Susanna Barkataki (she/her): And as we come in today, hmm, inviting you to just
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): connect to your center
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): we'll do a little practice for sovereignty for Yoga for sovereignty today.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): That
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): is a theme that's been alive to me recently. This idea of like what gives us power, how we can connect to our personal power.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and Yoga, is this practice that gives us power
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): or not. It doesn't give us power. It
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): attunes us to that inner power that's already there that can't be given and can't be taken away.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): So just making sure
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): you can hear me. Okay.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): nice. Okay. Great zoom did a little update. So just if things look different.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): zoom, change things, and it looks like made them a little more kind of graphic and cute.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): so inviting you to. If you want, play around with that, try a reaction.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): See what what you see. Oh, nice! I can put little rockets
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): And in a moment we'll we'll drop into a practice together. So
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): let's see. Hmm!
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Finding the chat. There we are. So if you'd like to drop in a couple of words or how how you're doing today.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): that would be great. I'm just gonna take a moment.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Nice, studious, serious, contemplative.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Hmm.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and if anyone else wants to share
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Justine. No worries. Yeah, that's okay. I'm sorry that zoom is dropping you out.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): stressed and hopeful about apartment searching. I hope you find a wonderful apartment.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): That's like all the 1st Chakra stuff, right? Like the the grounding, the routing, the safety security
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): cell
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and sending you good energy for that.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): I'm tired from the heat. Yeah, finding ways to like, bring in the cooling.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): So let's
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): start to practice, and you can do the seated or standing or
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): lying down.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): But we'll find a way to ground into mountain. And I think I'm gonna stand.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): And so
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): rounding into mountain
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Tadasana, whether you're seated standing
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): or lying down
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and feeling your foundation.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Let's begin moving so your arms might
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): just slightly tap on
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): your waist and your low back.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): as we're
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): shifting side to side.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): seeing if you can let the momentum carry not just your arms, but your whole body. And so, if you're lying down or you're seated, then letting this movement be kind of like the momentum of your body rocking from one side to the other.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and releasing.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): letting
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): the movements become a little smaller.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and now we'll shift our weight
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): over into one side of the body. So I'm moving my way over into the left side. So we're seated or lying down, you can imagine, almost like sand, shifting and pouring over to one side
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and then to the other side, like you pour the sand back.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): seeing if you can shift like this
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): from one side
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): to the other with your breath
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): in the laziest way possible. So the reclaiming
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): the word lazy.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): giving it a positive
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): residents. So we're moving like.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): you know. Could you do it? A little less, a little less effort, a little less movement.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): like your jaw goes slack
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): shoulders relax
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): few more each side.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Then coming to stillness, taking a moment and just feeling how that
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): soft
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): movement resonates in your nervous system.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): gaze can be soft or eyes can be closed.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): And now we'll move into a rikshasana, but not necessarily like the Rikshasana you envision when you envision a Yoga teacher student doing tree.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): But your virtasana, right? So you're shifting your weight just like you were before to one side, and maybe this tree is like a funky, gnarled tree, so my body, my one foot, is like bent on the earth, and then my arms are going to be kind of curled, so this doesn't have to look like
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): a formal over Chasana. This is tree your your way
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and deep breath in. If you're seated, maybe like branches expanding
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): one foot up on the other leg
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and expand, feeling your foundation, feeling your roots
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): feeling extension.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and then exhale. We're releasing, coming back
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): to Tadasana.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Hmm!
