Hello Dear Community!
Here we are, exactly one month into winter. Though incredibly beautiful, it can also begin to feel a bit dreary for some of us around this time of year here in the Pacific Northwest.
In between cozying up and home and letting the winter energy guide me into rest and hibernation, I also try to get out into the woods as much as possible in mid-winter. There it is always lush and beautiful year-round and the rain and mist only add to the magic and make it feel just as alive in winter somehow...
It's been challenging to get out of the house as much as I would like this year as my body has been asking me to stay in and rest since I have been sick on and off (but mostly on) since the Winter Solstice. I've been through four cold viruses and my daughter through two double ear infections!
My teacher, Bindy, used to say that when we are sick, especially with a cold, it's our body's way of clearing out on a physical level, everything that we no longer need, everything that energetically and emotionally we are ready to let go of. I find this comforting when I am feeling absolutely terrible and miserable. I keep asking myself, "what am I ready to let go of now?"
Being sick is really difficult and yet I also find it sort of beautiful and incredibly humbling. It brings us right down to the earth in the most grounding surrender. It brings us in contact with some core parts of human experience and what it is to have a body. Suffering is part of the deal, these bodies get sick and age and die- everyone’s does. This is what it is to be human, we all go through this. When I’m sick I feel profoundly connected to all the other embodied humans out there.
As this fourth cold virus winds down, I'm looking forward to rejoining the community soon and am SO excited that this Saturday, January 25, my dear sister Rachel of Sister Space will begin once again offering our much-loved Restorative Yoga & Sound Healing Class at Root Whole Body in NE Portland!
This is a truly restorative class with sooo much time to rest in each pose as the vibrations of the crystal bowls wash over you and a 30-minute savasana sound bath! (have I mentioned that’s my favorite yoga pose? 😉) Rachel will also be assisting me next month in my next Womb Awakening Ceremony by offering gentle movement practice.
I hope that you are feeling healthy and strong in your body and that if you are sick too you are able to be patient and allowing of your body's healing process. Take advantage of the cold and rain when you can, cozy up and rest with books and tea and the feeling of your own breath. Take opportunities to get out into the woods and breath the fresh, damp air. Try to be present with whatever is arising in you wherever you are each moment. Know that you are deeply connected, even when you may feel isolated at home in the cold and dark of long winter nights.
And when you feel like coming out and connecting in a gentle way, join me for a community sound healing and cozy up surrounded by others spending time with themselves in a warm and restful shared space.
Wishing you peace in your mind, ease and health in your body, and lightness in your heart for the rest of the winter! Marissa Leigh