Wanna Let Your Soul Shine Baby?

"YES!"

These are the first words that came out of my mouth one morning last week at exactly 6:20am. After the initial release from my throat, I sprung right onto my feet. This was new, to say the least. It took a few minutes for the sleep-fog to leave my head but shortly thereafter that I remembered what I was saying, "yes" to. I was deep inside a powerful dream. This was the scene:

I'm walking through the brushes in Bali

Up ahead I see rice fields and the sun is rising up and moving toward me at the same time

I look down at my feet; curious about the way they move

Grateful for their capacity to connect me with the earth.


Then, all of the sudden I'm stopped in my tracks

My little toes touch ten BIG toes and then I see the 2 feet

These are clearly the feet of a man, an older man, worn yet wise

I look up to see more and I'm met with the sweetest face, bearded and smiling


I smile too.

We stay like that for a while, tossing smiles back and forth

Then I look down again

This time my eyes meet his hands, wrinkled and strong


He is holding three ladles

From large to small, they are stacked atop one another

All are made of wood

I hold them to my nose and they smell delicious

The smallest of the 3 is blue and its handle is curly,

Not straight like the others


He hands them to me and says,

"Wanna to let your SOUL SHINE baby?"


"YES!"


What I love most about this dream is that I was somehow able to answer the question in my physical reality. Two feet on the ground, groggy-headed and messy-haired, I got to say yes inside my conscious world. These made it feel all the more real.

In my experience, there have been plenty of times when I felt afraid to shine. I didn't always feel safe enough to be myself, to express myself fully and honestly. I often wondered what other people would think, how it would make them feel. In truth, this was really just my own ego, holding my "soul" back with false fears and self-restricting judgment. After all if my soul is shining, my ego is dying. Ego doesn't like that too much.

For me studying, practicing and sharing body-centered healing work has been like dusting off years, maybe even lifetimes of dirt that has build up around my heart. If my soul lives anywhere in my body, I suspect it’s abiding quietly inside my heart and now its ready to shine. It’s waited long enough.

I'm not really sure what this means and I'm not too concerned with figuring it out. I have a yearning to dip my metaphorical ladles into the well of life, to drink it all up. That's the one thing I can say for sure.

I also know that I want to continue to share this work, to share the healing power of touch, presence, non-judgmental listening and witnessing. I will continue to invite my community into these experiences and welcome those who say "yes" and I'll wait for those who say "no thanks."

We all walk along our own paths and this is beautiful. At times we meet toe-to-toe, other times we keep our heads down the whole way or the beauty of the sun’s ability to shine without apology distracts us. I love and appreciate the many paths available, the many ways to say "yes."

How do you let your self, your soul, and your heart shine? What inspires you to say "yes?" I'd love to hear about your dreams and the way you process your truths.


Much love,

Sarah

www.insightyogatherapy.com

Who I Am, What I Love, How I Got Here

I’m nourished and inspired by the process of facilitating body/mind integration.

I love yoga, movement, massage, hula-hoops…pretty much anything that engages my body.

I also love to travel. Early on, travel got me really excited about exploring the unknown. I used to think I would have to journey off to far away lands to “discover myself" more fully and  experience deep connection with others. Now I feel blessed to know I can travel inside my body anytime and explore that same "connective tissue."

I enjoy working with people who are willing to dive in deep and explore the relationship between what’s happening in their body and what’s happening in their life. I believe this takes courage and courageous people inspire me to keep unfolding the depth of my own experience.

You know the saying, “the more I learn the less I know” …for me it feels like: “the more I learn, the less I want to know.” Some things just feel unknowable and I like that.

I’m not here to fix or change you. I don’t want to tell you who to be or how to go about transforming your world. I trust that you have a sense of what’s best for you somewhere inside and it is my intention to help you illuminate your wisdom, your truth and when necessary, your remedies.

I came to Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy in 2007, after nearly a decade of practicing yoga asana. A friend suggested I try a session, she sensed I would like it although I had absolutely not idea what “it” was. Like most people, I went to yoga to stretch and relieve stress, it was an anchor in my world but I had no idea how or why it worked for me, I just went to yoga class because it felt good!
 
What I experienced in my first PRYT session catapulted me into an entirely new way of being, in body, mind and spirit. That’s the best way I can describe it. It transformed me and allowed me to connect to the root of who I am and I how I want to be. It reconnected me with my body and taught me an entirely new language (which I felt like I already knew but had somehow lost along the way).

I left my first session with a strong intention to share this work. I wanted to learn how to facilitate that deep sense of connection for other people. This lead to several years of training including 300 hours of yoga teacher certification and 650 hours of immersion in Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. I believe this is an ever-evolving journey and continue to immerse myself in various teachings and trainings. Most recently, I've embarked on the study and practice of Thai Yoga Massage.

My private practice is in Central Austin. Born and raised in Colorado, I never thought I would call Texas home but I feel blessed to be here and grateful share this work within a beauitful community.

If you are curious to learn more about me or the services I offer, please contact me. I look forward to hearing from you!

With Love,

Sarah