15 Years Have Passed

15 Years Have Passed

I think that we can all agree that on September 11th, that heart breaking beautiful day, we awoke to one reality and went to sleep in another. In the fifteen years since, on each anniversary, I always take time to say a prayer and honor those that passed in my own simple ways.  The emotion of that trauma hovers below the surfaces and each year there are tears. I did have a number of friends in NYC that day and many of them worked in the towers – luckily, all of them survived.  Like many, I spent the majority of that day in absolute shock. Calling anyone I could think of to give me information about my loves.  I had just moved to Pittsburgh for graduate school in Library Science of all things – I mean seriously what was my younger self thinking with that? As the Towers fell I thought that I couldn’t have chosen a worse thing to study.  Although it is an of service degree it became immediately apparent to me that it wouldn’t be of service enough. I almost dropped out. The week after 9/11 as I moved through the reality of living near no one I actually knew, I remembered thinking that this is why people go to church.  Church provides instantaneous community and I decided to seek out a yoga studio to help me deal with the trauma of my changed reality. Although I had been practicing for years already, my practice wasn’t deep, and I decided to make it so. I decided to practice daily and to use Yoga as way to...

Resolution versus Intention

Miracles do happen. Grace does occur. But more often than not, change, transformation and growth require baby steps – many, many, baby steps. I love the turning of the New Year. It always seems that there has been a reset on a grand scale. The coming months somehow spread out and seem fresh. Time seems abundant and hope is high. New Years resolutions stream through the world, and the people run forth to the new dawn resolved to: read more books, exercise, eat better, loose weight, volunteer more, etc. For a while gyms become packed, yoga classes cram mat to mat, volunteer organizations field numerous requests, 52 new books are bought and then mid-February hits. The newness begins to wane, and for the majority, there is complete fallout. Over the years I have had a lot of resolutions blow-up, how about you? Rather than setting resolutions, I now think more about setting an intention. These words are often used interchangeably, they seem so similar, but there meanings are meaningfully different. After so many years of failed resolutions I now choose to start my New Year not by what I am resolved to do but what I intend to do. To feel the energetic difference between resolution versus intention, say the following two statements out loud with your eyes closed: I resolve to practice yoga regularly. I intend to practice yoga regularly. They create a different feeling, right? Just like wanting change and choosing change: I want to change. I choose to change. Here are my intentions for the coming year: Be better in all areas of my life and...

How do you behave after you become afraid?

I think we can all agree that what is happening in the world is scary. There is violence, strife, poverty, and heartbreak pretty much in every direction. So much suffering is being actively created by the hands of FEARFUL man. Title it what you like but it is fear that is breeding the violence, greed, racism, extremism, the endless arguments about borders, and creating the absolute hell of war. That is fear – often labeled as something else – operating behind the scenes.  Which begs the question: “How do you behave after you become afraid?” Not the very instant the fear strikes. But after it settles itself. After it becomes normal rather than abnormal to feel afraid. When the fear has become your bedrock. How then do you behave? Anxiety has always been an issue for me. My practice over time has become my medicine. If I don’t practice enough I notice my anxiety begin to spark and fire. I notice the heat beginning to build and I know I need to get back on my mat for longer practices. And I do. I hate anxiety! So I practice. She noticed her anxiety sneaking around, its darkness at her edges. It appeared as a crawling thing in the corner, a demon in the shadows. It took up space and sang its siren song of misery. Excerpt from Healing Footstep to Footstep   For a long time I though my anxiety happened in a vaccum. I was anxious because I was anxious. OKAY?!?!?!?! But through the awareness that practicing yoga and meditation ultimately brings I now recognize that what I...

REIKI YOGA HYPNOSIS DAVIDSON

Reiki Yoga Hypnosis Davidson Moving to Davidson has been wonderful for me, my fiancé, and our dog child (who now has a yard). The community of Davidson is charming but more importantly it is welcoming.  In the few short months we have lived here we have met many lovely people and feel so grateful to call our neighbors friends.  I am already feeling attached to this adorable town! I am so pleased now to not only live here but also have a Healing Arts Office in beautiful Davidson. At my office I will be working with clients privately or in small groups. Each session is tailor made to suit your needs and often is an interweaving of one or more technique (Reiki, Hypnosis, Yoga, Sound Healing, and Stress Management). Over the past 15 years I have been practicing, studying and honing my skill set to maximize the time we will spend together. A session would benefit you by: Relieving your Stress. Reducing your Chronic Pain. Lessening your Anxiety. Increasing your Relaxation. I absolutely adore helping my students to transform and I would love to assist you. In addition to my local work in Davidson, I will continue to travel as a teacher and further my work for the University of Maryland as a Hypnotist, Reiki Master and Yoga Teacher Trainer. REIKI YOGA HYPNOSIS DAVIDSON My private office is located at 102 South Main Street, Suite 3, Davidson, North Carolina 28036 in a small building that overlooks Lake...

Become a butterfly

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...

Keep it simple

It use to be that I didn’t mind mess and noise. internal or external, and I would participate in the pettiest of dramas.  Chronic Fatigue changed my tolerance and my life shifted and changed accordingly.  By embracing my practices during my illness I was able to carve out a space of safety within myself.  Where once it was uncomfortable to be silent and still, now I literally long for my  mat. I choose to keep my house simple, uncluttered, and nicely lit. I buy myself cut flowers weekly because to me they are like putting spots of joy in my rooms.  Joy is one of the highest vibrations – sneak it in wherever you can! I drink my water with lemon and when I have time I let it sit and infuse with sunshine. The majority of the food I eat is whole, with a handful of ingredients and freshly prepared. I now shy away from personal drama and have let go of many friends and some family who create it, or co-create it with me (after all I ain’t no victim). I practice my practices every day. I am grateful to them because they keep me calm and my mind clear. If you haven’t been taking care of your precious self, if you haven’t given yourself any time, my rituals may seem over the top. But trust me when you get into the swing of it, with a little practice, they will become easy. Life is stressful and one of the ways I combat it is by allowing myself these simple pleasures, nurturing myself without a lot of...