From Suffering to Bliss – a yoga journey for self-healing

When I notice I am suffering or struggling, I check in to see what is happening, what I am not getting or what wants to change.

How are you with change and uncertainly?

For many years I resisted and resented undesired change. It was painful and not something I had planned. I did all I could to avoid it! I would get busy, grumpy, or resentful. So many more important things to do!  Or times there were long periods in inertia, resentment and feeling trapped. All completely subconscious.

Finding yoga and spiritual development gave me the tools to reflect and broaden my understanding. I came to understand that there was something bigger at play. My ego is not in control. The pain drove me to change. The result exactly what I needed.  The pain led to change. I was being guided to a better place.

The act of regularly showing up on the mat is a huge opportunity to be present with what is, to feel those things that are so easy to avoid. I found yoga postures a way into reflective practices. They also gave me time to get to know my body, and feel! Some tightness wouldn’t shift no matter how many classes I did. It was in healing and personal development that they moved. I was then able to explore and access deeper wisdom in the yoga classes.

I studied a whole lot and understood at a cognitive level. Over time I was really able to understand. This was when I felt the knowing and understanding physically and at a more subtle, energetic level.

Now I feel and know with my physical body and beyond that change and the suffering it often brings are the one certainty in life! It is not wrong or a punishment, rather a catalyst to take us to a new, more evolved place. The idea is to move through the suffering rather than get stuck. Now it’s not easy or quick but the reality of life.

Life continues to bring me opportunities to leap forward and I find the support and connection of my practice means the process is easier and quicker. And I still notice sub-conscious activities taking me the scenic route! Ultimately it will take as long as is needed.

Yoga for change and reducing suffering

Are you ready for change? Looking for support navigating change? Trying to understand and make sense of uncertainty.

Email me to book a free 20 minute consultation to see how working together can support you.

Yoga – a Path to Peace & Self-awareness

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Yoga is a path to self-discovery, the ancient wisdom of sages including Patanjali are as relevant today as thousands of years ago. Yoga offers a wealth of philosophy and psychology which dates back thousands of years. Postures as we know them today are a very recent addition. Yoga was taught individually, to men only. It was a way of life. The student would have to work hard to be accepted by his teacher. Training would involve living with the teacher, often for many years.

Krishnamacharya started teaching yoga to women. In 1937 Indra Devi became known as “The First Lady of Yoga.” when she was admitted into his school. Now yoga is often associated with complex acrobatic postures, often with young, very bendy and attractive women. However the postures are only one of many tools to journey to a state of yoga. They can in fact become a distraction when that is our only focus. It is important to maintain strength in the body, especially the spine and a flexibility. From a yoga perspective this is to support our meditation practice.

A mindful yoga practice supports the body and creates a space to become aware of what really going on. Underneath the busy mind, and aches and pains there is often an emotional issue. Awareness can be enough to start or complete moving this energy from your system.

Y – YOU – the only person who you can change is yourself – you are responsible only for your reaction.

O – OBSERVE – your thoughts, actions, and reactions – are there patterns you have outgrown or are not serving you? Are you ready for change?

G – GRATITUDE – spend time focusing on all you are grateful for, the more you do this the more you will find and the more positive and calm you will feel.

A – ACCEPTANCE – allow whatever is happening to be okay and remember that change is the only certainty. Much angst and energy is spent on things over which we have not control.

Is it time for you to take the next step? Please email me if you would like support or guidance.

Kick-Starting Your Healing

I am doing so well then all of a sudden a wave of overwhelm envelops me. Does that happen to you? or are ready to start making changes?

After all the years of healing, I can still get buffeted by the winds of life, and the ego starts digging in her heels to keep me small and what she considers safe! It gets easier and the wobbles less high and yet out of the blue something off the scale happens! Who would have imagined a pandemic, some believe will wipe out huge numbers and others that virus’s don’t exist! There is also the alien theory :). Life has changed as we know it and we no longer have rights that were assumed set in stone.

It is so easy for us to forget our learning and our innate healing abilities.

Here are six simple steps which can rapidly improve how you see yourself and your world:

  1. Willingness to Change
    Many experience fear of change as an insurmountable obstacle. It is not necessary to leap off the cliff. One step at a time is sufficient—one step can change your focus and direction. Just be willing to change.
  2. Self-Awareness
    Self-awareness is developing awareness of thoughts, feelings, emotions, and behaviors behind your actions and reactions. It is receiving and noticing input both—external and internal—from body, mind, and senses. The process is ongoing.
  3. Acceptance
    The next step is accepting and owning all parts of you, including those that are hidden, disliked, or ignored.
    Acceptance is simple and free; it can be done anytime and anywhere. It is allowing whatever is happening to unfold in its own time, irrespective of whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, convenient or inconvenient. It does not mean that you agree, disagree, want, or reject anything. Rather, you simply observe and let it be okay.
    Rememberacceptance does not apply in a situation where your safety and security are at risk.

