International Journal of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy

International Journal of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy

Volume 2, Issue 1

Willfulness to Willingness

What Is Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy?

Present Moment Dialogue

The Right Words

The Business Relationship

The Rock Bottom

!"#$%&'()*+,%-+.+*/%0(/1%2')3145%231+*+*/%67')89:)% Phoenix Rising Training and Certification Programs offer certifications for multiple complementary career paths: as a Yoga Teacher leading therapeutic yoga classes, as a Practitioner or Therapeutic Mentor working one-on-one with yoga therapy clients, or as a Facilitator of Yoga Therapy Groups. Explore the curriculum and discover your path. Call us for more information and to discuss the program that is right for you.

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Welcome to International Journal of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy’s Local Print Advertising Program and the first guidebook in the Journal’s How-To series. This guide has been created to support you make the most of the Local Print Advertising Program as you successfully get the word out about you and your Phoenix Rising practice.

Within the pages of this guide, you’ll find three simple, effective plans to customize for your unique market. Each plan starts with your customized copies of International Journal of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy and provides the steps you’ll need to take, along with sample calendars to help you not only create but maintain marketing momentum.

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Each of the plans has the same intention: to support you to successfully market your practice through building relationships. Creating and maintaining dynamic professional relationships is foundational to effective marketing: Why? Because it always comes down to relationship. It’s an energetic dynamic that exists in all aspects of our world, even marketing. When we can understand marketing from this perspective, there is a shift. Focusing on this new understanding creates a reciprocal and robust flow of energy between you and those you are marketing to. However, when that focus loses clarity, the energetic dynamic becomes distorted, the relationship suffers. Building these releationships takes some effort. It takes some support. It takes some planning and commitment and time. But it is possible. The information presented in the following pages provides you with a framework: three plans with three different intentions. It will be up to you to work with the plans, bringing your unique energy to each of them as you begin to build dynamic and supportive professional relationships with people in your community.

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Thank you again for participating in IJPRYT’s Local Print Advertising Program. And here’s to your creating professional relationships that are alive and dynamic!

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Editorial and Staff Kevin Sharpe Editor

Writers Carol Capper Elissa Cobb Jaunie Federowicz Bev Johnson Daniela Menardi Beth Triano Elizabeth Wyatt

Design and Production Todd Beasley Print Art Director

Wes Childers Digital Art Director

Advertising Sales 706-­‐267-­‐8473

Advisory Board Elissa Cobb Michael Lee Kevin Sharpe

If you are interested in writing an article for International Journal of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, submit your article query to: editor@ijpryt.com.

Writer guidelines can be requested through the same email address.

International Journal of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy is published semiannually by Artisan Creative Group.

The journal supports professional development and education as it relates to Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy.

Digital subscription cost is $48.00 per year. Print subscription cost is $68.00 per year. Single copies of International Journal of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy are available for $18.00 plus $4.00 shipping to U.S. and Canadian locations ($8.00 shipping for locations outside the U.S. and Canada).

Subscribe online www.ijpryt.com

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Copyright © 2013 Artisan Creative Group, LLC

table of contents

8

Willfullness to Willingness

12

What Is Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy?

14

16

The Right Words

19

The Business Relationship

22

The Rock Bottom

Present Moment Dialogue

W i n t e r 2013

Featured Contributors Carol Capper Carol Capper MS, OTR/L is a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy practitioner and yoga teacher. She has been Assistant Program Manager for Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy since 2006. Carol has 30 plus years of experience in the field of mental health as a therapist, educator, and administrator. Much of the focus throughout her career has been using yoga and mindfulness techniques to support clients, students, and colleagues. Her most recent passion is blogging about yoga, yoga therapy, meditation, and mindfulness. She lives by the beach in New York City.

Elissa Cobb Elissa brings more than 25 years of combined practice and teaching experience in bodymind practices, yoga, and yoga therapy to her writings, including her experience as the former Director of Training Programs with Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. She holds a Master’s degree in Embodiment Studies, has developed many of the Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy training programs, and has trained hundreds of students. Elissa is the author of The Forgotten Body: A Way of Knowing and Understanding Self. She is a life-­‐long resident of Vermont.

Jaunie Federwicz Jaunie Federowicz is a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therpay practitioner, yoga teacher, group facilitator, and mentor to students in Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy training programs. From her studio (California Yoga Therapy), located in Napa, Ca., Jaunie works with individuals interested in getting to know themselves better through Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. Living in the canyons, she enjoys hiking, running, and being in nature. Her current passion is in learning how to become a better sailor!

Bev Johnson Bev is certified in Phoenix Rising Yoga Therpay as a practitioner, yoga teacher, and group facilitator. She owns Cultivate Harmony Yoga in Montpelier, Va., where she helps her clients and students find relief from suffering caused by stress and stress-­‐related conditions. Bev also co-­‐ facilitates Phoenix Rising workshops in venues throughout the northeastern United States with Phoenix Rising founder Michael Lee. She has Bachelors and Masters degrees in business and 25 years of corporate experience managing people, processes, communications, results…and stress.

Daniela Menardi Daniela is a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy practitioner, Phoenix Rising yoga teacher, and group facilitator. Originally from Italy, she has over 20 years of experience in the field of Addiction and Mental Health treatment. She is currently participating in a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy pilot program to implement a Therapeutic Mentoring process, which will become one of the newest Phoenix Rising certification programs. Daniela currently lives, works, and plays in Key West, Florida.

Elizabeth Wyatt Elizabeth is a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy practitioner and mentor. She has worked in the areas of pulmonary care, critical care, and sleep medicine for the last 34 years. Elizabeth complements the standard medical model with Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy when treating her sleep patients.

Recently she began a program teaching sleep technology and is looking forward to participating in a project with naturopathic physician Dr. Gouin-­‐Young and cardiologist Dr. Stephen Sinatra to train internal medicine residents in providing alternative care to their patients.

