Wise
Women
Foundation
Wise
Women Voice
a quarterly newsletter of the Wise
Women Foundation
Spring 2004
The Healing Power of Relationships
"In
organizations, real power and energy is generated through relationships. The
patterns of relationships and the capacities to form them are more important
than tasks, functions, roles and positions."-Margaret Wheatley
This
quote from wise woman, Margaret
Wheatley, amply sums up the vision of the Wise
Women Foundation. We are an organization of women in the Mind~Body~Spirit
community seeking to connect across geographic, cultural and modality
boundaries-to form relationships with each other and thus, discover our
integration points. Through these relationships we learn together, heal together
and grow together. And so do our families, friends and communities.
As
women, we know that there is nothing more soothing during troubled times than a
good talk with your closest girlfriend—and a big hug. Now there is scientific
research that supports what women have known for generations. According to an
UCLA study, when women are presented with stressful situations, a hormone,
oxytocin, is released which buffers the typical fight or flight response and
encourages her to gather with other women and tend children. When women engage
in this behavior more of the oxytocin hormone is released, further countering
stress. Apparently, estrogen seems to enhance the effects of this hormone, while
testosterone reduces the effects in men. Connecting with other women is healthy
for us!
In
another study by the Harvard Medical School, it was found that the more friends
women had, the less likely they were to develop physical impairments as they
aged. In fact, the results were so strong, that researchers concluded that not
having close friends was as detrimental to your health as smoking or carrying
extra weight. The study went on to say that widowed women that had a close
friend to support them during the time of the spouse's death were more likely to
survive the trauma—physically, mentally and spiritually.
So
there we have it, scientific research that supports what we have always
known—our relationships with other women serve our well-being. As the founder
of Wise Women Foundation, this did
not come as a surprise to me—frankly it was the support of the wise
women in my life that supported and nurtured the development of this
organization.
And
now there is an entire network of like-minded women rapidly growing here in the
Greater Washington, DC area— the Wise
Women Web that you can be a part of too! I invite you to connect with us
by visiting our web site www.WiseWomenWeb.net
to learn more about this network of health care providers, therapists and
consumers that support each other in our common goal of mind, body, spirit
well-being.
Wise
Women Web
members receive discounts on services and products from sponsoring businesses;
membership rates on all Wise Women
Foundation events and services; and (if you are a healing arts professional)
your business gets promoted through the network as well. This is a network for
all wise women—practitioners and
consumers, supporting each other in healing ourselves, our families and
communities.
The
Wise Women Foundation is proud to
represent the wise women in our
community. We offer networking events to nurture connection with other women in
the community; business programs to support practitioners in growing their
businesses; and community outreach programs to bring education and healing to
our communities. We invite you to do something healthy for yourself and join the
Wise Women Web today.
With
Appreciation,
Shawn K. Supers
Founder & Director