Welcome Yome
Welcome 2018, Welcome Yome.
I've spent the past several days reflecting on the last year, on its many challenges, and the changes that are coming to fruition as a result. 2017 was quite the year for me - in navigating my own mental health challenges, speaking and writing publicly about them, and also supporting others experiencing similar struggles of their own. It was impossible and difficult and challenging and heartbreaking and so very full of learning. By the end of the year, the focus had turned to creating. November and December saw me building and insulating a deck, sawing and sanding and drilling support poles, and finally erecting a yome - my new and quite magical clinic space. I'm so excited to welcome people to this hexagonal bubble of healing - the natural light filtering golden through the sidewalls, the shadows of bamboo leaves and yew branches patterned against them, the incessant auditory soundscape - these days filled with the calls of migrating geese, whistling wings of flying ducks, and the other night two very vocal, very nearby owls.
I've still been loving holding space for the big releases of DIA (dynamic interactive acupuncture) treatments, but this year has seen me treating more and more clients with sensitive and agitated nervous systems, who've needed a more gentle focus on breath and sometimes hands-on assistance with unwinding old patterns of trauma. I'm appreciating more than ever having the space for my practice to develop with the needs of the humans I'm serving.
2017 also managed to somehow bring me back to teaching - both in yoga (with the amazing and wonderful Rachel Reid, assisting her students at Mysore Victoria with their ashtanga practices) and in mental health. 2018 is already beginning to fill with workshops related to mental health, both in Victoria and elsewhere (keep an eye on my Workshops page for more details). After selling out weeks in advance for its first offering in November, I'm excited to again facilitate 'Self Care for Mental Health' at hemma. It'll be a bit different, of course - I'm always integrating new material and I've been reading a fascinating book about the effects of trauma on our nervous systems, so I'm sure we'll dive more deeply into that topic this time around. I'm feeling so very grateful for hemma - it's been such a wonderful home to land in this past year, and so incredibly supportive of these workshop offerings. If you've never been for an acupuncture nap, never experienced the warm and welcoming space and those ultra-comfy recliners, I'm still providing pokes there on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays (schedule and online booking here).
If it also appeals to you to sit and ponder and integrate lessons from last year, and reflect on how they might fuel your upcoming year, I enjoyed the free PDF download from www.yearcompass.com. There's some sections that didn't resonate and I skipped, but overall it felt like an appropriate companion to a New Year's Eve crackling fire and an excellent glass of red wine. I hope everyone had holiday celebrations that felt equally nourishing and supportive. May the year ahead bring you all sorts of struggles and learnings and blessings in disguise, and all the achy tenderness a human life can hold.
Be well, hope to see you soon, and happy new year!