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12/13/2025 7 Comments Sound as Synchronicity As a studio owner, one of the benefits of my role is the opportunity to take classes and participate in programs offered by the instructors and facilitators who share their gifts in the space I’ve cultivated for movement, healing, and personal and professional growth.
As a lifelong learner, this opens my eyes and my mind to new approaches and ways of knowing. I learn and grow intellectually, somatically, and spiritually. Instructors and facilitators introduce me to ideas and practices that send me down rabbit holes and into deep dives. They stoke my curiosity, and I willingly follow. I extend and expand, absorb and refine. What is offered at Spiral Studio makes me better—in my teaching, my leadership, my scholarship, and my life. I experience firsthand the benefits we offer our clients and community. * I am deeply aware of the privilege of having access to practices that help us move, breathe, connect, and transform. I try to pay that privilege forward in every way I can—from donating time, money, and space, to mentoring and collaboration, to program development, accessible pricing, and scholarships. I often say that what I offer at Spiral Studio is inseparable from my own path of healing, exploration, and growth—my ongoing mind/body/spirit development, my somatic evolution. I walk this path alongside those I teach and serve, both at Spiral Studio and in my work as a professor of transdisciplinary cultural studies. This work is deeply rewarding. And sometimes, it comes at a cost. When I first opened the studio, I was both principled and naïve. I had a clear vision, but not the financial capacity—or the time—to fully build what I imagined. Some of the people who began teaching and supporting the business were invited by me; others simply found their way in. In many ways, I was lucky. Talented, caring, generous instructors and facilitators found Spiral Studio, and together we grew and flourished. With support, we kept going—building the plane as we were flying it, as one trusted member of my leadership team once said. Over time, I found firmer footing. I leaned more fully into the core values my business coach helped me articulate. I placed deep trust in my team and continued pushing toward a humble definition of success: breaking even, financially, with the distant hope that one day I might actually pay myself for my work. That was never my primary goal. It wasn’t even close. It was simply the external pressure—the dominant narrative of what it means to be “successful” in business. For me, other measures matter more. The quality of what we offer at Spiral Studio—grounded, authentic, innovative embodied practices offered with integrity and humility—matters far more than financial stability. * Because I am someone who tends to give, and give, and give—often beyond my own capacity—the opportunity to receive what is offered at Spiral Studio is a necessity. This is something my friends, students, and clients remind me of often. And yet, it remains challenging to carve out time just for myself. Our clients struggle with this, too, so it makes sense that I would as well. Since 2025 has been a year of struggle in many ways, I have been intentionally making more space to receive what we offer at Spiral Studio. In that process, I’ve discovered that I genuinely enjoy Yin Yoga. I’ve also found myself increasingly drawn to the transformative potential of sound. I've started to learn more through self-study, but some things aren't fully understood until they are experienced, embodied. * At Lexi’s first biweekly sound bath, I experienced sound in a way I had not expected—clean, clear, grounded, and without pretense. When I returned a few days later for her deeper-dive mini-retreat, something entirely unexpected cracked open. These experiences can be difficult to explain. Almost immediately, as her Rest, Restore, Renew sound bath began, I felt my heart space open and expand. Through her framing and guidance—through both her words and the resonance of the crystal bowls—I experienced what I now understand, through study and practice, to be a common response to sound healing. As Vickie Gould of Life Changing Energy describes it, I felt “a sudden shift in perspective on life or a particular situation.” I wasn’t alone. Lexi guided us with intention, humility, and care, weaving sound and language aligned with the chakra energy centers. She held the space with grace—fully present, not above us or apart from us, but with us. What I experienced was authenticity, vulnerability, and honesty; passion and compassion; responsiveness and presence; creativity, open-heartedness, open-mindedness, and a genuine desire to learn and grow. During our post-bath sharing, I was struck by how often the words and insights that arose for me were echoed by others in the room. We had received something collective as well as personal. Later, at home, that shift continued to unfold—into personal insights, a sense of being “in the zone,” renewed energy, and motivation. What followed could only be described as a spontaneous healing experience. (Again, benefits that Gould notes come along with sound healing.) Through journaling and expressive arts, connections emerged that had been waiting to be made. Insights that had felt clouded came into focus. Emotions and energy that had been stuck began to move. I found a clarity and peace that had eluded me—and experienced a significant breakthrough on my path of healing, growth, and self-compassion. * What we offer at Spiral Studio is powerful. It meets us where we are—and takes us where we need to go. We move stuck energy and trauma out of the body. We breathe into new possibilities. We reconnect with parts of ourselves we’ve forgotten. We transform how we show up—for ourselves and for one another. While these shifts can feel spontaneous, they are built on a foundation of choice and commitment: the decision to show up, to do the work, and to become more fully ourselves. We don’t do this work alone. We can’t do this work alone. Come as you are. Move as you need. You may be surprised by what emerges.
