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Greetings!
Many of you may already know about my Work & Life In Balance Retreats for social workers, care givers and service providers. However, you may not know that I also offer similar day retreats for children which are focused on holstic health, wellness, personal growth and development.
For those of you have already experienced one of my Day Retreats, you know that conducting them at unique places in nature is one of the key elements in my retreats, using nature as healer, teacher and inspiration. Last month, I had the opportunity to offer a wonderful Nature Hike & Children's Wisdom Circle for some of the children serviced by Drew Child Development Center's Family Preservation Program.
I invite you to read below about this healing, educational and inspiring day in the mountains and also about my Work & Life In Balance Retreats for staff of non-profits and government service agencies.
 Sincerely, Dianne Porchia Porchia's W.I.S.H.- Whole Integrated Self Health Passing Performance Stress Reduction For Adults & Teens |
Nature As Healer, Teacher & Inspiration
Children's Nature Hike & Wisdom Circle  | |
Six year old Francisco and seven year old Oscar look inside Grandmother Tree.
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On August 23, 2011, children and staff from the Drew Child Development Center in South Central Los Angeles, came out to Topanga to enjoy a full day of nature, healing and inspiration with Topanga Canyon Docent Karin Benson and resident Dianne Porchia, who organized the event. For the past 2 years, Dianne Porchia has facilitated private holistic Life In Balance day-retreats in Topanga and at Annenberg Beach House in Santa Monica for the staff members of Drew which gives social workers a safe and sacred space for working through some of the praqctical, mental and emotional challenges they face in working with "at risk" children and under-served families in South Central L.A. "Inspiring positive change happens best when one is inspired by nature. I use nature as healer, teacher and inspiration," explains Porchia. "This is why I always hold my Life In Balance Personal Retreats and Work & Life In Balance Retreats for professionals and non-profits at inspiring locations in and near nature, like at our beautiful Topanga Canyon, the beach, equestrian ranches or destination resorts that offer hiking, biking, healing waters and massage." For more information on Work & Life In Balance Day Retreats Contact NOW 310-455-2851  | |
Topanga Canyon Docent leads the Drew CDC group on a nature walk at Trippet Ranch in Topanga State Park.
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For the Children's Nature Hike & Wisdom Circle for Drew CDC, Porchia contacted Topanga Canyon Docents, a volunteer group who are dedicated to learning about nature and sharing their knowledge with others, to lead an easy 2-hour nature walk at Trippet Ranch in Topanga State Park for the group of children who ranged in age from six to thirteen. |
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Children learn about useful plants used by local Topanga Chumash Indians.
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Topanga Canyon Docent Karin taught these inner city children about Topanga's local flora, including edible, medicinal and utilitarian plants used by the local Chumash Indians and about the regions fauna at the Park's Nature Center which has a good display of taxidermy animals including a mountain lion, badger, coyote, red fox, red tail hawk and many other native animals and birds.
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One of the children posed with a taxidermy Mountain Lion, indigenous to Topanga, in the Nature Center at Topanga State Park.
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After a picnic lunch Porchia held a Wisdom Circle in which she explained how Native American peoples obtained much of their wisdom from their observations of nature and gave them the opportunity to experience two rounds of "Vipassana meditation," a mindful "silent" nature walk, during which they were to explore on their own, (within supervised sight), and in silence all the wonders of nature and what nature has to teach them.
After fifteen minutes of near-silent exploration, everyone returned to the circle to share the wisdom they learned from nature.
"I learned about the tree that bounces and bends when I sit on it," said a large eleven year old.
"So what did this big oak tree and it's ability to be flexible have to teach you?" asked Dianne.
"I learned that if I'm flexible," he said as he bent backwards with an outstretched arm, "I can dodge bullets." Everyone laughed.
"So being big and strong like an oak tree also means being flexible enough to move from your position to get out of the way of danger," Dianne reflected back to him.
