Nervous System Wisdom

I just completed 52 cycles around the sun, in this form. I'm also newly menopaused and rode the dragon of the changes with relatively ease and grace (marriage and husband still intact, LOL).

I'm feeling into this new place in my life and wanting to complete projects that I have abandoned, primarily I've been reading my fiction again and dreaming them into completion.

Thank you for being a part of my life in ways great and small, past and present.

We are all connected in this web of dreaming, loving, giving and receiving.

You might have seen lots of videos and tutorials to fix or “hack” your nervous systems. Things like washing your face with cold water, different vocal techniques or eye stretches do work, but if we approach our Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) from a transactional and objectifying attitude, it will not work in the long run.

Why? Your nervous system is the flow of millions of years of evolutionary intelligence. It knows when you are inauthentic.
To hack means to bypass, to work around something for an intended result. Hacking means we are approaching our body’s intelligence from the small space of our ego.

Instead, the only way to sustainably heal our nervous systems is by letting go of our small agenda; we must cultivate curiosity, observe and attune to the ebb and flow of our life’s energy. It’s about developing a deep relationship with our instinctual self.

When I drop deeply into and nourish my system, I feel like I'm tapping into the source of love, the source of connection and care. In this place, my cynical mind is placated, the doubts disappear and taking a step forward is possible.

On this Valentine’s Day, I’m sending you love and blessings from this source of our shared belonging.

May you be supported and nourished
May you feel this deep source of self-love, self-care
May you be the peace that we need

My new website is up. Still tweaking and updating a few things, but after fifteen years, I decided to change my website name to Nervous-System-Wisdom.com to better reflect my new focus and direction.

I am so grateful to Jessica Schaffer and Janis Marie Fish for creating and introducing me to Nervous System RESET. This work combined with my previous spiritual practices is like the combination of peanut butter with strawberry jam.

Yep, it's like a PBJ for my soul and I would love to share this with you.

And I would love feedback on the site. Does it make sense? Does it flow? Does it speak to you?

https://nervous-system-wisdom.com

Nervous system wisdom Strength * Resilience * Wisdom

“If we go down into ourselves, we find that we possess exactly what we desire." -- Simone Weil

As we approach a major transition or still point in the year, carve out space for yourself to "go down", reflect and process your year.

Join me for a Solstice Retreat that includes gentle rhythmic movements to unwind stress, journaling to deepen reflection and community connection time to nourish your heart and mind.

Let us not exile our broken-ness.
Let us also not forget our wholeness.
Embracing the all in all.

Do you need clarity on a specific issue? Does talking to another person help you to process?

I'm taking a course on Motivational Interviewing, it's a therapeutic modality that includes reflective listening, and asking deep questions in order to help a person to gain clarity and inner-motivation for change.

I am looking for a few practice clients to chat with. Could it be you?

North Georgia Forest

This weekend, we camped at a friend's property by the Chattahoochee National Forest. The leaves were just beginning to turn. Instead of showy vibrant leaves, I had to look more deeply to see the beauty of this seemingly plain hillside.

Its amazing what slowing down reveals...

I'm excited to start a new class and time at .

In this feel good class, we work out the kinks with self-massage and a gentle flow.

De-stress, nourish and restore your body, heart and mind after a long week.

Props: 2 balls ( recommended), 2 blocks, 3 blankets, 1 strap or their equivalents

**Zoom only until the numbers improve**

I'm honored to have been the latest guest at Women’s counseling and podcast] podcast.

It was a pleasure to reflect on my yoga journey so far with . If you are hungry for heart-felt conversations and hearing stories from female leaders and healers, check out Women’s counseling and podcast]

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This was my harvest today. The basil were asking to be picked as their leaves baked in the sun.

I'm so enjoying reconnecting to food, seeing what carrots flowers and fresh coriander seeds look like (so beautiful!) and tasting imperfect but incredibly fragrant strawberries..

I realized when we lived of the land, there wasn't so much personal choice about what we put in our bellies.

We just received what was ripe, what was ready for us and in that humble acceptance we participated in the web of life: receiving, giving, surrendering... No spiritual practice needed. Just being alive was/is sacred.

It reminds me of what this sage said when he was asked: what do you want?

"Whatever life gives me," was his reply.

