Root & bloom
What Is It Exactly?
Since launched in the Autumn of 2017, Root & Bloom has been & remains my heart project… a vessel into which I pour that which has been shared with me in kindness & that which I’ve discovered along the way… the practices, insights & tools which have been most essential and transformational on my path. This offering has taken the form of a 3 month long program- aligned with the turning of the wheel of the year - each session spanning a season.
In Brief
The 27th season of Root & Bloom will launch on Spring Equinox (19 March) and all season long (up until Summer Solstice in June) you’ll receive doses of love in your inbox on the weekly- recordings of guided meditations & small doses of inspiration in audio, video & written form… and the opportunity to join in community for a Sacred Circle Sit
Background & Inspiration
When I first began studying mantra and receiving instruction from my teacher, Mala I was struck by how fortunate I was-- she had spent years traveling the world at the feet of great Teachers and countless hours studying, training and singing. She culled all of these gems of wisdom from this vast ocean, and cupped her hands and offered them up to me. I was amazed by the way one specific vocal exercise or a comment she made in passing completely transformed my voice and perspective. Mala is one of many teachers who have shared so generously of the body of their life’s work in kindness alone. I’ve been blessed to encounter so many Teachers on my path- Mother Earth, my parents, my son, yogis & yoginis, Buddhist teachers, ayurvedic practitioners, shamanic guides, and others… ultimately, life itself.
When I first came to yoga- I came to asana. I came home to my body and began to tap into a spaciousness and peace and an ease, a strength that was transformational. As I came home to myself, I felt compelled to dig deeper into the wisdom of the teachings and I became more curious about the other 7 limbs of this 8 limb practice than I was about learning how to wrap my leg around my neck (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I dug deeper. Understanding and embodying the ethical precepts for living a yogic life (the yamas and niyamas) became a day to day moment to moment practice of awakening to who I was being and how I was moving in the world- tracking them became a key for me to living with greater integrity- one that I value to this day.
The dual winged teachings of wisdom and compassion and an understanding of karma and emptiness from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition fundamentally altered how I perceived and interacted with the world- and continues to do so. Breath and compassion based meditation practices have helped increase my capacity for presence with all that arises, evolves and dissolves along the way. These practices continue to root me.
Ayurveda (the sister life science of yoga) empowered me with a deeper understanding of dietary and lifestyle choices I could make to help me find balance within and with the energies of each season. Acknowledging the lunar cycles continues to inform and serve me- daily.
The energetic resonance of mantras and mudras have opened my heart. I have spent the better part of the past 20 years applying the wisdom of the various traditions I’ve studied- not just on the yoga mat- but in my actual life.
As such, in this program- I share these things with you. This program is intended to provide you with guidance, tools & resources to help you meditate with consistency, live with integrity & thrive-- to both root & bloom. In it, I will share what have been the most grounding, healing, insightful and transformational aspects of practice for me - through the art of sadhana + svadhyaya… sadha what & svadhy huh?
Sadhana + Svadhyaya
Yoga for Living with Deep Peace, a Clear Mind & an Open Heart
Sādhanā// साधन
the tools you use to help clarify, achieve and live in alignment with your true purpose / an ego transcending spiritual practice that facilitates liberation / a personalized discipline which roots you in what is most essential
Svādhyāya // स्वाध्याय
self study for Self realization / the fourth of the niyamas (guidelines for living an ethical life) elucidated in Pantanjali’s Yoga Sutras / the essential practice for more consciously participating in the co*creation of your life / the key to all of it
This experience is designed to serve you in creating and supporting a home and life based sadhana and as fuel for your svadhyaya.
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The Invitation
And so it is, I invite you to join me… to join us… for the Winter Season of Root & Bloom. Carve out the time and space at long last to take good and gentle care of you. Let me help you create and sustain a daily practice of meditation and share ways of helping you get grounded, find spaciousness and move with greater ease. We begin with Winter Solstice. I’ll be recording and sharing something special for you to immerse in at a time that works for you the evening of & you’ll have the option of joining us via zoom for a special sunrise sit the next morning. So too, you’ll receive a document with lifestyle advices rooted in the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda to support you in the transition to Winter… to help you live in greater harmony with the season and yourself. Beginning with the New Year, we’ll journey our way, week by week through the chakras with reflections, inquiries & practices to help deepen your own understanding while clearing blockages, restoring flow & balance, energetically (& otherwise) though the whole of your system.
As Part of This Experience, You Will Receive…
GUIDED MEDITATIONS & MANTRAS
>>>Offered with Love Every Sunday
Each and every Sunday of the season, you’ll receive audio recordings of guided practices for you to sit with whenever it works best for you. You’ll experience various styles of meditation and discover a number of tools for your meditation kit (pranayama, mudras/mudra flows, yoga nidra, etc) Throughout the season, you’ll also have the opportunity to work over an extended period with mantras that are shared. Want to check out a meditation? CLICK HERE.
