Sacred Earth Somatic Bodyworks

09/11/2024

Bodywork for the Bodyworker 💚

09/06/2024

Wisdom Teachings and Self Care during season changes:

I am feeling the approaching Autumn Equinox in the environment around and within me. Letting go of Summer was once a yearly struggle for me. This has shifted into gratitude and love for the ever changing Nature of Life by reconnecting with my Earth honouring Ancestral Traditions and my Ancient Spiritual Ancestry of India and Yoga.

And it’s a full spectrum reconnecting continuing for me as I settle deeper into my homestead life and integration practices from some recent tumultuous and challenging years of deep dive healing and big life changes. From extreme fear coming out of my system to feeling so much grief and despair and moments of ecstatic unity with Great Mystery. And so much in between!

Letting go of old relationships that were not receptive to honouring my changing boundaries and needs from friendship. Welcoming new relationships to be nurtured with more care and attunemnet for one another. And our communities.

All in the realm of learning self care, self acceptance and self love as my centred orientation moving forward in my life. As we care for ourselves is the source and foundation of how we care for others and our beautiful planet with all its amazing biodiversity and expressions of Life.

A wonderful self care practice coming in for me as the nights are lengthening at the end of Summer:

Waking up early and slowing down the process of transition from rest to activity. I’ve been receiving so much wisdom by listening to Rupert Spira offer teachings on the direct path of dual understanding of embodied spiritual awakening. This is in the Ta***ic tradition of focusing on the body as a pathway into one’s true nature of Being.

With some good reminders and pointers reminding me to keep coming into my body as I wake up from sleep and prepare to get up for the opportunities of a new day.

Part two of my current waking up in the morning practice is breathwork.

There are perhaps an endless number of ways to breathe. In the wisdom teachings we are reminded that every breath is unique and not ever the same as another breath. When we begin practicing conscious breathing we will start to see this truth in our own experience of breathing. The Buddha’s moment of liberation came while practicing conscious breathing. And he taught this practice for the remaining 45 years of his life as one powerful way to stay with the body sensations long enough to realize true nature of Being.

Then there’s Wim Hoff! Currently I am feeling called to the ancient Pranayama practice of circular breathing with breath holds that he has popularized worldwide in recent years. Such a powerful way to wake up and roar in the morning!

So a little share about my personal morning self care practices to meet each day as energized, embodied and present as possible.

It’s a wood world these days!

Wishing everyone the support and resource needed to be consciously moving through these times with as much grounding, inner stability and optimism as possible.

If you are looking for more support through a Somatic embodied approach to wellness let me know. Perhaps my offerings as an in person Somatic Bodyworker and online Somatic Integration Guide could be useful.

Intro specials and sliding scale payment plans are available to support as much community access as possible.

May All Beings Be Well 💚

02/18/2024

“You are what your deepest desire is…”

From an early age I would ask my Mom why there was so much suffering in the world. Watching the nightly news with a full stomach seeing children in Africa starving with swollen bellies and empty eyes. There was no answer.

From an early age I wanted Peace. It felt missing in the world and in my self. As I grew up the pain and strife of this world felt at times too much to be with. I remember falling asleep praying for Peace. And waking to another day of Cold War nuclear terror in the news and dire predictions that cancer would someday take us all.

World travels after college brought me up close with more suffering, others and my own. Eventuality, in despair that the nature beauty of this world I saw everywhere I travelled was doomed to eventual destruction, I headed to Asia in search for answers. That first 10 day silent meditation retreat in a Thai Buddhist monastery was the turning point.

02/17/2024

Sunny days in the Slocan valley.
As the sun continues returning from the South.
Early signs of Spring.
Even as another Winter freeze covers the fish pond with fresh ice.

This weekend feels like soaking up some more deep homestead resting. While moving towards the last month of longer nights. Soon enough the days will be longer. With the arrival of Equinox.

Giving thanks for the seasons and the cycle of the year. Everything has its time and place within these Earthly rounds and rhythms.

01/30/2024

One of the places in the Kootenays I'm blessed to be in service for is The Sentinel wellness and retreat center, near Kaslo, BC.

I'll be sharing updates on the Sentinel here as the 2024 retreats, ceremonies and events are rolling out through the Year of the Dragon.

Sacred Elements Retreat is guiding you back to your innate rhythm through daily yoga, breathwork, resting in the elemental amenities of the Sentinel and 3 nourishing meals a day. Sounds wonderful!

Nestled amid 6 acres of awe-inspiring forested mountains, we extend a warm invitation to The Sentinel, a place where we harness the elemental forces to guide you on a transformative journey towards your authentic self. Through daily practices blending breath and movement within the sacred embrace of...

01/29/2024

Offering 2 hour intro specials for Traditional Thai Massage and Somatic Bodywork Therapy sessions. By appointment in Nelson and Winlaw.

Bodywork and Somatic Integration sessions also available at the majestic Sentinel Retreat & Wellness Centre in Kaslo, BC.

Mobile service also available when appropriate and supportive of providing wider community access to my wellness services of bodywork and somatic integration.

Intuitive bodywork and somatic integration sessions for healing and transformation based on ancient energy practices and modern neuroscience perspectives. 30 years+ experience.

Message me to learn more about my work, intro specials and my sliding scale payment plans for supporting individual and collective prosperity and well being.

May All Beings Be Well 🙏

01/25/2024

“What do you love? Allow yourself to have it, do it or feel it”

This line above really stands out for me from reflections below on todays Full Moon in Leo from the folks at Powerpath Shamanism. A website I’ve been following for years because it’s so consistently aligned for me as good guidance and heart medicine on my Earthwalk here.

