Thank you God for the hard times: An Ancient Approach To Hardship
Thank you God for the hard times: Why Marma Point Therapy works in
our darkest hours.
In Ayurveda, there is this theory: It takes the hard times in life, in yoga, in relationship, in habits and patterns, to begin to burn away what is not necessary for our life, light, and love. So, to many practitioners of this age-old science, struggle and pain can be a truly wonderful thing; it can be the tapas or fire that will lead to our eventual transformation, our eventual balance. This even happens in everyday digestion of our foods and toxins ~ when there's something in our bodies that is burdening our life force, our body will do whatever it takes to assimilate and then expel it.
So, as a few of you know from attending our Kundalini Yoga and Meditation class last Sunday – I truly value those times in life when it seems like a giant weight has been put on my shoulders. Don't get me wrong, I don't particularly LIKE those times. Nonetheless I have come to see that, number one, they're inevitable; and number two, they're almost always harbingers of gorgeous transformation that makes me even more pure, happy, and spiritually healthy than before.
And, last week, when life seemed to just be more than I could take, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, felt the tears washing down my cheeks and heard myself saying this crazy thing: “Thank you God for the hard times.” I don't know why I said it; I didn't even actually believe it when it came out of my mouth. But the more I chanted this little mantra, the more strength and empowerment it gave me, the more softness it promoted in my mind. Eventually, with hindsight, I was able to understand: The hardest times in my life have brought me here – to this place, right now, living one of the most blessed lives I could ever imagine.
What did I do after I uttered that phrase? I gave myself Marma Point Therapy. I know it might sound hoaky or woo-woo. But for me (and, I've come to notice, for a whole lot of other people), it just works. It takes the hard junk of our lives and turns it into fuel for our purity and evolution. Let me explain a little about how this unfolds:
Marma Point Therapy was developed thousands of years ago in Vedic times. Marmani – or marma points – were called bindu – a secret dot or mystic point. Like a door or pathway, a marma point opens into the inner pharmacy of the body. Touching a marma point, said the ancients, changes the body's biochemistry and can unfold radical, alchemical change in one's makeup. Stimulation of these inner pharmacy pathways, says Ayurvedic Doctor Vasant Lad, “signals the body to produce exactly what it needs, including hormones and neurochemicals that heal the body, mind, and consciousness.”
This deep dimension of marma therapy has the potential to unfold spiritual healing. And, according to ancient texts, the more difficult one's life is at the time of a Marma treatment, the more “fuel” for this transformational fire. I've witnessed this personally. Often when clients come for a session and have had a particularly challenging couple of weeks, their session has palpable breathrough moments. This isn't to say that preventative self-care through Marma therapy isn't great too, there's just something special about coming to the bodywork table when one's heart, mind, and body are deeply aching.
In a typical 90 minute Marma Point session, I greet you with a cup of tea or herbal water using plants from the land here at Mineral Spring Farm. We talk about your goals and current feelings toward your life and experiences. Then we do an analysis of your current Ayurvedic constitution or Dosha. On the table, we breathe new life into the chakras, into your cells, and into the possibilities of opening to your challenges in a brand new way. With essential oils, Ayurvedic herbalized oils for your dosha, and sometimes even moxa and cupping, the energy is realigned one Marma at a time. We may focus on your head and neck, your sacrum, your feet and legs, your back, your arms ~ or all of the above ~ depending on whether we will be balancing Vata, Pitta, or Kapha elements in the body-mind.
Most, if not all, individuals get up from the table with a “fresh” look on their face ~ and this softened feel to their body. Some report seeing visions, colors, or entire life schemes while on the table. Others fall asleep completely. And perhaps the most amazing and beautiful thing to me: Clients report feeling a new-found sense of hope, understanding, and empowerment regarding some of the most difficult aspects of their lives. This is how Marma Point Therapy changes consciousness: By touching into the various places on the body where emotions are “crystallized,” we set a brand new precedent. We free prana that has been stuck and we watch our mind, body, and spirit begin to relate to itself – and the world – in a new and elegant way. It's similar to changing routes on a roadtrip, to avoid traffic and take the route with the best scenery and least tolls.
I would like to invite you to come experience Marma Point Therapy at my home here in Thorndike, Maine, just a few miles from MOFGA's CommonGround Fair site. I can also arrange to travel to you for a house call (for an additional fee) and I have openings once per month at Cattitude Yoga Studio in Bar Harbor or School Street Studio in Waterville if you would prefer your Marma treatment in a neutral studio space. The cost of a 90-minute session with me is $75.