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 For some, summertime means a break from the grind—vacations, outdoor adventures, hot lazy days. Here in Maine, we’re constantly reminded of our “Vacationland” identity.
But for me, summer has always been a tricky season. A break in routine often feels more like disruption. Instead of rest, I dive into passion projects I’ve set aside during the school year—projects that are really just another form of work. Add in the draining heat, and I often find myself longing for the quiet darkness of winter, when my introvert side can thrive. By August, I’m usually panicking about all the things I didn’t get done, alongside everything I need to prepare for the semester. This summer was no different—except that the new AC took the edge off the heat. But then the grind came to a screeching halt. Working too hard, pushing too hard, I broke down—and in that breakdown found a breakthrough. The lesson was one I’ve had to spiral back to again and again: I need to take breaks, and I need to give myself a break (literally and figuratively) more often. You may remember my July blog, “On Softening, Striving, and Coming Back to the Why.” Writing that was just the beginning. The real work—the hard work—was what came after. Because the truth is: I don’t have a problem with working hard. I love my work. But I do have a problem with pushing too hard. And I do have a problem with being far too hard on myself. Despite my best intentions, my old patterns as a recovering overachiever and perfectionist slip back in. Sometimes I don’t notice until I’m already in the thick of them. Sometimes I notice, but I keep going anyway. This is part of how our brains work. This summer, I learned more about the default mode network (DMN) through a yoga training. The DMN is what helps us brush our teeth, do our chores, and move through daily life without relearning tasks every day. It conserves energy so we can focus on bigger things. But the DMN also reinforces old patterns—thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors that no longer serve us. It’s the negative voice that says you’re not enough (or, in my case, that I’m too much). It’s the reason we repeat habits long past their usefulness, or why we re-watch shows even though we know how they end. Under stress or trauma, the DMN gets even louder. So when I was pushing too hard, burning out, and berating myself for not being “enough,” my brain doubled down. Push harder. Keep going. Ignore the alarm bells. Stay stuck in the loop. And I pushed myself straight into a hole. The good news is: I didn’t stay there. Thanks to compassionate friends, coworkers, and finally making myself find a new therapist, I had the support I needed to climb back out. With that support, I found clarity—about myself, about my patterns, about what I actually need. That doesn’t mean the process is over. Even with new insights, I slipped. An old injury flared. Covid knocked me down again. The cycle is still here—but now, I’m meeting it with more presence and more compassion. I am aiming to find presence when the pressure builds. To find flow when the stuckness sets in. To work from inspiration instead of desperation. This is the spirit of healing we embrace at Spiral Studio: the practice of coming back to ourselves again and again. (Not coincidentally, this is also the work of meditation.) We come back to center so that we can keep doing the work that matters most. That’s why I spiral inward—to move, breathe, and remember that my work is a gift to myself as much as it is to those I serve. I connect to myself. I connect to others. I connect to big ideas. And from that place of connection, I can transform. To spiral in. To spiral out. Always upward, always rooted in courage and love.  Sometimes we push so hard—toward excellence, toward growth, toward getting it “right”—because we’ve been taught that pressure is the only path forward. That perfection is the goal. That holding it all together is the only way to succeed.