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): And then shifting to the other side, and the other side might look different. So, finding your virt on this side
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): your solid foundation, you're strong
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): rooted tree.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): maybe exploring my toes kind of wanna come up. But they actually wanna touch the earth right now. So, finding what your tree is like, and then expanding.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): lengthening.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): feeling the support on your exhale of the earth
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and releasing that.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and then sitting down into
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): bootskatas in a chair shape.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): So whatever the chair for you today looks like right. And this might be just a way of igniting some heat. So if you're actually sitting in a chair, maybe you're on the edge of your chair, and these are bent standing. You can find your way into whatever you want chair to look like today. So for me my knees are bent, my arms are bent.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): kind of like cactus arms.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and as you breathe here.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): doing that same expansion and releasing
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): checking in on how you want to feel.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): even as our bodies are in a bit of a awkward or stressful state, doesn't have to be dignified.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): How can we let go of judgment
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): breathe into calm and connection.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): One more breath here, and then inhaling arms. Come up, gaze comes up.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): If you're in your chair on a standing exhaling, and let your eyes, if they're open, follow your fingers as they slowly fold forward, coming down towards the earth. If you're lying down.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): you know not to follow your gaze, but your arms can come from above you to
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): down along your sides.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): exhale forward, fold
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): knees can be bent as much as you would like.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): seeing how
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): easy or lazy. You can make this forward fold.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Can you soften it a little more
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and he'll
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): coming back up slowly.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): It's bringing
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): both arms up above your head seated, or standing, or even lying down, and we'll
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): gently rock in that same way with our arms now so stretching through your side, body to one side
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and then the other.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Move for about 10 breaths
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): lazily, usefully.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Can you make this even less ambitious?
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): So not the biggest stretch you've ever done?
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Hmm!
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Moving with your breath
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): when you feel ready, coming back to center, exhaling your arms down by your sides.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): taking a moment just to feel how that feels.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Hmm!
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): And on your next
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): breath, dropping your
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): ear to one side, to one shoulder.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): your shoulder down towards the earth.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and then inhaling, maybe rolling it back and around over to
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): the other shoulder.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): moving in this rhythm from side to side, and if it feels good to you, you can do full circles.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): pulling your head
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): in one direction
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): as you do.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): you reminding yourself.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Hi.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and in charge.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): I am the main character of my own life.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and that doesn't mean that you're not
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): porous or open, or
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): you're disconnected from interconnection.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): If you're circling your head.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): circle the other way
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): with your breath.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): continuing to move and breathe in ways that please you, that feel good in your body.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and one more circle here.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): coming to stillness
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): when you're ready. No rush.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): There's any movement that you would like to do, or that your body feels like it needs before we move into a resting shape.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Invitation to do that now, and if you're not sure what to do.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Option is. I'm making circles with my arms and with my legs
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): invitation to
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): move in any way that your body
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): it's craving, or that
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): feels like it would feel good.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Maybe some gentle twists
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): then, inviting you to find
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): the stillness in the movement.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): So even as you're moving, tuning into that
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): inner stillness.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): then we'll come back to
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): still point in our bodies. So option for you always to continue to move. If that's what feels supportive, or, if you would like, find an useful way to be, and that might be seated, might be standing, might be lying down.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): That oh.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): form that can support
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): meditation.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): relaxation.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): deep breath in
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): full breath, out
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): feeling.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): energy, moving up and down your spine.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): knowing that
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): through energy work
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): connecting with your inner energy.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): you can
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): activate and energize, then you can also relax.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): There's a clear vibration, a kind of source
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): of love from within your being
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): like a love letter from your own soul.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): This is sovereignty, that joy
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): piece within
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): that part of you that has choice, and how you respond to what happens
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): in the world.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): no matter what happens around you, or even to you.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): the inner
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): witness that which is watching, observing.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and deciding how it responds.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and so feeling into
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): your awareness of being aware.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): noticing
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): where the power
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): that self-sovereignty, self-awareness.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): maybe flowing
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): freely and strongly.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): And if there are any areas of your life or body energy where it's not so free, flowing
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): that judgment
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): without making yourself or the situation wrong.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): springing awareness there.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): bringing awareness to the areas of your life where you feel really powerful and feel sovereign.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): feel
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): clear.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): maybe joyful or peaceful.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): maybe not all the time, but
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): sometimes maybe it's moments
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): he glimpses like
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): a moment in nature, or
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): with a friend who gets you or reading a good book
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): doesn't have to be like
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): a whole area of your life.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): although it could be
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): one beautiful definition of sovereignty is honoring
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): your own dignity and worth.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and the dignity and worth of all beings.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): It's when you are in that place of self, honoring
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): so much easier to
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): listen deeply and connect to others.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): In a moment I'll invite us to
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): gently move out of
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): contemplative, restful practice into some journaling
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and then sharing, if we would like.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and I invite you to keep this contemplative focus, that communication with your inner wisdom
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): open
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): as we move into
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): some reflection through journaling.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): so expanding, maybe making yourself a little bigger
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and relaxing, releasing.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): gently, coming out of meditation.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): moving to right to get your journal or pen or writing in the chat. However, you would like to
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): begin to reflect, and I'll put the questions in the chat.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Just some working definitions of sovereignty would be choice.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): peace.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): power.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and the more complex
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): self-honoring and honoring the dignity and worth of every being.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): And so we're reflecting, where do you feel self-sovereignty.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): empowerment in your life right now.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Where might it feel like? It's
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): not there, or a work in progress.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): I'll play some music, and we'll take some time to reflect.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Amen.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): You know. Hmm!
