Hello Fellow Body-Mind-Hearts –

Do you ever feel totally maxed? Like you simply can’t take in any more information, experiences, sensations, ideas, etc. Like you’re full and can’t eat another bite of life and it is really challenging to be present for yourself or others in the moment.

Then squeeze the sponge! At least once a day. And reclaim your flow-through!

When a sponge isn’t squeezed out it only has so much ability to soak up liquid…when it’s full, it simply can’t take in any more…we are the same way. If we don’t cultivate ways to move and express what is coming through us and how it impacts us we can easily reach overwhelm. In some ways this is at the root of trauma in the nervous system. When we experience an event or circumstance that is more than we know how to process or it’s not safe to allow for some of our inherent defensive responses they get stuck in the system…and the more ‘stuff’ that gets stuck the fuller the sponge and the less capacity for day to day life.

So we need to cultivate the wisdom of squeezing the sponge. And this can look so many different ways as we move our bodies and emotions and play with our senses and expressions. It could be shaking out your body and making guttural animal sounds after a particularly stressful visit with an ailing parent, as a client/student of mine recent did…and she was able to get her sister in on the action too! This really helped them both settle back in after their travels. This could be dancing at the end of a long work day…or in the middle for that matter…to get the body moving, sure, but also to move the accumulation of ideas, thoughts and reactions through. It could be a few minutes sitting with the sensations of agitation or tension in your body and allowing them to be felt rather than dismissed, which can offer more space for other emotions/feelings. A key here is bringing in the body…moving and tending the body and it’s sensations is paramount. Even if large movements aren’t available, small ones often are, along with sounds and simple attention to the feelings/sensations. Don’t forget that a single rain drop will ripple out and reach the shore!

The way I feel it in my body-mind-heart is that I am an organic being that is always in process of unfolding. I am constantly taking in information, not just into my brain but through all my senses and my heart. All this informs me and creates the context of my life. And it’s a lot to take in! So, if I don’t express and move these impressions and impacts through me then I can’t be fresh for the next person I meet or the next situation I encounter or for even for myself. When I’m not fresh for the moment I am coming from habit, from concept and from defense. When I am fresh for the moment I am coming from an open perception, a spaciousness of attention and more of me. How do I get there?…express and squeeze all that gets built up inside…growl, sing, dance, tend the pain, pause, write….anything that brings me back my flow-through and ability to show up.

How about you…what helps you reclaim your presence and flow-through? I would love to hear from you.

May we be willing to squeeze our sponge in order to show up with more presence for life
May we create space for ourselves and others to express the whole spectrum of being in order to experience the whole spectrum of life
May we be willing to let go of the habits, defenses and stuckness that is familiar to open to the freshness of the moment
May we honor our organic nature of movement and flow rather than endeavor to a mechanical view of ourselves
May we dance with the full spectrum of our emotions with compassion and kindness

Practice Prompts:

• Take some time every day to squeeze your sponge…find a way to move the anger, frustration, gratitude, joy and ambivalence through you…to feel it and give it full expression in order to make space for the next wave of experience.
• Know who your safe peeps are that can hold your expression when needed…who can you call on to listen and witness you without needing to change or correct you…sometimes we need to know we are heard in our process of processing life
• Build pauses into your day. Times when you can check in and see if your sponge is full and needs a press. Take the time to do this before going onto the next thing…it often doesn’t take much, especially if done regularly and build up doesn’t happen
• Schedule a free 20 minute Introductory Consultation to learn more about what I offer and I might be able to help you squeeze your sponge and find more presence in your life.

Upcoming Live Streaming Practice Opportunities:

• All Levels Yoga, Mondays, 10-11:30am PDT  live stream through Seattle Yoga Arts
• Continuum Inquiry Playshop, Monday, July 12, 6-8pm PDT live stream through Body of Insight
• All Levels Yoga, Sunday, July 18, 5:30-7pm PDT, live stream through Two Dog Yoga
• Yoga Nidra Practice, Sunday, July 18, 5:30-7pm PDT, live stream through Two Dog Yoga
• Full Moon Mandala Practice, Wednesday, July 21, 7-8:30pm PDT live stream through Seattle Yoga Arts
• On Demand Yoga Practices…All Levels… through Seattle Yoga Arts (practice with me anytime, anywhere!)

Inspirational Wisdom:

For Equilibrium, a Blessing:
Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,
May the relief of laughter rinse through your soul.

As the wind loves to call things to dance,
May your gravity by lightened by grace.

Like the dignity of moonlight restoring the earth,
May your thoughts incline with reverence and respect.

As water takes whatever shape it is in,
So free may you be about who you become.

As silence smiles on the other side of what’s said,
May your sense of irony bring perspective.

As time remains free of all that it frames,
May your mind stay clear of all it names.

May your prayer of listening deepen enough
to hear in the depths the laughter of god.”

~ John O’Donohue