Coming to Terms with What IS

Coming to terms with what IS

What do we do with the gift of time and a slower pace to life?

It takes time to transition and adjust.

There is a cost.

And there are benefits.

In some areas of my life I have still been very active:

holding space and embracing new ways to be together,

even ways I have previously resisted and now see the benefit of sharing.

In other ways, I have been silent:

listening, watching, and resting.

Waiting.

Incubating.

If we are to truly make use of the potential of this period of global change multiple modes will be required:

Acceptance of the previously rejected.

Creation of new forms.

Realigning with what's really important.

Remembering the lessons of childhood before life jaded us:

To share what we have with each other

and take naps in the afternoon.

To realize the power of nature of which we are all inseparably a part.

Boundaries that do not really exist are crossed by a single celled organism that can fell us despite all our attempts to control the planet, our borders, and each other, and treat our mother earth as something we can endlessly exploit.

I admit I am slow to accept change that I do not desire or think desirable,

and to be frustrated with others who see the opposite view.

It is the lesson of a lifetime to accept that we all have our roles to play,

to make my peace with what is mine and not mine,

yet essential to the whole. 

I wish for change to come from a place of well-meaning for the many,

rather than the further enrichment of the fearful, greedy, and few.

And yet I know intimately the power fear has

to corrupt, hijack, and drive our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

None of us are immune from its power to control us,

No more than we are immune to this newest simple form of nature

that has arisen as we all once did

from a desire to live.

Let us live. 

Let us re-learn to live well.

Let us remember how to live in harmony with ourselves, each other, and the whole of creation.

Because what is denied, eventually will arise.

All will eventually have their time,

and in time, all will pass away again.

It is the teaching of the scriptures that we need not fear what is,

rather we need to see it clearly. 

Our path is to see the Truth of life,

To stop trying to bend it to our will.

To take the actions that are ours to take,

and to be of service to each other. 

We gather the wisdom and strength to perform these actions

by surrendering to rest in the arms of the Divine that holds us.

To survive and even thrive in these times, may we:

All take the actions that are ours to take,

Be of service to each other in our way,

Rest in the deep knowledge that all are loved,

all are essential as we are,

and we are all in this together.

Namaste, Amen, Awen, AUM.

In shalah, shalom, shanti.

Friday 27 March 2020

Lisa Kaley-Isley

London, UK

Newsletter 29 March 2020

Dear Yoga Sangha,

Things are only beginning to feel slower to me now.  How about you?  At first I was very busy adapting to this new way of being - still teaching and trying to create a safe space for fear to be felt and pass - figuring out to move yoga therapist teaching immediately on line.  Those things done, I mostly rested the past 2 days and watched the flurry of activity from others trying to stay alive and be of service to their community and students.

This experience we are having now will leave a residue as all experiences do - in our psyches, communities, and planet. The yoga word for it is a samskara.  As the samskaras are repeated they become a deeply ingrained experience called a vasana.  If we still wondered if we as humans really have an impact on our environment, you can see clearly that we do.  Our doing and not doing have impact - on ourselves, each other, and the earth.  Years from now, scientists will see the vasanas in the rings of the trees and the ice in the artic.  We can already see it in our skies and streams.  Our doing less is good for the earth.  

It can also be good for us.  We are made to both do and not do, to be active and to rest.  The balancing act is the hard part.  How to survive and thrive, to have enough to eat, be safe, and warm, and to let go of the fear that makes us think we need more than that in this moment.  As in meditation, or savasana at the end of class, sleep at the end of a day, life needs to simplify and move at a slower pace.  There are benefits to that.  We and the earth need a period of quiet to restore, to build our strength, to not over-tax the systems we depend upon.  

There are things in all of our lives that we have put off doing that we may have some time for now.  God knows I do.   We may have to face thoughts and feelings as we do.  Some of those things we have avoided for good reason as well as “lack of time.”  We may need to be creative and supported by the community in order to meet our basic needs.  There is someone else we may in turn need to uphold.  Let’s do that.  Find your way, however big or small, to be the link in the chain of sangha that we are for each other. 

I’ve been commuting across London to teach my 9:45 yoga class for 9 years now.  This morning, I did not leave my house.  I turned on my computer, and I took a yoga class with one of my dear students, who in years past has covered that Friday class for me.  What a pleasure to be guided by her for a change.  To experience in a re-affirming circle of life that what is given returns in some measure to support.  This afternoon, I’m going to take another Zoom class, from another of my students, who is teaching a class as a virtual yoga birthday party for one of our shared students.  Life goes on and we will laugh and celebrate.  We may feel short on money, but I’m not feeling short on love. 

I don’t want to minimize that some things now are hard.  That we worry for loved ones and ourselves.  That some are truly suffering.  The financial disruptions and the health consequences will hit some of us very hard. Likely no one will remain completely untouched in some way. Those who are in the most difficult circumstances already may bear the burden disproportionately yet again. These are all true, and those people need us to do our part – whether that is to actively help, or to restfully stay away from places where we might spread the infection further.

I’m also feeling and making the case that good can come of any hard thing if we learn the lessons they offer and put them into practice.  Unless you are in a critical condition and you need fear to mobilize you to act, act instead to calm your fears and reap the benefits of a slower pace and rest.  Do things somewhat different along with maintaining the steady, good, supportive aspects of your life and livelihood.

In the coming weeks, I’m going to prioritise being available to people for one-to-one yoga therapy sessions, yoga teach mentorship, and yoga therapy supervision online.  It’s something I have done for years already with students and clients who life outside of London.  I prefer in person, so I have thus far limited my online sessions to students and clients I already know and have an in-person relationship with, and this seems to work.  We are able to re-create the connection through the link that online offers us across physical distance.  This offer applies to any of you receiving this newsletter.  If you want to schedule a time for support and exploration, to build your practice in this time provided, to cope with whatever is arising, or to grow through some challenge, please do get in touch. 

We are the lucky ones.  We have found a path and practice that can support us at any time, and at home or wherever we are in the world.  This is my way to maintain myself and to be of service to you, so let me know if you would like to schedule a time.  I’ll send you a Health Information form to complete and return.  We’ll figure out which social platform to use (Zoom, Skype, Facetime, WhatsApp), camera angles and microphones.  It’s easy to use PayPal and bank transfers.  The rate of pay for my time is the same as it has been for years: £65 for an hour, £95 for an hour-and-a-half, and all first sessions are for an hour-and-a-half.  I see people for one-off sessions, weekly, monthly, intermittently, and long-term.  It’s up to us together to find what’s right for you.  Email me back at this address which is Lisa@LifeTreeYoga.co.uk