Tag: Yoga

The Courage Of The Seed

This past weekend I, along with 31 beautiful souls, completed our 200 yoga teacher training. 10 weekends, 108 asanas, mudras, mantras, and an expansion of soul, body, and mind.

To think that we all met in this time and space “randomly” would be far from the truth.

I am in gratitude and humbled by everyone’s strength, courage, vulnerability, heart, and of course wise teachings from our Rasa tribe leader Greta Hill and a multitude of other teachers who graced us with their wisdom.

Yoga has been a practice and place where I have been able to return to for strength and vitality, and I am honored to have learned the art and soul of this practice at a more in-depth level.

And how beautiful it is to wrap up Winter and step into Spring?

We all planted a seed, a rooted intention to begin this 200 hour journey, and to watch this seed continue to blossom is this sweet, magical unfolding will be truly a mystical experience.

Mark Nepo said it best in this poem below:

All the buried seeds crack open in the dark, the instant they surrender to a process they can’t see.

What a powerful lesson is the beginning of spring.

All around us, everything small and buried surrenders to a process that none of the buried parts can see.

And this innate surrender allows everything edible and fragrant to break ground into a life we call spring.

In nature, we are quietly given countless models of how to give ourselves over to what appears dark and hopeless, but which is ultimately an awakening beyond all imagining.

As a seed buried in the earth cannot imagine itself as an orchid or hyacinth, neither can a heart packed with hurt imagine itself loved or at peace.

The courage of the seed is that once cracking, it cracks all the way.

~Mark Nepo

Whatever journey you yourself have been on this past Winter – trust the process, have faith in the unfolding, watch the magic.

Here’s to planted seeds and watching them bloom.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Kristopher Allison on Unsplash

Happy NEW Year!

As cliche as it sounds, time seems to FLY BY with greater speed and gusto every single year, and 2017 was no exception.

And knowing that, I plan to love more, live more, laugh more, joy more, peace more with all my heart and every fiber of my being.

2018, I am ready for you.

Wishing you all the same and more.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Carlos Domínguez on Unsplash

Friday Focus – 12/29/18 {YOU Are Your Own Best Guide}

I had an idea of what I wanted to share today; it was going to be about the New Year, and I decided to scrap it at the last minute because something else was calling me to write about a very powerful message.

You see, sometimes we need to seek answers and that is completely OK. We need to go through different teachers whether it be yoga teachers, therapists, astrologers, psychics, chiropractors, life coaches, massage therapists, etc. to obtain the information we need at that time in order to grow and move on.

The beautiful thing is we begin to learn what works for us. Does touch work as a healing modality? Perhaps talking things out without the other person’s judgement is a form of release. Or maybe specific movement patterns such as Tai Chi, Qi Gong, or Yoga seems to alleviate emotional and physical pain vs. the typical bootcamp or hard core spin class. Maybe typical meditation doesn’t work for you right now. Or you discover that talking to your best friend is the best therapy, and it’s free!

As we learn to intuitively feel into what we need, we begin to learn what works for us (and mind you that always changes as well!).

However, almost always there comes a time when we reach a point of the constant search. Soon, we forget what we truly needed in the first place. Perhaps we got what we needed and quickly developed a new need. Or maybe you are searching for a specific answer but you haven’t received it just yet.

Regardless of the root cause, if you find yourself ridden with anxiety in a constant search for X, I’m here to tell you to take a deep breath and pause.

No matter what you hear out there or what you learn from your guru, we are all human at the end of the day. I mean, can we really know all the answers? Is there only one answer? Aren’t we changing all the time, in every moment as well? Plus, there are new discoveries made in the spiritual and scientific realms every. single. day! There’s no way anyone can come to learn everything in this moment – possibly ever!

So what can we do?

Listen to the small, still voice inside of YOU.

Remember, no one has every answer, and no one is YOU. Only you know for yourself what truly clicks and what doesn’t. You are designed as uniquely as a snowflake and so is everyone else. If discoveries are being made daily, who is to say this one way is the way? Or that it even exists?

Take a deep breath and pause. Listen to your heart. Place one hand on your heart, and the other on the ground in front of you and listen for as long as you need to until you feel the strength and all knowing truth that is already within.

It’s ok to search. It’s ok to seek. We’re meant to grow, learn, and evolve. But if you’re beginning to feel anxious in hoping to discover THE answer, always remember this – the TRUTH is within.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Jimmy Chang on Unsplash

Using The Breath To Transform Difficult Emotions

In a previous post we talked about how to love every situation, even the bad ones. In this post I’ll dig into one important step we can take when our immediate, strong reaction is to turn away and ignore these tough situations.

