Melissa Therapy

Belong To Yourself

2012-07-17T13:02:14Z

I’ve known for a long time now that I was holding my own self back from growth. We all do from time to time and when we get quiet with ourselves, we all know it to be true. Suddenly, about a week ago, I simply knew it was time to move forward, to let go of something that has been a crutch for me and holding me back in many ways. Part of me wishes I could describe that moment better but I think it is so different for each of us and so personal. As I let go of this crutch I felt awkward and uncertain at first. After a few days I felt overwhelmed with sadness for all of the time that I had wasted holding onto it and for the people in my life it had an impact on. After a few more days, not having the crutch was my normal…I felt like I had finally stepped off this hamster wheel and was FREE. A few more days passed and I recognized my true self again…I was quieter, softer, and my heart felt open and full of love. This morning, as I watched the sunrise, I noticed another layer lifting. I felt my true spirit wash over and around me like a soft breeze. As tears fell down my face I felt gratitude for it never leaving me and for the strength I had to make room for it again. I’m also humbled by my experience and the amazing ability we as humans have to shift, change, and evolve. Belong to yourself.

April

2012-04-12T03:17:50Z

As I approach my birthday, I’m thinking a bit about what my life means. I imagine our bodies being like a simple but beautiful boat that has been gifted to us and how we maintain it is our choice. We can fix it up or let it go. We can add people to the crew that can help or hurt the cruise. Our cargo choices are not always perfect but they are important. Sometimes we have to throw a few things overboard. The big picture is this…no matter what, we must surrender to the ocean, ride the waves. We can steer a bit, pilot the ship some but in the end, we are just a small vessel in an overwhelming and beautiful sea that is our world. Close your eyes, take a breath and surrender to what is.

Meditation

2012-01-05T16:26:40Z

I am starting a new meditation practice this morning with my husband. Our goal is to continue it on some level throughout 2012 and see what gifts it brings to us personally and as a couple. We’ll be celebrating our 22nd Wedding Anniversary on December 22, 2012 and getting married again. This is one of the ways we are preparing ourselves for that day and hoping this practice will evolve into an enriching part of our lives. However, my husband has never meditated before so I started to do a little research online to find a way to easily explain the step to him. I’m sure most people have never meditated and some might find it a little intimidating. So, I thought I’d share what I found.

“Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned, “thinking” mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness.” There are many different meditation methods but at the core of meditation is the goal to focus and eventually quiet your mind.

Below are 6 easy steps to follow to begin your own meditation practice.

Step 1: Make the time to meditate. Set aside time in your daily routine that works for you. Many find the morning works best and it doesn’t matter how long you meditate. Some people find that 5 minutes works well for them and others benefit from a longer time.

Step 2: Find a quiet and relaxing place that will have no distractions or noise.

Step 3: Sit on level ground, tilt your pelvis forward by sitting on the edge of a cushion and straighten your back. This will help keep you comfortable and help with your breathing. Relax your arms and legs. You don’t have to be in a special position juch make sure you are in a relaxed one.

Step 4: Relax everything and keep searching for things that aren’t relaxed and relax them. Your posture might need to be adjusted and even muscles in your face might be tense.

Step 5: Let your attention focus on your breath without judgement. The goal is to let go of the chatter in your mind and let it fade away. Find something to settle your mind. Count your breath from 1 to 10 and then count again or recite a mantra over and over again, like ‘om’. To quiet images in your mind, simply think of a place that calms you. I often imagine space…darkness with stars surrounding me. As my mind wonders, the voice in my mind will say ‘space’….’darkness’, for example, to bring me back to a quiet mind.

Step 6: Silence your mind. Once you’ve trained your mind to just focus on one thing at a time, the next step is to focus on nothing at all. Clearing your mind takes a lot of discipline but is the purpose of meditation.Good luck!

Santosha

2011-10-11T15:36:59Z

“May I accept whatever life may bring centered in balance, gratitude and delight. May I trust the Divine hand in everything and see beyond life’s hardships to the light.” Johanna Mosca

Santosha is a Niyama that means contentment. It is a willingness to accept whatever fate may bring with balance, gratitude and joy. By practicing Santosha, we can learn to detach from our daily experience and simply become an objective witness, observing ourselves on a transcendent level. We are acting as our own witness, watching our lives play out and are not attached to particular outcomes. By practicing Santosha, we can make the most of any situation and even though we can become frustrated or upset, we can move back into balance and maintain serenity through life’s ups and downs.

During times in our life when we our experiencing our own confusion, sadness and fear, the practice of Santosha can be difficult but can bring us much peace. Consider taking some time to close your eyes, focus on your breathing, focus on light and these affirmations.

I am contented with my self and my life

I am grateful for everything that happens to me

I maintain my balance in the face of hardships

I rejoice in the flow of life

I am a lighthearted being

The Phoenix Rising

2011-08-24T01:56:04Z

Many of us have times in our lives and moments throughout the year that we consider a restart….reboot…rebirth. New Year’s Eve, Birthdays and other rites of passage are recognized and celebrated for this reason. The symbol of the phoenix rising out of the ash and being born again is not only the essence of my work but also a part of the name…Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. I not only practice this as I give and receive sessions, I try to take every opportunity I can to be reborn…to grow. One of those practices is traveling across the country to an event in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada every year for an event called Burning Man. This is a time to celebrate love, life, friendships, reunions, art, acceptance and new experiences. The climax of the event is actually gathering around a large structure, “the man”, and watching as it lights up into flames and crumbles to the ground. For me, the most significant part of my experience is at the moment it falls. This is a time to reflect and visualize what I am ready to let go of….what isn’t working for me anymore and to celebrate the birth of a new way of being….a new beginning. I guess this is my New Year’s Eve.

