Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy: A Bridge from Body to Soul

We live in a time when spirituality is no longer a hidden part of life or just the domain of established religions. The practice of yoga—the oldest of all spiritual pursuits known to us, and all it offers, is being rediscovered and developed in many new directions. The growing emphasis on the inclusion of the body in contemporary psychotherapy practice, and the explosion in interest and enrollment in yoga classes around the country are signs that yoga is once again emerging as a path to be followed. I delight in playing a part in that development, and am particularly interested in an approach to yoga therapy that focuses on empowerment of every aspect of one’s being.

I believe that an empowered being is one who is strong in spirit, able to attune to a deeper level of knowing and then live from that place. This person is clear in mind and able to choose wisely from a world of many choices. To do this, one must fully feel their emotions and use them creatively as a source of learning and growth. To live fully requires living in a body that is connected to these spiritual, mental and emotional aspects of being human.

For the past 20 years, I feel I’ve been crossing a bridge. What I have left behind is a way of life that appeared to be working but at a deeper level was spiritually incomplete. My early life was more about making the right moves than recognizing or living out the unique call of my soul. The act of being present enough to one’s self to hear the message from inside is sometimes referred to by yogis as one’s dharma. Each of us hears a different message. Once I understood that I needed to listen to my inner guidance, my task became not only to do that for myself, but also to help others do the same. I call the process I created to do this, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy.

Despite the ease with which I became aware of the need to be true to my purpose, putting it into practice was more difficult. For instance, I knew that I was supposed to be teaching about living one’s Truth, but at the time I was in a nine-to-five job that did not allow for this. I was being called to shift from something secure and comfortable to something unknown and uncertain. Many mornings on my yoga mat followed by long conversations with my friend Ted—who didn’t give me answers to my questions but simply stayed quiet and listened to me so I could hear myself—helped me to make that move. He was the witness I needed.

I needed guidance to support me through a process of witnessing. I wanted a catalyst for my own learning instead of just a source for answers. This process illuminates the spirit within us, yet allows us the freedom to discover ourselves. It requires an inner stillness which the body can provide. We need to attune to our inner voice and listen with our whole being rather than just our mind. We can then integrate what is revealed to us by having someone be our witness. We are then ready to take the next step.

Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy uses the body and breath as doorways to the spirit. Non-directive verbal processes support reflection and integration, so that what is revealed by spirit is brought to action in life. We all have access to information about ourselves, much of which we don’t even know exists. The process of transformation requires that we trust sufficiently to enter this unknown domain.

My early experiences with yoga therapy were based on a more traditional approach. The therapist had the knowledge; the student didn’t. The therapist prescribed; the student followed. The focus was on symptoms and naming what is broken or defective. A particular result was expected, and that was that something troublesome would be fixed. The therapist could learn the required techniques by focusing on doing and knowing what to do.

The thinking inherent in that paradigm has been the mainstay of our society for many generations because our focus has been on achieving definable results. We have not discarded it because it continues to serve us well. If I have a problem, know what it is and want it fixed, this is the path I will most likely choose. It works well and has a valid place in our world.

The process of transformation requires a different paradigm. At some point in our spiritual growth, we need to take the leap into trusting ourselves to know our own answers. We learn this by being supported by approaches that take us to the edge of our knowing and beyond. We have to be familiar with ways of being present to life that preclude compliance or dependence on others, or experts for the answer. Our therapies must teach us to know and trust ourselves.

Martha said she’d heard of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy from a friend. She was particularly inspired by her friend’s newfound “joie de vivre” since coming to see me. During our preliminary conversation, Martha told me that although she appeared to be content on the surface, she was really not happy most of the time. She wanted more satisfaction in her life. I told her that we would be using her body as the vehicle for her growth; and, it would guide us to explore whatever was presented. I told her that she was in charge of the session, that she could call on me at any time to change what we were doing and that I would respect her wishes.

I asked Martha to close her eyes as I supported her into the first posture, an assisted version of bhujangasana (cobra pose), which I chose because I had noticed that as we spoke, Martha held her hands across her chest from time to time. I helped her to focus her awareness on her whole body and breath, feelings, sensations, images, and thoughts and to notice what she was experiencing. When I asked her what was happening, her first response was, “This is hard!”

Martha was demonstrating a capacity to be present to her body, despite the difficulty, despite the resistance. I stayed with her and affirmed her willingness to be with what was happening. Then I asked her to go a step further. I asked her to exaggerate the feelings and sensations she was experiencing and to tell me what was happening.

