by Brianna | Nov 17, 2014 | Change, Healing, Power of Thought, silence, Transformation, Willingness, Yoga
When I am in the midst of significant change. I practice a lot. I find that it keeps me aware of my moment so that I catch when the fear is climbing in, and push myself in its way. Fear is consuming, and when it is at the forefront, it keeps us silent and in our place. When I am aware, and I notice the fear begin to fill first my feet and then my knees, I choose to remind myself of what becoming a butterfly really means. As a child I had the notion that the cocoon was peaceful, the gestation was like nap time, the wings just grew, and voila butterfly. But that is not the truth. There is nothing peaceful about becoming a butterfly. Caterpillars are not hibernating in the cocoon, when they become a butterfly, they are disintegrating. Frigging disintegrating! Perhaps all the dragons of our life are princesses, who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave. ~Rilke The Caterpillar let go, willingly became goo and transformed into a butterfly. When I am aware, I tap into this metaphor and look at what my fear is paralyzing me with. Funnily enough, most of the times my fear is not real. My fear is about something that only serves to trap me. By facing it I can decide if I need to align with it or let it go. More often that not, I breathe deep and give myself over to the change. After all, it worked out for the caterpillar, which was once inching and can now...
by Brianna | Oct 9, 2014 | Affirmations, Breathing, Change, Healing, Power of Thought, practice, Transformation, Willingness
I believe that there is a huge difference between choice and habit. Making a choice, also known as a decision, requires presence, awareness, and discernment. Habit is a default setting. Habit is you on repeat. Habit, is your foot on the gas while you are asleep at the wheel. We become what we repeatedly do. Sean Covey Since most of our daily behaviors are habituated we stay on our track, comfortable with the familiar. Humans dislike discomfort and when I say dislike I mean HATE, humans hate discomfort. It doesn’t matter one lick if the habit is helping or hurting you, I guarantee you that even your baddest, darkest, ickiest habit is comfy like a perfectly worn pair of jeans. So many people desire change. They want it so badly they can taste it. They yearn for it. Yet they run their day exactly as they did the day before. Each habit bolstering the track they are on. They get to the point where even the desire to change becomes habituated. How many friends do you have that are talking about creating the same changes in their lives that they were embarking on a decade ago? Life is a series of choices. Each choice leads to the next, a chain reaction that starts in the past and impacts our future. Minor choices, major choices, and all the choices in between create ripples of impact, ripples of possible change. Repetition is not failure. Ask the waves, ask the leaves, ask the wind. Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening. The simple truth is that when we change it is going to...
by Brianna | Aug 26, 2014 | chakra yoga, Change, Healing Yoga Practice, Power of Thought, practice, Transformation
I teach about change a lot. I have a workshop (In Transition) dedicated to its power. I push my students to transform themselves and step out of their comfort zones. And at this moment, I am being schooled on how much change, even when it is positive and kick-ass, is uncomfortable. Frankly, change is hard. Changing is not for sissies. Currently I am mid move (state-to-state). I am packing 3,000 square feet of living and studio space. I am shifting my business, letting go of my beautiful studio, and transitioning from brick and mortar to: traveling as a teacher, writing my second book, and working with clients online. I was recently and joyfully engaged to my longtime love. A new member of my family was born . My best friend just had twins. I published my first book and with its printing finished a project I had worked on for eleven years. Things are definitely different and in FLUX to say the least. Change is gonna come, like the weather They say forever, they say ~ M. Gray It is times like these, even though I would prefer to eat pizza, brush my teeth with coffee, and drink martinis straight and dirty, that I have to be the most diligent about my practice, my diet, and my sleep. That is because when my stress gets high my nature shifts and I am ready to GO. In times like these I have to rein in my own intensity. I have to actively stop myself from going into overdrive. Otherwise my ass would be up at 3am jumping like...
by Brianna | Jul 15, 2014 | Affirmations, Healing, Power of Thought
Our thoughts dictate whether we are in peace or strife, pain or pleasure. Often we don’t realize that our thoughts are on repeat – the majority of thoughts you think today are the same as the day before. Have you ever tried to listen in and hear what you are saying to yourself? Are you nice to yourself or are you downright mean? You might be shocked by what this practice of awareness will reveal to you. In Heal Your Mind and the Rest Will Follow Brianna will discuss the power of thought and its role in moving you towards Joy or Despair....
by Brianna | Mar 16, 2012 | Affirmations, Breathing, Change, Fear, Healing, Power of Thought, practice
Historically it has been difficult for me to remain calm when others are being emotional. Like an absorbing mirror I breathe their emotion in. Always categorized as extremely sensitive, it wasn’t until my late 20s that I realized my mood was transient because I was constantly absorbing other people’s feelings. My personal boundaries were so blurred that I didn’t realize where I ended and others began. My energetic awareness shifted one day waiting for the ATM in a line that was two people deep. I went from feeling happy and light to being pissed. It was a heady enough shift that I stopped and asked myself: “where is this emotion coming from.” It was then I realized the line had grown and was full of agitated people. Without a doubt, my willingness to make inquiry was rooted in my time on the mat. Since then I tune in when I feel myself shift and I ask: “Is this really my emotion or is it theirs?” That question and the awareness to ask it changed my life and set me on a path of energetic exploration. Sunrise at the Healing House I first began to share the energetic toolkit that I developed as a presentation in Charm City Yoga’s teacher training about four years ago. In it we discussed mirror neurons, the idea of a professional persona, the need for grounding through presence, protection through appropriate boundaries, and the awareness and willingness to release. I have made this presentation numerous times and its content has grown into a three-day retreat that I offer once a year. During my most...