I’m off to the desert tomorrow and open to whatever the event has to offer and for whatever awareness’s present themselves to me.

Meeting Imperfection

2011-08-09T20:16:02Z

For all of us, as we begin to self-reflect whether it be during Yoga Therapy sessions or other ways, we can start to have awareness around our imperfections. We can sometimes become overwhelmed considering our poor choices, people we’ve hurt, our anger, dishonesty, misjudgments or our inability to forgive. Although this can be a dark time, it is a time to congratulate yourself. This new awareness and insight is an amazing opportunity for you to be more conscious of them..to grow, change and evolve. “A door has been opened. A light has been turned on.” Don’t be hard on yourself but instead know that before you simply couldn’t see it. Honor yourself and these awareness’s by beginning to do the work needed to grow. “As you probe deeper into who you really are, with your lightedness and your confusions, with your angers, longings and distortions, you will find the true living you.”

Quotes from EMANUEL’S BOOK

The Benefits Of Yoga and Yoga Therapy For Cancer Patients

2011-07-22T16:04:11Z

I read an interesting article recently about fighting cancer with relaxation, breathing and poses. The full article is below. According to it, “practicing yoga promotes healing and relaxation for cancer patients by achieving a strong positive mind, body and spirit connection.” The physical body can have an amazingly positive response to yoga. I can only imagine the profound effects that Yoga Therapy can also have on people fighting this disease. Having the opportunity to process and speak about their journey while being witnessed and engaging their body could be an enlightening and powerfully healing experience. Please take a few moments to click on the link below for the full article.

Fight Cancer with Relaxation-1

The Benefits of Yoga Therapy For Women During and After Pregnancy

2011-07-15T17:04:09Z

I’ve been reflecting a lot about how blessed I feel to have this work in my life as a giver and a receiver. I only wish I had known about it sooner, especially when I was going through major transitions in my life. My parent’s divorce, the death of my father, and the pregnancies of my three children to name a few. I really remember being pregnant and feeling so off center spiritually and physically. My body was going through so many changes and I had absolutely no control over it. I was afraid of childbirth and terrified about becoming a parent. I also remember the agony of having fertility issues leading up to my last pregnancy and not knowing who or where to reach out to. I wish I could have had the opportunity to explore and process how I was feeling throughout my whole body, mind and spirit. The even bigger shifts happened after the baby came. My body and hormones were going through so many changes and I was overwhelmed with the responsibility of taking care of a helpless human being and even experienced depression for the first time in my life.

As I thought about all of this, I realized that I should reach out to women and explore with them how this work could help them process and heal before, during and after pregnancy. I began to offer sessions to pregnant women in my community and they were so grateful. Together we explored the appropriate postures for them as their stomach grew and they had an opportunity to explore and process all of the changes and feelings they were experiencing. Fear of childbirth, expectations from family and friends, body image issues, anxiety over how life will change once the baby comes, are just a few of the topics that came up in sessions. They had an opportunity to be witnessed without judgement and gain wisdom and advice from deep within themselves.

I began to see just how valuable this work could be for these women and am so excited to continue working with them and offering yoga therapy sessions to more women in my community.

Fracking

2011-07-05T22:28:16Z

If you don’t know what fracking is, please take a moment to educate yourself about it. YouTube has a trailer for a documentary called GASLAND….this will give you a glimpse of what it is. Lessons are not being learned…our earth continues to be raped. “Do not become lost in assuming that your world is a reasonable place. Of course it is not reasonable. It is a reflection of struggle. Of course it is not gentle and fair until one rises to the consciousness within your own being that cherishes gentleness and fairness.” Emmanuel’s Book

Paddleboarding and Life

2011-05-28T00:48:29Z

For my daughter’s birthday this month, we decided to try paddleboarding on Lady Bird Lake. First, I have to say that I LOVED it and have already booked my next time to go. However, As I got onto the board on my knees (as recommended) and drifted out a bit from the dock I was really nervous about finding my way up to standing. This little board would surely flip and I’d have to figure out a way to graciously (impossible) get back up on it. I decided to move slowly and deliberately…focusing on staying grounded on the board, which is hard when you think about it floating on water. Surprisingly to me I seemed to stand up pretty easily and quickly noticed that I could maintain balance if I kept my feet apart and focused on rooting into the board with them. Soon, I realized that it became even more easy when I looked up, took deep breaths and focused on myself, my breathing and m0ved the paddle back and forth as sort of a rhythmic meditative practice. In fact, when I stopped paddling I found that keeping my balance was much more difficult. As we moved along, literally standing on water, it was beautiful. We paddled in silence most of the time, finding our way to Red Bud Island and back. In the end it felt completely effortless until I stepped off the board and onto the dock. My whole body began to shake a bit and I noticed that all of my muscles and my entire body had been engaged to keep me on that board and it was FEELING it.

Afterwards, I began to think about how that experience relates to our relationship with our bodies, life and the work I do. Without even realizing it, my entire body was engaged in that experience, like it is with all experiences, even though we sometimes don’t realize it. We usually focus on the thinking part. I was reminded that with a little silence and focus I can engage my body to experience amazing things. I can give it the opportunity to show me its possibilities and teach me what it needs to. With the awareness and the opportunity we can truly connect all parts of us….our lives, spirit, breathing, body, emotions, thoughts and find our truths.