Remember and begin again
/“I don’t believe in astrology; I’m a Sagittarius and we’re skeptical.” ~ Arthur C. Clarke
The astrological theme for January 2016 is RESET. Now, let’s be clear, I don’t know a thing about astrology. But I do really enjoy reading from the website mysticmamma.com who posts the theme for each month. The fascinating aspect about my love for this knowledge, is that before I even knew that a “theme” for the month was a thing, I had been feeling, pretty intensely, strong pulls in certain directions (decisions intuitively I knew I had to make), big time energy shifts, old past hurts coming to the surface or tremendous amounts of energy toward a new career move or a hyperactive intense demand to clean and organize every closet and drawer in my house. I started noticing it in my classes as well. If I spoke to what I was feeling the whole class responded positively. Students would come up after class and ask me to send them the quotes I read or would say; “that sequence was exactly what I needed”.
Perusing mysticmamma.com one day I read that the theme for September was trust/faith. Sure enough that month I had been struggling with an aspect of my life that I didn’t think should be the way it was. I wasn’t trusting that I was being guided. I didn’t have faith that these were the lessons I needed to grow. I had also lost my voice that month, in yogic philosophy the throat chakra (subtle body energy center) is where our “faith” resides. According to thelivingroom.com; “the fifth chakra is connected to listening to our inner wisdom and making sense of it. The battle that takes place in the energy centre of the fifth chakra is one of fear versus faith. It is fear that keeps us making choices that are “reasonable”, based on “good judgement”, but not necessarily true to our inner wisdom.” Liz Gilbert said; “Faith is belief in what you cannot see or prove or touch. Faith is walking face-first & full speed into the dark.”
I continued on...in October the theme was finding the balance between doing and being. Knowing who we are, who it is we want to become, what our strongest values are and our biggest intentions. And taking this information into account in our every thought, conversation and action; allowing it to permeate our entire life in order to make clear decisions according to our innermost alignment with our highest self. Right there, I believe it was the very day I read that, in my notes for class, was Rolf Gates quote; “The pose is what you are doing, yoga is who you are being”. Whaaaaaat? This was not coincidence.
I wrote a blog post in November about a day that I sat on my floor thinking; “there is something more. I’m ready for what comes next”. I looked at the theme for November, it was “pressure”. They went on to explain that we feel like we are in a container that has gotten too tight. The container has served us but we’ve grown out of it and this month will be the labor that will birth our transformation. Interestingly; Kristin Tone and I led a yoga retreat in Mexico this month. I mentioned to group a feeling that I had based on the energy of the classes. I told them how last years retreat the theme of the group was very much “I’m enough”, but that this year’s was obviously; “I’m ready”.
December: Transition. As mystic mamma said: “Definition of TRANSITION: the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another. It is a move, a passage, a transformation, a leap and an evolution. “The TRANSITION this month is the ‘being in mid air’. Don’t look down, keep your eye on the new ground.” On the final days of the month I listened to Mike Dooley speak about “keeping my eye on the end result and taking action toward that”. I sat, I prayed “show me” and asked for the courage to move toward my goals. I said yes to some things that scared me and said no to some things that were holding me back. I reminded my students (and in turn myself) “Getting there is not about being better, more deserving, or smarter, it’s about realizing that you already are, and acting as if.” And I leap into 2016.
“Yoga is the movement from one point to the next -- a higher one.” ~Desikachar
January: RESET.
The beginning of the year is very similar to the beginning of a yoga class. Two things I have been working on and encourage students to bring along with them; “gratitude” for where they have been and “courage” for where they are going. The pages are blank at this point, it’s totally up to you what goes on them. As Mary Schmich said: (this is a time) “when you can believe that the past doesn't count against you, that the future is yours to make.” This is true for the beginning of anything and we forget how often we get this opportunity, with every sunrise, with every first step we take toward a goal, with every breath.
Two prayers (that I particularly love because they are so simple yet incredibly profound) for this starting point are “Thank You” (for where I’ve been, what I have and who I am). And “Show Me” (the courage, the bravery, the boldness to be open and receptive so the Universe can work through me. May I open and allow my highest self to emerge so I may step into my biggest dreams knowing that I am worthy and deserving).
The beginning of this year seems pretty quiet to me. Same with the beginning of class. It’s a time we commit to letting go of the past, where it is we have been, to set aside all our duties and responsibilities and relationships and show up for the present. When we “reset” we need to get quiet enough, still enough to watch our thoughts and become the ‘objective observer’ so we know when our fear, rather than our faith is driving the bus. Still enough, quiet enough to trust so completely in ourselves, to believe that our intentions are ours to have and allow the sweet whisper of our intuition to be heard. Sill enough, quiet enough to feel into the sensations, especially when the pressure builds, and not run and hide or check out. Still enough, quiet enough to take a leap even when it’s the most awkward thing we can image. And still enough, quite enough to be present for each and every beautiful moment where we can remember and begin again.