Some of you may be wondering why I'm writing about life, consciousness, love and all this sort of stuff...It's a natural progression for me as I deepen my work in Western Holistic Wellness, and Eastern practices, specifically Yoga, Ayurveda, Tantra and Vedic philosophy. All of these modalities approach health from a "whole" perspective. Nothing is compartmentalized. One important factor to note here is that in the deep trainings of this work, there's a comprehensive phycology component. This is a very different approach to health than what we are used to here in the West. In conventional western healthcare, symptoms are typically diagnosed and given a name, often followed by a course of pharmaceutical treatments, in efforts to alleviate symptoms. The holistic approach looks at health in relation to everything. This is why all of these topics come into play. We don't refer to a person as a name of a disease or diagnosis, we see them as a whole person. Holistically, disease is another way of saying, "We've fallen out of balance with ourselves." When we are in harmony with ourselves and our surroundings, we are in a state of, "EASE." Everything is flowing in unison. When we are out of sync with ourselves and our surroundings, we are in a state of, "DIS-EASE."
A holistic practitioner, supports all aspects of a person living a harmonious life.
I'm also writing from my heart and sharing my personal experiences. I've realized how vital it is to share what has been taught to me, from my teachers. It was passed to me for a reason, so it has to come out of me for that very same reason. It's all part of the flow. So, I sit close. I listen. I bow deeply to their wisdom. I humble myself to what they teach so I can hear it all clearly, and pass it on as it was taught to me. Through all the ups, downs, twists and turns that life presents, I keep going. I wouldn't be able to do this with any level of confidence, if I didn't make this my life's work. It's not just a job for me. It's much bigger than that.
Many of you know that had a long, extensive, and successful career in the Fitness Industry. It was a blessing. What I learned was invaluable. However, it left me searching for more. I often refer to it as my spiritual bootcamp. I had all sorts of scenarios' thrown at me. I got the clients no one else wanted, or knew what to do with. You name it, I saw it. I wouldn't say no, and I embraced every single experience. I worked with many hundreds of people, of all shapes and sizes, all sorts of ailments, all types of diseases. Although, exercise was extremely beneficial in all cases, I always felt like I was leaving people hanging. It was just one piece of the pie, a necessary one, but still not enough. Then I tried merging this with Western medicine. On the surface, it sounded like this was going to be a brilliant plan. I jumped on the train and became a Medical Assistant back when all the buzz first started about merging Fitness with Healthcare. Logically it made perfect sense. Well, there was so much red tape and neither side wanted to relinquish control and it was like being on a hamster wheel going nowhere.
Interestingly, during the course of my fitness career, I was also in constant contact with my Yoga Mentors. So these two paths were running within me simultaneously, for many years.
At times it felt like there were two different worlds living inside of me. They felt very separate, yet it was all happening at the same time. This weird feeling went on for a very long time.
I would work with people and I would see progress, but something was missing. As my education in Eastern philosophy and medicine deepened, I started asking a lot of questions, and look deeper into things. Slowly, I started to connect some dots, which seemed to fill in the gaps. This didn't happen overnight. It happened over many years of continuous dedication to seeking the true nature in everything. It's like putting pieces of a puzzle together.
The merging of Eastern and Western practices has been formulating inside of me for a very long time. Initially when I started this fusion, I was met with a lot of resistance from clients who would only see me as a fitness professional, which is understandable. It's just human nature. Change brings up discomfort in ways that we can't even explain. Interestingly, change has been a huge part of both my personal life and my professional life. Everything changes. As we all know, "The only thing constant is change." I had to learn how to embrace all the shifts. It taught me to soften so that I can "ride the waves," as they come. It taught me that clinging on to something, will only stop my progression. It taught me to listen to myself and not get swept away in the outer noise. This was a long process of a fusion between myself and my work.
This reminds me of the conversation I had with my father when I told him that I wanted to leave the Garment Center in NYC, and pursue a career in Fitness. His response was, "All that education is going to go to waste." My response was, "Nothing ever goes to waste, it doesn't just leave me, it's a part of me that I will take and apply where ever I go." I felt satisfied with what I had done during my time in the Garment Center. There were no regrets about leaving. It felt complete. New interests were emerging while I was still working in NYC. I had built some relationships in the health and fitness world and was working part time in this arena for a few years while still working in NYC. It was a fun hobby and gave me a change of perspective. One day I received a phone call with a full time opportunity. I took the leap of faith and went for it. A new beginning blossomed.
Everything has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Without allowing things to properly end, new beginnings cannot emerge. Allowing things to end is an intensely difficult process. This process takes time, patience, courage and faith. There's also this space where the end is clear, but the new beginning hasn't formulated yet. Our natural reaction is to run back to what we know because living in unknown space is awful and frightening. If we do that, we are keeping ourselves from moving forward. Everything seems chaotic during this transition, but it's part of this process. Things will, and do get sorted out, but it requires a deep commitment to yourself to stay with this process. This is coming from my personal experience, and the deep commitment to myself and my practice. Yoga calls this a Sadhana.
As a new beginning emerges, it is clear that none of my fitness or Western Medical experience will ever leave me. How can it? It is infused in my being. It just flows into the next evolution of myself and my work, which will only widen my scope of practice, and help me connect with people in many different ways. It's a natural progression. In fact, it all seamless. This is the natural growth process that we are able to experience in our lifetimes. It's not easy, but it's definitely possible!
I'm sharing a bit of my story to offer some insight, and as always, some perspective. Everything is evolving and will continue to, it's just what life is. Change can be a like going through endless cycles in the washing machine. At some point, the endless cycles slow down and things start to formulate again. Then there's a what feels like a quiet phase. Then they pick up again. It's the ebb and flow of life.
There's such a deep joy in understanding how to "Be" in this world. What do we do with ourselves while we are here? The endless cycles in the washing machine, give us the opportunity to start over every single day. These concepts are very different from conventional therapy. They both serve a purpose, in fact, several of my clients use both my holistic services and western therapy services. It's a great combination. Doing this work is truly a sacred experience. I am not a therapist, I don’t diagnose, I don’t prescribe and I don’t judge. What I do is create a deeply safe space where you can completely be yourself with absolutely no strings attached.
As I move forward, so does Leaping Lotus. It is evolving into a place of education, resources, and sharing. It is a safe place of community, and support. This is a true expression of my creativity and zest for life. Nothing here is cookie cutter, because humans aren't cookie cutter. There are many programs peculating within me. I know they will come out of me over time, as I stay connected to my purpose and my work.
This is my love!
This is a place where inspiration happens!!
~ Leelah Lakshmi ~
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