The calendar says the new year begins after the holidays on January 1. For me, the new year begins the first of fall. As a child I loved the beginning of a new school year. With my own children, I loved the getting ready process: buying school supplies, clothes and shoes, finding their room that first day. Even now just the smell of the air, or the coolness of the nights after the heat of an August day, or the sight of a brand new box of crayolas evoke memories. The feelings of starting a new year- that mixture of anticipation, excitement, and anxiety get triggered. Since my little ones are now adults, off into their own lives, I have started a practice of setting aside personal reflection time in late August or early September. Sometimes it is just an afternoon. Often it is several days in private retreat, a time to be still and do a life review. It is a time to listen to my deeper self. How am I in balance? What is out of balance? What am I grateful for? What is ripe and ready to harvest? What is missing in my life? What do I need to let go of? What is coming to a close? What is getting ready to be born? After rest, relaxation, time in nature and solitude, I come back rejuvenated, ready to start my new year.

Tranquility offers many opportunities to create your own private retreat. How about taking a day to indulge in the infrared sauna, a massage, facial and a pedicure and manicure. Or try acupuncture for pain control, anxiety management or balancing your energy. Or schedule a 30 or 60 minute relaxation, guided imagery and music session. After relaxing and de-toxing, how about having a MARI Reading and do your own life review. Using cards with designs and colors, developed by an art therapist, the MARI allows you to access your own intuitive wisdom, becoming your own inner "psychic". In the interactive interpretation of the cards you select, you will receive an in the moment "snap shot" of what is going on in your life, identifying your strengths and challenges as well as connecting with your deeper self. The 90 minute reading also gives you a chance to make a plan for self-care and detox on all levels: physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual. You may receive a recorded CD or MP3 of the session. Often people are surprised by how the design and the color in the stage they select can be so right on target. The MARI reading is used at the world-renowned Miravel Spa to help plan the services the client will use for rejuvenation. You don’t need to travel to Arizona when you have Tranquility right here in St. Charles! I love doing MARI Readings in this blissful, serene place. Give us a call and let us help you plan your private retreat at Tranquility. Happy Fall! Happy New Year!

Sally Strosahl, M.A., LCPC, FAMI- Holistic Psychotherapist and Music Therapist