Cycles in life come and go as we grow and change, Last month was one long celebration of life. I felt the love pour in from new and old friends. I dressed up, hiked, rebuilt a rock wall for my succulent garden, harvested veggies, fed an 8ft long charcuterie spread to my friends at my birthday party, and hosted an incredible brunch.
I indulged the real priorities in my life as I celebrated myself on my birth month. Food and sensuality, intimacy, connection, feeling the strength and flexibility of my body and emotions, knowing what brings me pleasure, and feeling clear about what I absolutely do not want in my life are being imparted into this current cycle of my life.
While these are not new questions, I ask myself these regularly and encourage you to reflect on them as well about your life cycles:
- What are the things that help you feel vital?
- What brings you pleasure?
- What would feel good right now?
- Do you make time to sit with the range of emotions running through you whether that is grief or anxiety?
My commitment to always seek out more vitality and joy, led me to go back to the very beginning, to my in-utero experience. I completed a month of weekly sessions with the celebrated perinatal psychologist, Annie Brook. With her guidance I sat with the preverbal cycles of me that prematurely came into this world two months early. My tissue learned to habitually relate from a vigilant” high tone” tense place, rather than trusting. I am held and can relax. Some of the subtle energetic, somatic practices she introduced me to are gems. I’ve been practicing them regularly and transmitting them to clients has been an additionally incredible experience.
Also staying with the tissue theme and restructuring how I receive the world in my cycles, has been supported by Bernard Logan, a martial arts master who is also a master somatic bodyworker. He helps people get out of chronic pain and create sustainable physical practices. I’ve been working with him weekly for the past 3 months and highly recommend him.
Speaking of mindfulness practices and cycles of life that I love; I need to talk about the joy and sensuality associated with partner dancing. I started taking Kizomba lessons again, which I stopped at the beginning of quarantine. Kizomba is an intimate partner dance that originates in Angola. It is a moving meditation and truly a gift to be attuned with the practice of it. If I have an errant thought my lead tracks my arm tensing and I have to come back into the present moment. If you are single and not interested in dating, or if you simply are interested in exploring boundaried touch, I highly recommend taking dance lessons or finding a partner dancing class.
