Your Body is on My Mind

I hope you don't find the title of this blog post offensive--but it's true! Everything I've been working on these days is highly body-oriented.

You might be thinking, "Well of course, Jess! You're a yoga teacher!" And that's true! But believe it or not, to me the yoga asana (postures) are more of a means to an end than an end themselves. And that's not just my opinion. That's in the texts as well. There is no Yoga Sutra that says,

"True happiness will be found in the perfection of a triangle pose."

You WILL find text that says happiness is found in friendliness, compassion, delight, and equanimity though. (Learn more about the "Locks and Keys" to happiness HERE.) These days, however, I'm thinking about these same words and themes as directed towards the body. Better said, towards my body, or you towards your body.

Considering our body as an entity worthy of loving attention, rather than submission or disregard, is a chakra one, muladhara, issue.

My three most recent podcast episodes are all body-focused:

• Episode 4: Chakra One and Embodiment asks, "Are you where your body is?" It's a self awareness question with mental, emotional, and spiritual ramifications.
• Episode 5: What is your body telling you? taps into some of the cues and clues your body is giving you in the areas of weight, sleep, pain, and toxicity.
• Episode 6: When Your Body Breaks Down--Grace during times of injury and illness is my personal story of discovering gentleness as a key to true self care, and three words to give you a new perspective as well.

I hope you take some time to listen and get enthused about caring for your "earth suit!" You only get the one, so it's well worth the investment. This goes beyond diet and exercise--it's mindset at the muladhara level.

Starting next week, we're entering the realm of Chakra 2 in two exciting ways. One, I'm interviewing a guest for Jess on the Mountain podcast, and we're going to learn together about Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. DBT is based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), but it’s specially adapted for people who experience emotions very intensely.

Second, we're going to start a series of Hatha classes based on the themes of Brené Brown's latest book, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience. I've been reading this book with an eye for what might be useful to us in an embodiment practice, and this is sure to spark some new understandings of ourselves and how we operate in the world. (Also, stretch our hamstrings ;)

But what if you're not in Online Yoga Membership and can't access those classes?

 Fear not! Doors are FLYING open for a FREE Trial of OYM from March 27-April 8, so you can come and explore the library, as well as gain valuable insights from Atlas of the Heart. Registration is open, so grab your spot today!

Finally, one more seasonal hot topic for you is March 26 (this Sunday!) we are going to do some Spring Cleaning and Seasonal Detox at our Chakra Savvy Monthly Practice at Castle Hill Fitness. If you haven't been to one yet, and you are in the Austin area, I HIGHLY recommend you join us. These have been fun, informative, meaningful practices, and the biggest complaint has been that time flies by too fast! If you are looking for a deeper dive into all things chakra, I hope you join me in April for the Chakra Savvy Weekend Immersion. Catch all the deets on their website, and ping me with any questions you may have. I'm beyond excited to spend the day talking and experiencing all things chakras!

Please know, {{first_name}}, that I appreciate you reading my weekly blogs, tuning into the podcast, sharing what we do with friends, and joining me on the mat in whatever form your life allows you to take these days. I know life has gotten going again full-speed, and I'm simply here to remind you to keep your self awareness, emotional health, physicality, and spirituality high on your agenda. I see you as worth it--and I hope you do too.

Much love