Greetings Everyone,
I recently embarked on a journey for Yoga Teacher Training(YTT) at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. I decided to pursue this because I truly want to deepen my understanding of the human body and deepen my own practice of yoga. I decided to parlay this as part of my continuing education in Massage Therapy program as this is my specialty for the Master Massage Program. The MT1000 program is a one thousand hour massage program. I fell in love with bodywork in 2004. I enjoyed witnessing how the tissue would melt under my hand and patterns of restriction would be released. The end result would be the person felt better and lighter. Because of my massage education and love for bodywork, I decided it was time to deepen my yoga practice and learn more about my own body and its restrictions/limitations. To me, this is an important foundation for anyone in the bodywork field. I only started practicing yoga three years ago. I was fascinated by the changes in my body and my experiences as I felt my once tight hamstrings finally release to allow me to finally forward fold. I also felt a shift in my own consciousness and state of being. Interestingly enough, this prompted me to start learning more and deepen my knowledge of bodywork. This is quite interesting in and of itself because my education in bodywork and love for yoga led me to delve into Yoga Teacher Traning. I find amazement in the interconnectedness of my journey. I was filled with excitement and trepidation at the beginning of my YTT program. That trepidation is now replaced with introspection and gratitude. I am grateful that my body is showing me that I need to be more present. While I attempted to take on this endeavor with an open mind and zero expecation, I felt very comfortable and confident in my poses. It wasn't long before that confidence was replaced by humility. While I thought I had body awareness and always felt a sense of groundedness, I had no idea I would have to face the fact that I have serious restrictions and for now, I am unable to perform certain postures. This is a hard pill to swallow. For the first time, I am really bringing consciousness to my body. I am learning that I have to honor whre I am in the moment and be grateful. Because of my intense education and work schedule in the last couple of years, I had to forge ahead and put on emotional blinders so I could trek through a full-time work and school schedule. There was no time for dealing with the really deep stuff that collected in my tissues over the years. I knew whatever traumas and emotional baggage that would come up it would be a very deep and uncomfortable experience. While I am forced to really experience and be in my body, feelings of depression, sadness and grief have been coming up for me. While these aren't pleasant emotions, I am grateful for them comining up and my body has now my attention. I am able to deal with these emotions and I know they are only fleeting and "this too shall pass".... The very fact I am attending to these uncomfortable emotions, they have space to heal and move through my system. Yoga is really forcing me to be present in my body and create space for profound healing. Another humbling aspect of YTT is knowing that I have been doing some of the postures incorrectly! I'm glad I am doing YTT after only having a three-year practice so I can learn proper alignment early on. Proper alignment is what prevents injury and yoga is not about injury! I look forward to becoming the best version of myself and learning more about my entire being. I am blessed to have such an opportunity and am enjoying the wonderful people I am meeting in my journey! Namaste, JoAnn
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Thanks again for stopping by! Like the website, this blog is a work-in-progress. The intention here is to provide you with informative articles that I hope inspire you while you are on your journey to wellness.
Because of my own journey, I am truly passionate about bodywork and am always in awe of the amazing transformations I have had the privilege of facilitating. I truly believe one's overall wellness can impact their spiritual journey. I see the body as an expression of the divine and infinite intelligence. This intelligence guides each session. I am often asked if this work can be done on an energetic rather than structural level. In other words, off the body vs. on the body. I do believe energy is very powerful in moving holding and compensatory patterns. With that said, I do see my work as a combination of manual manipulation and energetic. Physically holding a structure while listening to the body is akin to a parent holding a child's hand and seeing them off on their first day of school. The parent assures the child all will be okay and they are in a safe place. In this context, the body is made to feel safe and the entropic tension pattern can be released. A little over two years ago, I was so overweight and "locked up", I was unable to fold my arms or touch my toes! Not only am I now able to do both, but my body is now unbelievably limber! My body is still transforming and amazing things are happening for me. It is so nice to be fully present in this world! Movement is very much a part of my life now. I also learned that in order to begin moving the pounds, I had to start loving my body no matter what it looked like on the outside. Ever notice that the word evolve contains the word, "love"? Life is a gift and I am grateful for each day I get to experience it! Happy journeying! JoAnn |
AuthorJoAnn Clinton Archives
March 2015
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