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Perfect sharing for a moment.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): So we're just reflecting on. I'll say the journal question again, where do you feel self sovereignty or empowerment in your life right now.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and where might it be lacking? Where do you feel like? It's a work in progress
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and a definition. You know, we're letting the definition. You can even turn on. What does sovereignty mean to you as far as Hanidana, right? Like that sense of inner, divine inner honoring and honoring
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): interconnection.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): choice, peace, power, self honoring and honoring the dignity and worth of every being.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Oh.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): a
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): share music, and not as you have
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): reflect, and I'm actually going to start the sound over some really some good.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Oh.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): a
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): for you
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): going?
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Hmm!
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): O
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): a
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): a.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Oh.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): oh
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): me!
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): You knew
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): a
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): O
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): a
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): for now!
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): A
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): a
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): oh.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): I remember
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): a
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): oh!
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Is there anything else
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): where you feel health, sovereignty.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): word.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): empowerment in your life right now, and where it might feel like it's a work in progress.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): A.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): When I stop sharing my screen. Can you still hear the sound
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): less? Okay
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): to figure that
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): oh.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): a
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): hmm!
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): A
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): taking some breaths, maybe continuing to write or finishing your last thoughts there.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and I invite us
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): to move into sharing, and I'll share first, st just as an example, and we'll kind of reflect
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): together can share in the chat or out loud. And of course no one ever has to share and the one thing that I'm learning to just to remind us is when you share, maybe let us know if you want to just be witnessed, and I'll put these in the chat if you just wanna be kind of listened to or witnessed.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): And if you want feedback and cause those are so different, right? Not everyone wants that. And if you want feedback from everyone, or maybe you just want to hear my reflection
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): just inviting that that self clarity as you share. And so looking for my
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): chapstick, there it is. Yeah, I'll share.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and I'm open to all kinds of reflections like feedback is fine.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): So
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): this theme of self sovereignty, I mean, it's a universal theme in Yoga. It comes up all the time right? It's 1 of the one of the yamas, and with it's 1 way of defining as far up pranayana. It's like devotion to that inner, powerful being which is also interconnected with everything else.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): I see it coming up in people's lives a lot. And it's definitely coming up in mine. And so I'm doing this new thing right. I'm creating a Yoga social media app. And I've run a business that's an educational training business and worked as a teacher for
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): a long time. Now like 20 plus years, right? The business ignite maybe about a decade, little less, maybe 8 years.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): And
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): in moving into building an app, it's like a new role. And there's new people that I'm working with, including engineers and
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): folks who just have a different way of being the like teachers and people on the Yoga space. And so one of the things that I'm learning. Or I was like, Wow, I really feel like I need to connect to that sense of sovereignty is
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): in working with folks who have had a different life experience, or maybe different training and and so just connecting to like the vision, but also the power that's part of that that vision.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): staying clear
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): to, not like downplay or be wishy-washy about
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): what the goal is or what the vision is to get us there right? So that's 1 place where I was like. Oh, I'm really feeling this call to sovereignty. What does sovereignty look like, what does it feel like? And I want to draw the connection, too, to boundaries like to Brahmataria, because a lot of it comes up with like, what is the boundary? Where do we set our boundaries? So that's something I'm working on.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): And then with parenting right now, of course, it can always change. But I'm feeling really good and really like in the Zone, in terms of like very sovereign, very like
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): tuned in to how much I love this being and how much I'm trying to support them, grow and become who you know, the best person they can be. And we have lots of fun and play, and and they're also changing and becoming more independent as a tween, you know. And so like having that space.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): it's felt really
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): really good. And if also, I know I'm aware of the from what is that ephemeral nature of especially moving into teen years? I may not feel super sovereign as a parent. I hope I do. But you know this may change, so I'm grateful for it right now.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and I will stop
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and close my personal share there, and just open it up for anyone who would like to share in the chat or out loud
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and reminder, just to let us know what kind of
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): feedback. You want feedback, or just witnessing, or
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): like that.
