Inner Compass Awakened
Opening up a yoga & wellness space of my own meant having the opportunity to offer more than just yoga. I wanted a place where friends could come together from all walks of life, have a relaxing spot to commune, prepare foods and unwind. It was during one of my own personal vision board workshops that I pasted photos on a canvas board that represented a test kitchen for meal prepping, retreats all over the world and cutouts of women with their hands flying in the air as colors of pink, orange and purple lights illuminated them with words that read "all together as one".
None of us could foresee that the year 2020 would overshadow everything. The first session in the studio was the first of January and the last group class was March 16th. Unsure of what was to happen, I nailed my vision board front and center in my home office. By the power of prayer, meditation and by the grace of the universe, private sessions were still being requested. Mental health was still valued as essential - at least in the minds of me and those who felt strong enough to continue meeting during unusual circumstances.
Private sessions and zoom classes filled my schedule and healed a hole in my heart that couldn't bear to be alone in the midst of a shutdown. Through the participation my clients, I was able to keep my sanity intact a little better than I would have otherwise. What transpired through this change of class setting was even bigger than I could imagine. Clients were given undivided attention. My experience as a health coach was instituted in every meeting. Each and every one of us were singularly going through a very serious upheaval, but somehow, we were "all together as one". Yoga sessions turned into therapy, food sampling and wine tastings. Tears and laughter were part of the practice. Visons of opening businesses for some of my clients were formulated. Emotional support replaced emotional isolation for us all. Even bigger, I learned to embrace my own vulnerability and reached a new level of teaching.
Almost 9 months later, no one knows what the hell is going on. It's clear that the idea of gyms and large group classes may be a thing of the past for a while. My heart is sad for not only businesses, but for a community who depended on studios and gyms as a form of sanctuary. I channeled these emotions into returning to the idea that people need people, and damnit, we need a vision of what could happen if we really place our trust in something bigger than the present moment. Thank goodness for others who feel the same way.
My lovely client and now my dear friend decided to host her very own vision board celebration. A group of eight celebrated the end of this year by taking a night to set intentions for the year to come. We opened up with a light meditation and a condensed coaching session. Letting the mind rest while the third eye (Ajna), our intuition, sent a loving message to our sacral (Svadhisthana), our creative side.
Many of the ladies have started small businesses, some want to begin a family soon. A few confided that their intentions were not quite clear, but felt a desire for something new. The beauty of vision board ceremonies is that the unknown is the only known thing for the moment, but once the boards are created, the magic of manifestation begins. The miracle for me is knowing how things can and do work out through for many vision board workshop attendees.
Last year two women met at a vision board workshop I hosted. Neither had firm intentions of what they wanted to accomplish for the year 2020. They certainly had no intentions of meeting each other or creating a business together. The beauty of friendship and collaboration came from a little creative project. This is just one story. There are countless more.
My dear Shazila and friends, I blog about you today to record the journey you and your friends are yet to embark on. Thank you for allowing me to host your event and to be apart of your life in an intimate way. It is my hope that in a year, you will see how far you have come! If anything can be said, you and your friends shared a little moment to reflect on some memories from the past and proposed the possibilities of future adventures. Thank you for being open to hearing an outside perspective of what the vision boards subconsciously expressed and how I envision each of your unwritten stories becoming bigger than life itself.
Allow your vision boards to awaken your inner compass, your intuition. Pause to listen and expand into its wisdom. Lean in to each other and support each others vision too.
- Namaste, SG
