Artwork by Jose Ramirez

Hello Fellow Body-Mind-Hearts –

Last month I spoke about rituals. And here we are just emerging from the traditional days of honoring the change of the season (Samhain which marks the halfway point between fall equinox and winter solstice) and those that have gone before us (All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day, Día de los Muertos). There are so many traditions from so many parts of the world that honor the dead…our ancestors. This time of year is often considered a time when the veils between the worlds are thinner and therefore we have greater access to connection and conversation across realms. 

In our western culture we often don’t take the time to pay our respects to those who have gone before; those to whom we might give thanks for supporting and giving us life.  This does not necessarily have to be bloodline ancestors, but could be those who came before us in our spiritual lineage, our teaching lineage, or other meaningful folks who impacted our lives and are no longer in a physical body. We can acknowledge that we are part of a chain of life…and death. Those that came before pass on their knowing through DNA, teachings and the very fact of their existence and survival. And we, in turn, offer our presence and gifts sometimes through bloodline and sometimes through other means of tending life in another. 

One of the ways I explore this understanding is to feel the lineage of my ancestors behind me, in my back body, as a source of support and wisdom. I play with leaning into them and asking for guidance and knowing that I don’t have to figure everything out for the first time…that perhaps I am not alone in this wild and confusing process of life and death. I also acknowledge that not all my blood ancestors were the kind of people I really want to honor based on their behavior and life practices but I am here because they were and I can now change the tide of what came before with my conscious actions and thoughts. If my front body is how I present my personal self to the world then my back body can be a source of support for that process. I also endeavor to honor those who came before in the teachings I offer and the life I share with others. It can feel powerful to be part of an unfolding chain of life, deepening awareness and death. How do you pay your respects to those whom gave you life through breath, teachings or other means?

May we honor those that have gone before us and thank them for their gifts of life, teaching, being

May we live with the truth of our death and the preciousness of this moment

May we sense into the place we hold in the ongoing chain of life and bring loving awareness to our place in things

May we be compassionate and kind with ourselves and others during these trying times

Practice Prompts:

• Take some time when you land on your mat or cushion to softly and slightly lean back. Lean into those who came before you, those whose survival brought you life, those whose teachings nourish your soul, those whom you consider your lineage holders. Explore what it is like to allow yourself to be supported and part of a larger unfolding; to let your front body (individual self) rest into your back body (collective self).
• Consider creating a ritual to honor those whom you consider your ancestors…thanking them, speaking with them, letting them see how you are taking the life/the teachings they have given you forward. Remember this could be your bloodline or any other folk who you consider part of your guidance in this life.
• During your next conscious movement practice play with the idea that your shoulder blades are loving hands that hold your heart from behind. They give your vulnerable and courageous heart support to move forward in this life. What is that like? Whose hands might they be? How many stand behind with their heart supported and so on and so on?
• Schedule a free 20 minute Introductory Consultation to learn more about what I offer and how I might be able to guide ad support your cultivation of resilience and even find some new rituals for self-care.

Upcoming Live Streaming Practice Opportunities:

• Slow Flow Yoga, Mondays, 10-11:30am PDT  live stream through Seattle Yoga Arts
• Continuum Inquiry Playshop, Monday, November 8, 6-8pm PDT live stream through Body of Insight
• All Levels Yoga, Sunday, November 28, 10-11:30am PDT, live stream through Two Dog Yoga
• Yoga Nidra Practice, Sunday, November 28, 5:30-7pm PDT, live stream through Two Dog Yoga
• On Demand Yoga Practices…All Levels… through Seattle Yoga Arts (practice with me anytime, anywhere!)

Inspirational Wisdom:

“You have to remember one live, one death – this one! To enter fully the day, the hour, the moment whether it appears as life or death…requires only a moment, this moment.”

~ Stephen Levine