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The Next Step

For many of us, the start of each new year includes focusing on next steps, on resolutions, and on ways of improving what we often dislike about ourselves or our lives. During the course of the initial few months of the new year, many of us who have created resolutions often find ourselves in the midst of dissatisfaction because we’ve failed to maintain our resolutions, failed to change what we dislike about ourselves, failed to change our lives.

Additionally, our actions of making and breaking resolutions tend to turn into annual cycles, year in and year out, of increased stress. For most of us, we set ourselves up to repeat these annual cycles of stress because we rush into the next step while either overlooking or ignoring the very first step, which in Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy we refer to as acceptance.

If we take a moment and turn to the images in the first half of this issue of the Journal, we’ll find that they convey very yogic principles. A little girl holding a handful of feathery seeds and releasing them to the wind calls to mind non-­‐attachment and the loving presence of witness. The image of a handshake between two people evokes ideas of trust and right relationship. The image of a well-­‐loved baby in the arms of its father reveals expressions of surrender. Images like these really become visual icons for us as we try to convey all the nuances of that all-­‐important spirit we call acceptance. Because of its importance in the role of healthy change, we felt it rightly deserved to be the theme for this issue.

We begin this issue with a thought-­‐provoking article by Elissa Cobb, which launches us on our journey into acceptance, a journey from willfulness to willingness. And we end the issue with another article on acceptance by Daniela Menardi in which she explores a journey of a different sort: a journey to the rock-­‐bottom experience. In the face of this particular kind of experience, we find ourselves choosing either for or against acceptance.

In between these bookend articles, we’ve included an article by Carol Capper about the role of dialogue in a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy session. This leads to further exploration of the role of words in an article by Bev Johnson. She brings into focus the important role that right language plays in our communications with others as we bring Phoenix Rising into our communities. Next we present a real hands-­‐on article by Jaunie Federowicz and Elizabeth Wyatt. They look at the role that business relationships play in our Phoenix Rising professional practices. Finally, in celebration of the entrance into our second year of publication and Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy’s 27th year, we decided it would be a good time to check in with Phoenix Rising’s founder Michael Lee. Beth Triano sits down for a talk with Michael in order to explore a simple question: What is Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy?

Thank you for all your support during this past year. And we wish you much peace, much acceptance, and much success, however these may look for you, throughout this new year.

Kevin Sharpe Editor

7

willfulness to willingness Acceptance as a Process

by Elissa Cobb

To court acceptance… is to encounter change.

This morning at breakfast, my husband, Dave, was complaining about the size of the type in a document he had been attempting to read. With frustration he mumbled, “The headlines are always so big, but the message itself is always so hard to read.” And a light bulb appeared over my head illuminating the process of acceptance.

Acceptance is crucial to healing and evolving throughout the twisted turns of a human life. It is a point of entry without which there can be no moving forward – no new way of being with and in the context of our challenging and ever-­‐changing world. The path from willfulness (non-­‐acceptance) to willingness (acceptance) is a unique adventure blessed with both edge and promise. In fact, its promise lies within its edges. Our ways of being with such edges can lead us either toward the entry point of acceptance or back in the more comfortable, yet tiring, position of resistance.

Catching Up With the Words It has been my experience that acceptance is never an instantaneous event. Even in the moment when I might verbally affirm, “I have accepted this”, the truth is that there are some parts of me that have not quite caught up to the one who said the words. There is more to become conscious of before there is true authenticity behind the declaration. Letting go and letting be aren’t things one does in the

9

in the moment. They are the effortless result of the

go over and over again as part of the natural

process of gradual discernment, in which it will

process yet to come.1

seem as though nothing was actually done, but rather allowed. I need only to be consistently, curiously aware of the small internal shifts and those opportunities to choose in favor of acceptance that come my way on a daily basis.

Acceptance is a process of moving from a conscious initial awareness toward an embodied, almost unconscious, new way of being as a result of a deep integration of what has been accepted.

Like Dave’s reading material, acceptance starts with a BIG headline, but the small print that follows takes time to discern and absorb.

Acceptance is a process of moving from a conscious…

Movement in a New Direction To court acceptance is to encounter change.

Change implies movement in a new direction. And movement creates friction – a normal response to all change, especially those involved in accepting.2 As such, friction (resistance or willfulness) will be an inevitable player in the process of acceptance.

We know from the world of science and research that it takes, on average, somewhere between eight weeks and six months of continued intentional practice in order for a new way of being – an internally driven change – to become a

What Happens Next?

lasting way of being. Our brains need that amount

In receiving a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy

of time to begin the process of re-­‐wiring our

private session, clients may become aware of their

neurons so that they more consistently re-­‐fire in

relationship to accepting the life material at hand.

new synaptic connections that create the habit of

They experience the sensations of both resistance

being our new selves.3 A gradually layered

and letting go in a physical manner. They become

approach to acceptance along with mindful,

curiously focused on the connection between

intentional repetitive practice moves us through

these physical experiences and the life realities

the process. Over time, we weaken the old

they are immersed in outside the session. They

channels of belief in our brains while

ride the emotions that dance around the edges of

simultaneously forging new ones.

awareness encountered. They reflect and connect

Phoenix Rising group sessions, especially when

to their own deepest source of knowing. They

combined with private sessions, are a valuable

speak aloud that guidance in honor of having

and effective support for continuing along the

received it. They say the “HEADLINE”. And they

path from resistance to acceptance. Other than the

declare the next steps, effectively setting the

longer commitment to intentional practice, there

process of acceptance into motion.

are three elements of the more active (versus

What happens next? In the absence of the deep

passive) group experience that encourage mindful

witnessing that happened in the powerful private

focus on an individual’s process of awareness,

session, do they keep themselves moving on the

adjustment, and change:

path of process, or do they find ways out –

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distractions, rationalizations, inertia?

