“Embrace Your Anger.” This was just one of the many powerful workshops I attended at the Heart Spirit Therapy Symposium, facilitated by The Golden Gate Integral Counseling Center in San Francisco on Saturday October 22, 2011. The event was free and open to all healing professionals--psychotherapists, yoga teachers, massage therapists, holistic practitioners, doulas, chiropractors, and lots of others. The day consisted of ten 30 minute sessions with a smorgasbord of topics, exploring the ways we connect with the heart and spirit to allow ourselves to heal. I was overwhelmed with joy, excitement, and eagerness to soak up as much information as I could, as well as connect with the amazing healers around me.
Being a yoga teacher and bodyworker myself, I attended “Yoga for Emotions” by Lexi Frank, and “Yoga for Trauma Healing” by Raia Kogan. These workshops really opened my eyes more to the “languaging” required when teaching and working with individuals, who have suffered from severe trauma. I learned how people who have suffered from severe trauma have little or no connection to their body, and a simple, but effective exercise to do in a yoga group is to let them feel their feet on the ground.
“Embrace Your Anger”, by Yael Melamed & Jyoti Kalmar, took me back to my Non-Violent Communication training days, which had both triggers for me, but wonderful insights to how I respond to anger, feel/experience it, and the strategies I use in a situation.
All the workshop facilitators were bursting with knowledge, wisdom and passion for their fields, that I wanted the workshops to be longer in length. I felt like it was a tease, but a great way to give a taste of what each individual is working on and contributing to the world. I hope Golden Gate Integral Counseling Center holds another event like this soon.
Golden Gate Integral Counseling Center offers quality, affordable counseling on a sliding scale basis and is a counseling center of the California Institute of Integral Studies (www.ciis.edu). Contact them today, www.goldengatecounseling.org.
Showing posts with label spirit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spirit. Show all posts
Friday, November 4, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Be Kind to Yourself: Taking time for self-care
In the past, I used to be sooooo hard on myself, especially the times when I said I was going to do something, and then forgot about it or just didn't do it. At the time, I didn't know why. But in the past 2 years learning about the Power of Intention and being more authentic and true to myself, I realized that if you want something to happen and it feels good in your body and whole being, it will happen or you will do it. It may not happen right away, and it depends on what it is. I would put such high expectations on myself, or tell myself things that really weren't true. For instance, if I didn't practice yoga an hour a day I wasn't good enough to be a yoga teacher. When I read that statement now, I say, "Come on!" Now, I look at the big picture. I look through a set of eyes with a wider vision. Also, we all forget to do things, even if we had the best intentions. It's okay! If someone gets upset with you about it, it's not you. It's their own frustrations and stories coming out. Be kind to yourself! Take a step back, ground your feet into the earth and breathe. Is the world really going to fall apart if you forgot/didn't do this or that?
No, really. I want you to ask that question to yourself when you find yourself getting reactive. I do ALL THE TIME.
A great way to not overwhelm yourself and your day is that when you make that "to-do list", after you have read it through, ask yourself, "is this do-able?" You may need to edit the list down a little, or just do the most important task that needs to be done, such as pay rent, bills, etc. On my daily lists, I always put down something for self-care. Something that will nurture my whole being: mind, body and spirit, so I feel grounded and energized to do the next thing or the things I love to do. This could be: take 5 minutes sitting quietly and breathe; write four things you're grateful for right now in your life; listen to or read something inspirational; do 5-10 minutes of stretches/yoga; listen to some music; or go for a walk. It can be anything. If you work 9-5, set aside certain times of the day, where you leave your desk and go to a quiet, private spot, even if it's your car! I always recommend this to my students and clients, especially those who have jammed, packed days or who tend to forget about their own needs throughout their day. The more we ignore what our bodies tell us, the more dis-ease can manifest.
As one of my yoga teachers, Joe Naudzunas said, "if you can find the time to brush your teeth, you can find the time to do some yoga poses." It sounds so simple. But you'll find that the more you take care of yourself, the more ease and flow will be your day, everyday.
Namaste.
No, really. I want you to ask that question to yourself when you find yourself getting reactive. I do ALL THE TIME.
