Hello Beautiful SoulBodies –
For many peoples in the Northern Hemisphere, this time has marked the beginning of the year. The time when the inkling of birth from death is felt and the felt sense of possibility and a new cycle is in the air. This is the time of the Celtic feast of Imbolc, the halfway point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, when green sprouts show themselves and the lambing season begins. It is the time of the new moon that marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year and the fledging of spring for the Chinese. The last full moon is known as Tu B’Shavat in the Jewish tradition…The Birthday of the Trees…acknowledging that the sap is beginning to rise in the trees and energy starts to move slowly underground. These are just a few of the ways rebirth and the cycle of renewal is honored.
I am feeling some of that unseen but present mobilization. Not quite ready for full expression but burgeoning, none the less. For me, it is showing up in a longing for more time with folks in-person and in practice. A deep need for connection beyond the screen. And the sparkling of new ideas about how I can care for myself and the world that is burning all around me. Some of these ideas are not ripe enough for me to speak yet. This is a potent lesson from the world around me…all in good time…we can’t hurry the process of emergence. Yet some of them could be named even as they are not fully formed yet…
~ Committing to no less than one day a month, with the goal of one day a week, for a technological sabbatical…no phone or screens of any kind for the day, beginning the night before and ending the morning after
~ Committing one morning a week to my creative life…writing, especially, but other forms of expression as well with the purpose of nourishment and opening to how it may want to be shared with the world
~ Recommitting to the embodied consciousness practices that keep me connected to the web of life…daily prayer, meditation, ritual, and offering
What is shimmering inside you? What is ready to be named and what needs a little more time before it is ready to be shared? This discernment in and of itself is a potent practice. How might you bring more of you to the world that needs our fierce care, our steady rage, our quiet understanding and our wild LOVE? There is so much pain and cruelty happening in so many parts of the world…it is incumbent on us, who may have the time and means to tend to this burgeoning time to really make a dedication to meet the hurting, hating and heaving with whatever is fresh inside us.
One more thing…I will be offering my first in-person playshop series this spring…yahoo! This is a Continuum Inquiry and Soul Motion combined exploration to Embodying Presence that I am honored to co-facilitate with my friend and colleague, Lynne Herbert, in Bend, OR. It is a series of three Saturday afternoon playshops over the course of three months inviting you to deepen into the felt sense of your own body wisdom and the ways you can take in the world and offer back out to it. For more information and to register for all three or any single date, click HERE. I am so ready for this and I hope you will be able to join us if you are in the area.
May we slow down to sense what is quietly starting to move within our souls and the world
May we listen deeply to what is ready to be expressed and what needs more time to incubate
May we open to the subtle ways life continues to emerge even amidst such pain
May we bring wild blessings and fierce love to all we encounter
Practice Prompts:
- Make it a practice to soften your eyes and see where there is new growth starting to appear in the world around you. Soften your ears to hear the fresh sounds of birds and other life awakening slowly around you. Practice awaking to the awakening.
- Become curious about anything that might be burgeoning inside of you during this time…new creative ideas, various options for changes, fresh ways of being…and give them some space and attention in whatever way makes sense for you.
- Consider how you might best offer support and understanding out into the world on a personal and /or collective level. The world needs us to speak for the web of life that is in peril.
- I offer one to one sessions, in-person in Bend, Oregon, and virtually all over the world. Currently, I am not taking on any more virtual clients and I have a waitlist for in person sessions. I am happy to answer any questions and help you with referrals. Please email me or schedule a free 20 minute Exploratory Session.
In Person Practice Opportunities:
- Embodying Presence; A Continuum Inquiry and Soul Motion Playshop co-facilitated with Lynne Herbert…April 6, May 18, June 1, 2024…Continuum Yoga Studio, Bend, OR… join all three or join single dates
Live Streaming Practice Opportunities:
- Yoga for Resilience, Mondays, 9:30-11am PT, livestream through Body of Insight
- All Levels Yoga, Sundays… Jan 21, Feb 18, Mar 17, Apr 21, 9:30-11am PT, livestream through Two Dog Yoga
- On Demand Yoga Practices…All Levels… through Two Dog Yoga
Inspirational Wisdom:
There is strength in the faith of the unfolding.
The magic of new cell growth, seeds unfurl;
angels singing them into being,
and you, you are always sheltering me.
The almond trees are birthing pink flowers in
your holy land,
and almonds are always sour, furry and green
before we can milk them.
So too, must we remember that birthing takes
time.
Blissfulness can be felt in all seasons, but only if
you taste delicately the scents of the moment.
These too are willing you into being.
Those plums only fruit when the flower is
whole and the sun is warm and the time is
deliciously right.
Don’t wait too long to live, but also remember
that the seasons are here to remind us that rest
and rebirth are necessary for life.
Let the sap rise up in you.
Taste it.
Move with it.
Allow it to fill you as you become more sweet and more alive in the now.
~ Kohenet Naomi Azriel