An offering of a a half-day workshop to celebrate, nurture and explore!

It’s simple, really. In order for the body to be fully engaged in life, it requires an ongoing oscillation between movement and stillness – an ebb and flow between activity and repose. Within that it also appreciates kind attention, thoughtful devotion, meaningful nourishment and responsive support.

Join me for a 5-hour workshop designed to do just that! We’ll spend our time together exploring ways to awaken our capacity to care deeply, respond meaningfully and find pleasure in creating a more intimate and open relationship with our bodies. Our time together will include:

• Yamuna Body Rolling to soften into our flesh and bone
• Meditation to focus on the space between our thoughts
• Gyrokinesis to realize the pleasure in movement
• Breath Work to discover the subtlety and power of spirit embodied
• And other ways to open and receive the wisdom, joy and pleasure of the body

Please email or call to register for Bodies, Rest & Motion!
Let’s come together to shift and deepen our relationship to
the body as sacred and integral to the evolution of consciousness.

When: April 23rd • 12:00 – 5:00 pm

Where: Rhythm of Life studio • Lakewood CO

Cost: $75

To register: carol@rolife.com / 303.910.5644

When new material is published about the body, weight, food, diet, I feel an obligation (ok, possibly a compulsion) to check it out – and there is a plethora of information surfacing about the body. The good news is that the body is receiving some much deserved attention as a part of (and not separate from) the evolution of consciousness. The bad news is that many of the big names in the consciousness movement are telling us that the body, in and of itself, lacks intelligence and is simply a servant to the all-powerful mind. Here is a somewhat typical statement that illustrates this point of view: “The body is an instrument of the mind, a dumb terminal just doing what the mind tells it to do.” A dumb terminal – really?

Our body houses our brain. Without the body, there is no brain, without the brain, there is no body. How is it that the mind and the body can be thought of as independent of or indifferent to each other? And how is that we can believe that one has dominion over the other? They function as a cohesive unit and are in a constant two-way conversation – the body talks to the brain, the brain responds, interprets, modulates; the body responds and feeds more information to the brain. They are in cahoots!

There is a tremendous dis-service to our Being when we view the body as other, an object, a servant to the mind – we lose our capacity to Be in relationship with ourselves and our environment. And, as Robert Masters (author of Spiritual Bypassing) points out, when we desensitize ourselves to our body, we tend to associate wisdom and knowledge only with our thinking mind and try to think our way through this human life.

Your humanity, your life, is not a series of thoughts wafting through space, creating your reality. Life in a body, as a unique human being, is an experience. It is the dynamic creative force expressing as this body, as this life, as you! Enter into this unique expression. Embody all that you are and develop a profound intimacy with the whole of your life. Here is where you find home. Here is where you find peace. Here is where you begin to know yourself. And here is where you experience the exquisite unfolding of your body as spirit and spirit as your body.

deep blessings to you, Carol

Here’s the buzz about Fitness Finesse:

“You really need to be a part of Fitness Finesse! Never a dull moment, it’s fun, fresh, and focused! We use exercise balls, resistance bands, weights, and lots of creativity to make each session unique and effective. And, Carol always provides her depth of knowledge in body awareness to help refine your workout for long-lasting results. I have never stayed with an exercise program as long or as faithfully as I have Fitness Finesse.” Sara Davenport, author and consultant

Sound inviting? Come check it out, your first class is F*REE.

Fitness Finesse is a straightforward and fun way to get fit and stay fit! Small group classes of 3-4 students using  fit ball, stretch band, free weights, weighted bars and balls to help tone, tighten, strengthen, stretch and lengthen in a simple, intelligent and meaningful way.

Click HERE for days, times and more information.

Yesterday we passed through the keyhole of the longest night of the year – and as each day grows longer, begin our slow journey into the light.

In this time of transition, of beginnings and endings, I wish you an ever growing appreciation of your own darkness and a jubilant celebration of your brilliance. May you find comfort in the shadows and the light, the yin and the yang, the comings and the goings, the ebb and the flow – all the different pulsations, textures and rhythms that bring such fullness to your life.

Thank you for being part of my world, you are a blessing in my life!

Happy Holidays & Enchanted Emergings

“I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure in the landscape – the loneliness of it – the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it – the whole story doesn’t show.” Andrew Wyeth

Often when we are attempting a new movement, our first reaction is confusion. If the routine is unfamiliar, we feel uncoordinated. When this newness points us toward a challenging aspect of our body in motion, we decide we are too weak or puny and give up – or try to power through it in an attempt to prove ourselves strong and able.

The truth is that our bodymind has simply not yet organized itself around the new information.

I recently took a series of classes from a very skillful Gyrotonic Master Trainer. It was great fun, quite challenging and very humbling. There was one particular move he asked me to do that my body had never done before. The first time I attempted it, I simply could not do it. After several attempts, I stopped and scratched my head and asked, “Where does that come from in my body and why can’t I do it?” He reminded me that it really isn’t about where it comes from; it’s about organizing around what you are asking your body to do.

This is clearly not just an intellectual endeavor. It is a process of patiently allowing the body to explore what is being asked of it so that the movement can unfold in a way that is natural and organic. The mind grasps a concept at lightning speed, part of its astonishing brilliance. The body, however, learns through repetition. This can sometimes put the mind and the body at odds, as the mind becomes impatient with the measured and deliberate way in which the body learns and integrates the movement. And yet, if they work together to contemplate and reiterate the move – it is a thing of beauty! It is through this union, communion and mutuality that deep intelligence awakens and courses freely through our being, quickly able to discern the mechanics, play with the sensations and pulsate with the exuberance of new found discovery. That’s the fun of it! It is in this process of unfolding that movement becomes meaningful, joyful and pleasurable!

A few days later, I tried the same impossible move and amazingly was able to do it! My body and mind, having percolated and contemplated, had organized around the information received through my first attempt. Now I could dive more deeply into the move, discover its nuances and relax into the pure enjoyment of my body in motion.

The next time you are attempting to learn a new move, become more adept in your sport, increase the difficulty of your current workout, acquire a skill that is unfamiliar – notice if there is any impatience, judgment or force in the learning and see if you can switch that to cooperation and curiosity. Let go of over-efforting and ease into the feedback that you are receiving from your mind and your body. Let it go for a day or two and see if that doesn’t bring a greater sense of clarity, ease and pleasure to your learning and to your body in motion.

Deep blessings, Carol