I was in Nelson today feeling so aligned and in love with my evolving practice of Somatic Bodywork Therapy. And so held by the beautiful collective wellness space I’m settling into my second year of working in. Such a wonderful and heartfelt collective of practitioners serving such a diverse and interesting spectrum of people from Nelson and beyond.

Welcoming two new clients today with my 2 hour intro special. And receiving such appreciation and recognition for the heartfelt capacity I have. To hold grounded healing space and offer skillful touch and movement inputs that bring good benefits and integration into daily life.

Upon getting home this evening and reading the full moon reflections below it really landed deeper for me: I love my work! And feel called to be of service in this way to more people in need of body based ways of healing the nervous system and boosting brain health.

And I love sharing what works for me in staying well supported and resourced to be well and be of service in the best ways possible.

So, without further ado, here’s those full moon reflections for you.

Let me know in the comments if anything stands out for you. Or that you can relate too as we move through the first full moon of 2024.

“Also known as the wolf moon, this full moon in Leo inspires expansion as well as triggers a need to find your inner spark, passion and courage to go for it. The key is to open your heart wide to your personal joy so you can experience wonder and awe from the place of childlike innocence as if you are seeing the world for the first time. This will ignite a certain level of focus that can help you anchor new dreams and intentions. You can spend some time making a list of the things that inspire you and that you love to do, big and small, as well as working with your imagination to stretch beyond your limitations around what could be. WHAT IF?

This could be a magical time where you begin to see the path opening to living life more fully. It could also be a time of frustration especially if you find yourself distracted by other peoples' challenges and lose sight of your own journey.

You may be tested during this time. It is best to turn any feeling of inner tension into forward and determined action. Self esteem may be at war with the need for expansion so take courage but tread carefully so you don't overextend or make hasty decisions. Some relationships may require gentle boundaries as it is important to carve out space for yourself during this powerful time. It is also important to bring fun, play, humor and creativity into your interactions. What do you love? Allow yourself to do, have or feel it.

www.the power path.com

01/22/2024

Stopping the mind that wanders in meditation:

As a boy Papaji grew up in rural northern India,
in the Punjab now part of Pakistan. I love his Dharma stories that reference the land and customs of his people. He was such a down to Earth spiritual master with those deep roots in the countryside.

For gaining mastery of the wandering thoughts of the mind he offers this analogy of the bull which is offered all the grass it needs by staying home.

“When the mind goes back to the past, check it. If you are not successful, again check it and bring it back. Watch what is going on inside you.

Imagine that you are a farmer and that you have a bull which goes out to graze on the pastures of other farmers. The other farmers may beat it, but it won't understand the reason for the beating because the notion of property rights is alien to it.

After the other farmers come to complain, you have to find some way of making your bull behave.

You have to find some way of stopping it from wandering around. So, you tie it in your stable and put a big pile of grass in front of it.

At first the bull will ignore it because it wants to go out and roam around. It will get angry and for one or two days it will refuse to eat.

Finally, when it realises that it is not going to be let out to roam around and steal other's grass, it eats the food that is in front of it.

After several days of being fed in this way, the bull will suddenly realise that food is alwavs available where it is, and that it doesn't need to go out looking for it anymore.

It thinks, 'Why should I go out looking for grass in those fields? Every time I eat there, somebody beats me. Here, I have as much grass as I want.' Eventually, the farmer unties the bull and the bull stays in its stall. It can go out if it wants to, but it doesn't because it knows that if it tries to gratify its appetites outside, it will end up being beaten.

Knowing that everything it needs is inside, it voluntarily stays where it is.

This is how to stop the mind from going to the past. Force it to stay at home by not allowing any thought of the past to develop. At first it will fight and struggle, but after a few days, when it discovers that unlimited peace can be found by not going anywhere, it will relax, calm down and be content with staying where it is.”

~ Papaji

01/21/2024

“A change of feeling is a change of destiny”

Some reflections on the Somatics of creating the life you wish to live:

The Law of Attraction was popularized in recent years by the book The Secret. And other pop cultural expressions. That may not accurately convey the actual workings of what is called Karma in the Sanskrit language of Yoga. Yoga means unification into wholeness.

These reflections below from Swami Sivananda Saraswati emphasize the importance of feeling in the manifestation of our life experiences. It’s not enough to simply think about what we wish to experience and call into our lives.

Mental affirmations are good start and part of getting clarity about what we wish for ourselves. Affirmations without feeling it in the body are not enough though to mobilize your brain and nervous system into manifesting mode.

So as Peter Levine has shown the importance of reclaiming our felt sense in the healing of trauma in ourselves, so is it necessary to engage with our bodies, felt sense and feelings for calling in the life and experiences we wish to live.

This is something I love to support people with in my Somatic Bodywork practice. It’s wonderful to observe the way coming back into the felt sense and feeling body awakens people’s capacities to heal, be creative and be inspired to step into versions of their higher potential selves.

Here it is in the words of one of India’s modern yoga masters:

“The mind has got a 'drawing power'; like attracts like, is a great cosmic law. You are continually attracting to yourself, from both seen and unseen side of life-forces, thoughts and conditions most akin to those of your own. Every man has a mental world of his own, his own ideas, his own views, his own sentiments, his own feelings, his own habitual thoughts, his own experiences and his own modes of thinking and into these there constantly come similar ideas, similar views, similar thoughts and experiences." [11

"Be careful of your moods and feelings, for there is an unbroken connection between your feelings and your visible world. Your body is an emotional filter and bears the unmistakable marks of your prevalent emotions." [2]
"Think feelingly only of the state you desire to realize. Feeling the reality of the state sought and living and acting on that conviction is the way of all seeming miracles. All changes of expression are brought about through a change of feeling. A change of feeling is a change of destiny." [3]

(From [1] 'Daily Readings' by Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati; [2] [3] 'Feeling is the Secret' by Neville Goddard)