I remember noticing one Sunday in early fall 2011 that I was 'too much in my head' and needed to get out ...(and onto a motorcycle). 

For me, movement creates flow - it helps break up the dams that are causing me to feel stuck, anxious, fearful, (choose your metaphor) and it often reveals solutions or new pathways that feel like they were there all along. (This is probably why I have loved exercise and yoga (and motorcycling) for so long.) 
At that time I just couldn't see the path for all of the 'thinking' I was doing but I could feel the 'stuckness'.

With attention to body sensations, I now know when it's time to move - whether that be physically in a day or metaphorically in my life.

This is how Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy works... with attention to the physical body, there is an entry way into the soul - that inner wisdom that knows what is best and true. 

We all have this ability but the world we live in, full of distractions and chaos, makes it challenging to hear. Sometimes support is needed and this is where a yoga therapy session may prove useful.

I DO the work by engaging in monthly sessions for mySelf and I offer the support to others.
Body listening for Life change.

I didn't want to leave. 

Lately I've been starting my days out on the deck, moving, meditating, reading, journaling. This morning I was called to get off the deck, into the wet grass. I practiced an exercise that invited me to notice the connection (me) between earth and sky. They join at my heart. 

I was reminded that within me is where soul and spirit meet. 

I didn't have enough time to take-in the magnificence of that notion adequately. 

But the yard is there every morning, so I will spend more time in the days that come.

These days that I walk the world are the days that I leave my mark on the world. 

My intention is that it be one of healing ~ for myself and others, for generations behind and before me and the ones living in me. 

Too many of us are moving about unaware. I think that is why the world is hurting so much.

Find a way to connect today. Foot to earth, hand to heart, eye to eye - just pick something and remember that we belong to each other. 

If that feels tough, just start with you, remembering the meeting place inside you. ♥

What a joy - to live in a body that feels good!

I take this for granted too often and lately, as I am witness to the changes my body is experiencing due to time on this earth and day-to-day choices, it seems I only notice 'when it hurts'. Today, I promise myself to pay attention regularly, to notice the highs and the lows and particularly how my lifestyle choices contribute to that dynamic.

I have a colleague who started keeping 3 journals - one for her psycho-emotional health, one as a food diary, and another related to her menstrual cycle and related symptoms. Sounds exhausting to me, I can barely keep one journal up to date! But, through this practice of regularly recording, she was able to distinguish how various foods influenced her mood and the experience of her cycle and now she adjusts her diet to support her body and her mind as the days come and go.

Recently, I had a client who realized that what she thought was happening 'to' her body due to her illness - something that she has limited control over, might be due to the stagnant and repetitive patterns she was holding physically and emotionally since being diagnosed with her illness.

Can you imagine? Feeling defeated because you thought your body had been permanently 'limited' and then realizing that you actually had the ability to live the life you've been longing for all this time?

This lyric from the Eagles often comes to mind when I contemplate such things ~ "So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key."

What's the key? In my experience and witnessing of myself and others I think that movement and mindfulness are KEY to optimal health and well-being. When we apply consistent movement in the name of love for our body and intentional attention to what we eat, say, think, and do (and the list goes on) and notice how these lifestyle dynamics affect our physical, psycho-emotional, and social health... we have a key that unlocks the door to intimate self-discovery and empowerment.

The joy on my client's face when she realized that her destiny is not to be imprisoned by her illness unlocked doors in her body and in her mind. That freedom was expressed with a light and lifted face, open arms, and a graceful float out the door of the studio back into her life.

What will you do today to support your best health and well-being?

Holding Space

Last week (early March) I was in Bristol, Vermont at the school of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy acting in the role of mentor and practitioner. 

Being onsite and immersed in training and practice is rich, regardless of the course or my role in it. I come away injected with more insight into the work, more skills to support me as a practitioner (which then enables me to better support clients) and a personal fullness of being that comes from living in community with others who are uniquely skilled in holding space.

What does this mean - ‘holding space’? 

In short, offering your undivided, open, non-judgemental, active-listening, attention to another or others. Not just hearing with your ears, but seeing your eyes, and feeling with your body. Mindfully engaging with the intention of not getting in the way.

Holding space isn’t a norm in our society. We are often too engrossed in our own ‘stuff’ and our reactions to what the other person is sharing (in sound, sight and emotion) to truly pay attention to them. We are ready to react; to offer advice, to defend, judge, change, or deny.

Have you ever attempted to share something deeply meaningful to you, with someone whom you trust and walked away from the conversation not feeling heard, understood or gotten because the other person was so caught up in their own reaction to what you shared? Or maybe you can recall a time (or ten) when this has been you, not listening to another.

Holding space is a practice. Those of us lucky enough to have been raised in an environment that held space know this as a way of interacting with others, but this doesn’t seem to be the norm. So we must practice … just listening ... to another.

Holding space is a key element of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. It happens in 1-on-1, confidential sessions of movement, mindfulness, and dialog centered on the client and supported by the practitioner.

If you do not feel ‘heard’ or simply need someone to hold space for you as you explore a particular life event or decision, or some emotion or situation that you feel ‘stuck’ in, schedule a series of sessions and notice the difference it can make in your life.

As I re-enter the day-to-day dynamics of my life this coming week, I do so feeling more grounded and purposeful in the life I am creating. The gifts of acceptance and affirmation from my fellow practitioners offered me the space to get even more honest and clear about who I am and what I want and how I want to be, including refining my ability to hold space for others.

~Yvette