The Art of An Urban Retreat
When I literally raised the roof and built Rose from a small, about to fall over shed, I had some great visions dancing in my heart. My mind’s eye saw a place that brought healing into a three dementional space in a way that I was longing to experience for myself. A place to enjoy, renew and replenish on a personal level, connected through practices and tools that help support a deepened connection to oneself. This allowed me to see what was already growing naturally in front of me eyes.
I have learned many things over the years through my clients, students and friends. Pretty much across the board, folks feel maxed out. Multi tasking, demands of daily life, desires to help support others, etc. has created a life that is over-extended. While some of this can be supported some of the time, all of it cannot be handled all of the time. Living a life in moderation and OUTSIDE the common culture which subscribes to capitalism, self-first, faced paced, got-to-have-it-now agenda has to be done with intention, cultivation and wise action towards a different way.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this because it’s really what I have been moving towards for a long time. But there isn’t much to glean from in our modern, western world. Growing up, I spent many summers with my family in the rural countryside of Northern Italy. I remember the pace to be different. There was time built in for sitting down to eat a meal that had been freshly prepared which meant that there was time to shop and cook. This was an absolute given. Often the work day completed at a reasonable time so that people were free to enjoy life outside of business. Of course, computers and social media apps were not at all present (dating myself here), for the good and the bad and so eyes on a screen was not to found. I think you’re getting the idea, my point being, how do I not only support myself and my family on the various fronts AND also live a life that has freedom and space so that I do not feel these constructs of patriarchy that I have just followed into for so many years knowing that this has never worked well? What needs to be different? How do I want it to look? Where is my time best spent? What is my vision?
These are big questions with detailed answers and thoughts, but the distillation of this has had me thinking a lot about how I structure my life. Ayurveda gives us a detailed understanding of the daily clock. Wisdom has been shared through thousands of years that describes how bodily function and circadian rhythms can work together to propel and create a deepened sense of harmony and balance. This balance is essential for the regulation of all our bodies’, mostly notably, our hormonal body. It is believed that when we are aligned well and in our natural flow, we are also in the natural universal flow as well. This always makes a lot of sense to me, I have felt and experienced this in my own body over the years of change and it has been positive.