|
Hello Reader, On Sunday I guided my first in-person soma ceremony here in Swakop. Over three hours we shared cacao, a conscious dance journey and yin yoga before settling deeply into stillness with yoga nidra. I had a very simple intention for the ceremony. Offer a space where everyone felt safe enough to hear the story that their body has to tell. Hearing what everyone had to share in our closing circle, still has my heart beating warm gratitude. Each story shared threads with the others, but ultimately it was the bigger arc transformation that really stayed with me. Everyone met some of their most defining stories in the depths of letting their bodies speak freely. And yet, rose back up with nothing but clarity, love and spaciousness to evolve the story rooted in wisdom. I took inspiration from this yesterday as I felt the stirrings of some of my own stories come to the surface. Somatics is often said to come from the Greek word soma, meaning 'living body.' But soma also appears earlier in the Rig Veda, one of the oldest texts in human history, where it described both as a sacred offering and healing force. Soma is the wave that carries the soul beyond itself, the drop that purifies and flows through the heart of existence. Yet, yesterday I felt myself far removed from this wave as I was driving to go teach my weekly Yin Somatics. I felt caught up in a story wound tightly around my heart and mind. A story about myself, about my relationships and the sticky feelings in between. I was yearning for a resolution and space, but also grounded enough to recognize that this was a pivotal moment to rewrite all of the threads I was entangled in. So that's what I held space for in class. A space for all the stories to reveal themselves in the body. To go from thinking and fixing to embodying the deeper currents of experienced truth. And to hold them in a container of compassionate wisdom that allows them opportunity to be completed and put to rest. This is the heart of somatics to me. It is not in the doing or specific practices, but in the listening. And that is what I love to create, spaces where people can hear themselves. Whether it is through the steady dedicated discipline of a weekly practice to build your capacity breath by breath. Or whether it is a deep dive to illuminate the bigger narrative that shapes your existence. It is about letting the waves of the living body carry you beyond yourself and back home to deeper wisdom and freedom. I am sharing here the recording of last night's perfectly imperfect yin class if you feel called to make space to listen to your own body. It's available for the next 7 days. You will need two yoga blocks, a bolster/pillow and 60 minutes for yourself.
After much testing, trials and tribulations, more of these regular weekly classes are now also available live online. You can book online to receive the Zoom links and recordings. Can't see the schedule? Download here
Ready to join me? After booking your class, adding your class package to your cart and completing checkout, you will need to manually do a bank transfer or pay via payment link. I am still looking to streamline this process, but for now have decided to take the plunge as is, because waiting for perfection is not the energy I want to invest in this Fire Horse year. In Namibia via EFT (payment details shared at checkout) Outside Namibia via Wise Payment Link (please click on the class pack of your choice) 8 Sessions - € 45 If joining a weekly class is not a good fit for you now, keep a look out for my next online deep dive on 22 March. Join the Body&Being WhatsApp group here to be the first to know! With a deep breath and a gracious heart, may you find the wave that spirals your story ever wider into beauty, freedom and joy. Much love, Liezl
|
I'm a yoga teacher and trainer sharing somatic & reflective practices that cultivate right relationship between body, mind and heart to live in felt wholeness.
Hello Reader, On New Year’s eve I went out dancing for the first time since getting pregnant in 2022. I put my daughter to bed and headed out to the desert with a travel mug full of cacao and a bottle of non-alcoholic bubbly while her dad stayed home to watch her. Driving home from the festival around 01:00 with a full heart and tired feet, I remembered how much I’ve always loved dancing. I also remembered how as a shy depressed teen and anxious but adventurous young woman, dancing at clubs...
Dear Reader, Azza Al Ghardaqa on Unsplash The darkness begins to give way to unfamiliar textures underneath my feet. A foreign breeze caresses my bare arms, legs and torso. It is cool on my cheeks, with a lingering smell I cannot quite place as it stirs something in my chest. It passes. With effort I open my heavy eyelids. My eyes strain to focus and adjust to the light. Eventually my gaze comes to rest on the unknown horizon stretching out ahead of me. I turn around to see where I have come...
Hello Reader It's a busy week. The to-do list is long and is pressing into me from all sides. I need a brisk walk to wake up my brain and body. A walk to ease the feeling of flight welling up in my legs. A walk to give me perspective. A walk to ground me back into the smells, sights and sounds of right now. I hit my regular route down to the beach, walk under my favorite tree and past the hedge of blooming aloes, red rockets pointed up at the sky. I get to the walkway. I turn left. I fall in...