The
Consciousness Collaborative Update
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Women
On
Wednesdays!
Would you like to offer and receive support from other women?
Welcome to WOW - 'Women on Wednesdays' a monthly support/coaching group lead by life coach and consultant Joanne Lutz, and co-facilitated by Enki Education founder, Beth Sutton.
Each month the facilitators will select a topic of discussion, and we will explore our experiences from the perspective of that topic. You're invited to us join FREE for the inaugural gathering.
Wed., February 11th
7:00 - 8:30 pm
Topic: "What brings you here?"
Further details may be found at The Consciousness Collaborative "Classes & Events" page. If you are interested, please email or call 617-827-0803 to sign up. 
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Yogamassage
for Couples
Dawn Lipinski of Bodypeace invites you to this special Valentine's Day class.
Relax and enjoy while increasing your personal massage skills.
Yogamassage combines traditional massage techniques with assisted stretching. Think of massaging with your feet, hands, and elbows or stretching your partner's back with
your own.
Explore communication through touch.
February 14, 20091:30 - 3:30 pm atYoga by Donation147 Market St., Suite CPortsmouth, NH (above Portsmouth Health Foods)$100 fee per couple
Pre-registration is required. Please contact Dawn Lipinski at 603-436-2205. |
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February Meditation Class
 You are invited to join two members of The Consciousness Collaborative, Jamie Thurber, co-facilitator of What's Next?! Workshop, and Samantha Cail of Body Fusion Muscular Therapy for an evening of meditation.
This month Jamie will lead a Tibetan Sound Healing meditation on February 18th. The class will be hosted at Body Fusion Muscular Therapy, located at 366 Massachusetts Ave., Suite 101, in Arlington.
No previous meditation experience is required; however space is
limited. If you would like to participate, please reserve your space
by contacting Samantha Cail at 781-962-8580.
There
is no fee for this class; however, donations are gratefully accepted
and suggested at $5.00. All monies will support a local charity that
supports the protection of animals.
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Quick Links
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Greetings!
As we are immersed in the depths and intensity of winter (my least favorite season), I find myself remembering this one line from a Walt Whitman poem, "I sound my barbaric YAWP over the roofs of the world." That feels about right to me, a "barbaric YAWP" of intensity. In line with my own growing edge, I thought there might be a lesson here for me. Maybe I can take a cue from Mother Nature, and despite my distaste for the cold, the snow, the ice, and the barrenness, I could embrace the undeniable passion with which it comes to us. I mean, it's really winter! I don't have to like that it's winter. I can choose to go away some place warm or simply hide away in my house with the heat turned up, covered by a big blanket and a variety of cats, but still...it's WINTER! So, maybe there's a way to appreciate the conviction with which it presents itself. Winter is not shy or coy. Winter is not concerned with whether or not I like it. Winter simply IS! With all it's beauty and ugliness, I never doubt whether or not winter means to be here. It simply IS here...so, what if the same is true about me, and about you? What if there's no need to apologize for what our individual truths are? No matter how loud my voice is, it matters. So does yours! Not because I say so, or believe it to be so, but because it IS so, just as it is winter. I find this leading to a celebration of intensity and power. Mine, yours, and Mother Nature's. Is this one of those, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em moments? Maybe, but I prefer to think of it as a chance to "sound my barbaric YAWP over the roofs of the world." I'd love to hear yours, too! Warm regards with great power and intensity,Joanne LutzCoaching~Consulting~Referral ResourceFounder of The Consciousness Collaborativewww.TheCCsite.com ~ www.WhatsNextWorkshop.comJoanne@TheCCsite.com ~ ph. 617-827-0803 ~ fax 781-777-1899
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Bodypeace Classes -
"Interactive Movement"
Expand your physical capabilities
while experiencing the support of another.
 You are invited to feel the power of connection to yourself and another through the integrated effects of movement, stretching, breathing, and massage. Share support and nurturance through this Interactive Movement class, to enhance your interactions with others in all phases of your life.
These classes are appropriate for anyone of any body shape, size, or ability level. We will approach all movements from the mindset of "beginner's mind," the space of openness to all possibility.
Tuesdays - 4:00 pm or
Thursdays - 7:00 pm
at Yoga By Donation
147 Market St., Suite C
Portsmouth, NH (above Portsmouth Health Foods)
Tuesdays - Noon or
Thursdays - 4:00 pm
at Whole Life Health Care
100 Shattuck Way, Suite 100
Newington, NH (across from Fox Run Mall)
For more information, contact, facilitator Dawn Lipinski, LMT at 603-436-2205 or via email. Dawn's professional practice incorporates mindful awareness of the body in one-on-one sessions. She brings over 30 years of experience working with the bodymind through massage therapy, breathwork, energy work physical education, and fitness instruction. |
So, Why Meditate?