1. Actively learning through one’s breath

Now, the thing is, either way is okay. The

and body. Acceptance can easily become a mental

person’s unique process has been set in motion,

battle in which our brains may try to convince us

and it will keep attempting to move them no

that we are over it, through it, past it, and around

matter their degree of participation. It comes

it. But our bodies hold the true story of where we

down to choosing between resistance and letting

are on the spectrum of resistance to acceptance.

…initial awareness toward an embodied, almost unconscious, new way of being…

Taking time to notice the physical nature of

Yoga Therapy private session, it is never forced or

such struggle (or the lack of it) in a guided active

enforced as a necessity during a session. The

breath-­‐and-­‐asana practice can bring to light the

practitioner will witness and support the client’s

story behind the story. Noticing the sensations

unique way of being with the process, however

associated with both resistance and letting go

and wherever it goes in the moment. He makes no

accelerates the process of acceptance by

attempt to channel the direction backward if the

deepening our self-­‐understanding.

client diverts from the theme of acceptance.

This noticing also teaches that we can tune

However, in a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy

into our bodies at any given point in this process

group experience, the theme of acceptance and a

to discover what is really happening – where we

participant’s relationship to the process of

really are and how we really are being along the

acceptance are highlighted and coached

way. When we involve our bodies, we progress in

repeatedly during the active asana component and

ways that are more lasting and profound.

the mediation period. The participant leaves the

2. Receiving edges. In a Phoenix Rising Yoga

session not only with a deepening of awareness

Therapy group setting, there are no hands-­‐on or

through the experiences of her body, breath, and

passively assisted elements. This allows for the

edge, but also with tools to enhance the possibility

possibility of a different sort of experience of

of continued engagement with the process of

exploring edges.

moving from willfulness to willingness.

During these group sessions, we cannot as

However we come to the entry-­‐point of

easily attribute our edge experiences to the

acceptance, whether the process is private or in a

Phoenix Rising practitioner. As such, it may

group setting, the energy of promise wells up in

become easier for us to notice that we create our

our favor at the moment we decide to embark.

own edges – that our edges are unique to us. The

Willingness happens through gainfully letting

life connection inherent in this, (our realized

go rather than giving up. It concerns the present

personality, beliefs, patterns), can wake us up to

rather than the future or the past. And who

ourselves, especially when acceptance is the edge

knows? From the wider perspective on the other

being explored.

side of the whole process, we just might find that

Acceptance, at its heart, is deep receiving at the

we end up with equal gratitude for willingness

edge of change and friction. To be with the

and willfulness.

physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual edges of the changes inherent in the process of acceptance is to receive the teachings of letting go and letting be.

When we become aware that our edges are internally created and choose to receive them as teachers – “beautiful enemies” who kindly challenge us – our tightness around acceptance loosens, a little bit at a time.4 3. Acceptance as a theme. While acceptance often emerges as a theme during a Phoenix Rising

To deepn your understanding of acceptance in how it relates to your body, visit www.ijpryt.com and read Renée Dumouchel’s article Befriending the Body: a Journey Toward Trust. __________________________________________________________ 1. Chip Hartranft, The Yoga-­‐Sutra of Patañjali, (Shambhala Publications, 2003), 5-­‐7.

2. Dennis Wholey, The Miracle of Change: the Path to Self-­‐ Discovery and Spiritual Growth, (Simon & Schuster, Inc.,1997), 40.

3. Tal Ben Shahar, Ph.D, “Positive Psychology”(lecture, Kripalu, Lenox, MA, 2012).

4. Ibid.

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What is Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy?

A Talk With Michael Lee

by Beth Triano This year marks the 27th anniversary since Michael Lee founded Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. As we touched on in the last issue of the Journal, this is an incredibly exciting time for Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. We are a vibrant professional organization, continuing to grow and facing a bright future as both a supportive modality and a professional community.

As the modality of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy continues to grow, we at the Journal thought it important to remain clear about Phoenix Rising’s history, intention, and even some of its core theory. For this important conversation, we asked Phoenix Rising’s director of programs Beth Triano to sit down with founder Michael Lee and explore in detail a most fundamental question: What is Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy?

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Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Founder Michael Lee

Beth Triano: Michael, you founded Phoenix Rising Yoga

acknowledge and support the process of change. At the

Therapy with a very clear intention. Let’s begin our

inception of Phoenix Rising, I was trying to better

conversation with your working definition of Phoenix Rising

understand myself and how I showed up in life. It wasn’t

Yoga Therapy.

until I engaged my body and experienced what it had to say

Michael Lee: Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy offers a yoga-­‐

that I discovered that there are better ways to understand

based, mind-­‐body, educational process to help people live

one’s life than trying to “think it out”. The first clue that I

their lives more effectively. Phoenix Rising was born from

was on to something good was when my oldest daughter

my direct experience of deep yoga practice, inner self-­‐

said, “When you practice yoga, you’re happier.” She was

presence, and self-­‐inquiry processes. All human beings are

right! This inspired me to go further, to take the physical

in a constant state of change, and yoga and education both

experience of yoga and somehow integrate it into my life.

The question became: How to offer in a simple and

its scope are modalities ranging from those that focus

effective way what I was discovering? I realized that first

more on the physical body to therapies whose intention is

and foremost there must be access to the body; it always

to offer a holistic approach to life enhancement. Some yoga

tells the truth. Second, there must be a way to support

therapies will diagnose or offer to fix a specific problem.

bringing an open and loving presence to the process of

And that’s great. Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, on the

listening to what my body is telling me. This is the kind

other hand, facilitates a process that supports people in

of open and loving presence Carl Rogers spoke about –

becoming aware of the changes they need to make in order

unconditional positive regard. It’s a way to be present to

to create the life that they want.

others without judgment or agenda. And third, there

What is unique about Phoenix Rising is that we don’t

needs to be a way of integrating and connecting what I

tell people how to do this. We create – through body

learn through my body’s wisdom with my life

awareness, through simple dialogue, witnessing, and

experience.

validation – an opportunity for people to connect with and

BT: Speak more about Carl Rogers’ influence.

hear their own wisdom and guidance.