>>>Weekly Zoom ::: Sacred Circle Sits ::: Friday 7am EST (+1 TBD)
You have an open invitation to join us via Zoom as part of our Sacred Circle Sits ::: Friday 7-7:30 am EST. Together we sit hip to hip, knee to knee, shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart and benefit from being held in the embrace of compassionate community & loving awareness.
WEEKLY SELF STUDY :: SOFT FOCUS
"Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.”- Thich Nhat Hanh
Each week for the duration of the season, I will send along a message, containing a soft focus for self study. You will be asked to observe your thoughts, words and actions as they pertain to this focus. As we shine the light of awareness on who we are and how we are being, we begin to see ourselves and the situations we find ourselves in in a new light. In the grace of that light, we are given the opportunity to make better choices and create new neural pathways, new habits and new patterns that serve us and the greater good. This field of awareness is where freedom is found, change is created and we can begin to consciously create our lives from the level of cause. We follow a progression throughout the cycle of the year:::
In AUTUMN we’ll be focusing on AHIMSA- primarily on Kindness, the first of the Yamas and the Niyamas- the ethical precepts of living a yogic life. In so doing we will practice the art of living in greater integrity, harmony and peace in our lives.
In WINTER, we move chakra by chakra through the system - restoring balance- and explore the koshas (energetic layers of the body).
In SPRING, we’ve traditionally made our way from the subtle body into how we are walking in this world- exploring the workings of karma and insights to help us in doing so aligned with our greatest good and the greatest good of the whole. For the 2024 season, we’ll be keeping things simple, I’ll be sharing small doses of inspiration in audio, video and written form, inspired by life,
In SUMMER, we take it a bit easy and I share, as I am intuitively guided and inspired… we’ll center on and a weekly drawing of Oracle Card(s) for the Collective heart*space & an emphasis on living the practice.
Support ATTUNING TO & ALIGNING WITH THE SEASONAL & LUNAR RHYTHMS
Each season we begin with a session honoring the turning of the wheel of the year and lifestyle advices from Ayurveda are shared to help you find ways of restoring balance & vitality to the system in the shift of seasons. Just as we are affected by the shifting seasons, we are affected by the waxing and waning of the moon. Tracking the moon and beginning to live in harmony with it’s cycle changed me. I will share insights on the lunar cycle and meditations aligned with each New & Full Moon.
REGISTER
Join us on this journey with a donation from your heart- of your time, your awareness, your energy and $108.
>>>STEP ONE ::: Commit
Email Me ::: Don’t Go It Alone ::: We Are in This Together. Consider gifting a friend (new to Root & Bloom) the season of Root & Bloom… do so and their participation will be a gift from us both. Let me know you’re in (and the email address of someone you’d like to do this with it there is someone who comes to heart/mind) by CLICKING HERE
>>>STEP TWO ::: Offer
Suggested donation for enrollment in the season is $108. Offerings are accepted via PayPal (laurie@ittakesanopenheart.com) VENMO @laurieGyogini or ZELLE. If you would prefer to pay by cash or check, let me know in your email and I can get you my mailing address or we can meet up if you're local. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds-- please email me if this is an issue for you or anyone you know who would benefit from this immersion.
>>> STEP THREE ::: SHARE
I would so appreciate your assistance getting the good word out about this offering, please share it with anyone you think may benefit from participating.
TESTIMONIALS SHARED BY PREVIOUS PARTICIPANTS
"Absolute game changer..."
"I feel like a kid Christmas morning every week, waiting for your message to come... and the content never disappoints. Each week I find myself changed by what you've shared. It's like you're writing exactly what I need to read, exactly when I'm meant to read it and I am thankful."
"You put so much of your heart into creating this. For the first time in years of trying, I can honestly say, I look forward to meditating."
"Listening to your mantras as I take my afternoon walks has changed everything."
"You and the care, attention and thoughtfulness that you have shown in Root & Bloom has been so beneficial to me. It has opened my eyes to many new ways of thinking and moving in my life. And to introduce newness into a routine at this stage of life is a big thing."
"Root&Bloom provides in depth teachings that will strengthen your body, mind and soul. She unlocks the wisdom of yoga philosophy, buddhist teachings and lunar cycles in a way that is easy to follow and resonates. You will be captivated by her voice as she guides you through meditations, sings mantras and offers full and new moon rituals. I have noticed my growth both on and off the mat, work-life balance and overall well being improve greatly through the years of studying with laurieG. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."