And in that hustle, we lose track of why we started. Like a business. The grind culture we live in—patriarchal, capitalist, white supremacist—is loud. Its messages sneak in even when we don’t consciously believe them. Even when we know better. And still, they shape how we measure our worth. How we hold ourselves. How we move. Sometimes we push so hard, we forget what it feels like to flow. We forget to soften. And then we beat ourselves up for not practicing the very things we preach. We share words about rest, embodiment, and letting go—while gripping tightly to the edges of our own unraveling. I say we because I know I’m not alone. But right now, I’m writing about me. I’m reminding myself: It’s okay to cry. To break down. To not know. To ask for help—and to receive it. To remember. To imagine. To shift, change, and course-correct. I have to give myself that permission. Because if I can’t soften into a new way of being, how can I expect anyone to trust me to hold space for them to do the same? I don’t lead because I have it all figured out. I lead because I’m walking this path with the people I serve. I teach, facilitate, and create—not from a place of mastery, but from a place of humility, practice, and love. Still, I carry the exhaustion. The ache. The self-doubt. The old stories. The trauma. I tuck it down instead of letting it rise, breathe, and move through me. I push forward when I most need to pause. I strive hardest when I’m nearing burnout. I cling to the vision when I should be leaning into support. But here’s the truth I’m learning: In building Spiral Studio, I’ve also built a space for myself. A community that lifts me up while holding me accountable. A container for healing that includes me. This space reminds me to practice what I offer. To receive what I so freely give. To stop just holding it all—and be held. Because yes, I created Spiral Studio to serve others. But I also created it for myself. I’m part of this community. And I deserve to be nourished by it, too. So, as I continue to do the work, here’s your invitation: Take a breath. Loosen your grip. Let something soften. You don’t have to earn your rest. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to begin—right where you are. ✨ Come as you are. Be real. Be rooted. Move—and be moved.  We’re excited to share something that’s been quietly unfolding behind the scenes… 🌿
Our movement space—the one where you’ve danced, stretched, grounded, released, and reclaimed—has a new name: Spiral Studio. This isn’t just a rebrand. It’s a reflection of what this space has become: a bold, welcoming home for joyful, healing movement. Spiral Studio is where we begin—with the body, with breath, with presence. It's where movement becomes medicine, and where community meets you exactly as you are. But rest assured, the Spiral Goddess Collective isn’t going anywhere. It remains our deep root system—the values-driven foundation that nurtures everything we do. Spiral Goddess Collective is the heartbeat behind our mission: to center healing justice, radical embodiment, and social change. In simple terms: ✨ Spiral Studio is the doorway. Movement-based, accessible, and energizing. 🔥 Spiral Goddess Collective is the foundation. Visionary, value-driven, and transformational. This shift lets us grow more clearly and sustainably—while keeping our vision intact. You’ll start to see the Spiral Studio name on class schedules, updates, and our website but everything you love remains: the heart-led classes, inclusive practices, and commitment to radical care. This is a slow unfolding and a rejuvenated vision for our space and community. Thanks for being part of this spiral with us. We can't wait to move into this next chapter with you. With gratitude and excitement, Sarah Founder, Spiral Goddess Collective Instructor and Facilitator at Spiral Studio  In my book, Demystifying American Yoga: Embodied Movement for Individual and Collective Transformation, I explore what it means to practice Queer Yoga—powerful, heart-led movement and breath rooted in visibility, healing, and resistance.
One of my greatest influences is Jacoby Ballard, author of A Queer Dharma: Yoga and Meditations for Liberation. Ballard writes, “Society is constantly telling queer and trans people that we shouldn’t exist, through overt and subversive forms of oppression.” That messaging doesn’t just live in the headlines—it settles into our bodies. Even here in Bangor, where we’re held by a supportive community, we’re not untouched by the cultural forces that attempt to shrink or silence queer and trans expression. Queer Yoga offers something radically different: a space to come home to your body, your truth, and your joy. What Is Queer Yoga, Really? There’s no single definition--and that’s the point. Queer Yoga, as I teach it, is infused with my own lived experience: my identity, the symbols and stories that resonate with me, the femme power that grounds my movement. Every Queer Yoga teacher brings their own fire, but at its heart, Queer Yoga is:
Why Trauma-Informed Yoga Matters Ballard reminds us, “Trauma lives in the body, and through embodiment practices those stories can be unlocked.” Queer, trans, and non-binary folks often carry layers of trauma—from rejection, from systemic harm, from the daily micro-injuries of living in a world that wasn't built for us. We don’t just need affirming ideas—we need embodied practices that help us shake loose what’s been held too long. Movement is how we transmute pain into power. It’s how we break cycles of harm, not just in society, but within our own nervous systems. Activism, art, and education are essential. But if we’re not healing the body? We’re leaving part of ourselves behind. The Power of Queer Embodiment As Ballard puts it, yoga connects us to “our growth, pain, and resilience.” It’s a spiral inward and outward—a path that helps us release shame, soften our shields, and reconnect with our human capacity to thrive. Queer Yoga isn’t a performance. It’s a reclamation. Of gender. Of community. Of pleasure, rage, softness, strength. Of the full spectrum of who we are. That’s what we practice at Spiral Studio. Why Femme? Why Now? My class weaves Ballard’s wisdom with a deep celebration of the femme side of the queer spectrum—because that’s where I’ve found my deepest healing. Through the work of building the Spiral Goddess Collective, I’ve learned to honor my softness, my fluidity, my intuitive knowing. This practice is rooted in what author Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore calls “the radical potential to choose one’s gender and one’s sexual and social identities... to create a culture on our terms.” That’s the culture we’re creating at Spiral Studio. A space for authenticity. For courage. For coming home to yourself. Pride at Spiral Studio Join us in celebration, in movement, in community. This Pride season, we’re holding space for all the layers of what it means to be queer—grief and joy, rage and softness, pride and power. 🌀 Queer Yoga — May 22, 7:00–8:15 PM A healing and affirming space for movement, stillness, expression, and connection. 🌀 Generations of Pride Dance & Fundraiser for Bangor Pride — May 31, 7:00–9:00 PM Dance, release, and raise funds for queer joy and community power. 🌀 Bangor Pride Festival — June 29 Visit us at our Spiral Studio table or come to our studio space on the 4th floor of 16 State Street for a quiet, welcoming refuge. Come as you are. Move as you need. Be held, seen, and celebrated. This is Queer Yoga. This is Spiral Studio. This is liberation in motion.  Recently I was named an expert in a Rent. article. Check out the featured article: How To Create a Peaceful Home | Rent.
This article provides a variety of thoughtful suggestions to help create a calming ambiance, achieve tranquility with visual elements and music, maintain your space’s energy, make an altar, utilize calming scents, avoid sensory distractions, incorporate natural fibers, prioritize comfort and self-care items, add personal or inspirational items, and more. It is wonderful to have a space to call your own and to shape to your needs, and even shared spaces can be shaped to your needs. But reading this article also reminded me how important our space is at The Spiral Goddess Collective. In fact, we only exist because of this space in the Clark Building at 16 State Street in Downtown Bangor. Before I discovered this space and grew SGC here, I taught dance, yoga, and embodied movement practices in all kinds of spaces (I still do). I taught high-octane fitness classes at the Bangor Region YMCA, free yoga classes on the UMA-Bangor campus and via Zoom, and I taught many other practices that I have further developed since opening SGC in 2022. And we have grown because of our amazing, talented curators and teachers who have expanded our offerings. Our offerings—weekly classes, workshops, and retreats—are unique and empowering. And they are even more impactful because of our space. The Spiral Goddess Collective space—our Spiral Studio—is a sanctuary, a haven a home away from home, a community center, a safe space, a brave space. It is a space to connect with yourself and to connect with other people in our community. And it is a space to connect with ideas that are bigger than we are—all of the knows and unknowns of our universe, all of the richness of our world. As I read this Rent. article, I was struck by how many suggestions are elements of our Spiral Studio. The plants help breathe life into us as we move our bodies and minds. The soothing sounds from our stereo or from Sen’s sound healing instruments create a calm atmosphere for rejuvenation. (Or the eclectic music in our dance classes that provide motivation to leave it all on the dancefloor!) The art—on the walls, in our oracle deck collection, and in the sacred objects—inspire introspection and conversation. Many of the objects hold special significance for me—my grandmother’s tea set and my mother’s paintings, for instance. Our bolsters, blankets, blocks, and other tools (like our Neuro Balls!) help us to take care of ourselves and each other. Our healthy snacks, teas, and treats—the very popular ginger chews and Andes mints—provide sustenance and joy. The natural light on sunny days, the fading and shifting light in the evenings, and the colored lights that fill the space in the darkness provide a variety of seasonal sensory experiences depending upon the time of day and the time of year. And all year long, the view of downtown Bangor and the Kenduskeag River remind us of our shared past, our present moment, and our hope for the future. Our Spiral Studio includes so many peaceful elements and an array of colorful inspiration. It is truly a space like no other. It is a space for movement, for connection to ourselves and others, for community building, for resourcing ourselves and supporting causes like Bangor Pride, mental health awareness, and healing and recovery that meets you where you are. I think we have created the perfect home away from home—the third space where you set aside work and embrace play, finding joy and comradery, peace and presence, well-being and balance. When you climb the four flights of stairs, the sanctuary that greets you is worth the effort. It kind of feels like home. 3/15/2025 9 Comments Yoga Is…(busting some myths that keep us from investing in our self-care and wellbeing) One of the reasons that I wrote Demystifying American Yoga is an attempt to make yoga more accessible amidst a sea of flashy promises, inaccessible images, and dangerous myths.