A great way to not overwhelm yourself and your day is that when you make that "to-do list", after you have read it through, ask yourself, "is this do-able?" You may need to edit the list down a little, or just do the most important task that needs to be done, such as pay rent, bills, etc. On my daily lists, I always put down something for self-care. Something that will nurture my whole being: mind, body and spirit, so I feel grounded and energized to do the next thing or the things I love to do. This could be: take 5 minutes sitting quietly and breathe; write four things you're grateful for right now in your life; listen to or read something inspirational; do 5-10 minutes of stretches/yoga; listen to some music; or go for a walk. It can be anything. If you work 9-5, set aside certain times of the day, where you leave your desk and go to a quiet, private spot, even if it's your car! I always recommend this to my students and clients, especially those who have jammed, packed days or who tend to forget about their own needs throughout their day. The more we ignore what our bodies tell us, the more dis-ease can manifest.
As one of my yoga teachers, Joe Naudzunas said, "if you can find the time to brush your teeth, you can find the time to do some yoga poses." It sounds so simple. But you'll find that the more you take care of yourself, the more ease and flow will be your day, everyday.
Namaste.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Listening to our Body: Integrating body, mind and spirit
It's like the yin and yang; love and hate; knowing and not knowing; wanting and not wanting; forward and backwards. We are either in one or the other, or somewhere in between. For the past year, I have been working towards the positive, joyful side of things, even when they are not so good. Through this inner work, I have learned to not be so hard on myself when things happen. I have also realized that there are no accidents. Things happen for a reason. They happen in order to wake us up, to see an aspect of ourselves right in front of us. There may be certain people that show up in our lives that bring us joy or drive us crazy! It is when we ask the question, "Why?" in these situations. Why did this happen to me? Why can't this person just go away? Why did this person go away? There's nothing wrong asking why, but sometimes we get stuck there, we blame ourselves and others, put ourselves down, believe we don't deserve anything better or never will. We all have these thoughts, but do we really check into our bodies and feel? Do these thoughts really feel good? Are they serving you in order to move forward in life? Do you want to move forward? I could go on and on with this inquiry, but I am choosing not to because we all know what we want. Once we listen to our bodies and minds, it's when our spirit, our true selves begin to shine through.
Being in the thick of it
It was this past weekend when I had an awakening. An Ah-Ha moment. A realization. Whatever you want to call it. For the past few months, my menstrual periods were very heavy and lasted longer than 10, sometimes, up to 14 days. I decided to do something about it, so I went to see my doctor. I got blood work done and she decided to schedule me for an ultrasound to do an overall check up. My blood work showed that I was anemic and then the ultrasound showed a thickening in the lining of my uterus which part of it turned out to be a polyp, along with that, a cyst on my right ovary. So my doctor told me I needed a D & C (click here for more info), removal of the cyst and an IUD to keep the lining of my uterus thin. This was a mouth full. This was a lot! When I left the office, I cried. I felt like I did something wrong. The next day it was "I did this to myself". "I am unhealthy". "Why did this happen to me?!"
Then it was in my therapy session that I began to feel what my body was feeling. Having a therapist trained in somatic and other mind/body studies was very beneficial for me at that moment. She asked me to check in with that area (2nd chakra), where our reproductive organs live. A surge of resistance came over me. It was as if my consciousness wanted to completely cut itself off from that area. In the past, I had some trauma around this area and a lot of it is still stored there. Even though, I have done a lot of healing around it, it still can surface. The body memory will always be there. As I resisted, it persisted. I began to allow some of it out and my body began saying, "ugly, gross, and unhealthy". Of course, in my mind, I knew this wasn't true. For years, I was always up in my head about things that happened to me and here was my body telling me things! I was grateful to acknowledge this because it was obviously a part of me that was getting triggered, but a part of me that I had chose to bury away.
