Transformation
I’ve been thinking about transformation, the courageous women that attended my Wellness Retreat in New Mexico a few days ago, and about my own transformation. Here’s what I believe:
Transformation is a mind, body, heart, and spirit experience.
*We access the mind through meditation, contemplative thought, reading and even journaling.
*We access the body through movement and breath work, taking time to witness and embody experiences, to observe and feel sensations and emotions that arise. Think yoga, walks in nature or dancing. Add structured breath work such as ujjayi, dirga and alternate nostril.
*We access the heart, our superpower, by getting quiet and still, cultivating compassion and self love for ourselves and others.
*We access the spirit through ritual, ceremony, prayer and inspiring connections with others.
*Transformation is a journey, not a destination. It’s an invitation to heal and grow, to awaken to new perspectives, and to experiment with choices and actions to follow your heart.
Here’s what I know for sure, transformation is a path of self-discovery, not self-improvement. Self-improvement implies we have to be “fixed”. Self-discovery accepts us for who we are, the shadow and the light. The transformation process reveals how to appreciate our life lessons, not get stuck by them, to respond to situations and challenges, not react, to make decisions and choices from an understanding of not only ourselves but others, and to embrace the wholeness of our being, to become fully alive.