Pretty much every yoga teacher has heard the myths and excuses people make about why they can’t do yoga: I’m not flexible, it’s too slow (or too boring), I don’t have time, it’s too expensive—and many more reasons that I explore in my book. Because there are many different kinds of yoga—many different approaches, different practices, different goals—yoga’s diversity quickly squashes pretty much any excuse. But, we have to find the right kind of yoga, and that’s often the hardest part. It’s easy to make excuses and sometimes these excuses reveal what’s under the surface, which are even better reasons to try yoga. Here are some of the most common excuses: I’m not flexible—while flexibility is not a requirement for yoga, this excuse reveals more mental inflexibility than physical. Yoga can help foster both of these kinds of flexibility. it’s too slow (or too boring)—I took Imke’s Vinyasa Flow Yoga class after not doing this style of yoga for a long time and it was neither slow nor boring! But this excuse also reveals our inability to be in stillness, to be with ourselves without all of the distractions that our culture provides. Yoga helps us cultivate a relationship with our self and when we slow down, we help to renew and rejuvenate our mind/body/spirit. We can choose a slow flow, like my Spiral Flow Yoga, or we can choose a yoga workout—both bring a variety of benefits. And there's so much more to discover at Spiral Goddess, and beyond! I don’t have time—this is not untrue for many of us. We are expected to always be on the go, to be productive, to not waste time on things that don’t have an immediate, measurable impact. We spend time doing things for other people, sacrificing time for ourselves. But yoga doesn’t have to take a lot of time and when we make time for ourselves to practice yoga, we might find that our ideas about time, our perceptions of time, and our priorities of our time shift. We might find that we make better use of our time and enjoy our time more. It’s too expensive—again, not untrue. Some yoga is very expensive, perpetuating many other myths about who belongs in a yoga studio. But there are many affordable outlets for yoga, including online videos and other resources. And at The Spiral Goddess Collective we offer Accessible Pricing options as well as scholarships. So, here, yoga is not too expensive. However, this excuse also reveals the edge of what we value—what we choose to spend our money on speaks to what we value in ourselves and in our world. When we choose to invest in ourselves by buying (and attending!) yoga classes, we reap many rewards in the short and long term. When we practice regularly--on and off the mat, in and out of the studio--the benefits are even more profound and impactful. When you choose to invest in classes and workshops at The Spiral Goddess Collective, you are also investing in your community and providing the opportunity for others to benefit from yoga as well. Strength, flexibility, balance, emotional regulation, pain management, better sleep, a nervous system reset, better circulation, authenticity and so many more benefits can be found through a regular yoga practice. If you aren’t sure where to begin, just reach out and we’ll help you find the kind of yoga that will inspire you to keep investing in your self-care and wellbeing.  Stepping into a new space and/or a new activity is scary, stepping into a new life—a new version of you—is seemingly impossible. Until it’s not.