Rox: Hello, everyone.
Rox: I just wanted to share
Rox: about a little bit about my practice, my yoga practice. I feel like there is.
Rox: I've I've gained much sovereignty, and these last years
Rox: I used to practice like
Rox: in a very dogmatic way
Rox: there. There was just one way to practice one thing to do, one
Rox: like a very
Rox: Like if there was only one truth.
Rox: right? Only one way to practice.
Rox: And in the last years I've been
Rox: experimenting a lot. That's why I'm here, actually.
Rox: and looking for another way to look at my practice and at my teaching.
Rox: And
Rox: I feel.
Rox: I feel like that. That has been it
Rox: a way for me to be independent in that way
Rox: of the thing that I really really like.
Rox: and love and and preach.
Rox: So in that way.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Thank you. It's really beautiful
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): that freedom to like. See what is really true to you.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Yeah, and your body and your mind and your spirit. I also feel like I had that journey in Asana, and it's felt like so freeing
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): to be able to practice what
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): I need.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and to also know when I need or want someone else to help me expand or push myself a little bit.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): but that it's still my choice and my sovereignty. Yeah.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): appreciating that rocks
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): floor is open for anyone else.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Hi, Bonnie.
Bonnie W (she/they): Hello! I've got a lot of background noise. So if it's annoying, tell me. But
Bonnie W (she/they): yeah, I've actually same as Rox had experienced that same thing of gaining more sovereignty and in my own practice. And
Bonnie W (she/they): it's funny cause I've just been taking a ton of classes over the past year. And just added one more, and it was kind of a follow on to our conversation from office hours. But I realized they really did wanna talk about practicing in different ways.
Bonnie W (she/they): And that one of the ways that I was exploring
Bonnie W (she/they): that I thought was gonna lead me to freedom ended up becoming a dead end, or a very highly appropriated and colonized end that I wasn't happy with. And so I just went out and signed up for another biomechanics course.
Bonnie W (she/they): so yeah, I keep feeling that kind of like in in in opening my own practice
Bonnie W (she/they): and finding ways to have self sovereignty. And it's just like these little cracks and chinks that I keep, you know.
Bonnie W (she/they): I don't know tapping at
Bonnie W (she/they): And yeah, just finding that more freedom. So
Bonnie W (she/they): I think
Bonnie W (she/they): feedback is fine, but it's not necessary, you know.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Bunny.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): reading just seen in the chat I think I pay attention to when I'm not feeling self-sovereignty that happens in some work settings. When I think about
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): when I feel sovereign, I would also say in my work setting with the students, not necessarily with some colleagues.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): I definitely feel sovereign with my practice. Sometimes I would like to continue to grow in this area. Yeah.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): thank you. Justine.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Anyone else.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Jessica.
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): Hi.
