Full-Bodied Support
hat’s me doing a supported Yoga Therapy stretch on my favorite model, my husband! Everyone who sees this photo tells me that they experience a huge sigh of longing along with the thought “OOOOOO! I WANT THAT!” When I ask why, the response is “It is the thought of feeling that deep level of support throughout my body … throughout my being. I rarely experience that!”
I include this photo here because it communicates the concept of “full-bodied support” … which is what I strive to offer throughout all of my programs. When I would attend meditation classes, rarely did the teacher talk about what I needed to create a space most conducive to meditating … in other words, the support that would help me drop into that meditative state of being. Retail catalogs and stores would have you think that it is about buying the appropriate mat or cushion or chime or … I don’t believe any of that is necessary … helpful, maybe fun, but necessary? No! In fact, I think those things can get in the way of fully embracing that Body-Focused Meditation is something that you can do … at any time … and anywhere! Would you believe that all it takes is a few small tweaks in how you position your body when sitting in a chair? Would you believe that the difference between lying down as you usually do versus in a fully-supported way can speed up your body’s ability to relax and let go?
And the support that I offer doesn’t stop there. I myself have lived the challenges of finding time in a busy schedule … the disappointment in myself when I fall back into old patterns, despite my intention to change. Did you know that there are physiological reasons … in other words, Mind-Body Connection reasons … why this happens? When I discovered what those reasons were, it was so much easier for me to shift out of the cycle of disappointment and self-criticism, to notice and accept when I was in that cycle, to take stock of where I wanted to be and lay out a new path to get there. This is ability to “get back on the horse again” can be a peculiar obstacle for Overachievers like me, who are accustomed to excelling at everything we attempt.
This is what I mean by full-bodied support.
- It addresses the realities of what you may encounter, so that you can recognize what’s going on if it happens to you.
- It explains to you the underlying physiological causes, so that you understand yourself better. It is my hope that if you understand how your Mind, your Body (and if you are open to it) and your Spirit work together, which will lead to acceptance and relaxation and even a little bit of humor … “Ahhh! There I go again! But wow! I caught myself so much faster!”
- It is the type of support that offers suggestions on what to do differently, but invites you to try them on and decide for yourself which suggestion fits you the best.
That is the type of support that you receive in my Home Study Programs.
Of course, full-bodied support takes on a whole new meaning in One-on-One sessions, where you have my undivided personalized attention. In these private sessions … whether on the phone or in-person … support isn’t about advice or analyzing, but rather helping you develop a new lens through which you can experience your life. I sometimes call it “disconnecting from your default Mind Candy Channel, and turning up the volume on your Body and Spirit Channels.” Above all, I follow where you lead, offering you tools, processes, information, and a non-judgmental perspective in service of the transformation that you are seeking. Call it coaching if you will … that word doesn’t exist in the Yoga Therapy world, so I consider myself to be a Mind-Body-Spirit Educator. I invite you to leave open the possibility of doing a One-on-One Yoga Therapy session with me … so that you’ll be able to feel right down into your bones what I mean by full-bodied support!
Where else can you get full-bodied support like that?