ML: As a pioneer in humanistic psychology and

BT: So given that most therapies exist to treat or fix a

education, I greatly admired Carl Rogers in the way he

specific condition or problem, you don’t see Phoenix

related to others. Its essence was very yogic. He could be

Rising Yoga Therapy as serving that role in a person’s life.

present without needing to do anything or make

ML: We are a therapy. What we do, does affect

anything happen. He could create the space for people to

people. They do change as a result of Phoenix Rising Yoga

do their own learning from their own unique experience

Therapy. We don't promise a specific change, though. We

of themselves. This approach fit with many of my own

don't diagnose a condition or a problem and treat it

deep yoga experiences during which I was able to

specifically. But we do know from experience that Phoenix

connect back to my life experience.

Rising Yoga Therapy offers the client the potential – the

Another humanistic educator who greatly influenced

opportunity – for change. And we see those changes

my work was Malcolm Knowles. His educational

happen. In short, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy doesn’t

approach was based on a model (andragogy) similar to

offer a panacea. Instead, it offers a process. That process

the inner guru concept in yoga. I believe the most

often leads to change in all aspects of one’s being –

significant contribution to the application of yoga that

physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

stems from Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy is this

We are very proud of what we do and the way we go

andragogical approach to therapy. It totally recognizes

about it. And we are not discrediting any other form of

the innate wisdom that dwells within all beings. Phoenix

treatment. In fact, we are saying there is a synergy

Rising doesn’t tell clients how to “fix” things. We help

between many of the forms of therapy available today.

them discover their own unique solutions to their own

Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy has its place, as do all other

unique situations.

modalities. We are a results-­‐oriented and pragmatic

BT: So what we end up with in Phoenix Rising Yoga

therapeutic modality, and our clients are very happy with

Therapy is a modality that is traditionally yogic yet uses

the results they get.

compatible modern educational processes.

To read all of Michael Lee’s talk with Beth Triano, visit

ML: That’s right. Our focus with Phoenix Rising Yoga

www.ijpryt.com.

Therapy is on education from the inside out. We help

people use their bodies to bring awareness to areas in their lives that they might want to change. Then we support them as they learn to listen to their own inner

Beth Triano is the director of programs

wisdom in order to effect that change.

for Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. She also has a private practice in Vancouver,

BT: There is a lot of talk right now about what

British Columbia. Beth holds a Bachelor

constitutes yoga therapy. How do you define yoga therapy?

ML: Yoga therapy is a broad and inclusive term. Within

of Arts degree in Education and Kinesiology, and she specializes in teaching pre-­‐ and post-­‐ natal hatha yoga.

13

present moment dialogue A Closer Look at Intention and Invitation

By Carol Capper

We are all familiar with dialogue – or so we think we are – until we enter into the process called Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. When many of us think of yoga therapy, we invariably focus on the yoga aspect of the work. Yet, while yoga and movement are vital elements, dialogue is what we use in Phoenix Rising to weave together all the elements that form this kind of yoga therapy. Even though the words themselves are common and often very simple, Phoenix Rising dialogue is complex and rich. This dialogue supports awareness and invites the potential for change.

Words in a Phoenix Rising session give depth and breadth to our perception of the other person, and this holds true for both practitioner and client. Dialogue complements the nonverbal cues we attend to in each other’s facial expression, breath, and body movements. So when beginning a Phoenix Rising yoga therapy session, we welcome the client into this work by already using dialogue tools that both invite him into the experience and educate him about how to receive this work. There is

14

purposeful engagement in the words we choose. It is

asking that it be brought into awareness. The question

never so much about giving the client instructions to

invites the client to notice aspects of his experience from

follow as it is about supporting him to take a closer look,

an inner perspective – not from an idea of what it should

to appreciate the possibility of what this session may

be or has been before, but attending to all sensations,

mean for him.

thoughts, emotions, memories that are stirred into that

It’s important to note that silence is also incorporated into what we give back to the client in our dialogue. If it were not for the space between words, much would be lost in how we understand what is spoken. In a Phoenix Rising session, the use of silence carries weight as do all other offerings. Silent space reflects the kind of whole body listening that a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy practitioner provides his client throughout the session and is in itself a form of dialogue.1 So words and silence are what we use to facilitate the client’s present moment awareness of what is happening as his body is moved in and out of postures. Words can point to what is being noticed in that present moment.

Words can also extend the offer to look closer, to explore what is beneath the surface of the current noticing. Most important is that the practitioner refrain from manipulating the dialogue to support his personal idea of what should be happening for the client. Instead it’s vital to keep it focused to allow the client to bring his own innate wisdom to identify and evaluate what he’s noticed. The dialogue then takes on the essence of a conversation the client is having with himself.

This is done by speaking from intention. We can use dialogue for beginnings and endings, to gather or provide information, to facilitate exploration on the surface or in the multitude of layers underneath, to

moment of awareness. What the client then chooses to speak moves the dialogue forward. If he chooses silence, the space held by the practitioner is in itself an honoring of that response.

The intention of the invitation of “Tell me more” can be to invite a broadening of the client’s current awareness, perhaps a shift in perspective. Sometimes looking at something from a different angle is all it takes to open the door to new insight or understanding. The query itself is open-­‐ended, offered without carrying the practitioner’s expectation or judgment about what it should be.

In some parts of the session the guidance given may be to notice something more specific. It may, for example, pull on a thread of what has been experienced in order to provide information to the practitioner about what to offer next. Though there is more direction in this kind of query, the words are still open and inviting, revealing the importance of yet another aspect of Phoenix Rising dialogue – voice quality and energy. We all know how the content of what is spoken can change according to how the words are delivered by the speaker. Have you ever tried to give someone a compliment or offer an expression of thanks when you’re in the midst of feeling angry? Or perhaps you’ve been on the receiving end of a thankless thank you?

