It has been a great while since my last blog post. I’ve been focusing on growing my business into InnerVision Wellness LLC and sending out InnerVision Insider newsletters once a month or so.
If you’re still following me here on WordPress, I encourage you to become an InnerVision Insider to get regular news and one or two letters a month delivered directly to your inbox.
Having said that, I thought I’d share my latest newsletter content here. I hope you enjoy what follows…
Have you ever thrown clay on a potter’s wheel? It’s been over 20 years since I made my last pot, but I’ve recently taken up ceramics again at the university where I work.
I’m surprised by the muscle memory and the speed at which it has all come back to me. But this time, I have a very different perspective. I had never heard the word “mindfulness” 20 years ago, but wow, what a mindful experience throwing clay can be.
Especially the centering. You simply can’t work with clay until it’s centered. Centering takes practice and mindfulness. When it happens – when you’re applying just the right amount of pressure with both hands – it just happens, and you know it’s happened.
When clay is off center, you recognize that too. How do you recognize when you’ve gone off-center?
Each of us has our own center. Centering has been described in Psychology Today as having “a reference point or a place to come back to when life’s challenges and emotions push you off balance. The center is the place you know you have to get back to.”
Through the busyness of our lives, you might all of a sudden realize that you’ve been feeling a bit lost, overwhelmed, disorganized, scattered, or just plain “off.” When this knowing comes to you, what do you do about it? Chances are, you just go on… because there’s stuff that needs to get done.
I think this is something that deserves a little paying attention to. I’ve been experiencing a lot of off-centeredness lately – with moving not only my home, but also my office space, with winter and the short daylight hours, with caring for another person… I’m not sure where to return to.
In a great big, old, somewhat neglected house, there’s always a job to be done to get it feeling like a home, like I have settled in, like I actually live there. I have spent hours, entire days, cleaning, moving furniture, unpacking, making decisions about where to put things, strategizing…. And all of that just after a very stressful buying and closing process.
Throwing clay in the studio, remembering how it feels when the clay is centered on the wheel, smoothly circling in my muddy hands, has been centering in itself. I am reminded to be mindful and to take the opportunity to slow down (there’s no race to getting the house “completed”) and to savor the moments in which I feel centered.
Sitting in a sunbeam.
Standing in the hot shower a moment longer.
Writing.
Taking care of plants.
If you have never thrown clay on a potter’s wheel, I wish you could experience what it’s like when the clay seems to magically center itself.
But it’s not magic, it takes practice, a bit of skill, a bit of mindfulness. Just like life.
What do you do when you feel off center? When do you feel centered once again? Comment and let me know.
Regular hours available
I have posted regularly occurring hours Saturday through Wednesday for all types of appointments:
Relaxing, Healing Reiki
Introduction to Wellness Coaching
First time and ongoing Wellness Coaching
Book your visit while you’re thinking about it now!
If you don’t see a time that works for you, please reach out to me.
Recent Workshops
I held a session of Achieve Your Dream in December and it was a great success! We took a peek into the future, had fun, and set some helpful benchmarks. Since then, I’ve heard good news about progress being made!
I also worked with the childcare centers of the Cortland YWCA to deliver a 2-hour professional development session based on team building. About 25 caregivers participated and learned about personality types and how we can build a strong team by knowing ourselves a bit better. It was a fun time and I think each person took away some new and helpful information.
If you, or your organization are located in Central New York and might be interested in providing a workshop designed around meeting specific needs, please reach out to me. Some ideas might include, not only team building, but you might consider:
- Achieve Your Dream
- Mindful and Meditative Coloring
- How to Retire Well
- Undeclared – Going to College without a Plan (for high school students who don’t know what to choose for a major)
Thanks for reading! I do hope you choose to join my InnerVision Insider community. Learn more at MyInnerVisionWellness.com or find me on Facebook or Instagram @MyInnerVisionWellness