    The act of acceptance removes the need for a situation to be other than it is in the present moment. Resisting what is happening or holding on to something that happened in the past, is the cause of a huge amount of pain and anxiety. This release allows and facilitates the flow of energy and movement, taking you to another, more comfortable, place.
    However challenging or beyond comprehension it may appear, everything happens to help you grow and evolve into the best possible version of yourself.
  4. Forgiveness
    Forgiveness for self and others, whether victim or perpetrator, cuts ties to the past, freeing oppressive energy. The result is new possibilities for health and well-being. Again, it doesn’t imply agreement with or validation of a behavior or event. Many find forgiveness frees them to move forward with life.
  5. Gratitude
    Gratitude focuses on everything in a thankful way. Understanding and accepting that all experience is for our growth makes gratitude much easier. It may be helpful to start with something small: I am grateful for the air I breathe, food to eat, etc. The more you practice, the more there is to be grateful for, and the more refined gratitude becomes. Every event has been part of shaping you into the person you are, even the less positive experiences. A deepening appreciation increases your sense of well-being and peace of mind.
    There are many ways to practice gratitude—meditation, prayer, ritual, verbal expression, and written expression (gratitude diary or journal). Experiment to find the most effective method for you.
  6. Love
    Love is honoring and appreciating all that you are, your uniqueness, your gifts, and your challenges—past and present. This is the place of real peace. It is only when we accept and truly love all aspects of the self (warts and all) that we can see clearly, and truly love another. The more we focus on self-love, the higher our vibration becomes, and we start to radiate this energy of love. It ripples out into home, family, workplace, etc., drawing to us more of the same (Law of Attraction).

Please note: It is not possible to change others; however, by changing ourselves, the world around us changes. It will be for your best interest, which may not be apparent immediately but become so with hindsight.

“Self-love is the key to transforming your personal world and the world at large”.

Taken from Searching… A Peek into the Invisible World of Energy and Healing by Donna Linn & Suzan J Wells.

Searching…

Are you looking for something new? Do you feel that there is more to life? Is the way you have been living no longer working for you? 

You are not alone—many are feeling a need for change, a deeper understanding and/or sense of purpose. Behind the desire for change is usually a catalyst. You may have experienced a gentle or not-so-gentle nudge—what was previously comfortable is no longer so. Perhaps you have had challenges, health issues, unforeseen changes, or endings in relationships and/or jobs. These upheavals instigate changes, which in turn create space for something new to manifest.

What if … there is a world as yet unknown, of unlimited potential, free from the restrictions of the past? A world of possibility, potential, and power, where you can access answers, knowing, and understanding, a place where positive and lasting changes can be made. It is an innate part of you, perhaps forgotten or overlooked, yet it is still there. This is the invisible world of energy and healing.

 Understanding How Energy Works

… Everything, seen and unseen, is energy and has an impact on each of us. All thoughts, feelings, and emotions are linked to an energetic vibration. The body vibrates at a frequency that reflects your current state. This is known as resonance.

When feeling unhappy or unwell, your vibration will be at a lower rate than if you are happy or in love. Trauma, negative events, and emotions have a lower frequency and vibration. These denser energies can cause dis-ease. By freeing the energy and restoring flow, your body can become at ease. This is the realm of energy healing.

Have you ever noticed that when you are with an unhappy person, or someone with many worries and anxieties, you start to feel the same? Even though you were feeling absolutely fine earlier, you now feel heavy, grumpy, sluggish, or negative.

Similarly, if you are with very happy people, you feel much lighter and more positive. Even the thought of being with them may increase your vibration. This is the Law of Attraction at work—like attracts like.

There is a whole world of invisible energy with which we continually, albeit unconsciously, interact.

Your energies are continuously interacting with the energies of people and places, which have positive or negative effects. Knowledge of this energy gives possibilities for its conscious use. It is one way to create positive, life-enhancing change.

Taken from Searching… A Peek into the Invisible World of Energy and Healing by Donna Linn & Suzan J Wells.

Staying Grounded – 3 tips to keep you centred

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Getting back to nature and following the seasons as in days of old really helps us stay connected, grounded present and aware.  Our routine and diet should reflect the season

Ayurveda is considered a sister science to yoga.  It is one of the world’s oldest healing systems, originating around 3000 years ago in India; it was used alongside yoga to support the body.

It says that our constitution and stage of life, the seasons and time of day comprise one or a mixture of dosa:- vata, pitta and kapha – the tridosa.

In autumn vata predominates.  Vata is linked to the elements of air and ether; it is light, subtle, dry, mobile, rough and cold.  If vata is predominant in the body autumn will aggravate it further.  You may feel off balance or ungrounded.

Suggestions to help ground and balance include:

1.  Eat foods that are warm and moist (soups, stews, steamed vegetables) to reduce and calm vata.

2.  A warm oil massage

3.  A slow, steady, grounding, consistent yoga asana practice.