So it seems that dialogue may be much more than the actual words themselves. Clearly, a Phoenix Rising Yoga

navigate transitions from one part of the session to

Therapy practitioner must be fully present to himself and

another, and to offer a mirror in which the client can

cognizant of his own mood and motivation. Facilitation of

witness himself. Intention is the driving force that

the client’s present-­‐moment awareness during a session

enables each of these to happen.

requires a practitioner who is focused and free from

The questions we often use – like “What’s happening

encumbrances. Then, and only then, is it possible to speak

now?” and “Tell me more” – are not commanding or

from intenion and offer an authentic invitation.

probing, but offered as invitations. Then what we have is

___________________________________________________________________

intention combined with invitation: a perfect

combination. Simple but powerful tools. Like all other tools and techniques in Phoenix Rising, these invitations arise from clear intention. They are not random queries.

They are weighted and purposeful and, at the same time, open to whatever may be revealed by the client.

1. Whole body listening is a phrase used to describe a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy approach to listening that engages more than the sense of hearing. It is an approach that uses the whole body to listen.

For more information on whole body listening, visit

One basic intention in asking “What’s happening

www.ijpryt.com and hear Carol Capper’s recorded

now?” is to bring the client’s focus to the present

teleclass on whole body listening.

moment, pointing to the current bodymind experience, 15

the right words Supporting Business Communication With Language

by Beverly Johnson As we Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy practitioners cherchons divers marchés à travers nos communités, il nous faudra explorer d’abord nos propres vocabulaires, les mots spécifiques de notre métier.

The previous sentence may not be easily understood if you don’t speak both French and English. If you speak only one of those languages, you may be able to get the basic thought of the sentence. However, it takes some effort. It’s a good example that speaks volumes about the importance of words in the process of communication.

16

As we Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy professionals move our

Rendering Communication Effective

work into our communities, we need to focus our attention on

A few years ago, as a newly certified and extremely

much more than sessions or classes. In particular, we need to

passionate Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy practitioner, I started

draw our attention to the words or languaging we use in order

to talk about the work to non-­‐practitioners every chance I had.

to speak to others about our work. In doing this, we become

Sometimes as I did this, I noticed their eyes glaze over. In

aware – and maybe in a very experiential way – of a universal

some cases, eyes would even roll at the jargon used in my

phenomenon: Words can either support effective, clear

descriptions. Here are some examples: integration of body,

communication or create confusion and impede or even shut

mind, and spirit; connection with source; inner journey; inner

down the communication process.

wisdom; alignment with inner truth; inner peace; bliss. Even

the word yoga sometimes created a barrier to further understanding. Clearly something was getting in the way of effective, supportive communication as I was talking about

. . .effective, supportive

Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy.

communication

It’s important to keep in mind that effective, supportive communication requires language that can be understood by both parties in communication. As noted communications expert John C. Maxwell states, “People respond to the language we use.”1 And when people can’t understand the words we use, the response will be confusion. That gets in the way of effective, supportive communication.

When we talk about Phoenix Rising to other practitioners or people who practice yoga, we easily fall into Phoenix Rising language – yoga, wellness, and alternative-­‐therapies speak – and communication flows. However, if we talk to someone in the personnel department of a large corporation about adding Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy to part of an employee wellness program, this same Phoenix Rising language may not be understood.

Here’s an important point to keep in mind. When either the setting or the receiver changes and our words don’t change accordingly, the receiver of our words must translate them to try to understand what we offer. During the process, understanding may quite literally become lost in translation.

Communication starts to be impaired, maybe to the point of even shutting down altogether.

requires language that can be understood by both parties. . . an isolating and disorienting experience. Now imagine that out of nowhere you hear someone speaking your own language. What happens at that moment? A sudden connection manifests between you, and this total stranger.

You are both speaking the same language and the ease with which you are able to understand each other bonds you almost instantly.

Now consider being back in your own country and reaching out to decision makers in a non-­‐yoga-­‐based organization in order to offer your services. Such organizations are indeed concerned about happy, peaceful, well-­‐balanced, and healthy employees. The “citizens” that

Matching Language to Context

work in such places, however, use a different language to

In the same way we may decide to dress a little more

speak about these qualities. In a corporate setting, the native

conservatively for a face-­‐to-­‐face meeting with a personnel

language usually involves words like budget and profits and

director, we should also be willing to modify the language

expenses. When speaking to these types of organizations, it

we use during such a meeting. It all becomes a question of

truly serves to spend some time becoming familiar with the

right-­languaging.

organization’s native language. Then spend some more time

Matching our language to the context of the situation is a

to develop some fluency with it so you can easily translate

process known as right-­‐languaging. This process truly

your Phoenix Rising language into the organization’s native

supports authentic communication. If we communicate with

language.

recognition of and respect for the possibility that the

When we modify our language according to the receiver’s

receiver’s language or culture may skew the intended

context (language, culture, values), we foster opportunity for

meaning of what we are trying to communicate, then to

right relationship. We open up space for conversation,

modify our language accordingly does something incredibly

making it safe to explore and discover together. With right

powerful. It re-­‐aligns our intended meaning with how the

languaging, we make it possible for mutually supportive

receiver receives our words. The result? Authentic

decisions to be made, fulfilling the needs of both parties in

communication flows..

the relationship. How? Because we’ve moved past the

Right Language in Action Have you ever travelled to a country whose language you do not speak and found yourself surrounded by conversations that were totally meaningless to you? It can be

language barrier and into the world of authentic communcitation. ______________________________________________________________________ 1. Maxwell, John C. Everyone Communicates, Few Connect, (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2010), 67.

17

!

A Mini Lexicon Corporate and Non-­‐Profit Organizations

Editor’s Note: Visit the Web-­Exclusive section of International Journal of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy’s Online Resource Center (www.ijpryt.com) to view how words in the lexicon below have been incorporated into a proposal presented to a Washington DC-­based trade organization for a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy stress-­management program.