At the beginning of the day the children complained about bugs, the heat of the day and the uphill climb. However, by the end of the afternoon they were all excited and grateful to be in Topanga.
One enthusiastic child exclaimed, "Can we do the silent nature walk again?" Zyaire now wants to move to Topanga and is willing to hike and walk as much as necessary to enjoy nature more.
To view more photos and read on about this and other holistic offerings.
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Wisdom Circles In Nature
Adults & Children Inspiring Their Self 
Porchia's Wisdom Circles In Nature is a "holistic" body-mind-heart-soul approach that helps fight the epidemic of childhood obesity, vitamin D deficiencies, and what Richard Louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods," coined "nature deficit disorder," resulting from children spending too much time indoors and too little time in nature. - Improve communication skills
- Increase confidence, self esteem
- Greater Self awareness & discernment
- Teach children how to make healthier choices
- Cultivates mutual respect, understanding & acceptance
- Increase personal empowerment
- Self regulation & independence
- Effective relaxation techniques to reduce stress and anxiety
- Teaches holistic health & wellness, personal growth & development
For more information on Work & Life In Balance Day Retreats Contact NOW 310-455-2851 |
| In SpIre Work & Life In Balance
Holistic Retreats For Care Givers & Their Clients
Social workers, care givers and service providers all share similar nurturing and caring personality traits that motivate their career path in helping others.
Such selfless service oriented work can also pull on your heart strings, seducing much emotional involvement and taking on of responsibility for the other person. This can result in worker burn out, exhaustion, depression, weakened immune system, illness and injury for the social worker or care giver.
Dianne Porchia, MA, designs dynamic, fun, educational and healing retreat programs for non-profit and government service organizations through her unique "holistic" approach to Work & Life In Balance.
Work & Life In Balance holistic day retreats provide an opportunity for staff members to share past challenges, heal emotional hurts, inspire new solutions and celebrate each person's unique talents and gifts, while introducing effective communication, team building and stress reduction skills that promote proactive cooperation, health and wellness, supporting an organization team that is functional, efficient and effectual, so your organization can better serve it's population. Getting to the "heart" & "soul" of creative inspiration in the work place inspires your team from a deeper "inner" source which connects employee's job and career objectives with personal meaning and purpose, which is exampled to others in your organization and to the families and populations they serve. For more information on Work & Life In Balance Day Retreats Contact NOW 310-455-2851 
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About Porchia's W.I.S.H.
Whole Integrated Self Health
Thank you for taking the time to read my Newsletter. If you like the information here, please visit my website and Blog where I post helpful and informative articles on holistic health, wellness, stress reduction, personal growth and development.
I am always looking to expand and improve my services so I can provide you with better and more up to date information.
I believe in collaboration rather than competition, so I invite you to post your comments and complementary services and web links on my Blog.
Dianne Porchia, MA has been
conducting workshops, retreats and private consultations since 2001, based on Porchia's W.I.S.H. - Whole Integrated Self Health, Path to Healing Loving & Living Consciously. Since 2003, her Passing Performance™ Stress Reduction Training For Adults & Teens has seen over 80% pass rate with law students preparing for the California State Bar exam and has helped many individuals, couples and teenagers turn their inner saboteur into an inner ally to support their goals in career, academics, relationship, parenting, life transitions and health.
As a holistic transformation coach for health, wellness, stress reduction, personal, professional development and spiritual practice, Dianne sees individuals, couples, facilitates groups and retreats.
When working with care givers and service providers, Dianne creates a safe and welcoming space that respects and honors each person's process, fosters rejuvenation, team bonding and inspires healing and positive change from a "holistic" body-mind-heart-soul approach.
Dianne is a proud supporter of the Children & Nature Network (C&NN) whose mission is to encourage and support the people and organizations working nationally and internationally to reconnect children with nature for education, health and well-being.
For more information on Work & Life In Balance Day Retreats Contact NOW 310-455-2851 P.O. Box 1687 Topanga, California 90290 310-455-2851 |
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