“Well, I was rather pretty, actually. Not fat like I am now. I was standing in a field and felt very free. I didn’t need anybody, I was feeling my power as a growing and independent woman.”

When Martha was about 20 she began dating a young man whom her parents and friends considered an “eligible” partner. At first she thought so too, but as the relationship progressed she had her doubts. She liked him, but something didn’t feel right. She dismissed it as her fear of commitment and marriage. When he proposed, she cast aside her doubts and went ahead with the marriage, much to everyone’s delight. She adapted to married life, including moving to an unfamiliar city where her husband’s company had transferred him. Her first child was born and for awhile the joy of motherhood fulfilled her; but deep down she felt empty. She began gaining weight, but dismissed it as her body’s response to childbirth. After her second child was born she gained even more. Around this time, she began to dislike her body and herself.

I listened, occasionally repeating what I heard. From time to time, I searched my mind for some gem of wisdom for Martha. I resisted the temptation to speak and brought myself back to simply being with her.

While telling her story, Martha said that she realized how she had sold out on her desire to be an independent woman when she married. She said that, at times, she had dreams that reminded her of that part of herself that longed to be an independent woman, but never paid much attention to them.

She paused and sighed when she’d finished her story. I asked her what she’d done that helped her reconnect with this part of herself. She said her willingness to be present to herself in her body, even when she felt like running, was the most compelling element. She was also aware that by going into the uncomfortable sensations, she was passing beyond them.

Martha’s question now was, “Will I have to leave my husband? I don’t think I want to because, even though it’s been hard for me at times, I do really love him.”

I asked Martha to close her eyes and then I guided her into meditation. I asked her to go to a place inside her that was beyond the confusion, a place that loved her, accepted her, and only wanted to serve her. When she felt comfortable there, I suggested that she ask for guidance, wait for it and then tell me about it.

She opened her eyes and spoke. “I don’t have to make any decisions right away. I need to trust my body and learn more from it; connect with it again. Get to know myself and my ‘independent woman,’ and trust that we will find a way to express ourselves together as we get more comfortable with each other.”

I could not help feeling in awe of her wisdom as she spoke, marveling yet again at the way her body supported the expression of her inner truth. Here I was enjoying her process and wanting to insert some of my own insights and I caught myself. It was difficult for me to be purely a witness and stay out of the way.

I saw Martha for several more sessions and then maintained contact with her over the following year. She did not leave her husband. As she began to let her “independent woman” speak and to play and work in the world more, her husband’s love and admiration for her were rekindled. She began to sing again and was offered a solo part in a local summer production. She lost weight without dieting (her previously preferred approach) after further guidance from her Higher Self in another one of our sessions. In all our sessions my approach was similar. I trusted that by supporting Martha in opening to herself through her body she would find what she needed. My job was to support her, but to stay out of the way.

This is relatively simple, but not always easy. My Western mind is often eager to leap in to supply the answer. When I could stay out of the way, she could often get in touch with her inner guru. This, I believe, was facilitated by the release of energy that had long been held in check in her body. It did not surprise me that she could observe her own willingness to face her discomfort.

I have seen it many times and I believe it is one of the profound ways in which the body supports the process of deeper awareness on all levels of being. So often we run away from our uncomfortable sensations and never allow them to teach us. If we confront them, they often dissipate and take us somewhere new, often into deeper levels of awareness. Chaos may ensue for a while because we are being called to a new way of being. Note, however, that in the meditation, not only did Martha receive inner guidance about what she needed to do, but even how to go about following it.

Martha also experienced a spiritual transformation. She had lived much of her life as a compromise, doing what seemed to be the right thing, and had denied her “independent woman” to please her family. Initially, she discovered this by being present to herself in her body. As she accessed her real power, she was able to express herself more fully. She was being drawn to follow the unique path that life was making available to her, and to find ways to reveal her uniqueness to the world—to follow her dharma, a call to spirit. Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy helps her along in this process by freeing the blocked energy in her body and allowing its expression. The result for Martha is that she experiences a deeper connection to her soul.

Each one of us has a unique and wonderful gift to give the world. Once we are in touch with who we are and allow our true nature to blossom, this gift is easier to give. We become able to share more of who we are as loving beings. For that to happen though, we must have the courage to be who we are, to attune to our unique spirit and allow its full expression through a process of waiting and witnessing. Only then can we take action, follow the openings that come, and face new fears that arise. Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy is a practice that promotes transformation by drawing on the unique wisdom of the body. At the same time, for empowerment and transformation to occur, the process must honor the spirit and stay out of its way. When this happens, yoga is therapy.