My Letter to Fire Victims

Dear Friends,

Like most of us who live in Southern California, I am filled with grief by the recent fires that have swept through our neighborhoods, destroying beloved properties and whole communities. In my decades as a Chiropractor in private practice and Yoga instructor for the staff at the Getty Museum, my practice was mainly near the cities where the worst fires were burning. I now live and practice in Westlake Village, a city that borders where the recent fires were, but luckily outside of fire danger this time. When you are dealing with treacherous winds, It’s impossible to know where they will blow next. 

Since these recent fires started, so many of us have wanted to help in whatever ways we could. Instead of feeling helpless, watching the intensity of the fires sweep through neighborhoods, many got together and gathered things that people who had lost everything might need. Aside from donating clothes and household items, I’ve been making a list of what useful things I could do to help.

Heart to Heart-My Story

The destruction of neighborhoods caused by these winds and fires have created emotional pain beyond measure. We are constantly reminded that what was lost were just “things”, yet, all things are composed of energy; all things have value; and all things, including and especially forests and mountains, are alive.

I am now living in a community that was built one hundred years ago within an old oak forest. The first Robin Hood movie was filmed here and all the streets are named after the characters in the story. The first time I entered the community, I knew it was special; I could feel my body relax as I waited for the landlord to show me the house. The longer I waited, the more relaxed I became and I could hear conversations coming from the old trees that were surrounding me. I knew that I had to live here. Soon after moving in, someone gave me a book called, The Secret Life of trees; in the book, the author describes how trees, especially in forests, live in families, folded together by their root systems. To this day I can still hear them.

When the Pandemic began, in 2020, because, by law, I was not able to see patients as a Chiropractor during that time, I went through training to become Certified as a Health Coach through the Institute of Functional Medicine. Being a Coach allows me the opportunity to guide clients through the Lifestyle issues they choose to work on. For instance, Coaches can guide and teach, if asked, about the benefits of Real Food and how real food can reduce chronic inflammation and increase important neurotransmitters in the brain that help to balance mood; Coaches can encourage “Forest Bathing”, going outside in Nature to calm the parasympathetic part of the nervous system; Coaches can also guide healthy sleep habits and any other issues chosen by the Client.

Now, during these difficult times as a Coach, I would be able to support my neighbors and friends devastated by the recent fires by deeply listening and, when asked, by guiding those having trouble with their own self care. I have decided to offer pro bono Coaching to all those who have lost homes in the fires. This is what I can do for my neighbors who have lost so much:  By offering Coaching sessions, listening deeply to their needs, I would do what Coaches do best, connecting Heart to Heart.

All Fires are Personal

In 2018, I lost my home and all my belongings in the Woolsey fire. Although I had been a Malibu resident for almost fifty years at that time and experienced several fierce Santa Ana wind and fire events, until the Woolsey fire I had never known such fierce devastation that had become so personal. Now I know that all fires are personal. The night of the Woolsey fire, I could see the fire as I stood on my front porch facing the ridge of mountains in front of me; yet, I left my home that terrible night with no bags packed thinking I would be returning through my front door the next day. I was wrong. My home and entire community was burned to the ground that night. Just in my neighborhood alone, more than 150 homes were turned to black ash, along with the Peter Strauss Ranch, where I hiked several times a week and the iconic Paramount Ranch, where hundreds of Westerns were filmed for television and movies because of its Western town. They, also, were blackened during the Woolsey fire and are now being rebuilt.

Starting From Scratch

I, like all my neighbors and friends who chose to return, came back to a blank slate in which to dream and start again.  Starting from scratch and building from the ground up, we recreated a new community. It took years and is still in process. Between insurance claims, permits and supplies, it was a long process to rebuild. The neighbors who chose to not return after losing so much, were replaced with young families, filling the streets with strollers of infants and kids on skateboards - a completely new landscape than what had been there before. 

After the fire, each homeowner in our community was given a handmade sieve created by children from a nearby school. They were designed so we could sift through the powdered ash to try and find small things that may have been missed by the firemen and women. Hoping to find things like cherished jewelry and photographs, the children had painted slogans on them. It seemed to work; one of my young friends went to my burnt property with the sieve after work day after day looking for the engagement ring I had inherited from my grandmother years before after her death. It was never found. What was found were pieces of melted silverware I had inherited from my mother that had become glued onto garden pots and tools, becoming works of art. What was also found were broken vases decorated with melted glass from a thick glass table I had used in my pre-fire living room. Now they are beautiful pieces of sculptured art living on a shelf in my current home.

I am Here For You

Because of the tragedy of the recent fires that have created unimaginable destruction and loss, I am offering pro bono coaching sessions to victims of the recent fires. These sessions can be done in person or online and clients will not be charged for them. If you or others you know are struggling and would appreciate Coaching now by someone who has experience as a Health Practitioner and who has also experienced similar losses, PLEASE REACH OUT - I’M HERE TO HELP.

If you would like to reach out for some Coaching, my staff and I are booking pro bono appointments all during the months of February and March. I look forward to being with you during this difficult time.

Click the button below to send me an email.

Click HERE