Many of us in our Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy community may realize from an experiential point of view the real importance of being happy, peaceful, well balanced, and healthy. Those in the corporate or non-­‐profit sectors may, however, experience dynamics of confusion when faced with these kinds of words.

It’s important for us to realize that the confusion doesn’t necessarily come from any lack of understanding of what these words mean on the part of the individual in the corporate or non-­‐profit world. Rather confusion may show up because of a translation problem.

What are the right words to use to translate Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy language into a language that those making spending decisions in a corporate or non-­‐profit environment can relate to? What words can we use to support clarity on the part of the people we’re communicating with so they can, in turn, justify spending money on our services, given their particular business environments?

Below is a mini lexicon to help with the translation process. Of course there are other word choices that can be found both for these examples as well as others that are not included below. But this mini lexicon will be a valuable starting point to support you as you begin to incorporate the skill of right languaging into your marketing and relationship-­‐building activities.

Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy

Corporate and Non-­‐Profit Organizations

1. Awareness

1. Focus

2. Alignment with truth

2. Productive potential

3. Low absenteeism; low attrition

3. Fulfillment or fulfilling

4. Happy

4. Good or high morale

5. Cohesiveness; unity; organization

6. Lessons learned; proactive

7. Inner peace; equanimity

7. Able to handle stress; composed;

thriving in the midst of change

5. Harmony

6. Integration or integrated

18

the business relationship Clear Intention Lays the Foundation

By Jaunie Federowicz and Elizabeth Wyatt

Often when we Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy professionals decide to hang our shingle and open a practice, we find that we’re going about the running of our practice all alone. We see clients and face the demands of running a business. In short, we do it all, and we do it all alone.

While this doing-­‐it-­‐all-­‐alone approach is one way of operating a professional practice, it can certainly have its drawbacks. Some of these drawbacks include experiences of frustration and practitioner burnout. Instead of taking the solitary approach, a supportive alternative is to take the time to cultivate healthy business relationships with others in our community. Developing these types of business relationships can be fulfilling and, at the same time, can help us avoid the frustration and burnout that often accompany the doing-­‐it-­‐all-­‐alone approach to operating a professional practice.

The First Step An important first step toward developing healthy business relationships is to get clear about intention and then to stay within that clarity as we take action to build our business relationships.

We simply need to understand that a healthy business relationship is essentially right relationship. Then we can easily see our intention: to create business relationships that mutually support our professional practice, the business or business professional we are in relationship with, as well as any potential clients or patients. When this intention of mutual support is honored, a certain synergy is created. This opens space for authentic communication and offers the opportunity to create and maintain healthy, fulfilling experiences for all parties.

A big part of right business relationship involves having clear boundaries. For example, when developing a referral partner relationship, we need to be particularly clear about roles, expectations, and client or patient referral procedures. This is basic.

It’s essential. And it’s easy. It would begin simply by our opening up a dialogue with our new or potential referral partner. By 19

having this type of conversation, we would be able to

4. What does a business relationship look like that aligns

communicate and discuss these elements in order to

itself with the philosophy of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy,

create real clarity on both parts. This would go a long

while respecting the core values of another practitioner?

way in supporting a right referral partner relationship.

Doing Our Own Homework Here are some good questions to explore to begin to gain clarity around right relationship and professional boundaries as they apply to our business relationships.

Responsible, professional business relationships can be a very supportive antidote to those periods of frustration, stress, and burnout that often show up when pursuing the going-­‐it-­‐all-­‐alone approach to a professional practice.

Professional business relationships can be mutually supportive to all involved. We need only to remember to

1. Specifically, what do we need to make a business

stay clear in our intention, reach out to professionals in

relationship supportive and robust?

our communities, and then welcome the healthy

2. What needs to be in place in order for the business

professional relationships that come into our life as a

relationship to be supportive to all parties?

result.

3. What are potential or actual stumbling blocks to

Visit www.ijpryt.com to listen to an interview with Jaunie

communication that need to be addressed?

Federowicz and Elizabeth Wyatt on business relationships.

Types of Business Relationships

Editor’s Note: We’ll be exploring each of the three types of business relationships presented below over the next several issues of International Journal of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. For this particular issue, we’re focusing on the referral partner relationship.

Business Partner Replationship. This type of business relationship usually requires the highest level of commitment and may even involve a written contract between the two parties. Usually the relationship involves mutual financial responsibilities and benefits for both parties. The partners can work together to create offerings of individual or combined services or packages. This is the type of relationship, for example, that would exist between a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy yoga teacher who co-­‐owns a yoga studio with an Ashtanga yoga teacher.

Referral Partner Relationship. This relationship usually requires much less commitment than the business partner relationship. As a result, there is rarely a formal contract; however, the parameters of the relationship still call for high ethical and professional standards and clear boundaries. An example would be a referral relationship between a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy practitioner and a naturopathic doctor. In such a referral relationship, there is usually a mutual referring of clients or patients to each other as either an extension of the original provider’s services or as a complementary service not offered by the original provider.

Strategic Partner Relationship. In this type of relationship, an organization usually needs a service provided to its clients, patients, or employees. This can be a one-­‐time experience or an ongoing relationship. Sometimes a brief contract is put in place between both parties, laying out terms and responsibilities of each. An example of a strategic partner relationship would be one that exists between a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy group facilitator and a cancer treatment center. Refer to Nick Beam’s article (“The Precious Gift”) in the Winter, 2012 issue of International Journal of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy to learn about the Phoenix Rising group work Camille Llewllyn brings to a cancer center in her area through a strategic partner relationship.

20

The Referral Partner Relationship Notes From the Real World Editor’s Note: The following comes from an interview

training can serve to build trust. For example, I have a

between Elizabeth Wyatt (a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy

background in healthcare and this supports my own

professional) and Dr. Lauren Gouin-­Young (a naturopath),

referral partner relationship with Dr. Gouin-­‐Young.

with whom Elizabeth has a referral partner relationship.

