When we moved to Northampton in 2007 I had two months of yoga teaching under my belt. I knew a handful of people in the Pioneer Valley and had almost no money and no prospects other than a Wednesday night yoga class at the Hampshire Regional YMCA. I didn’t really know what I wanted out of life here and didn’t know exactly how to start trying to find it.
This morning we woke up in that same apartment. After stumbling out of bed I pulled on my boots and walked out into the garden and picked our biggest bowl full of kale, chard and basil. The bowl which is almost the size of a laundry basket was overflowing and piled so high that I had to hold it on one hip and push my arm against the top of the mound as I opened the front door. This is the level of abundance in our life right now.
Two days ago I filmed a video in my new office with a college friend Rebecca Rideout, who lives in Greenfield and is a video/film person. Throughout the day, a handful of patients, students and friends filed in the door to be part of the video. All I did was write a few emails and people eagerly showed up willing to donate part of their Tuesday to my project. Seven years later this little New England town bustles with so many of my students and my patients and my friends.
Saturday I am hosting an open house and client appreciation event in this new office. My first office that is exclusively mine and will have my diplomas and my license hanging on the wall. Beyond how tasty the food will be and how nice it will be to mingle with my patients, students, friends, community, and anyone new who would like to stop by and meet me, it will also be my moment of pause at the satisfaction of arrival.
In yogic philosophy there is a word aparigraha that means freedom from grasping, freedom from coveting possessions or accomplishments of others. There has been so much grasping in seven years of fighting this uphill battle towards owning my own business. But there have also been moments of easy, flowing work and effort when all the true progress happened. I am in no way finished with the expansion of my business. I have tons planned for the fall and lots of new projects to undertake.
But this open house, this moment of arrival, is stirring something within me to change the way I’m doing my business. I don’t want to fight anymore. I don’t want to strive and push and effort.
Business from here on is going to be about flow. This little office with the sloped ceilings isn’t designed for rushing. After hitting my head for the first time the other day while mindlessly hurrying, I realize this space could not be more perfect for me right now as I learn this new lesson of steadiness.
I don’t know where you are on your path, but I do know we are all on one. Perhaps you are all the way at the very beginning and striking out left and right as you try something completely new. Perhaps you are nearing the end of the path and taking lots of time to peak back at all your main accomplishments. Or maybe you are simply in the moment of struggle seeking a passion, a place, or a community. Wherever you are on that journey, I encourage you to take a moment to bless the struggle, the flow and the moment of arrival. When we bless all stages we inform the universe we are open to reaching each stage with whatever amount of grace possible at that moment.
There are so many of you out there who have been with me since the beginning or have helped play a key role somewhere along the way. If you have time on your Saturday morning this week stop by and let me thank you for the role you played in helping me create a home here. It has been so much fun and I look forward to the next seven years and whatever adventures, bliss and triumphs they might hold.
Please check out the event page on Facebook and share a message about how you played a role in this journey. I would love to hear how you are if I haven’t seen you in a while.
Copyright: nito500 / 123RF Stock Photo