister. Robin came by and chatted with her which was awesome because although i have learned some indonesian in my time here, and actually i was fortunate to have a translator with me, Robin will be the one that will be here when her baby comes! Ya- it just hit me yesterday that I am almost done with my 3 month stint here and that it is time for me to begin letting go of all the attachments I have made to the community here. Even after being gone from the clinic for 10 days it just felt so easy to come back yesterday. The women are so so sweet, the staff is amazing, and the volunteers are extroardinary.
When I was laying in bed I actually considered staying longer here, or maybe going to Aceh- Robin has asked me to go there ever since i arrived - and although my heart lept with excitement, my mind and body said- no, it's time to go home and rest in the states. And it is actually perfect because there are new volunteers showing up every day and it is good to pass the torch and let others experience the beautiful craziness of Bumi Sehat.
So as of today I have only one or two more shifts at the clinic. The rest of my time here will be spent with the wonderful community here and having fun with my friends and family who are visiting!
Many blessings, Chanti
Hello to everyone who loves Chanti!
This is Olivia Page, writing on Chanti's behalf as she is a bit out of commission at the moment. About a week ago, riding her bicycle to the Bumi Sehat Clinic, Chanti collided with a dog, who immediately ran off and left her scraped up in the middle of the road with injuries up and down the left side of her body, especially to her jaw, shoulder and wrist. She is recovering well, and being extremely brave and positive about everything, but is staying at home to restore her energy and heal her body. All of her friends here, many of them healers, have rallied around her and come to her aid. She asked me to write to all of you so that you could add your well wishes, love and healing vibes to the energy already flowing towards her here. We miss her at the clinic and want her back as soon as she is fully recovered! Someone from the community comes by the clinic everyday looking for her, so the impact she has made here (and her absence) are keenly felt. Hopefully Chanti herself will be able to post a proper installment on her blog soon, as she has much to tell. Until then, send her emails as I am reading them and passing along the contents to her.
Love to you all from the hot, hot heart of Bali, Olivia
hello dear friends.
It has been awhile since i have written and wow where to start. i think this entry will be a sort of stream of consciousness if you don't mind....
So at the moment there are children parading by with drums and dragon costumes for the holiday Kuningan. It is the end of a 10 day holiday Galungan, where there are many ceremonies to appease the bad spirits and welcome the good ones. There are a million more offering than the usual thousand in a day and my host family has said that tomorrow will be a special feast of yellow rice and smoked duck and chicken. The family which I live with ( i rent a little studio in their family compound) is very religious and always going to the temple, making offerings, and having feasts. I would love to go to temple and such with them but my priority is midwifery which they are supportive of because Made, the father, serves on the board of the clinic. They are a very respected family in the village and i feel honored to live with them- and there is always time to feast with them! : )
It is actually my first day back at the clinic in a week. There are tons of volunteers here right now - volunteer coordinating is not the strong point of Bumi Sehat- so I decided to take a craniosacral class that was being offered in Ubud. It was taught by a Russian man who lived at Esalen for 10 years and blends a few types of craniosacral therapy. We had mutual friends so I knew it would be a good class. And it was. 8 of us at a quiet balinese villa feeling the depths of anatomy in our hands, in the space,.... in the pool in which we swam every day at lunch!! I invited 2 of the midwives to join me- one New York CNM whose world got opened up in the best of ways and the other one the midwife who has been assisting me in the perinatal psych sessions. It was tricky for me not to bring in perinatal psychology at every turn but all in all it was a beautiful learning with my teacher having great respect - most of the time- for what I contributed. It made me excited for my long term plan of doing a full craniosacral training with the teachers who have done the perinatal psychology training already and integrate it into their teachings.
What else?
My friend Shannon has just arrived for a 3 week visit. She is an intuitive healer and it is so nice to have her here!! She came to the clinic earlier today and did a little healing for the clinic in general and then we went around to all the new moms and babies and did energy work, craniosacral, and the basic breastfeeding support of course. It felt really peaceful and sweet to support the families in this way. So speaking of babies- I just heard one crying so that is my cue to do another check in.
More later I promise - and tell me how you all are doing!!
Chantia