Awakening
When the weekend came, I was feeling great because I had the Yoga Journal Conference to look forward to. My intention for the weekend was to be inspired and find connection in myself and others. The three workshops I attended were so interrelated; I didn't even realize it until after I took them. The first was about tuning into your energy centers (chakras) with asana (poses) and mantras. As I made the sounds for each one in the corresponding asana, I began to feel shifts and energy move. It was a very healing sequence of asana because the teacher had us focus on something that related to ourselves and that chakra, whether it was a person or a life experience. Then we would make the sound, breath and let whatever or whoever it was go. Then the second workshop was Yin Yoga, a style of yoga where you hold a pose (all floor poses) for 3-5 minutes, in order stretch the connective tissues, stimulate meridians and have a more quiet, inward practice. We did a lot of hip openers, allowing me to surrender and let go into the pose. When savasana came, the teacher had another teacher sing a beautiful Tibetan chant. The emotions that began to surface felt like a wave inside my abdomen, and then I was crying. I felt safe knowing that this was the healing process, plus I was in a room full of yogis on their own path. After a two hour break, I went to my third and final workshop, which was called "Body Prayer: Entering the Temple". The title says it all. Throughout the yoga practice, the teacher spoke about how we are all one, mind-body-spirit. That there is no separation. We are all similar beings striving for love, connection and community; that we need to let go of our judgments on others and ourselves in order to live our lives. I got choked up during the short lecture, and then while in pigeon pose, I began to ride that wave from the previous workshop. Another juicy hip opener, but then again, the whole practice was hip openers. This area that I disconnected myself from began to shine and speak to me. I suddenly felt whole. I felt light. I felt like I could do anything. Say anything. Love myself. Love this area that I ignored for so long.
Moving forward
I want to clarify that this process can take time. I have been learning to listen to my body for years. Yoga is what really began this journey. My dance and movement training became the catalyst, the self-expression of all the inner conflicts and emotions. My holistic health training provided many tools on feeling my emotions, listening to my needs, the body's sensations and the mind. Then, finally massage training, being a total body experience, also supports the integration of the mind, body and spirit. As I move forward, I realize by going through my various trainings, it was about connecting with me as a whole person. Learning to see the beauty and the positive in others and day-to-day experiences, whether you're at work, school, walking down the street. When I started my holistic health program back in March 2008, we had to create our life's purpose. My life purpose was, "I am love and acceptance". This still rings true for me because through this whole experience, I have begun to see that loving what is moves us through the dark and the fear a little more easily. Acceptance goes along with love. We love our family, friends and partners no matter what choices they made in their life. But remember that, it is all a process and it may take our whole lives to get there. I know I have a long way to go. But if we begin to, at least exercise our consciousness by playing with these concepts, little by little we begin to make baby steps towards what we want and let our spirits shine.
Being in the thick of it
It was this past weekend when I had an awakening. An Ah-Ha moment. A realization. Whatever you want to call it. For the past few months, my menstrual periods were very heavy and lasted longer than 10, sometimes, up to 14 days. I decided to do something about it, so I went to see my doctor. I got blood work done and she decided to schedule me for an ultrasound to do an overall check up. My blood work showed that I was anemic and then the ultrasound showed a thickening in the lining of my uterus which part of it turned out to be a polyp, along with that, a cyst on my right ovary. So my doctor told me I needed a D & C (click here for more info), removal of the cyst and an IUD to keep the lining of my uterus thin. This was a mouth full. This was a lot! When I left the office, I cried. I felt like I did something wrong. The next day it was "I did this to myself". "I am unhealthy". "Why did this happen to me?!"
Then it was in my therapy session that I began to feel what my body was feeling. Having a therapist trained in somatic and other mind/body studies was very beneficial for me at that moment. She asked me to check in with that area (2nd chakra), where our reproductive organs live. A surge of resistance came over me. It was as if my consciousness wanted to completely cut itself off from that area. In the past, I had some trauma around this area and a lot of it is still stored there. Even though, I have done a lot of healing around it, it still can surface. The body memory will always be there. As I resisted, it persisted. I began to allow some of it out and my body began saying, "ugly, gross, and unhealthy". Of course, in my mind, I knew this wasn't true. For years, I was always up in my head about things that happened to me and here was my body telling me things! I was grateful to acknowledge this because it was obviously a part of me that was getting triggered, but a part of me that I had chose to bury away.