From Dr. Gouin-­‐Young’s perspective, she enjoys

This interview provides valuable insight from both parties

working with a Phoenix Rising practitioner who has a

about how to develop and maintain a fulfilling referral

healthcare background. “I feel that having some other

partner relationship.

connection to healthcare,” she explains, “offers insight to

some of the conditions my patients are facing.”

My introduction to Dr. Gouin-­‐Young came in the form

Having similar philosophies in each partner’s respective

of a client calling to say that her naturopath had referred

modality is another important aspect in cultivating a

her to me. I was pleased to receive the referral but was

healthy referral partner relationship. For example, Dr.

unfamiliar with Dr. Gouin-­‐Young. With curiosity and

Gouin-­‐Young recognizes and affirms the connection

gratitude for the referral, I called Dr. Gouin-­‐Young’s

between body, mind, and spirit and gives it a key role in

office. My intention was to thank her for the referral and

her patient protocol. Dr. Gouin-­‐Young adds, “For me,

offer her more information about Phoenix Rising, while

Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy is directly in line with my

exploring the possibility of a mutually supportive

goals of empowering my patients and teaching them to

referral partner relationship between the two of us. An

better connect with and listen to their bodies.”

invitation for an in-­‐person meeting resulted from this

This all leads to a synergy between our respective

call.

practices that truly can support her patients. “We have

For the meeting in Dr. Gouin-­‐Young’s office, I brought

separate practices but a mutual goal for our patients. Each

informational articles and business cards. I found that

of us is able to offer specific skills that together create a

she was well acquainted with Phoenix Rising Yoga

synergy for facilitating healing in our patients,” says Dr.

Therapy, having experienced Phoenix Rising sessions

Gouin-­‐Young.

herself. “How great is this,” I thought. “Someone who

Dr. Gouin-­‐Young cares for patients undergoing lab

understands the nature of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy

testing and treatments, which can often leave the patient

and who has received it, too.”

with residual trauma. She finds that her patients,

Often the biggest challenge comes in explaining

especially after traumatic surgery and invasive testing,

Phoenix Rising to a potential referral partner – educating

have often coped by disconnecting themselves from their

about what it is and what the benefits are. Many times I

bodies.

offer sessions to potential referral partners as a way of

Dr. Gouin-­‐Young makes referrals when “patients are

conveying the value of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. The

open to yoga, have a history of physical trauma from a

experience will speak for itself, often creating a fertile

health condition (i.e., breast cancer or surgery), and need

base for questions and answers around what Phoenix

help processing life experiences.”

Rising is and is not, and how their potential referrals

Our professional referral relationship works and

might benefit.

remains an excellent example of right relationship because

Presenting previous professional training or

we have a mutual trust for each other as well as respect

experience that is pertinent to the referral partner’s

born out of clear boundaries, open communication, and an

client or patient population in addition to Phoenix Rising

understanding of our respective modalities.

21

The Rock Bottom Accepting What Is

by Daniela Menardi

Hitting rock bottom is a phrase that describes an event that most of us either have experienced or will experience. It is a phrase that is also often associated with an addict’s downward spiral to the point where life is profoundly broken open. The experience is incredibly important, despite its accompanying pain and suffering.

Hitting rock bottom is a pivotal point on a steep, downward spiral that offers the potential to heal into a new life.

“ I am so grateful I am an alcoholic!”

while attempting to control their behaviors, to manage their

These words filled my office one morning with such

use of substances on their own. They bargain with themselves

profound joy. Sarah, the young woman facing me, let them ring and others in an ongoing battle between a need to be in charge

22

out, giving them space and silence enough to be able to bear

of their own lives and a powerful force that compels them to

witness to her life-­‐affirming journey. A journey that has led to

return over and over again to self-­‐destructive and harmful

an authentic living of life. A journey that has been filled with

choices.

struggle and growth and much learning how to love herself.

While friends and loved ones often helplessly look on, the

And a journey that started with hitting that painful place of

person overtaken by addiction continues to live in a distorted

rock bottom.

reality, fueled by delusion and falling ever more deeply into a

Unlike Sarah, many people with addiction may resent their

spiral of self-­‐destruction.

condition. They may be upset about being “different”, not

A rock-­‐bottom moment may provide a real opportunity for

being able to drink “normally” or play with substances

change. In such cases, a clear willingness emerges – a

recreationally. They may suffer devastating life consequences,

willingness to admit a powerlessness to control the addiction.

losses of friends and families, and much physical and

There is a willingness finally to admit, as the AA adage goes,

psychological pain. Most struggle with addiction for years, all

that “One (drink) is too many and a thousand never

A rock-­‐bottom moment may provide a real opportunity for change. In such cases, a clear willingness emerges – a willingness to admit a powerlessness to control the addiction.

enough.” This willingness can lead to a surrender and an

truly healthy relationship to one’s self and life. Many treatment

embrace of a process of change and recovery as the only

programs exist to support this recovery process, including in-­‐

authentic way out, the only way to live.

patient and out-­‐patient treatment facilities as well as a number

Although Sarah had suffered greatly and struggled for many

of 12-­‐step programs.

years of her life due to her relationship with alcohol, she

Hand-­‐in-­‐hand with one or a combination of the above-­‐

nonetheless arrived at the place of being grateful. From where

mentioned programs, which may also include working with a

she was in the recovery process, she recognized that her rock-­‐

licensed psychotherapist or addictions counselor, a person in

bottom experience had offered her two choices: acceptance

recovery may also benefit from working with a certified Phoenix

leading to life or denial possibly leading to death. She chose

Rising Yoga Therapy professional.

acceptance and the potential for a new relationship with

Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy is a complementary modality

herself. When Sarah finally stopped drinking, she was able to

that supports the recovering addict by providing opportunity

begin to live in a radically new way in order to re-­‐build her

and safe space not only to explore her current relationship with

shattered life.

herself but also to begin to discover a more authentically healthy

Acceptance and Recovery The process of recovery involves an intimate long-­‐term relationship with acceptance. It calls for acceptance of what is in order to create a healthier relationship with oneself and others. It invites a good dose of “selfishness” from the standpoint of focused self-­‐awareness in order to tend to one’s needs. It calls for acceptance that support is necessary to

way to be with herself and in the world around her. Over a number of Phoenix Rising sessions, a client often begins to experience herself in a more compassionate and accepting way.

