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YOGA FOR LIFE, TRANSFORMATION, AND FLOW
by Michael Lee, M.A., Founder of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy

For many of us life is anything but 'easy'. Many of us were probably taught by our parents that nothing comes without effort. There is no such thing as an easy life. It might be possible that someday, just maybe, if we work hard enough - we just might be able to let down a bit when we get old. Chances are though that by then we will be too old to enjoy the fruits of our labors anyway. So there just is NOT any such thing as an easy life... right? And I wonder how many of us who practice yoga take these same beliefs with us to the yoga mat as we struggle our way through an asana sequence much the same way as we struggle each day in our lives.

What if there was an easier way? I believe that all of us, at some time in our life, have experienced what author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls FLOW. "Flow" happens when everything seems just right. We are engaged in life and the experience is fantastic. Nothing needs to be changed in that moment. Everything works. Do you remember such a time in your life? (Without the help of any substance, that is.) Now wouldn't it be great if we could have more moments like that?

In the years that I have been a practicing yoga therapist and yoga practitioner, I have on occasions experienced those moments. Moments of feeling really "connected" and "flowing". My thoughts, feelings, and actions, along with my sense of self in relation to the universe have all been in harmonious agreement. Everything feels great. So great that there isn't even any need to notice just how great. Just being in the moment is more than enough. I have seen the same in my clients at various times in our sessions and in their lives. I have come to believe that within each of us there is an 'authentic self' and when we can live our life from this place of authenticity or realness within ourselves we are truly flowing with life. We see it often in children, playing without any censorship of their movements, thoughts or expression. Can adults do that? Can we really allow ourselves that level of freedom? Or are we more connected to a contextual framework of a bigger world that calls for some moderation unless we deviate from acceptable behavior? Can we live our life in some kind of permanent state of bliss responding only from spirit?

How about a middle ground. Just as children can spontaneously act without too much thought, we as adults can also, AND we can also choose WHEN to let ourselves do so, and WHEN not too. We can be aware of ourselves in each moment and the context in which we find ourselves and we can act from a place of "authenticity" and with choice, along with an evaluation of the context and the consequences of the choice. In other words we are finely tuned to ourselves and to our environment and can act in any moment with full awareness of both. We do not act like programmed robots but as living, breathing, attuned, beings guided from deep within by our spirit and our unique identity and the interaction between all of that and the world we live in.

So what stops us?. Perhaps we've spent too many years acting from our "shoulds' and "have to's" and "ought to's" as well as acting out our fears of failure, danger, freedom, or whatever. It takes not one but often several leaps in faith and consciousness for us to move from our habitual life patterns to a state of living "authentically". One of the steps and a very important one is awareness. Without an awareness of what we ARE doing (and being) and what is happening to determine that, we cannot know what we could be doing (and being) instead.

And one of the easiest ways I know to increase this level of awareness comes though paying attention to our whole being through our bodies. Our minds are slippery and can deceive us. Our bodies on the other hand offer a true instrument that respond in every moment to out thoughts, feelings, beliefs, spirit, and sense of ourselves. If we can find a way to learn about ourselves from our bodies we have a ready made source of information to help us attune to that elusive "authentic self".

Because of this, I believe that Yoga is probably the oldest somatic therapy. For centuries yogis have used the body as a vehicle for tuning in to spirit - to higher consciousness. In today's busy world attunement to ourselves is even more important if we hope to navigate life with any degree of freedom or ease. We could spend a lifetime in solitude in spiritual practice and hope to get there but I believe there are easier and more accessible ways.

In developing Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy I have sought to offer a modality that can help people empower themselves in their lives and live more authentically. It mostly involves therapist assisted yoga postures with coaching around awareness to use the body as instrument for attunement at all levels - body, mind, spirit, feelings, and sense of self in life. Upon reaching deeper levels of connection to self through the body a dialogue process is used to bring to conscious awarenss whatever guidance is being chanelled via the body. A trained yoga therapist who through her training has gone home to spirit many times using these processes makes an excellent guide.

Many have found it helps to attune to their authentic self and as a result of the work, begin to flow more freely in harmony with life and with much less struggle. We can also adapt our individual practice of Yoga (when practiced with conscious awareness) as a way of attunement and self-empowerment. It is a learned process and the one-on-one sessions can help the learning. And its interesting to note that if we do hope to use our yoga to transform our lives it needs to be a process rather than a prescription - we learn a process and apply it frequently as a way of tapping in to wisdom that dwells within us. Then our yoga has much to offer us beyond just the physical benefits. It becomes a tool for transfoming our lives and helping us to live in a modern world without loosing our connection to our unique and wonderful self.

BIO

MICHAEL LEE, M.A., is the founder of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. Michael presents at both mainstream and alternative medical, psychotherapy and yoga conferences throughout North America, Australia and Europe and writes about his work. He has presented his work at many places around the globe including Duke University, at Findhorn in Scotland, and recently as a keynote presenter at the International Yoga Symposium in Singapore.

Michael's book - "Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy - A Bridge from Body to Soul" - shows how the practice of yoga with a body-mind focus, has application to many life issues - relationships, parenting, and day to day life in general His work has also been published by the American Psychological Association in the book "Beyond Talk Therapy - Using Movement and Expressive Techniques in Clinical Practice" edited by Dr. Daniel Wiener.

Since its inception in 1986, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy has grown to become a widely accepted modality in the field of body-mind therapies with over 900 practitioners trained.

Further information about Michael or Phoenix Rising School of Yoga and Movement Therapy can be obtained by calling 800-288-9642, visiting www.pryt.com, or writing to: PO Box 286, West Stockbridge, MA. 01266

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