“One day when the wind is perfect
the sail needs to open
and the world is full of beauty
Today is such a day.”
M. Rumi
Slowly the light is changing from the hot summer to the more golden light of autumn. On Ibiza the heat of August is still continuing for a while, but luckily it is starting to cool down in the evening. You can not imagine how I am longing for a more refreshing time where my creative spirit is awakening and the words I am writing are not melting away in the moment I would like to put them on paper. This summer has been a huge challenge and I was happy to escape for a while to Switzerland, my home country, where I enjoyed the lakes, rivers and mountains.
There is change in the air and it feels most welcome to me. Change means movement, new opportunities or entering a new phase in your life. One of my teachers used to say “ A new day, a new luck”. I kind of like this reminder that every day brings a new chance and we are asked and challenged to open our mind and heart to embrace what is.
At the same time change can also create anxiety and a sense of insecurity. These times we are living in are challenging for many of us and can make one feel restless and fearful, loosing trust and holding on to a situation which doesn’t feel right anymore.
Questions might rise like what am I going to do? How can I earn enough money and still feel passionate about what I do? How can I cope with this situation at my work place, how can I create more time for myself and with my loved ones? The mind can get entangled in all these thoughts and you don’t have enough distance within yourself anymore to see the solution or know which direction to take.
There is a quote from the book of Secrets by Osho:
“Once you know how to change your focus inwards, you can come back to the world. Every Buddha has come back to the world. Again he focuses, but now the inner man ( and the inner woman of course) has a different quality.”
Once you have tasted the silence within and found your inner center, you always will find it again. You know the way to your own inner source and how to connect with your inner (well) being. From this place it will be easier and clear in which direction to go, trusting your inner compass, your intuition, this inner voice which is guiding you, even if your mind is still clouded or troubled.
Finding direction can also mean to take a risk, to dare jumping and not knowing exactly where you will land, how it will be, who you will meet and what you will learn and experience. But these moments can be jewels showing you a hidden path, an insight or bringing a memory back of happiness, of who you really are, beyond who you think you are or who you ought to be for others.
What has helped me and still does to find an inner clarity and knowing which direction to take is my yoga practise. As I step on the mat, I leave the world behind and I turn my focus on my breath and the sensations in my body. I give attention to my alignment and find my centre point in this moment. The mat becomes a magic carpet taking me into another state of awareness. I start with a flowing sequence to warm up and especially give care to precision of each asana, its architecture, the rooting and elongation, my intention and finding an inner connection through out my whole body. Slowly my mind is tuning in and falls into a silent and clear focus. After following the flow of movement and breath through the sequences for a set time, I end my practise with a relaxation and surrender to mother earth letting all the movement integrate as I am sinking into stillness.
If you only have a short time available before your work, you can still create a moment for yourself where you can gather your thoughts and bringing some awareness in your body through a couple of easy stretches or some breathing exercises. You will see it is like a magic potion reviving your spirit and giving you energy for the day.
I would like to share with you one more experience which relates to the theme of learning about clarity and finding direction. This is my love affair with my wonderful Andalusian horse who has taught me so much about life, love, patience, being clear and accepting what is. By now she is 23 years old and wiser then ever. She is very sensitive and reads one’s energy and emotional state right away. In order that she could trust me and feel safe I had to learn to be clear, and most of all being clear with my boundaries. It took some years to establish our partnership, there were many moments of despair and almost giving up and not knowing how I could develop the proper qualities to be a trustworthy leader. But today a deep connection has grown between us and I am very grateful that she is in my life. She has taught me to be clear from inside and direct my energy from my center. Now I can ride her with lightness and joy. It is one of the most beautiful feeling becoming one with my horse, the air touching my skin and letting the rhythm of her movement flowing through my body and soul.
Finding direction means aligning yourself with your soul’s purpose, especially in these times of insecurities and not knowing what is going to happen. Building a foundation, feeling yourself connected and rooted in your body and open in your heart, accepting what is, accepting yourself with all your facets. To follow the path inward is the path to come home and find clarity in your body & mind and in your life.
Maybe in the end you will find the answers which are burning in your soul. Maybe by living with the question for a while the answer will reveal itself in the least expected moment. It will simply be there as clear as the surface of a still lake lightening up when the sun is rising in the morning. To let the flow happen as it happens, connecting to your most inner source, will reveal the right way, the right decision, the right action to take if an action is needed. And maybe stillness will be the answer at times.
The world is always changing, there is never the perfect balance, it is learning to shift, to adapt, to move, to learn and grow and finding the balance in every moment anew.
To learn and discover more about inner and outer balance, developing strength, flexibility and resilience, physically and emotionally, and to reconnect with your inner source, your passion and a sense of flow, I offer individual packages including yoga & meditation practises for tuning the body, dance & expressive arts sessions to tap into your creative flow, and various body treatments for relaxation and healing. These packages can be tailored to your personal wishes and needs. You can find more information at www.sandramorrel.com/one-to-one
I would also like to announce a couple of workshops which are guiding you on this inner journey. They will take place in September and October. (please see below)
And you are always welcome as a private guest to spend your vacation at our little paradise to relax, rejuvenate and simply enjoy the mediterranean life style. There is still availability during the first 2 weeks in October and from 28thof October on.
I send you all my best wishes and much love
Sandra Morrel