Awakening
When the weekend came, I was feeling great because I had the Yoga Journal Conference to look forward to. My intention for the weekend was to be inspired and find connection in myself and others. The three workshops I attended were so interrelated; I didn't even realize it until after I took them. The first was about tuning into your energy centers (chakras) with asana (poses) and mantras. As I made the sounds for each one in the corresponding asana, I began to feel shifts and energy move. It was a very healing sequence of asana because the teacher had us focus on something that related to ourselves and that chakra, whether it was a person or a life experience. Then we would make the sound, breath and let whatever or whoever it was go. Then the second workshop was Yin Yoga, a style of yoga where you hold a pose (all floor poses) for 3-5 minutes, in order stretch the connective tissues, stimulate meridians and have a more quiet, inward practice. We did a lot of hip openers, allowing me to surrender and let go into the pose. When savasana came, the teacher had another teacher sing a beautiful Tibetan chant. The emotions that began to surface felt like a wave inside my abdomen, and then I was crying. I felt safe knowing that this was the healing process, plus I was in a room full of yogis on their own path. After a two hour break, I went to my third and final workshop, which was called "Body Prayer: Entering the Temple". The title says it all. Throughout the yoga practice, the teacher spoke about how we are all one, mind-body-spirit. That there is no separation. We are all similar beings striving for love, connection and community; that we need to let go of our judgments on others and ourselves in order to live our lives. I got choked up during the short lecture, and then while in pigeon pose, I began to ride that wave from the previous workshop. Another juicy hip opener, but then again, the whole practice was hip openers. This area that I disconnected myself from began to shine and speak to me. I suddenly felt whole. I felt light. I felt like I could do anything. Say anything. Love myself. Love this area that I ignored for so long.
Moving forward
I want to clarify that this process can take time. I have been learning to listen to my body for years. Yoga is what really began this journey. My dance and movement training became the catalyst, the self-expression of all the inner conflicts and emotions. My holistic health training provided many tools on feeling my emotions, listening to my needs, the body's sensations and the mind. Then, finally massage training, being a total body experience, also supports the integration of the mind, body and spirit. As I move forward, I realize by going through my various trainings, it was about connecting with me as a whole person. Learning to see the beauty and the positive in others and day-to-day experiences, whether you're at work, school, walking down the street. When I started my holistic health program back in March 2008, we had to create our life's purpose. My life purpose was, "I am love and acceptance". This still rings true for me because through this whole experience, I have begun to see that loving what is moves us through the dark and the fear a little more easily. Acceptance goes along with love. We love our family, friends and partners no matter what choices they made in their life. But remember that, it is all a process and it may take our whole lives to get there. I know I have a long way to go. But if we begin to, at least exercise our consciousness by playing with these concepts, little by little we begin to make baby steps towards what we want and let our spirits shine.
Friday, July 24, 2009
All You Need is Yoga
For me, not necessarily. I know for myself I love a dance class or combo aerobic/dance class to get the blood and oxygen flowing. I guess the "yang" side (active side) of me needs it. Also, to each his own. I feel everyone needs something different but including yoga in your routine is a wonderful thing. What I love about it is you can attend to your own body's needs. For instance, if you're feeling fatigued or run-down, do some restorative, relaxation yoga. If you have a lot of energy or stress, do a few rounds of sun salutations and/or standing poses to ground and center yourself. There is also meditation. Being able to sit with yourself for a few minutes or longer helps slow down the breath, blood pressure and nervous system. There's opportunity to tune into your emotions as well. The benefits of yoga are immense!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(From yogajournal.com daily insight)
Yoga might be good for flexibility or relaxation, but to be truly fit, do you have to combine it with an activity like running or weight lifting?
Yoga may improve strength, aerobic capacity, and lung function. If you practice yoga, you already knew that. But if you've been told by friends, family, doctors, or even other yoga students that you need to add some power walking for your heart or strength training for your muscles, there's growing evidence that yoga is all you need for a fit mind and body.
