Hello Fellow Body-Mind-Hearts –

They say you never step into the same river twice. Even if you are standing in the same place on the river bank, the river itself is shifting and different each moment. Not to mention the fact the we are different, cellularly and energetically, moment to moment. So everything is shifting and unfolding all the time…yet we get so attached to things remaining the same and the familiarity of repetition.

It was at this time last year that our lives took on a very different tone. The flow of life changed in dramatic and new ways. The way we moved around the landscape, our homes, each other was drastically altered. We were forced to find new fresh ways of being and meeting life and death. And now a year later we have traversed a landscape (both external and internal) that most of us didn’t even know existed.

I simply want to acknowledge this. Anniversaries are evocative. They are a way that we track the cycles of our life and can be both joyous and challenging depending on what we are marking. I don’t know about you but I have encountered both incredible heartbreak and wondrous shifts during this past year. I am in awe of the incredible resiliency of humans and I am devastated by the loss of so much. This is a powerful time (the new moon, the anniversary of pandemic life changes, the spring equinox) to pause for a moment in the current of this ever shifting river and reflect.

What is current in the current? For me I am holding the truth that life will never be the same and in some ways this is delicious and welcome and in other ways I grieve for certain ways of doing and being that are no longer viable. Each day is an opportunity to dance with the relief of what has opened for me and the grief of what was taken away.

How did I get to this point and what tidal shifts carried me here? For me there was the tidal shift of global fear and uncertainty that gave way to smaller waves to clarity and direction. I am aware of unseen forces that held and nourished me in ways I don’t fully understand. And some of the losses carried me to new places within myself that I may not have ever encountered without both the urging of circumstance and a willingness to be carried. There is more that I continue to unpack.

What has been tossed on the shore for me to claim and what has been lost to the depths? There is so much in this inquiry…and to be honest I am not sure I can speak to this yet. I do know that there is a reclamation process happening inside as well as a reordering of the outer circumstances. I am beach combing now to see what are the treasures that I can put on the altar of my heart and what do I say goodbye to with a ritual toss to the sea.

How do I flow with this river with more grace and ease? This is the deep inquiry of so many traditions and practices…for me it is a daily willingness to be with myself whether I am in the trough or the peak of the wave. To be able to say yes to the no and hold my aches with compassion and presence. Not so different than ‘before’ but more awake to the undulation.

These are some of the considerations I am sitting with this month. And I invite you to do the same. Please share with me if you are so inclined. 

May we take time daily to pause in the current moment of the current flow and simply notice what is
May we invite the flow of life to continue moving through us, unobstructed and undefended
May we find ways to feel the natural fluid ways of moving in our body that resonate with the waters of the planet
May we honor the rhythmic and seasonal knowings of our body and the earth
May our presence be a balm and a blessing to those around us

Practice Prompts:

• Pause and bring your awareness into your spine and center axis. Find a small and gentle undulation through your spine. Let this movement ripple throughout the length of your spine and allow for all the possible directions of differing currents. Do this for a period of time and then allow it to come to a still-point. Notice how you feel.
• Take some time each day to play with water…whether this is in your shower, your kitchen sink or outside with a body of water. Be aware of how it touches and dances on your skin or in your eyes. See-Feel with the water and let it teach you about fluidity and movement and life.
• Join me for the next Continuum Inquiry Playshop for a practice of fluid play and conscious inquiry into our watery being.
• Although I am not currently accepting new clients, you are welcome to schedule a free 20 minute Introductory Consultation to learn more about what I offer. From there, you can decide to be put on a wait list for a future opening or receive a referral to a colleague.

Upcoming Live Streaming Practice Opportunities:

• Mondays 10-11:30am PDT All Levels Yoga live stream through Seattle Yoga Arts
• Sundays 10-11:30am PDT All Levels Yoga live stream through Two Dog Yoga Studio
• Yoga Nidra Practice, Sunday, Mar 14, 5:30-7pm PDT, live stream through Two Dog Yoga
• Full Moon Mandala Practice, Thursday, Mar 25, 7-8:30pm PDT live stream through Seattle Yoga Arts
• Continuum Moving Inquiry Playshop, Monday, Apr 12, 6-8pm PDT live stream through Body of Insight
• Yoga Nidra: Holding Space for Healing and Ease, A Yoga Teacher Practicum, Sunday, April 25, 1-7pm PDT live stream through Seattle Yoga Arts

Inspirational Wisdom:

LOVE AFTER LOVE

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

~ Derek Walcott