I made my first visit to the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Life in Western Massachusetts last August, and the leader of a meditation asked, "How can you tell it's a good meditation session?" We sat in rows in front of her, sunlight and greenery through the windows behind her, and many answers from "you feel connectedness" to "You see the lights, man" came from the seats next to me. She smiled, and shook her head.
Looking back at that room of younger and older sets, the far-off traveler and the frequent visitors, I wondered what each of us got out of meditating. Dan Siegal, a medical doctor, neurologist, and psychiatrist researching the field of body/mind connection, states that through meditation, we learn to become our own best friend-a way of coming to know and like ourselves versus looking for others to tell us we are OK before we believe it. That touches and resonates with me. For me, it's a way of finding and being in stillness. In the moment of coming into this life, there was an easy, calm flow to the energies in my body, and everyday events have led me farther and farther away from that place. On the crystal clear lake of my life, large rocks and small pebbles have been hurled and dropped onto the calm waters, and I've gotten used to the constant chaos of wave upon wave over that surface. It's exhausting because there's very little down time, and over time, I'd begun to think that's how it should be.
What meditation has given me is a place of silence and rest, where the waters can still and reflect the clouds in the blue sky above, and the mountain peaks surrounding. Tonight, as I struggled to figure out a moment in life with one of my children that pushed my buttons, I felt overwhelmed and like there was no answer that would work. But my body and mind remembered that I had that place within me that I could go to for calmness and centeredness, and I was able to do what Thich Nhat Hanh calls coming home to oneself. I breathed deeply, and I connected to me. And suddenly all the chatter about what needed to be done melted away, and I connected with the beautiful wonderful being that my child is. From that place, I shifted from adversary to being her dad, creating a safe place for her to explore and just be. Meditation has anchored the knowing within me.
There are many ways to meditate-Joanne puts in a wonderful method each newsletter. Try one. She archives old ones on the web site if you'd like to try those as well. Or sit for ten minutes and feel and follow the path of a breath entering then exiting your body. There's no right answer-just an invitation.
And that leader of the meditation at Kripalu-how do you know it's a good meditation session? She said, "Your butt hits the mat. You sit." Anything with that simple a definition of success can't be all that bad. Try it just for today, and see what happens.
- Contributed by Jamie Thurber
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Meditation of the Month - Batter UP!
 For any of you who know me well, you are abundantly aware that I am NOT a baseball fan. Yes, I know, how can I live in Red Sox Nation and not like baseball??? Well, with a nod to Spring Training, beginning on February 25th, and in honor of this month's "intensity theme," I offer you this daily active meditation.
You will need a few props for this practice. Begin with some giant pillows or mats that will remain stable when stacked to waist high (your waist, not mine). If you have a very tall bed, this might work, too!
You will also need a bat. I like the grip of those foam covered bats, but some prefer the sound a good plastic bat will make. I suggest NOT using a wood or aluminum bat.
Next, just to check your ceiling height, stand in front of the piled up pillow/mats, holding the bat with both hands, and simply raise the bat over your head. If the bat hits the ceiling, you'll need to find a taller space to practice in. Once you have everything you need...
Begin by standing in front of the pillows in a grounded position. This means: feet about shoulder width apart and toes slightly turned inward with knees slightly bent. Imagine feeling the balls of your feet magnetically drawn to the floor. In the beginning this may feel a little odd, but with experience, you'll find this to be a relaxed and solid position.
Now, eyes wide open, hold the bat with both hands, raise it directly over your head (not one shoulder or the other), and bring the bat down onto the pillows, while simultaneously releasing a loud, gutteral "UGH." You'll find the most benefit from this practice when the "UGH" comes from deep in your belly.
Now, really go for it. Again and again, allow the whack of the bat and the huge, gutteral "UGH" to fill the whole house. This is you, in your power, you owning your intensity. And being supported by the great mother earth the entire time. Try to get out at least 25-30 good ones. It's important to note that it's not how hard you hit with the bat, it's sound that you allow to come forth from within you that fosters the greatest release. The bat motion assists you to connect with your whole body during the practice.
When you're done, take a moment to stand in the grounded position, and breathe, noticing whatever is happening in your body. Allow yourself this silence and peace. |
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