We are each on our own healing journey, and to heal—and thrive—we need to be with ourselves. But lasting, transformative healing is bolstered, supported, and sustained by, and in, community. On my own journey, as an introvert, and from amidst a sea of shame and fear, the need to ask for help and the need to connect to a community felt impossible. It was difficult to face the truth that connections with other people are key to healing, let alone embrace this fact. What I have learned about trauma and healing is that we have to move our bodies and learn practical tools for emotional regulation. And we need to participate in mind/body, somatic, embodied practices consistently—yoga and dance are the most impactful practices for me. There is no magical pill or one and done miracles; there is only hard work. And it’s worth it. While there are many approaches to healing, to movement, to embodiment—the practices that we offer at The Spiral Goddess Collective are thoughtfully designed and curated toward sustaining healing and transformation. Our community—and the classes and workshops that we offer—welcome each individual just as they are, providing tools and resources and a brave space for exploration. But you have to be willing to take that leap... * I survived for decades using yoga and dance as a way to mitigate my trauma and attempt to stay sane, but it wasn’t until I started to better understand trauma and embodiment that I was able to actually start to heal and transform—to stop using these practices as a way to avoid myself and to use them as a way to connect to myself. The way I practiced and taught dance and yoga transformed as well. Talk therapy helped and daily yoga and dance practices helped, but JourneyDance was a game changer in so many ways. Training to be a JourneyDance facilitator was something that I did for myself, but now it is something that I am driven to share with others, especially those who don’t know that they need this kind of medicine or those who fear what embodiment might bring. We need practices designed to help us ground, center, explore, and release. We need a brave container and a supportive community—space and support. And we need consistency. We need to return to the dance floor or the yoga mat (or, ideally, both!) over and over again. We return to ourselves again and again, finding love and compassion for ourselves. And each time we do, we not only experience the benefits of these somatic, embodied practices, we also build resilience, access joy, flex our muscle memory, and create new pathways in our brains. We become mentally and physically stronger, more embodied, more self-regulated, and more able to respond rather than react to the stress in our lives and the chaos in our world. The path toward healing and transformation is long and winding. There is no magical destination, but there is comfort and ease and a better quality of life. So, if you are standing at the edge of the precipice—frozen and frazzled and fearful and insecure, numbing your senses (with alcohol or drugs or social media scrolling or shopping or whatever) because you don’t know what else to do (and because this is the norm of our culture)—maybe it’s time to take that leap. It feels impossible, but once we do, we find that it’s just what we didn’t know we were looking for.  I’ve been an “entrepreneur” and “small business owner” for over two years now, and from the beginning I have treated both of these terms like dirty words. I have proclaimed how very bad at business I am, and I when I signed the lease for my third year in business I wondered if this might be the last year that I could maintain the time, energy, and financial support that has sustained The Spiral Goddess Collective. I don’t give up easily, but fear and doubt are insidious feelings.
And then I met Christine Hakkola of Hakkola Horizons and I began to shift how I see my business and the role that I have played in imagining, creating, and sustaining this business. As I described how I came to open The Spiral Goddess Collective and what I am trying to achieve, she immediately understood and echoed back to me that I am running a heart-centered business. I had heard the term, but I had not really stopped to think about what it meant—and, more so, that there was a category of business that fit what I was struggling to conceptualize and sustain every single day. With Christine’s heart-centered business recognition in the back of my head, a few days later I turned to my oracle cards for clarity and guidance. (Check out my past blog about the "woo-woo" I discovered through my JourneyDance training. And check out our vast collection of oracle and tarot cards!) When I first drew the Desire and Devotion cards from The Awakened Soul oracle deck, I was struck by their romantic and sexual overtones. After all, I had asked what I needed to keep in mind as I take the next steps on my business journey. Two people locked in an embrace and two ballet dancers locked in a dance were not exactly what I expected. But one of the things I love best about oracle cards is that the meaning is always more than the surface appearance. And, in this case, the two cards that I drew—that were stuck together and fell out of the deck and into my lap—could not be more accurate to the juncture where I found myself in need of insight and guidance. And these two oracle cards—Desire and Devotion—also echoed this heart-centered understanding.