Well, says Nadine (aka The Divine Ms N) almost doubtfully, I hope you got something out of today.
As much as she claims to be the Queen of Unsubtlety, here’s this beautiful yogi with her mellifluous South African accent, sounding unsure of the magic she’s just enabled for a room full of women.
*Ahem* DID I get something out of Nadine’s workshop? Errrmmmm… f#ck yes I did!
The premise was to find two words to set your intentions for the year, instead of making a mountain of resolutions or intentions.
The idea was that we’d work it out via a bit of story-telling, laughter, inappropriate jokes, and a process of self-inquiry Nadine had written down in a workbook for everyone. This was to be interspersed with a bit of yoga, food and relaxation and eventually, we’d all find the words that would sing out to us.
Words that represented how we want 2012 to go: things we need, want or are challenged by.
To be honest, I signed up for this workshop when I was still in the Land of Overwhelm.
I’ve been a wee bit terrified of the coming year – will it be another round of physical, mental, emotional or financial disaster? The worry about such things was the cause of much unexpressed anxiety.
So I signed up thinking fark, I’d better get as much help as I can for myself in starting things off right and bloody well hope and pray it all turns out… better. Better than the last six years in every way.
I am ready for better. Very ready.
Even though Nadine had emailed us earlier in the week with some question prompts, I really hadn’t thought about what my words might be.
But funnily enough, as we got started with our first session of yoga one of my words just… *POPPED* into my mind. Okay, cool.
It makes perfect sense for me, yes?
I’d still no idea what the other one would be, however.
We then started talking with each other, reading our workbooks and writing, just to get the thought processes moving (I’d bought my extra-shiny glitter gel pens to inspire me!).
Nadine started passing around some food (stating that she can’t concentrate if she’s hungry!), and we all either kept the word brainstorming going and/or tucked in to the nibbles – whatever worked for each of us.
A bit of tea, a few nuts and muffins (although no muffins for me!), some chatting with other participants and I still didn’t have my second word.
Until I did.
Just by… I don’t know, standing there and listening to other people talk. Suddenly it was glaringly apparent and I was hot-footing it back to my yoga mat, attempting to write down that darn word – because until then I simply hadn’t written anything like it in my workbook!
Which I didn’t do without some serious face-pulling, like I’d been eating too many lemons!
Whoah. I REALLY didn’t want to have to face that one but there it was, staring me in the face.
Acceptance.
GAH! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT MIGHT MEAN??!!
The last thing I thought I wanted was to work on accepting myself, my life and where I’m at but apparently that’s what I need this year. I mean, can’t we put that shizz off til much later? Next life, perhaps? 😉
But… too late. Like the ringing of a bell, it was blatantly clear that like it or not, for me 2012 is the year to get into some acceptance (grumble grumble bloody bloomin’ heck!).
Once everyone had their word(s), next up was investigating exactly what those words might mean for us.
Here’s a short summary of mine:
Healing
- Getting my thyroid and body back into balance.
- Regaining normal iron levels and other blood work tests.
- Hopefully being able to get off thyroid medication and manage my health by diet and yoga/kinesiology/acupuncture alone.
- Finding the right doctor/naturopath to help me achieve these goals.
- Continuing my kinesiology sessions.
- Getting enough sleep, eating the right foods and staying away from the wrong foods.
- Feeling full of energy once again.
- Finding my ideal body weight.
- And… when I’m ready, being able to remove the impenetrable protective bubble that still surrounds my heart. To truly let love in once again.
Acceptance
- Being honest with myself about ALL the things I don’t accept about myself right now.
- Finding ways to accept the things I currently reject: physical appearance; what I’ve been through; what I think I’ve “missed out on” as a result of having PTSD; the things I want in my life that I don’t have; parts of my personality I don’t like; my current lifestyle; not living/doing the things I really want to be doing; my health…
- Understanding that acceptance of all of these things isn’t about giving up. Rather, it’s about not wasting energy fighting things I can’t change.
- Embracing self-love in all aspects of my life, and being happy and joyful within myself!
Nadine asked us to think of a yoga pose(s) that embodies the essence of our words for us, and then wove them into our second yoga session.
Interestingly, there were a LOT of mentions of warrior and tree pose, as a many people had words like balance, stability and openness.
The intention of the second yoga session was to seal the words we’d each chosen into our bodies and minds.
We began with a simple meditation on our words, inhaling and exhaling them like a mantra. Playing around with which word felt right for the inhale and which for the exhale [inhale: Healing / exhale: Acceptance].
This time the practice was a little stronger than our first session, and we carried our words with us as we moved and breathed.
How do your words feel with this pose, asked Nadine, as she left us in each pose for a while to ponder.
Finally, we finished with another meditation. Allowing our words to steep and settle in to the sub-conscious and anywhere else they’re needed.
Like all Nadine events, there was lots of laughter and light-heartedness. But ultimately, it was an elegant and thoughtful process of getting to the Stuff That Matters for each person.
That’s most definitely what happened for me!
So yes, Nadine. I got PLENTY out of your sweet little workshop. And it’s something I think you should run on a yearly basis because I’m sure there are lots of folks out there who’d love to learn this simple but powerful method of organising oneself for the coming year.
~Svasti xo
P.S. You can read Nadine’s two words and Kerry’s two words as well. Yay!
P.P.S. You can also join the Two Words Project on Facebook, if you’d like to join in the fun.
Svasti: A Journey From Assault To Wholeness 