For the times when we want to straight run away and ignore certain emotions such as anger, hurt, sadness, jealousy, etc., we need to deploy one thing – our breath.

Using our breath to “digest” these emotions will help us from turning away, to turning IN.

It’s said in indigenous Peruvian shamanic/spiritual culture that elders would guide people to push the emotion down to the stomach and breath through it in order to digest and work through tough emotions.

I discovered this Peruvian practice after implementing this breath work for myself and wasn’t surprised at all to find out! Especially with deeply similar practices from other traditions such as those from Yoga, Buddhism, and even the Whim Hoff method of breath work!

Clearly there’s a reason why breath is such a powerful tool to bringing us back to our essence. Our true “self” amidst the harshest of emotions.

The next time you find yourself wanting to turn away take a moment, wherever you are, to BREATHE.

Breathe as heavy, fast, and as loudly as you need to and focus on turning inward. Really look at what you are digesting and allow the breath to do the work. Be with every breath as you discover and unfold the workings of the emotion.

Toward the end of the session (anywhere from 5-15 minutes) you’ll discover that you allowed the emotion to pass, or at least lessen a significant degree, and likely have uncovered a new finding about yourself. Whether that’s more mindfulness, awareness of true self, a deeper capacity to forgive, more love, etc., there will be an empowering shift within you.

So here’s to the first thing we ever did as humans – breathe, and to give thanks toward this life giving practice of breath work.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Eli DeFaria on Unsplash

A Seattle Community of Sisterhood

For the past 6 months I have felt a deep calling to create community, a sisterhood, here in Seattle.

This deep desire would grow then fade depending on how many projects I had going on as well as managing my travel schedule. One big deterrent from starting this community was location; I had no idea what 2018 would look like and would ask myself questions such as, “Would it even be worth it to me or others not knowing whether Life would take me outside of Seattle in 2018?”.

Until earlier this month (December), I knew deep down that this desire was calling and it wouldn’t stop.

The need to guide, connect, and be the Seer for anyone who needed it was a strong enough risk for me to take.

And I know deep down I would be the one who’s heart is filled and brimming with gratitude and love at everyone’s willingness, honesty, and own respect for their journey and desire for connection.

So with that said, be on the look out for more details! I’ll be creating an official channel via MeetUp where I will post 1:1 coaching session dates, Moon Circles, community gatherings, and much more.

I can’t wait to connect.

In community,

Susan

Photo by Cristina Cerda on Unsplash

Who Are Your Teachers?

I’ve always strived when surrounded by some of the best. Learning by example, enthusiasm, failed experiments and cautionary tales has been some of the best ways I’ve gleaned insight into other people’s lives, and therefore helped provide flavor and color to my own life experience.

These days, while I still follow distant teachers, some of whom I know and many of those whom I don’t, I have been in immense gratitude to be surrounded by teachers in the world of yoga. From mudras, mantras, asana breakdowns, and yogic philosophy, it’s been such a gratifying experience to 1) see how complementary and interwoven yogic philosophy, other spiritual teachings I’ve studied, and even science based NLP work all actually are! and 2) to be surrounded by like minded people who are in a space of “student always” and in support of one other’s journey.

So this leads me to ask another round of Powerful Questions:

  • Who are some of your current teachers?
  • In what ways do these teachers stimulate and motivate you?
    • Physically
    • Emotionally
    • Spiritually
  • What teaching styles do they all have in common? Do you recognize a pattern that best works for you?
  • If you currently don’t have a specific teacher or teaching of study, what is one small step you can take to find one?
  • What types of classes or workshops are coming to your city in the next 3-6 months?
  • What other ways can you learn aside from student/teacher relationship?
    • Oftentimes we can learn a lot about ourselves as well as strengthen our own learned teachings by volunteering, coaching, or stepping into the teacher role itself (but that is for another post!)
  • What other resources can act as growth for you? Whether it’s seeking out community, a coach, or accountability program with your close friends?

Clearly there is a lot to digest here but the point of this exercise is to get you reflecting on what it means to be surrounded by thoughtful teachers who care for your own best interest, as well as think outside the box when it comes to growth and expansion.

After all, we can’t always do it on our own and hearing someone else’s perspective, unique insights, and experiences can be the one thing that produces a light bulb moment for you. Whether it’s the tone, the wording, the way in which the story was told… these are all ways in which another layer of your own understanding of life can unfold and provide a richer context for your to immerse yourself in.

