Thursday, January 27, 2011

Being Love


"Imagine feeling more love from someone than you have ever known. You're being loved more than your mother loved you when you were an infant, more than you were ever loved by your father , your child, or your most intimate lover--anyone. This lover doesn't need anything from you, isn't looking for personal gratification and only wants your complete fulfillment.

You are being loved just for being who you are, just for existing. You don't have to do anything to earn it. Your shortcomings, your lack of self-esteem, physical perfection, or social and economic success--none of that matters. No one can take this love away from you, it will ALWAYS be here.

Imagine that being  in this love is like relaxing endlessly into a warm bath that surrounds and supports your every moment so that every thought and feeling is permeated by it. You feel as though you are dissolving into love.

This love is actually a part of you; it is always flowing through you. It's like the subatomic texture of the universe, the dark matter that connects everything. When you tune into that flow, you will feel it in your own heart--not your physical or emotional heart, but your spiritual heart, the place you point to in your chest when you say, "I am."

This is your deeper heart, your intuitive heart. It is the place where the higher mind, pure awareness, the subtler emotions and your soul identity all come together and you connect to the universe, where presence and love are.

Unconditional love really exists in each of us. It is a part of our deep inner being It's not so much an active emotion as a state of being. Its not "I love you" for this reason, not "I love you if you love me." Its love for no reason, love without an object. Its just sitting in love, a love that incorporates everything, a love that incorporates the chair and the room and permeates everything around. The thinking mind is extinguished in love.

If I go into that place in myself that is love and you go into that place in your self that is love, we are in love together. Then you and I are truly in love, the state of being love. That's the entrance to Oneness."

-Excerpt From "Be Love Now" by Ram Dass

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Gratitude

If you've seen my website, then you've witnessed the beautiful work of two incredible artists.


I am so grateful to have had Alina Prax grace this project with her eye, her heart and her beautiful photography skills. When she came to my studio to snap some shots of the space and my work, it felt like a fresh breeze danced its way into the room. With an effortless ease, Alina picked up on the essence of this work and my intention to share it. Like many people, I'm quite camera shy. There is a sense of vulnerability in being "snapped" or "exposed" through the lens of what can sometimes feel like an impersonal machine. This was not at all the case with sweet Alina. Without being staged or diluted, each shot was gently coaxed to the surfaced and what emerged was the pure artistry of integrity in digital form. Thank you Alina for this wonderful gift! If you would like to find out more about Alina, her work and her gifts, visit her website: http://ladolcevitaphoto.com/

The second artist I would like to speak of is someone I find more difficult to describe with words. There is an intangible essence that defines the love I have for this particular artist and "gratitude" doesn't quite capture the scope of the feeling I would like to express. I could say that the website itself wouldn't have ever been possible without the person who designed it (which he did). But the truth is that Brent (my best-friend, my love, my partner) is nothing less than the foundation upon which everything in my life has and will continue to flourish. Brent breathes art in every breath and in that way, inspires me to create and share of my heART. If the light we see in others is truly a reflection of our own inner light, then I consider myself extremely blessed to live under the lamp of this man who shines so bright and reminds me to do the same. Thank you RBH for your all of your expressions of love.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Entering The Mystery of 2011

"We must assume our existence as broadly as we in any way can; everything, even the unheard of must be possible in it. This is at the bottom of the courage that is demanded of us: to have the courage for the most strange, the most inexplicable." -Rainer Maria Rilke

Beginnings ask us to be courageous, to be vulnerable, to open our hearts and dive into uncharted territory. To make space for the new, we must first be willing to shed some old way of being that no longer serves. At the root of a 'fresh start' or 'clean slate' is change and therein always lies the death of something.

Death...a very scary word. Or, maybe not. What if death is simply the precursor to new life?

Once the space is created for the beginning of a new year, friendship, passion or blog :) we give ourselves the chance to enter into the mystery and courageously explore a practice I've come to call "NOT NEEDING TO KNOW." When faced with an invitation to explore the infancy of an experience, we can create a sense of support for ourselves by cultivating openness and receptivity. As our palms begin to open, control is relinquished and what will ultimately die is the need to know.

In my life and yoga therapy practice, I've often found that my own need to know is driven by fear and also a limited perspective of what is, or what could be. And thus, each time I practice not needing to know, I've found something quite spectacular: limitless potential. This spacious state of being has quite literally "blown my mind" and in the aftershock, opened my heart into unknown directions.

Inside the confines of a mind that requires clear and definitive answers, there's not a lot of room for what Rilke calls "the most strange, the most inexplicable." In my own attempts to define the practice of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy to friends, family members and clients, I've often failed to find the perfect words or metaphors. More often than not this form of yoga therapy falls into the "unheard of" category, a place where experience trumps explanation. This is a road-less journey that invites those who receive it to define it for him/her self.

And so, as I embark of this new year and new beginning I've named "Insight Yoga + Therapy," I welcome you to my blog and invite you to learn more on my website. If your curiosity is sparked but you're unsure about what yoga therapy is or could be for you, consider asking yourself these questions:

-what would it be like to courageously open my heart to the unknown depths of my own experience?

-what would it be like to surrender into the mystery, listen to the wisdom of my body and the present moment?

- what if I could explore and/or expand the definition of who and how I am in the world?

Questions often breed more inquiry and thus if you're asking, "what next?" Consider releasing the need to know right now, perhaps curiosity and the willingness to listen and explore will guide you in the direction that's right for you.

If you know you are interested in beginning your own experience of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, please contact me at sarah@insightyogatherapy.com and I will be happy to facilitate this new beginning with you.

Happy New Year

All My Love,
Sarah

A bit more.....

click below to watch a beautiful lecture on TED about the power of vulnerability, courage, compassion and connection:

Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability | Video on TED.com