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): I just want to notice, like, my words are really far away, so I'll probably offer myself some space to find them as I'm going about.
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): yeah, I think I feel open to being
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): witness, or maybe like solidarity and resonance feedback, but
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): nothing beyond that.
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): What's coming up for me with this inquiry is noticing, like I have this part of me that's so like disciplined like this is how my parents raised me to like. Do your work and then relax right, or like
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): lots of
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): guidelines or expectations.
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): and I think lately I've just been like is that it sounds like me, but it's not really me
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): right. And so I think I've been kind of trying to hold the multiplicity of those truths and
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): slow into what sounds a little bit more like me
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): won't be
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): yeah, I know I'm noticing like more thoughts on the inside, but also
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): feeling like.
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): maybe that's enough to say, for right now.
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): thanks for the prompt and
Jessica Jacovitch (she/they): the presence.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Thank you, Jessica.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Spaces open. If anyone else would like to
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): reflect or share.
Jillian GF (she/her): Yeah.
Jillian GF (she/her): think I'm really thinking about this
Jillian GF (she/her): as
Jillian GF (she/her): it really struck me as like in relationship to others.
Jillian GF (she/her): and I think about my partner and I have really
Jillian GF (she/her): put a lot of work into
Jillian GF (she/her): and have a shared
Jillian GF (she/her): purpose or
Jillian GF (she/her): value around self sovereignty, and so like how we practice our way into that together.
Jillian GF (she/her): And noticing how. That's not always the same with others. And in particular, I was writing about my
Jillian GF (she/her): relationship with my mom.
Jillian GF (she/her): That's so many right?
Jillian GF (she/her): And then, as I've been sort of
Jillian GF (she/her): continuing to like witness you all.
Jillian GF (she/her): I've been really noticing that like
Jillian GF (she/her): when I feel most sort of sovereign in my own
Jillian GF (she/her): body and even in my own relationships, is when
Jillian GF (she/her): I take the time to
Jillian GF (she/her): like.
Jillian GF (she/her): create that space between what's coming in and how I respond.
Jillian GF (she/her): And so I was just I was just really thinking about how that
Jillian GF (she/her): just that, like that sacred pause, or that time to pause and reflect, and then choose
Jillian GF (she/her): how to be an integrity is
Jillian GF (she/her): wherever that happens, and whenever it happens is when I feel most in my sovereignty.
Jillian GF (she/her): Thank you.
Jillian GF (she/her): Oh, thank you. Witnessing is fine, or if I mean, feedback is actually also fine.
Jillian GF (she/her): Thank you.
Bonnie W (she/they): When both Jessica and Gillian were talking and sharing it. Just
Bonnie W (she/they): reminded me that recently my Nb. Had a their diagnosis Updated and one of the therapeutic modalities that they were recommended for was unmasking. And
Bonnie W (she/they): it's kind of huge, and I also it just made me realize how much I was forced to mask to
Bonnie W (she/they): So I'm kinda like, can I get in on that, too?