Yoga tunes you into your body and helps you to better coordinate your actions. When you bring your breath, your awareness, and your physical body into harmony, you allow your body to work at its maximum fitness capacity. Yoga class is merely a laboratory for how to be in harmony with the body in every activity outside of yoga. The improved physical wellness and fluidity that yoga brings can enhance more than just our physical well-being, as it permeates all levels of our being.
IN THIS ISSUE
Is Yoga Enough to Keep You Fit?
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/739
Yoga for Runners
http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/192
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(From yogajournal.com daily insight)
Yoga might be good for flexibility or relaxation, but to be truly fit, do you have to combine it with an activity like running or weight lifting?
Yoga may improve strength, aerobic capacity, and lung function. If you practice yoga, you already knew that. But if you've been told by friends, family, doctors, or even other yoga students that you need to add some power walking for your heart or strength training for your muscles, there's growing evidence that yoga is all you need for a fit mind and body.
Yoga tunes you into your body and helps you to better coordinate your actions. When you bring your breath, your awareness, and your physical body into harmony, you allow your body to work at its maximum fitness capacity. Yoga class is merely a laboratory for how to be in harmony with the body in every activity outside of yoga. The improved physical wellness and fluidity that yoga brings can enhance more than just our physical well-being, as it permeates all levels of our being.
IN THIS ISSUE
Is Yoga Enough to Keep You Fit?
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/739
Yoga for Runners
http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/192
Monday, April 27, 2009
Emotions in Motion
I loved this article because it hits home for me in so many ways. I have been going through my own healing process and I know yoga has helped me breakthrough a lot of barriers of resistance. Yes, it's scary when you face your inner demons, but the relief and space you feel afterward is so beautiful and profound.
I want to share this article because just in this first paragraph below, this has happened to me and I've seen it happen to others. It's amazing what our bodies do. We can get to know them more through yoga.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(From yogajournal.com daily insights)
You reach up and back, your chest opening into a supported backbend. Then, suddenly, you're in tears. How did you move from serenity to intensity in just one moment?
"The holistic system of yoga was designed so that these emotional breakthroughs can occur safely," says Joan Shivarpita Harrigan, Ph.D., a psychologist and the director Knoxville, Tennessee's Patanjali Kundalini Yoga Care, Tennessee, which provides guidance to spiritual seekers. "Yoga is not merely an athletic system; it is a spiritual system. The asanas are designed to affect the subtle body for the purpose of spiritual transformation. People enter into the practice of yoga asana for physical fitness or physical health, or even because they've heard it's good for relaxation, but ultimately the purpose of yoga practice is spiritual development."
This development depends on breaking through places in the subtle body that are blocked with unresolved issues and energy. "Anytime you work with the body, you are also working with the mind and the energy system—which is the bridge between body and mind," Harrigan explains. And since that means working with emotions, emotional breakthroughs can be seen as markers of progress on the road to personal and spiritual growth.
IN THIS ISSUE
Emotions in Motion
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/1215
Change is In the Air
http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/1769
I want to share this article because just in this first paragraph below, this has happened to me and I've seen it happen to others. It's amazing what our bodies do. We can get to know them more through yoga.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(From yogajournal.com daily insights)
You reach up and back, your chest opening into a supported backbend. Then, suddenly, you're in tears. How did you move from serenity to intensity in just one moment?
"The holistic system of yoga was designed so that these emotional breakthroughs can occur safely," says Joan Shivarpita Harrigan, Ph.D., a psychologist and the director Knoxville, Tennessee's Patanjali Kundalini Yoga Care, Tennessee, which provides guidance to spiritual seekers. "Yoga is not merely an athletic system; it is a spiritual system. The asanas are designed to affect the subtle body for the purpose of spiritual transformation. People enter into the practice of yoga asana for physical fitness or physical health, or even because they've heard it's good for relaxation, but ultimately the purpose of yoga practice is spiritual development."
This development depends on breaking through places in the subtle body that are blocked with unresolved issues and energy. "Anytime you work with the body, you are also working with the mind and the energy system—which is the bridge between body and mind," Harrigan explains. And since that means working with emotions, emotional breakthroughs can be seen as markers of progress on the road to personal and spiritual growth.
IN THIS ISSUE
Emotions in Motion
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/1215
Change is In the Air
http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/1769
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