The past three weeks all my nervous system asked for were things that brought me comfort.  Ted Lasso, warm tea, talks with kindred spirits, lots of breath work, yoga and journaling.  So when I got to the episode where Ted asks this question, the answer immediately came.  What does this situation, this moment in time need?  Community, Spirit and Connection came through loud and clear.  I know we aren’t all on the same page of things.  I know we all follow different values and beliefs.  However, I also know that we are all connected and underneath the fears, the rhetoric, the division; we are all ONE.  It’s the basis of every spiritual teacher and teaching worth their salt.  How do we attend to this in our daily lives and our community?

Let us become a well-adapted community away from electronics and reconnected to the slow rhythms of life and nature.  Let us remember who we are, free from the noise of the world.  May this time together bring out our inner ant and our inner Aunt Gale - connected to our community and curious about the world.

This is your friendly reminder that we are enjoying our annual rest beginning THIS Sunday, June 30th. We will re-open Sunday, July 7th. Our teachers will have time to rest their teachings and play with their families. Our building will have a week to get a deep clean and a deep rest as well. We hope you will find ways to rest and play during your week, maybe even taking an extra nap or two! But just in case you don’t want to miss your yoga, here are three ways you can keep it going…

I am not really one who thinks of myself as playful. I’d rather sit in the quiet than find some ectstatic experience to blow my mind. I have heard in my life that I am no fun. But play to me is very different than it may be for you. For last month’s class on rest and play, I returned to the work of Brené Brown. Unfortunately, her chapter on rest and play was only five pages long! So I followed her breadcrumbs to the work of researcher Stuart Brown.

A while back I was listening to Liz Gilbert on Glennon Doyle’s podcast, We Can Do Hard Things. In the episode, she shared that she writes letters to herself as a morning meditation. She speaks to spirit, God, Love, whatever you wish to call he/she/they/them/it. She asks Love, “What would you have me know today?”

This month we focus on how to know whether it’s time to rest or play? In March’s online gathering for this series I posed the question, “How do you know when you need rest?” The answers were awesome… “I get grouchy.” “I feel stuck.” “I want people around me to just be quiet.” I know in my previous life, I wouldn’t know I needed rest until I was completely burned out, mad at the world and exhausted beyond belief. Is this new world I have created around me, I rest all the time and it’s very disconcerting to many around me. (I think they might be jealous … or maybe they just need me to reply to an email or text and I am REALLY slow)!

Often when we do stop to rest (or even follow our hearts to do what WE want to do), we hear these unspoken messages that have been sent to us since birth. We hear- “I am lazy.” “I should be…” “I have done all the things, now I am worthy of rest.” What if instead, we flip the script and say we are divine and worthy of rest as our birthright? This is the message of Tricia Hersey’s book “Rest Is Resistance.” Her book will turn you on your head and invite you to dig deep into your heart, your humanity and rest as a form of healing for ourselves, for our communities.

What is rest? At times in my life, I remember needing to get away to a foreign place with no cell service, no kids, and no responsibilities to rest. Or other times I remember just wishing for a broken bone or (slight) illness so I could lie in bed for a while. These days I have built my life differently. Rest is an integral part of my week and it’s not quite what I thought it was a decade ago.

I feel like the Grinch or Scrooge as we begin 2024. When I hear “Happy New Year!” my inner reply lately is “Bah Humbug!” I spent yesterday, the first day of 2024 trying to figure out why I was so crabby. I think my issue is two-fold.

Last week, I was being mentored / coached to complete my training with Martha Beck. Carla asked me, “How do you want to close the year?” The answer came so quickly… cozy and warm. Her reply was, “Well then, do nothing else. Only do the things that make you feel that way.” So simple, so profound.

As we close the year, it is important to complete our theme “Riding the Waves of Change.” For this, we land in Square Four of our change cycle. A group of us came together in October to honor this square which holds the mantra, “Change is always happening… And that’s okay.” Square Four emerges when you have launched the dream, shared the vision. You are living it! You know there are tweaks that need to be made, but they are small and often external moves. Mostly you are flying free and enjoying the ride!

Below is a newsletter and podcast from one of my favorite teachers, Martha Beck. She shared this in episode xx of the Gathering Pod and resent in her October newsletter. It’s too good not to share. It also reminded me of why we changed our classes to Inspired Flow… yet another reason to breathe deep and get inspired!

Our theme this year has been Riding the Waves of Change. A year to follow the change cycle from cocoon to chrysalis to emergence to flight. Little did I know, my life would follow the squares of change so closely each season. I’ve kept you at an arms length just sharing each part of the cycle with no personal relevance. It’s time to let you in.

As we learn and grow together this year, we continue to follow the metamorphosis of the butterfly. We began our year in square one, a space of death and rebirth, grieve and disbelieve, rest and renewal. Then we moved on to square two, the space of dreaming without rules and limitations. As we move into square three, this is about external shifts to bring those dreams into reality.

As we learn and grow together this year, we continue to follow the metamorphosis of the butterfly. We began our year in square one, a space of death and rebirth, grieve and disbelieve, rest and renewal (see previous post). We gave ourselves time to cocoon and to turn our attention in. You may notice as you gave yourself permission to rest, you noticed things in your life that aren’t quite congruent with who you’d like to be. You may notice little whispers of “there must be something else.” This means it’s time to move on.

Nature has so much to teach us humans. We tend to think everything must grow bigger, better, faster. Always an upward trajectory. But truly we have to learn to let go a little more and ride the shifts, circles and spirals as they appear to us so we can transform into our essential selves. As we learn and grow together this year, we will follow the metamorphosis of the butterfly, “Riding the Waves of Change.” The work offered this year is what I have been learning in Wayfinder Training with Martha Beck. This work seems deceptively simple and it something every human might need to know as change is always happening. If you are ready to fall more deeply into your life, join us for this transformation as we grow together in 2023.

This year we offered a studio-wide challenge of “Let’s Grow Together.” We got quiet through the restful time of winter. We built energy as the seeds began to germinate and grow. We rested as Mother Nature did her thing and our seeds burst into life. In fall series, we have taken time to take stock, to grieve, to celebrate. The last piece of this puzzle is to let it all go!

When grief arrives, it takes over. You are not in charge. I think permission to just let grief lead sometimes is a big, big, big part of the healing process. I know from my experience not giving myself permission in those early years that it can be really damaging… That’s the thing about grief. It doesn’t always show up as sadness and wailing and depression. Sometimes it’s just love and peace and inclusion. ~Marisa Renee Lee, Grief Is Love

September came and went in the blink of an eye. Our focus in September was one of taking stock. Once we see where we are with clear eyes, we can see where we need to grieve, where we can celebrate. Only then can we let go of both equally.

This is going to be a good one! It’s that time to return to our challenge theme of 2022- Let’s Grow Together.  In winter, we got quiet and still to listen to the call of the heart.  In spring, we got up at 6am to prepare for the push of new growth into summer.  In summer, we took a sacred pause to rest and lean in to what is.  Now we turn to fall, the time to let go.  This will be a different kind of “challenge.”