Yoga as Medicine

Sitara Bird has been a FRÉ ambassador since December 2017
Website: https://www.sitarabird.com/

EXPANSiON. TRUST. SYNCHRONiCiTY. You are already who you search to become. 🌾

As my physical body works to recalibrate from jet lag, my mental body is buzzin' from all the tools I've gathered within that last two weeks. I have begun the journey of acquiring my 500 hours advanced certification from the Avahana School of Yoga & Expressive Healing Arts. We dove deep into 100 hours of Yoga as Medicine: the Anatomy of the Subtle Body. So many beautiful and innate ingredients to add to my cupboard of offerings. I received so many spiritual downloads while immersed in training. It literally felt like a huge software update to my current state. Slowly and gently I am giving myself time to marinate within the myriad of information I gathered, in order to discern my learnings into that of wisdom. What a potent soup..

The collective grew into being one of the most radical tribes I've ever enwrapped myself in. Talk about game changers. I'm lucky to know so many bright beings that are truly answering the call to heal the planet we inhabit.

The first week was emotionally, physically, spiritually, and mentally exhausting. The thick, sweet, jungle heat coupled with a deluge of offerings, that traversed the vast landscape of the subtle body deep within and back to the outer realm of the physical body, left me feeling all sorts of feels. We chanted, recited mantra whilst integrating mudras, and worked through demanding sweaty asana. My body was tired. But my heart was, and still is, feeling quite full. I have realized and continue to realize the utmost importance in slowing down. Dropping within, diving deep into whatever murky or clear waters well within me. All of the answers I've been searching for are already here. The dance revolves around discovering the appropriate lens to accommodate the viewer. That viewer - being I - who is as much complicated as simple and ever changing.

One morning, our group collectively participated in a chakra cleansing meditation/kriya. We chanted chakra seed sounds incorporating vayu mudras, which left me feeling the most grounded I had felt in days. Sweet depths I barely have touched with my pinkie toe, and I am so ready to explore them more. The subtleties can be the most potent. My physical body during asana felt consumed by waves. As if the ocean herself was holding me. Lulling my heavy mind. Serendipity holds my trust knowing this path is one I must tread. And as overwhelmed as I may feel in wanting to grow and learn and share I know deep down within my depths, I am everything I am searching for. And it is absolutely my responsibility to share.

One of the many things I was reminded of, is how superfluous many of my westernized habits are/shedding the 'need' of excess materialistic belongings. Must I possess all I am conditioned to believe? Is this a vital need or a pacifying want? And I remember what I often forget - I do not. A sweet soul shared her avocado with me on the bus ride back to Nicoya. Simple gestures as this manifest as beautiful reminders of simplicity. Lets wade into it a little more, shall we? The act of enjoying an avocado just for what it is, without the incessant need to mash it, change it, mix it or process it in any way serves as that seed of remembrance. Enjoying it, in its purest form. Delicious with every ripe bite. What a beautiful moment in time, that easily could have never happened or been glazed over in the barreling world I live in back in Detroit. Even the journey of the bus ride itself served as a reminder that things take time. I am so accustomed to instant gratification. You want something, (generally) the more you pay, the quicker it manifests. But really does it? I believe it doesn't necessarily have too. This is an avenue I wish to explore more. To float within the rhythms of the womb of the world, rather than unabashedly fight to race forward. To remember the incubation, the marination, required to slingshot myself forward. How sweet and savory a soup would be knowing where and how every ingredient was sourced, procured and handled prior to entering the pot.

As if it wasn't enough that Lori and I magically met on a jungle trail, I also bunked with a fellow Ferndalian at Alajuelas Backpackers. The most random yet serendipitous events. Constant reminders, my friends. My flight home was delayed, which caused a hectic stressful ruckus for my traveling cohort, Shannon, and I who busted ass to make it to our gate on time. Out of breath, I looked up only to realize one of my friends was standing ahead of us with his girlfriend. I'm exactly where I am supposed to be. My teacher Meg talked much of her elderly client whom slowly grew to love the "hocus pocus" of yoga. On my flight from Ft Lauderdale to Detroit the lovely lady sitting next to me was reading a book entitled #Girlboss. I was drifting in and out of consciousness, swaying, earbuds in and just happened to open my eyes at the exact moment to glance over and notice the chapter she was reading was called Hocus Pocus: the Power of Magical Thinking.

And serendipity abounds. Unfolds and enfolds. Everywhere. If we choose to see.

So much gratitude to my teachers, Ashleigh Sergeant and Meg McCraken. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. <3

xx, sb

If you enjoyed reading this type of content, then check out what our ambassador Joelle says on the Mind Muscle Connection by clicking HERE.