I've spoken a lot in class about how setting an intention (sankalpa) is akin to planting physical seeds in the earth. When planting a garden, whether flowers or vegetables, we have a clear idea of:
What we are growing
What it needs in order to flourish; soil type, watering needs, sunlight requirements
What it's lifecycle is; when it's likely to flower, when to harvest or prune etc.
We can't plant carrot seeds and expect to produce roses, or plant potatoes in hanging baskets (actually it turns out you can!) Anyway my point is we need to have a clear vision in our heads of what it will look like, perhaps how it smells or tastes and whether we have the resources to look after that seed/young plant to ensure it survives and flourishes.
We can't grow whatever we picture and expect it to work just because we are prepared to pour all our love into it.
We might love bananas so much that we want to grow our own, but here in the UK we're unlikely to have the resources and environment to grow one well enough to produce the bananas. (Again turns out we probably could, however if we did manage to, they would be inedible)
Big life events have a habit of giving us some perspective. This week I had to make the difficult, but necessary, decision to this cancel this year's Seasonal Soul weekend retreats.
Whilst I visualised two beautiful offerings, and I planted those seeds with great love, the conditions and resources aren't optimal.
Due to recent family health issues I won't have the sufficient time and energy required to offer them, at least not to the extent that I like to invest my time and energy into these retreats!
It's not just the creative planning and holding space, there is a lot of preparatory work before I even get to that bit which I love. More work is required to research the environment in which I am planting these offerings and more knowledge is required to see how and when others would enjoy them as much as I will.
Just because I really love doing what I do and would love my offerings to take a certain course, it doesn't mean it's going to look or taste how I expect. It's time for me to really evaluate what needs to be put in place in order for those offerings to be nourished sufficiently, to be supported in their growth and to have enough of the right conditions to thrive.
I appreciate the delicate short lived blooms of the lilac tree as much as the hardy English lavender, that blooms steadily from late spring through the summer.
Enjoying all sorts of plants and flowers in between for their beauty, scent, taste or their medicine. Essentially we can appreciate and benefit from our plant allies in a wide variety of ways, briefly or over a long period, depending on what we need.
Practicing yoga with me can be enjoyed in the same way: regular weekly classes over a long period of time, special deep dive weekend or day retreats, occasional one off workshops....or in multiple other ways - whether it's Ayurveda coaching, Forest bathing or chats after class.
It's how you and I work together that enables our garden of yoga (so to speak) to flourish. Creating the offerings I feel passionate about that also call you to invest your time with me. Without this attention to detail, the 'environment and resources' won't nourish my offerings and won't be meeting the needs of this lovely community of yogis and aspiring yogis.
The environment doesn't need to be perfect, I just need to find the right little spot where these offerings are optimally suited.
I now feel confident to say that is is not online or in large impersonal settings. it's also not capturing photos or reels during events for marketing purposes or spending hours marketing and creating mail outs with catchy headers. Those are not ideal conditions for me to thrive or lovingly cultivate what I'm passionate about.
I do however need to find a way to attract the right people to this lovely little patch of yoga offerings and that's where you come in 🙏
Let me know what sparks your interest,
what draws you in, what do you want to practice or learn more about.
Feel free to message me directly or use this short simple online form: https://forms.gle/u1AgvvtYe93YKFKe8
Let's see where 'what you need'
cross pollinates with 'what I feel guided to offer'
(in the near or distant future)
🌸
I can then get to work creatively and consciously exploring the best way to allow those offerings to flourish with lots of support, nourishment, love and light!
Om shanti
🙏
Sophia
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