To book an appointment: siri.temple@gmail.com or 207-568-5477
In Ayurveda, there is this theory: It takes the hard times in life, in yoga, in relationship, in habits and patterns, to begin to burn away what is not necessary for our life, light, and love. So, to many practitioners of this age-old science, struggle and pain can be a truly wonderful thing; it can be the tapas or fire that will lead to our eventual transformation, our eventual balance. This even happens in everyday digestion of our foods and toxins ~ when there's something in our bodies that is burdening our life force, our body will do whatever it takes to assimilate and then expel it.
So, as a few of you know from attending our Kundalini Yoga and Meditation class last Sunday – I truly value those times in life when it seems like a giant weight has been put on my shoulders. Don't get me wrong, I don't particularly LIKE those times. Nonetheless I have come to see that, number one, they're inevitable; and number two, they're almost always harbingers of gorgeous transformation that makes me even more pure, happy, and spiritually healthy than before.
And, last week, when life seemed to just be more than I could take, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, felt the tears washing down my cheeks and heard myself saying this crazy thing: “Thank you God for the hard times.” I don't know why I said it; I didn't even actually believe it when it came out of my mouth. But the more I chanted this little mantra, the more strength and empowerment it gave me, the more softness it promoted in my mind. Eventually, with hindsight, I was able to understand: The hardest times in my life have brought me here – to this place, right now, living one of the most blessed lives I could ever imagine.
What did I do after I uttered that phrase? I gave myself Marma Point Therapy. I know it might sound hoaky or woo-woo. But for me (and, I've come to notice, for a whole lot of other people), it just works. It takes the hard junk of our lives and turns it into fuel for our purity and evolution. Let me explain a little about how this unfolds:
Marma Point Therapy was developed thousands of years ago in Vedic times. Marmani – or marma points – were called bindu – a secret dot or mystic point. Like a door or pathway, a marma point opens into the inner pharmacy of the body. Touching a marma point, said the ancients, changes the body's biochemistry and can unfold radical, alchemical change in one's makeup. Stimulation of these inner pharmacy pathways, says Ayurvedic Doctor Vasant Lad, “signals the body to produce exactly what it needs, including hormones and neurochemicals that heal the body, mind, and consciousness.”
This deep dimension of marma therapy has the potential to unfold spiritual healing. And, according to ancient texts, the more difficult one's life is at the time of a Marma treatment, the more “fuel” for this transformational fire. I've witnessed this personally. Often when clients come for a session and have had a particularly challenging couple of weeks, their session has palpable breathrough moments. This isn't to say that preventative self-care through Marma therapy isn't great too, there's just something special about coming to the bodywork table when one's heart, mind, and body are deeply aching.
In a typical 90 minute Marma Point session, I greet you with a cup of tea or herbal water using plants from the land here at Mineral Spring Farm. We talk about your goals and current feelings toward your life and experiences. Then we do an analysis of your current Ayurvedic constitution or Dosha. On the table, we breathe new life into the chakras, into your cells, and into the possibilities of opening to your challenges in a brand new way. With essential oils, Ayurvedic herbalized oils for your dosha, and sometimes even moxa and cupping, the energy is realigned one Marma at a time. We may focus on your head and neck, your sacrum, your feet and legs, your back, your arms ~ or all of the above ~ depending on whether we will be balancing Vata, Pitta, or Kapha elements in the body-mind.
Most, if not all, individuals get up from the table with a “fresh” look on their face ~ and this softened feel to their body. Some report seeing visions, colors, or entire life schemes while on the table. Others fall asleep completely. And perhaps the most amazing and beautiful thing to me: Clients report feeling a new-found sense of hope, understanding, and empowerment regarding some of the most difficult aspects of their lives. This is how Marma Point Therapy changes consciousness: By touching into the various places on the body where emotions are “crystallized,” we set a brand new precedent. We free prana that has been stuck and we watch our mind, body, and spirit begin to relate to itself – and the world – in a new and elegant way. It's similar to changing routes on a roadtrip, to avoid traffic and take the route with the best scenery and least tolls.
I would like to invite you to come experience Marma Point Therapy at my home here in Thorndike, Maine, just a few miles from MOFGA's CommonGround Fair site. I can also arrange to travel to you for a house call (for an additional fee) and I have openings once per month at Cattitude Yoga Studio in Bar Harbor or School Street Studio in Waterville if you would prefer your Marma treatment in a neutral studio space. The cost of a 90-minute session with me is $75.
To book an appointment: siri.temple@gmail.com or 207-568-5477
Comments
Post a Comment