mindful embodied therapy
It’s mid-February and an unexpected snow storm turned Portland into a winter wonderland. For a hot minute, I fretted over my emerging tulips that thought it was spring only a week before. And then I remembered, the only thing we can expect is the unexpected.
The reading of this poem, “Make It Sacred” by Sarah Blondin, is medicine for the soul.
It is reminding us to keep our egos in check. It is reminding us that no matter how great we think we are or how great others think we are, a virus can bring our world to a standstill.
A long time ago a wise, old yogi named Patanjali wrote a text called the Yoga Sutras. The sutras outlined eight different ways to live in alignment with our highest nature. Like a gentle guiding hand, the Yoga Sutras warn you of the inevitable pitfalls on this journey called life. According to Yoga, we suffer because we are blind to our true Self.
Your mind is likely thinking, “Wait a minute. What’s the catch?” The only one is that you have to do it. Thinking about helping that elderly person cross the street doesn’t cut it. You have to do it.
When we regularly cultivate inner grounding, we set ourselves up for greater resiliency. One of the best ways to do this is through ritual. The key to success is simplicity and repetition. Have a variety of ways to slow down and then pick one to practice. It could be something you already do each day. The change is in the intention.
I’m in awe each time a client lets me into their private world – especially when they’ve been hurt by those closest to them. Imagine the courage it takes to walk into a stranger’s office and reveal yourself while every bone in your body is saying, “Don’t do it. You’ll just get hurt again.”
Brené Brown consistently delivers whole-hearted, thought-provoking material that helps women in their journey of personal growth and self-acceptance. Here she interviews Oprah Winfrey in classic researcher style, asking pointed questions on tender subjects.
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. – Viktor Frankl Buddhism is considered by many to be a religion or a spiritual practice. Yet in its…
Try to see your so-called limitations with clarity and kindness. You didn’t ask for this suffering. Yet, here it is. Welcome it as part of the practice, accept it, experience it fully and then release it.