From: Janet Stone <email@janetstoneyoga.com>
Date: December 4, 2019 at 11:04:06 AM EST
To: sharuns1@gmail.com
Subject: Healing Family Wounds
Reply-To: Janet Stone <email@janetstoneyoga.com>



 As many of us gather with family this time of year, we’re provided with many opportunities to express our reactiveness. 

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. OM NAMAH SHIVAYA! Healing Family Wounds Unwrapping your gifts: Healing family wounds  Perhaps you've had the experience of opening a wrapped gift slowly—taking the lid off the box, pushing the tissue aside, only to discover something you didn’t even know you wanted, right there in front of you. This is how I think about what it means to unwrap a self inside the packaging of family karmas—the wrapping paper that’s so firmly taped around us that we think it IS us. So much of who we think we are is a collection of past experiences that aren’t even our own. The journey of svadhyaya, the fourth Niyama in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, is the powerful, scary, and sometimes painful unboxing of oneself from all the imprints of cause-and-effect that have poured down the family line. It’s like opening a Russian doll to find another facade.  The path of the practice is to keep opening. If you’ve decided to stick around for the yoga beyond the stretchy hamstrings and chaturangas, you’ll discover that no matter how much meditation or postural yoga you do, you can still walk out the door and snap at a loved one or fall into old behavioral patterns. This is the moment the yoga begins: when we see our habits and patterns so deeply ingrained that even with our best intentions we fall into the cycle of reactiveness that betrays them. As many of us gather with family this time of year, we’re provided with many opportunities to express that reactiveness. Maybe we see it reflected in our families as well. The important part is that we get to investigate it. To begin the unboxing we must begin by tracing back to our family and their family. By looking carefully at the belief structures, traumas, and historical grooves that have been passed down into our cells, into our psyche. This is the beginning of healing.    In Buddhism, they say that if heal yourself, you heal seven generations. They also say you must be willing to give your full heart to this journey. If it’s taken many generations to get here and you are wanting to heal the wounds, well, buckle up. This is not for the faint of heart. It’s for those who want to know their true nature, beyond past imprints that bind.   Where to begin? As with so many things in this practice—and perhaps thankfully—it’s an inside job. The starting point of this journey entails taking the time to go below the surface of our initial reactivity, every time we respond, and inquire about where it emerges from, whose it is, and whether we even (or still) identify with it. When we begin to question our stories, our fears, and worries, so often we find that they don’t even belong to us. They’ve just been passed onto us; and we bought into the story of who we were, packaging and all. The inward healing doesn’t mean we can’t also heal outwardly with those who knowingly or—most likely—unknowingly handed down these stories. But from my experience, this outward healing is more of a byproduct of our own brave work; and it’s not guaranteed. So this season, I’ll be paying extra attention to my reactiveness to the words and actions of my family, to the sensitivities that arise and the external forces that stir them up. I want to hold the story of “who I am” lightly enough that I am okay with it shifting and morphing, as I peel the layers away with my own questioning. And know I will be supporting you from here, as you do the work on your own stories, and your own lineage.  May the true unwrapping of the most precious gift of knowing our deeper nature, remembering the self inside the packaging, begin.   OM ~  Living the 8 Limbs of Yoga Virtual Course January 2020 Go beyond the Asana. Strengthen your foundation. Embody the soul of yoga in your practice & teachings.  This 12 week course is an opportunity to strengthen the container of your being, and get clarity in your own heart about what practicing the 8 limbs of yoga means in your life. Morocco Mountain Retreat  July 5-12, 2020 This summer, retreat to the mountains in Morocco. We’ll spend 8 days and 7 nights in the stunning landscape of Morocco. Panoramic views of the Atlas mountains, the Ourika valley, and the National Park set the stage for a wider perspective, as we make space for rest and play. In addition to daily yoga practices, a traditional hammam (spa) is located onsite for luxurious treatments and rejuvenation. Adventure abounds outside the hotel compound, with the opportunity to trek to the highest peak in North Africa, to visit villages that manufacture pottery using ancient techniques or to go for a ride in a hot air balloon. Bali 2020 Two options Earth & Sky Training  April 5-15  This training counts for 108 training hours toward my 200-, 300-, 500- and 1008-hour training programs.   Soulshine Retreat  April 19-25  We’ll dive into deep immersive yoga practices, beat filled dances, and the abundant exploration of the beauty of Bali.  Only a few spots left! During this holiday season, we reflect on family with a brief meditation into the heart. More practices and videos available on my YouTube channel. Lululemon The Reversible Yoga Mat New in the shop!! This absorbent Lululemon mat has extra cushioning for hips, knees, and floor poses. 'Om Namah Shivaya' is inscribed within the Shiva marks. 5mm.  Upcoming events Body & Soul 1440 Multiversity March 20-22, 2020 Join me as we move through the expansive and soul-satisfying world of Vinyasa. This weekend will have you moving through the world with more clarity, vitality, and rapture. Devotion in Motion Intensive Amsterdam May 22-24, 2020 In this weekend workshop, we’ll immerse in what it means to teach from a place of deep attention to your own practice.  Esalen Yoga Gathering Ritual & Rhythm June 21-26, 2020 The entire Esalen property will become a playground for exploring the senses. Offerings include vibrant and Bhakti-filled asana practices, Acro Vinyasa, rhythmic soundscapes and more.  More Upcoming Events December 28, 2019-January 7, 2020: New Year's Pilgrimage, India (waitlist) January 16: Living the 8 Limbs of Yoga Virtual Training (12 week course) February 7-9: Nourish Weekend, Esalen Institute (waitlist) February 28-March 1: Semperviva Weekend, Vancouver  March 20-22: Body & Soul, 1440 Multiversity, Santa Cruz, CA April 5-15: Bali 2020, Bagus Jati Ubud April 19-25: Bali Bliss Retreat, Bali Soulshine  May 22-24: Devotion in Motion Weekend Intensive, Amsterdam May 29-31: Namaste am See Festival, Austria June 21-26: Esalen Yoga Gathering, Big Sur, CA July 3-6: Barcelona Yoga Festival, Barcelona  July 5-12: Morocco Mountain Retreat, Morocco July 18-20: Twelve Om Festival, Athens September 2020: Esalen Path of Devotion Coming Soon More 2020 Training options New online practices New virtual trainings Copyright © 2019 Janet Stone Yoga, All rights reserved. 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