I recently attended the first embodiment training that I have done for a very long time indeed – ‘Living Body Enquiry’ with Carole Burstein. I used to be a training junkie, jumping from course to course, snatching the treasure I could from each one, before hopping to the next one. I spent all my money on courses, it really was what lit me up. And I don’t regret a single course; I always enjoyed them, learnt something, met beautiful people and it has all been part of the journey to lead me here. But, once I landed here in Portugal over four years ago, my need for more training seemed to totally drop away. Portugal seems to be a magnet for amazing practitioners of every therapeutic modality you can imagine, and therefore an incredibly diverse array of courses is always on offer; we are spoilt for choice. However, for the last few years, pretty much every offering has left me cold; nothing has drawn me in like it used to.
I wondered at this – have I lost my mojo? What’s wrong with me? But I also, on a deeper level, trusted it. I am utterly committed to the path of conscious evolution, healing and deeper knowing of Self and so I knew I must be getting what I needed for this next chapter anyway, as that soul drive had not diminished. Living here in this incredible crystal valley, learning to become a land steward and bedding in with this new community and new life has apparently been sufficient training ground for this chapter, as well as providing me with a stable home in which to fully integrate and ground all the many learnings I had received during my ‘training buffet’ stage.
So, it was with surprise that I felt that familiar tingle and instant body ‘yes’ to a course offering recently. I had barely read the information but already I knew I would be there. I utterly trust my goose-bumpy body yes responses – I call them truth shudders. It is a sign to me of resonance at a soul level – whatever is being offered, whether that’s someone sharing their truth, a training course or simply an aspect of nature revealing itself to me, is lighting up my soul! I resonate with the soul-level truth and purity and beauty of what is being offered to me in that moment.
So I found myself calling the teacher, Carole, and booking on, without even reading more about it. Only afterwards did I go onto her website and, sure enough, her teachings are all about resonance and, yes, they of course very much resonate with how I perceive reality. There were many synchronous signs that followed, to show this was meant to be, combined with the usual resistance I feel when I know I’m going to take a deep dive into myself – I just consider that resistance more corroboration that it’s exactly what I should be doing!
Carole has created a beautiful retreat centre, Vale das Aguas Vivas (valley of the living waters), and this is the perfect name. The cool, languid river Ceira winds graciously through the valley, interrupted only by the most enchanting, playful set of rapids I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. From the wide river’s lazy calm and gentle flow, it temporarily enters the rapids, where the water suddenly comes alive in a new way as it bubbles and races joyfully over boulders and through rocks, finding its glorious way through the obstructions with palpable glee and enthusiasm. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so conscious of a body of water’s personality before!
I could talk about so many treasures that I gleaned from this precious weekend, and perhaps I will in future posts. But, this one is all about the healing water. It was a super-hot weekend and I spent every minute I could in the river, feeling like a goddess as I swam sensuously through the calm water and like a child as I slipped and tripped my way through the rapids, laughing and smiling to myself and to the water as it gradually showed me its secrets. By the end of the weekend I knew the exact best route to efficiently move up and down through the pools, narrows and cascades if I wanted to. And then, the fish… Having pisces as my sun-sign it surprises me that I’ve never connected with fish much before. But this weekend I was entranced by them. They were everywhere in the river, darting around the cool, calm shallows, flashing silver in the dappled sunlight, slipping down the rapids, gently nibbling at my skin. They touched my heart deeply, and I’m still not sure why.
And Carole’s teachings were mostly about water and resonance this weekend too. She encouraged us to connect with our primordial, watery essence. So many lovely gems of wisdom were shared. One that stays with me is that we always belong, and that connection is the salve to any feelings of fear, aloneness and helplessness and is always available, in every moment. We belong to nature, we belong to the water, we belong to each other. Everything is connected, so we are connected to everything when we connect to one single thing. It could be a fish, a blade of grass, a person. They are the ‘way in’ for connection and belonging to all. This is our innate state, that can never be taken from us. I felt it quite a few times this weekend, mostly when sat on a warm rock, gazing at the beauty of the river, the fish, the dragonflies, the pond-skaters, feeling all the elements touching my body, and knowing that everything I perceived was an extension of me somehow, and I of it. I left the weekend feeling altered somehow; like I had met for the first time a part of me that has always been there and is a healing resource to help me stay connected and open whenever I want to close down.
Thank you to the healing magic of the water and of Carole and of the beautiful group I shared this time with. My zest for training has been reignited – better start saving again then, I guess!
frond yoga with Rebecca May 