* ~ Desire—passion, fire, connection, motivation Desire is the driving and motivating factor that helps us complete creative work and bring new things to life. What is important is the “why” of the work we do. On this particular card, two individuals’ passions are aligned with a desire for connection, success, and feeling that spirals upward. If you feel it in your body, the card proclaims, you can create it in your life. The Spiral Goddess Collective emerged from an embodied vision and the why has always been embedded in passion and fire: because I can’t not follow this dream of bringing embodied movement and opportunities for healing and transformation to my community. And the shadow meaning—abandoning dreams & goals—is exactly what I had been grappling with. Desire is further clarified through Devotion—discipline, commitment, loyalty, and support. It is no surprise that this card features two ballet dancers who have been devoted to their art (a field where success is found when completely committed), working together and separately with open hearts. While dance is something very different to me—embodied, empowered, transformative movement—I am just as devoted to my art. The card description reminds us that when we devote ourselves to something—when we allow ourselves permission to do what we love and what we need to do—it often takes more work and commitment than we thought it would. Heard. It’s exhausting and overwhelming to keep stoking that fire. More importantly, I need to remember how much loyalty and support I have found trough The Spiral Goddess Collective Community. My commitment to this dream isn’t only a commitment to myself. Here, the shadow meaning of the card comes into play: giving up when things get hard, letting people down, not following your purpose. Devotion is living a passionate life, being who you really are and shining fully in the world. And the kicker: Don’t be afraid to allow others to see what you are capable of. This is certainly a fear I struggle with as I often downplay my success and all that I have achieved—in my head and in my interactions with the world. ~ As I read and pondered these two cards, once again, the synchronicities on this path are difficult to deny. I have always been driven by desire and devotion, even if I have not used these two words to describe my dreams and ambitions. (Ambition has also been one of those dirty business words.) I often describe this drive and ambition as “positive obsession” (a concept that comes from Octavia Butler). I have often wondered where my energy, commitment, and discipline come from. I have experienced fear when I have shown my light too brightly. I have doubted and dimmed and dumbed myself down. I have refused to give up and have worried about letting people down, especially those who believe in me and who have supported me in this Collective dream. So, message received. Rather than abandon my dreams, giving up when things get hard, letting myself and others down, and not following my purpose, I have to recommit to myself by investing in my business, which is also investing in myself. I need coaching. I need someone who can help to guide me along my path, who understands my goals and dreams and is just as devoted to her art as I am to mine. I am grateful that my path has led me to Hakkola Horizons and I am excited to discover where this heart-centered journey of desire and devotion will take me—but not just me, the entire Spiral Goddess Collective Community... and beyond! *I paraphrase from these cards though some of these phrases should definitely be in quote marks! 10/18/2024 2 Comments Embodying Our Mission and Visionpart three in a three-part anniversary blog series At our 2-year anniversary, as we take stock of where we’ve been, we are also looking toward the future and thinking about what we want The Spiral Goddess Collective to be. We have grown enough that we can begin to shape our offerings—especially our events, workshops, and projects—around the central tenants of embodiment, movement, connection, empowerment, and transformation.
We want everything that we offer, from meditation to dance to yoga to events—everything that we put our time and our hearts, minds, and bodies into—the be centered around embodiment. Embodiment connects our mind, body, heart, and spirit. It allows us to feel and perceive with all of our senses. It requires us to pause, to slow down, to experience our whole body and whole being. It helps us to live more authentically. In our culture, it is not easy to be in our bodies. So much in our lives keeps us disconnected from ourselves, separated from each other, and chasing myths. We live in our heads, and on our devices, sometimes forgetting that we even have a body, except when it inconveniences us, or when it is a body devalued and devoured by our systems and structures, or when we don’t have the resources or support to live fully in our bodies. To be embodied is to live fully and freely and it is not easy. Like anything else—healing, learning, connecting—embodiment is a non-linear process. The embodied practices that we offer are somatic—they encourage us to embrace our wholeness as well as our interconnectedness. We focus on the process and the present moment, not the desired end result. We focus on how we feel, not how we look. While any activity can be done mindfully, in embodied ways, with somatic approaches, what we offer are mind/body practices that help us to be more mindful, embodied, and somatic in everything we do. We offer a safe and supportive space, a beautiful space with a view—a sanctuary for our practice. We encourage embodied, somatic movement because we all move too little. We sit and work. We sit and play. We sit and rest. We sit and we don’t move our bodies enough. And when we do move, we often do so in ways that punish our bodies. We want to encourage freedom of movement, joy in movement, pleasure in movement—movement for mind, body, and spirit. Move and Be Moved! We encourage authentic connections to ourselves and to others. We spiral in to know ourselves better and we spiral out to connect with our community. Many of us are introverts. We come to SGC because it is a safe space to be ourselves and engage with others in a space that is held and curated for both introspection and interaction. We empower people to replace old stories and old patterns, old ways of thinking and being, with new stories, new patterns, new ideas, new movements of the mind and body. We want to tap into our power to heal ourselves and to live more fully and more authentically. We want to remind ourselves that we are powerful beings in so many ways. And we transform ourselves to transform the world. We want to embrace change, to roll with it, to find new opportunities to move and breathe and learn and grow. |
CategoriesAll Academia American Fitness Art Business Care Work Careworkers Community Creativity Cultural Politics Embodiment Fitness Healing Language Mind/body Pride Queer Self Care Self-care Social Justice Space Transformation Trauma Women And Fitness Yoga Archives
August 2025
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