Friday October 1st, after Siobhan and I went on our grand adventure, I went to Osborne Village to have a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy session with Jessica Wyn. I was very excited!
The last time I had a session scheduled with Jessica, I was late because as I was leaving, I found a trail of feathers in my living room. I heard a fluttering noise and realized that one of my cats had brought in a bird. behind one of the chairs, I saw a trembling robin, with no tail feathers. I knew I couldn’t leave it there, my cats have killed many small birds. This was the first time they’d brought in a robin though! I chased it around the house and finally caught it in a basket. It seemed to have trouble flying, so I was a bit worried. I was really late by that time, so I took the basket with me, thinking that maybe it was in shock and I could figure out what to do if it really couldn’t fly later.
I left to walk to Jessica’s house, carrying my closed basket. a few times, people called out to me asking what was in it, but I was very late and didn’t have time! Finally, near Jessica’s house, a group of guys called out and asked what I was carrying, Impulsively, I opened the basket and the robin flew out and away. I laughed and ran. they called after me asking me “Don’t you want your bird?” no! he was free!
At Jessica’s, I sat down in her yoga room and apologized profusely for being late. She graciously forgave me and we got to the session. Now normally, the session involves some conversation at the beginning and then you flow into movement, the practitioner guiding your body and providing verbal cues to help you articulate what’s going on for you, what you’re learning about your body and spirit through the session. that time, however, I started talking and a rush of words kept coming! I talked and talked for the whole time! Jessica and I both wondered about that, worrying that we hadn’t gotten to the movement part, but I remember it was exactly what I needed that day. my head and heart had been so full. The topics I covered were about feeling like a child still, feeling like I was correcting a lot of behaviours caused by trauma, and wondering if I ever would feel grown up. When I got home, I looked up the symbolism of robins. One of the websites I looked at mentioned robins symbolizing true adulthood, new beginnings, letting go of the hurts of childhood and moving into spring as a whole person.
This most recent session was less talking more movement. We met at the Be Still centre and sat down together in the therapy room. Our introduction this time was brief and I covered a lot of things I’d been thinking of, the end of some cycles in my life, my feelings that I’d worked through a lot of what took me off course in my teen years, and was now experiencing the same challenges with a healed heart and trying to develop new tools. It’s hard to relay all of what happened in that extremely personal session, but it’s a profound experience. I spoke went drawn to or prompted by Jessica to relay what was happening when I made sudden movements or she sensed a change in me. It’s very self-directed, Jessica acting as someone who supports me through my own process, rather than directing me. It’s a very empowering healing experience in that way, because it helps me to vocalize my process and where I’m at in my journey, as opposed to asking someone for healing. I’m very in touch with my process and don’t fear speaking about it in symbolic or abstract terms, so it’s great to engage in a dialogue about it.
I came out of the session feeling like I had a better sense of where my spirit was sitting. before the session, I’d asked Jessica if she’d be comfortable with me asking her some questions about her practice so that when I shared it with you here, you’d get a sense of why she does what she does. But afterwards, I didn’t want to filter her answers through me before passing them on to you. It felt like a step removed. So I asked her to share a bit about why she does Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy and her experiences in her own words.
The sessions that I offer feel challenging to put into words. Each time I get together, one on one with a client, what happens is completely different. That’s one of the many reasons I’ve become passionate about Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy(PRYT)-it’s tailor made to the moment.
I was drawn to this work because of experiences I had had in yoga classes. Different emotions would come up seemingly out of nowhere. The aligning touch of a teacher or assistance from another student would allow more depth of the posture.
It wasn’t until I went for training in Vermont that I was able to experience PRYT, since there are no active practitioners in Winnipeg right now. It helped me look at situations in my life and my relationship to them in a new way. I had no idea what I was going to do with my life and this helped bring clarity and focus on many levels.
This unique blend of yoga and contemporary body-mind psychology offers up safe space to explore what’s happening now. This exploration is encouraged by dialogue, guided meditations, and assisted movements and yoga postures. It’s like talk therapy meets thai massage meets yoga.
I’m so excited about bringing this work to Winnipeg! for more information please email me at spritely.balance@gmail.com. Namaste!
I took most of the weekend off, as I was feeling pretty tired. Monday, October 4th Siobhan and I went on a shopping trip down Westminister Avenue, into Wolseley.
So, awesome story. This is all happening during my self love challenge. recently, a friend of Siobhan’s came into town and gifted her with a beautiful copper ring that instantly reminded Siobhan of Aphrodite. She’s been wearing it to remember that while she can love and marry others, she is married to herself first. It’s a beautiful ring and I loved it. While we were shopping at Wolseley Wardrobe, we found the EXACT same ring! Woah! The universe was totally talking to us!
Siobhan has been wearing it on her left hand, a receiving hand. She bought the second ring, gave it to me, and slipped it onto my right hand, the more active hand, to symbolize the work I’ve done with Aphrodite and self love over the last two years. Wait until you hear the second half of the story of this ring! It’s totally magic!
10.01.2010 & 10.04.2010 ~ Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy & Aphrodite’s Girls
cats, phoenix rising yoga therapy
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