For many people in active recovery, this opens the door to letting go of shame and guilt and their potentially crippling effects. The result is a clearer path to further acceptance, forgiveness, and life-­‐affirming change.

maintain a certain balance in life, so as not to slip into old

The Right Time

patterns of thinking and behaving. When entering this

Given that Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy supports a client in

relationship with acceptance, those with addictions enter a new

staying aware and present to what’s actually happening in

way of seeing themselves and the world. Recovery and

her body in the moment, an important question to explore is the

acceptance provide them with new life skills and healthier

when. When in the process of recovery might be the right time to

coping mechanisms. Acceptance allows them to begin a

begin Phoenix Rising sessions?

necessary journey of self-­‐discovery. This journey is a process of

Most substance abuse treatment programs recommend an

awakening that leads to being present to oneself and choosing

initial period of detox. This focuses on freeing the body from the

to be free from the veil of denial and intoxication.

effects of alcohol or drugs. Most treatment programs also

To many on the journey of recovery, the experience of

recommend that time early in the recovery process be dedicated

sobriety can be filled with profound changes. It is often an

to necessary adjustments associated with the innumerable

experience of coming home to one’s body and of developing a

physical and emotional changes happening in the bodymind.1

23

The entirety of a Phoenix Rising session is grounded in the safety of client-­‐centeredness.

The Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy training organization recommends that a person in active recovery be at least six months sober before considering Phoenix Rising as a complementary modality to their recovery program.

Phoenix Rising as a Next Step Two very important aspects of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy are integral to its application as a complementary modality in support of potential clients who may be in active recovery.

The Phoenix Rising concept of coaching the edge is used throughout the entirety of each session.2 During this process, a client is asked regularly to check in with her edge. Doing this provides the client opportunity to maintain awareness of when any experience may become too big either physically or non-­‐physically. When the client’s experience is too big or beyond the edge, the Phoenix Rising practitioner offers the client the opportunity to come out of the experience and correspondingly reduce or eliminate the edge.

How Phoenix Rising practitioners work with the edges of a client during a session brings to light the other essential aspect of the work: client-­‐centeredness. The entirety of each Phoenix Rising session is grounded in the safety of client-­‐centeredness. The practitioner stays focused on the client, often asking the client what’s happening in the moment, then building the session around the client’s in-­‐the-­‐moment experience. The result is that the client stays in control of each session.

The client also gains experiential knowledge that the Phoenix Rising practitioner shows up as a non-­‐judgmental presence, supporting the client as she explores all that moves into her awareness and as she discovers different patterns and insights about her life and relationships.

The process of self-­‐discovery and self-­‐acceptance, the insights and clarity that clients may receive during Phoenix Rising sessions, along with the spacious and safe environment created by the Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy professional, all provide the recovering addict with powerful support on the journey of recovery.

1. Motoi Hayashida, M.D., Sc.D., An Overview of Outpatient and Inpatient Detoxification, Alcohol Health & Research World, 22(1), 44-­‐46.

2. Coaching edge is a process that supports a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy client to find a place in a posture of sustainable sensation where underlying meanings can be explored through focused awareness.

To continue to provide safe, supportive client sessions for those in active recovery, it’s important for Phoenix Rising professionals to know and adhere to Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy’s protocol statement related to working with this particular population. We’ve presented this protocol statement below.

“Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy practitioners-­in-­training are encouraged to work within Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy’s scope of practice. From our experience we have found Phoenix Rising to be helpful for people in recovery from addiction with a minimum of six months sobriety. We recommend that our practitioners follow this suggested timeline.”

24

6&'#3&'7.&#+&0'82'4&.-29&'12/',',',' !"!"!"#$"$%&"'($)*+,"-+.+*/"0&1+*+*/"2)*#)&! in Bristol, Vermont. Our center is a green building—energy efficient and environmentally friendly—built with the intent of creating a space that fosters warmth, community and comfort for Phoenix Rising professional training programs. Phoenix Rising Training and Certification Programs offer certifications for multiple complementary career paths—as a Yoga Teacher leading therapeutic yoga classes, as a Practitioner or Therapeutic Mentor working one-on-one with yoga therapy clients or as a Facilitator of Yoga Therapy Groups.

Jen Munyer (Co-Director of Operations; Director of Programs - YTT) Kate Bentley (Co-Director of Operations and Director of Student Support) Beth Triano (Director of Programs - Level 3, GFT and Therapeutic Mentoring)

(&*&.':

An introduction to the principles and practice of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. Much of the learning is experiential, including how to apply techniques for assisting clients in yoga therapy postures.

(&*&.';

Focus is on dialogue techniques and refining skills learned in Level 1. You will have the opportunity to deepen your own growth through applied practice sessions.

(&*&.'<

The final and most comprehensive phase of training consists of nine months of part-time distance learning, as well as two 2-week intensives at the Phoenix Rising Center. This program provides professional experience, knowledge and the confidence needed to establish a career, as well as support through mentoring and observing oneself as a practitioner in training.

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Learn to confidently teach a therapeutic yoga class. Rather than teaching postures by demonstrating or adjusting students, learn to use language that cues the postures and invites self-inquiry, thereby allowing students to find their own formation and internal experience of each pose through their individual experience. You will also learn to create a spectrum of therapeutic yoga for your students ranging from a Hatha yoga class to a more structured nine-week series of progressive, thematic classes.

5 Mountain Street, PO Box 200, Bristol, VT 05443 s s WWW PRYT COM

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