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Thank you, Jillian and Bonnie.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Anyone else
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): probably time for one more, one more person to share.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): There's something on your heart or mind inviting that space in. Now.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): I'd like to to offer us to close of the practice.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Actually, a practice that I find really helps cultivate sovereignty, and and particularly around.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): That secret pause
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and space like cultivating space.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): And so even just as we kind of begun today with a physical practice, and we moved for folks who came in a little later in ways that were more intuitive in our bodies, and not like formal Yoga shapes.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): but even just like noticing the expansion like if you expand and you take up space, and that could be like I'm pushing my hands out. But it could also be. If you're somewhere where you can't do that like you're at an office or something that you just expand.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and then on your exhale release and rest.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and in between your breath the inhale.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): There's a little pause.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and then the exhale.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and to the bottom of the exhale there's a little pause.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and so dropping into that
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): space or that pause, both at the top of the inhale
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): before the exhale, and then through the exhale.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): before the inhale comes
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): right away for me
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): that gets me into a kind of contemplative, relaxed, more
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): aware state. And think. We just took about 3 or 4 breaths.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): We'll continue like this, noticing
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): the pause in between.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Exhale.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): inhale.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): keep that practice going.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): or just allow that feeling of spaciousness. Once
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): you feel it
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): to expand.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and so you might imagine or visualize yourself somewhere that feels really spacious to you.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): For many of us this might be
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): outside or somewhere in nature, but wherever feels spacious.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): some, it might be fun to make up a place, or like visualize yourself on the moon. Nobody around.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): rather as it might be, like
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): lake or river
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): place, where you feel
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): maybe even really small.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): kind of
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): humble
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): amongst giant redwoods.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): huge glaciers.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): endless sand. And see
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): from that place.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): especially if you're relaxing on the beach or
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): hiking through the redwoods
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): on the moon.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): There's places where we might not feel so sovereign or so empowered. They
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): can seem a little less
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): urgent.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): little smaller, too.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): So, allowing for that
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): space
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and pause
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): to come in and
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): permeate.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Maybe, if it feels supportive, visualizing
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): the context where you haven't been feeling so powerful or so
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): so sovereign.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): that bring
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): the mountains with you, the trees with you, the desert, the ocean.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): the pause, the space with you in your mind's eye, and you can play with this, you know, maybe just like, Oh, see how it feels over there.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): That may be not picking the biggest challenging area, but a smallish one.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): allowing for space
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): to create
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): different opportunity for how you can be without needing the circumstances to change.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Maybe from the outside, no one would notice anything different.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): But you're there
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): in that context, in the conversation, or the office, or
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): whatever the challenging moment might be.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): But it's it's actually an ocean that's there.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): sky
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): all the
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Yogis Buddhas Bodhisattvas of all time. Right?
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): This feeling
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): how that might feel
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): it does feel.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): knowing that that is you right through interconnection.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): We always already are interconnected.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): And so, letting that
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): self sovereignty, that feeling, kind of settle and
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): be embraced in your own
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): form, your own skin, your own body.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): noticing, if you feel any different.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): taking some deep breaths
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and coming back
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): to this moment.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): maybe wiggling or moving.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): can bring your hands together just to gently bow to
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): the immense
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): possibility
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): of space and sovereignty within you and all around you.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and then we'll
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): close together invitations as we close. If you would like
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): take a moment to notice if anything feels different. And then for me that visualization was
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): really helpful in envisioning
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): that spaciousness in the specific situation
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): or situations where I feel a little less
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): kind of expansive.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): So I'm curious. If you notice anything different, you can drop that in the chat.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and then we can unmute and
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): say goodbye to one another.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Thank you. Thank you for that practice
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): for your presence.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): You're welcome.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): and I want a name to actually the influence, I think
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Yoga practice, but also Augusto Bolo, who taught theater of the oppressed. He's passed now, but
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): he often described, you know, like he really worked on essentially like decolonizing and reclaiming theater to take it out of the hands of the elite and into like everyday people. And I think that's what we're doing with Yoga, too, and
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): he would often say, like to act something out or play something out, you know, in your mind or in the theater right? Theater can be anywhere, and then change the scene. Change the scene. What would it look like if you were the protagonist right? Or if you were the antagonist? Or if someone came in, how would they? And so doing that in our visualizations, in our practices, while we're in that powerful state that we can cultivate with, say, like that was a Pranama and a
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): meditative Diana practice. So focusing on the breath and the space within the breath can be incredibly transformative. And so it can be like, actually a whole scene that's acted out like in real life. It also can be visualization.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): So just naming Augusta ball is a kind of
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): influence on that practice.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): I'll put his name in the chat in case you're interested. He has some really fascinating books.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Theater of the oppressed.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): His work.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Thanks everyone. So an invitation to unmute. And
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): let's say goodbye, and any words that you like to say as we part see you in a few weeks.
Rox: You so much.
Jillian GF (she/her): Thank you all so much.
Susanna Barkataki (she/her): Thank you.