Community Restorative

Guess who took over my bolster and Zoom class tonight?

These are the characters that I've been quarantining with.

Thank you for a beautiful class SUP inspired class this morning! It was so challenging, fun and renewing, I was able to imagine floating on my paddleboard as you lead through the class. Loved those moments where you had us slow down to receive the flow of water and life. 🌈 ❤

I'm excited to step on deck next week for the Friday Primal Inspired class.

Zero Circle by Rumi

I kept hearing the last line of this poem in my head the last few days. "We shall be a mighty kindness."

This is my prayer and hope.

What is soft will wear down what is hard.
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Within all that is uncertain and overwhelming still lies your peaceful center. Permeated within every contraction of fear or explosion of rage is your immaculate self, awareness, being.
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Come practice being this abiding presence within a safe space. Tomorrow we will explore breath, the pelvic floor and how breathing into this space can help create safety and groundedness.
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Let's ride these waves of intensity together and evolve a new human consciousness that is rooted in love.
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To receive class link, use link in bio
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Primal Vinyasa

I'm looking forward to teaching a Primal Vinyasa inspired class on my teachers portal next month.

I discovered 3-4 years ago. It came at a time when I was tired of the repetitive movements often found in most yoga classes.

In PV, I discovered an intelligent and challenging blend of yoga therapy, functional movement and the latest in movement and neuro science.

Join me, Friday, June 19th noon Eastern through 's Zoom portal

Restorative Recording and Primal Vinyasa Tomorrow - https://mailchi.mp/a0be56987ca6/coming-out-of-chronic-pain-1696365

March Meditation and Events (audio) "Mindfulness of the body leads to nirvana." ~ the Buddha

The Gesture of Fearlessness.
I had a flare up of pelvic pain a few days ago. One of the practices that I did was to sit on yoga block in kneeling with a wool sock rolled up under my perineum so that the breath could ground and relax my pelvic floor better.
I also held the abhaya mudra as I breathed and met the sensations. This is gesture of fearlessness, the stop sign.
As in, stop running away from fear. Stop running away from pain, stop externalizing your life. Stop and go in.
In these days as the fear from the Covid 19 virus spreads, we can all invoke this mudra. This gesture of remembering who we really are.

My Mind Is Like A Bad Neighborhood.
I think Anne Lamott said this. And boy, was my mind raging last night. I wont go into the story, but I was triggered and witnessed how tight and contracted everything felt.
Ironic since this week, we studied Yoga Sutras 2.8, dvesha or aversion. Whenever I went into thought, I would spin into greater levels of tension.
When I shifted my attention into my body, the thoughts would quiet down and I could meet the sensations with my breath. It was a tug of war between these two states for awhile until I said "yes".
"Thank you for this constriction. Thank you for this lesson. I'm not sure what I'm going to do in response, but Thank you for showing me where I'm attached, where I'm being small."
Thank you
Thank you
Through this whole-hearted response, the dukha, the knots released.
Could it be this simple? That all of our seeking comes down to this? To be able to meet ourselves fully no matter what our e-motional state?

Friday Wisdom

"Anything is one of a million paths. Therefore you must keep in mind that a path is only a path; if you feel you should not follow it, you must not stay under any conditions. To have such clarity, you must lead a disciplined life..
Does the path have a heart? All paths are the same, they lead nowhere..., but one makes for a joyful journey, the other will make you curse your life."
-- Don Juan via Carlos Casteneda
I just found the quote from an old journal. I loved the teachings from Don Juan. In the Yaqui way of seeing, heart, courage, simplicity and trustworthiness or impeccability are woven into the fabric of each action.
How are you walking on your path? Does it bring you joy?

Broken and blooming. Why do you meditate? I love this answer that a teacher said, so that I can notice the little purple flowers...
One of my favorite meditations is discovering new trails. This one is by a road that I drive by about 20x a week. I had no idea that there was such an oasis behind it with a pond, a creek and a few thriving community gardens.
I also noticed that the spring flowers have started blooming (it was 28 degrees this morning). And this particular dogwood was poignant to me, the bough is broken, but it's still blooming, still bursting with blossoms and possibility.
May we be as resilient and courageous as this tree. May we remember to slow down and see the buds. May we accept and know that we are change, we are life...










@ Decatur, Georgia