Saturday, 10 October 2020
I am writing from my new office – the glass enclosure extension on the back of our house. When I stretch out my arms from my shoulders my hands perfectly rest flat on the opposing walls. There’s just the right amount of space and no extra for my desk, yoga mat, and a shelf. I am in the halfway place between house and garden with green growing things on one side, and the room I use for teaching yoga classes lined with shelves on the other. I constantly have to adapt opening and closing the curtains to the changing light of the sun, and the weather surrounds me as the sky changes from blue to grey, from sunny to nightfall. In the weeks that I’ve been sitting here it’s changed from too hot to getting cold, and I have to add and remove layers of clothing and blankets throughout the day. I sit too much these days looking at faces on my computer screen, and I feel like a new-born 4-legged creature just finding her feet every time I stand. But as you can imagine, it’s a wonderful place to spend my time, on the boundary between changing nature and man’s creation of comfort to guard against the elements.
It fits perfectly with the Vishoka meditation practice I’ve been doing. Vishoka means the absence of suffering, and this practice is described in the Yoga Sutras as the path to experiencing our inner potential for bliss. It begins with awareness of the breath that exists in the space beyond the nostrils, enters the nostrils, and passes back out of them again. It brings awareness that what was just outside of us, is now inside of us, and will soon return outside of us again in a continuous cycle. In the interim, the prana on the breath flows through areas of concentrated prana, guided by the wisdom of consciousness which keeps us breathing even when we forget to do so consciously. It raises our awareness that we are a part of nature, not apart from nature. And while we think we are the doer, just notice how much of our thoughts, feelings, behaviour, and inner physiological functions occur outside of awareness for us. All the functions that maintain us keep going while we go off on some other focus.
I’ve fallen in love with the concept of “liminal space.” Why not? It is upon us. We might as well love what is. I found this useful definition: “The word “liminal” comes from the Latin root, limen, which means “threshold.” The liminal space is the “crossing over” space – a space where you have left something behind, yet you are not yet fully in something else. It’s a transition space (Seale, 2016). Liminal space is a threshold place to the unknown of what’s next. Doesn’t that fit our world now? From this time of uncertainty might some good things grow? Will opportunities arise from the ashes of the destruction around us that we couldn’t see before? Seale cites this description of liminal space by the 17th century French philosopher/mathematician Blaise Pascal: “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” Seal’s full article is excellent, see it here: https://transformationalpresence.org/alan-seale-blog/liminal-space-embracing-mystery-power-transition-will-2/.
I choose to think that my recent move to the Netherlands for this one-year “let’s see what happens” period is intentionally opening up to possibilities I could not previously imagine. I certainly hope something wonderful is waiting to be known. I am not blind or naïve though, I know that suffering and opportunity come hand in hand. Panditji says the seeds that are the source and the cure of our suffering exist side by side. It makes me think about nettle and dock weeds – what stings you, and relieves the sting, naturally grow together unless we intervene and interrupt nature’s balanced plan. I know in recent years I’ve found more nettle than dock weed when I’ve looked, and in life I’ve felt plenty of sting that did not seem to have relief easy to hand. It’s the way I understand the universal push out of our comfortable places to make us grow and go. And that reminds me of my favourite songs Miten sings: “You gotta move. You gotta move. When the Lord gets ready, you gotta move.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nylrSE08w0U
I told someone the other day I am enjoying the honeymoon phase of living in our new place. It’s not perfect. I’ll learn things I don’t like. But for now, I am so happy to live in a place surrounded by natural beauty and friendly people. That’s why I’m so grateful for my half-in, half-out office space. Even when I feel over-long yoked to my computer and the screen, I’m grateful that I am surrounded by nature while I keep doing what I love – teaching live yoga classes, seeing people for yoga therapy, and feeding yoga teachers the information, skills, and experience they need to mature into wise and capable yoga therapists.
If you want to see my liminal space for yourself and hang out here in pursuit of your own incredible waiting to be known, here’s a few ways you can:
1. Integrated yoga classes (asana, pranayama, relaxation, and guided meditation) on Fridays 9:00 -10:30 BST/ 10:00 – 11:30 CET. Register on my website to get the Zoom link and to find the PayPal link https://www.lifetreeyoga.co.uk/yoga-classes I’m teaching almost every Friday, but class will be cancelled 23 October as I’ll be teaching a workshop all that day.
2. Yoga therapy and yoga therapy supervision Monday – Friday 10:00 – 17:30. Email me at Lisa@LifeTreeYoga.co.uk for details and to arrange a time to meet.
3. Super short notice chance to join a weekend workshop Saturday + Sunday 17 – 19 October on Zoom 11:00 – 17:15 BST both days. The workshop is titled Yoga for the Inclusivity of Mental Health and Trauma Sensitive Students. The intention is to increase awareness + skill to adapt yoga for students who live with anxiety and/or have experienced trauma. I am teaching a bespoke workshop for the students and teachers of OM Yoga Studio, Cardiff that we’ve rescheduled a few times when our original in-person event was cancelled in March due to Covid restrictions. I’ve decided to open it up to any of my interested students to join in with Kalavathi’s consent. See https://www.lifetreeyoga.co.uk/ for additional details and to register.
4. I’m still chanting live at 9:00 BST every Wednesday and Sunday on the MMM Chanting for Healing and Transformation Facebook page. We are currently chanting the Ganesha Gayatri 108 times. Today I introduced a new mantra for the earth to be chanted 11 times on the occasion of the new moon. If you want to join us, and you’re a Facebook friend of mine, send me a text in Messenger saying you’d like to be invited to join the group. If we are not Facebook friends, start there, and also send me a Messenger text that you’d like to join so I accept you as a Facebook friend.
Wishing you well whatever phase you are in with world and internal events. Remember that we are not really alone. Reach out if you are feeling that you are and need some support. I’ve seen somewhere the assertion that the guru of this age will be the sangha. Find people and places that buoy you up, even if it’s a virtual hand hold or hug.
All very best wishes,
Lisa