If you live in the Seattle area and are curious about who my yoga teacher is you can visit Greta Hill at Bala Yoga. I highly recommend taking one of her classes. Her warmth, grace, and humble attitude is what drew me into her teaching style. In addition, her very own teacher Sianna Sherman, will be spending a weekend with us (and it’s open to the public! 12/16/17 – 12/17/17).

Here’s to the never ending journey of growth and expansion, and finding teachers that uplift and support you on your journey.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Matthew Kane on Unsplash

Yoga And The Mind

“Because personality is a process, the human being is constantly remaking himself or herself. Left to itself, the mind goes on repeating the same old habitual patterns of personality. By training the mind, however, anyone can learn to step in and change old ways of thinking; that is the central principle of yoga.”

~The Bhagavad Gita

I knew this deeper dive into Yoga would be the perfect union ♡

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Tim Goedhart on Unsplash

A quiet morning spent on journaling, quieting the mind, and reading deep truths.

Start Controlling Your Own Experience

“We never really encounter the world; all we experience is our own nervous system”

~Unknown

I’ve been taking advantage of this drizzly Fall weather by reading – a lot! Lately I have been immersed in various texts, mostly yoga but other books related to trauma, NLP, and following your creative passions – a mix as usual 😉

As I was reading through the Bhagavad Gita I came across the quote above. What I love about this quote is that it’s another reminder of the many blog posts written previously about our minds and our experiences. If you’re new let me re-cap: What you experience is controlled by your own mind. Yes, if you can laugh at the irony.. great! The punchline is that we control it all!

I’ve mentioned before how much power there is in realizing this truth. Sure, there might be years of neural work that have paved a deep groove within our networks but our brains are just as powerful to create new ones. This is empowerment; knowing you can change any time, any where.

So let this one sink in a bit. Imagine, if I’m controlling my own experiences without even realizing it how much more power could I have by really owning it?

Really owning is more than half the battle. For anyone desiring additional assistance I, and many others, can help what is known as the meta model to really reinforce the desired change. In NLP there is a technique described as the meta model. A proven methodology to help you pave a new neural pathway for real change. I’ve seen this do amazing things from greatly reduce anxiety, fear, to increasing confidence, and much more. Again, the great part is, if you’re already nodding along to this blog post you’ll get the swing of things much quicker and on to real change!

But there’s a lot we can do in the meantime! Here’s to realizing 1) we have the ability to control our experiences and 2) that the power of choice is equally available to us and in our control, yup, the choice between the good experience and the bad experience.

Stay warm and most importantly start owning!

In deep wellness,

Susan

Building The Personal Power Mindset

In an earlier post I wrote about personal power and how easy it is to give it away to other people, objects, or simply daily events that happen in our lives.

Today, I wanted to focus specifically on one major way we give away our power so easily, and that is: caring about what other people think.

If you’ve done the 24 hour self realization test you may have noticed this particular theme come up over and over again. Why is it that we care so damn much about what others think? To the point that it actually changes our very own behavior and possibly the trajectory of our path?

Let’s be honest, we’ve all done this at one point or another in the past. Heck, maybe even within the last day!

  • Your baby is uncomfortable and crying on his/her first flight and you’re flushed and embarrassed at the thought of other people being annoyed at you and your baby.
  • You wear something amazing to school or work only to notice someone else is getting much more attention. You decide to keep your jacket on and wear your outfit on another day.
  • You pack your lunch because there’s an important lunch meeting and you notice no one else is eating. You decide to eat later and hope to God your stomach doesn’t growl during the hour.
  • You have an accent and you’re afraid other’s might think less of you so you avoid any job that requires speaking over the phone or public speaking.

The list can go on…

What I’ve noticed a million times over is that people who have this tendency are doing one thing 90% of the time – they aren’t caring enough about themselves.

What’s happening in our brains is that we are already looking outward and caught up in a fear based state of other people’s projection. Now, remember what I’ve said over and over again – with every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. This is power.

If you have a tendency to immediately jump to what other people think, you also have an equal tendency (or the opportunity) to  immediately jump to what YOU care about in yourself.

Instead of caring about what other people think about you, why not care about what you want to do?

  • Why not care about your world for once?
  • Why not care about your voice?
  • Why not care about how your potential failure can lead to future success?
  • Why not care about yourself?

You may begin to feel something shift within you. You may begin to imagine all the times that if you shifted your mindset to caring about yourself first, how empowering this actually feels.

Remember,  no one is actually thinking about you as much as they are thinking about themselves.

Take baby steps to build your personal power. Use the right tools whether they be books, meditation, a spiritual practice, or a coach/therapist to get you along the right path.

Owning your personal power is a birth right and we need as many people (with the truest of intentions) to step into their God given power – your true Light!

In wellness,

Susan