Four questions That Never Fail
I’ve been carrying these 4 questions around for almost 30 years:
How does my life feel right now?
How do I want it to feel?
What are my obstacles?
What are my resources?
These questions were given to me by a friend and mentor and came from her practice and study of psychosynthesis.
I use them to consider the most expansive picture of my life as well as the small choices that I make on a daily basis. Somedays I ask myself the big Mary Oliver question: “What do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”, and other days, it’s simply, what do you plan to do with your one wild and precious morning?
Either way, the 4 questions are always there to help me sort it out. They can apply as easily to a 10 year plan as they can to deepening my awareness of how my body feels right now.
I sometimes begin a retreat, or a course, or even a yoga therapy session, with these four questions acting as a framework for our work together. And I use tools like breathwork, deep imagery, mindful movement, journaling, and free drawing, to explore them and open our imaginations - not only to what we truly want but also to the pathways that can take us there.
Sometimes how our lives look and how we want them to look, aren’t actually all that different. We just need to make a few tweaks, some that come from the inside and some that come from the outside.
And that’s much of the work - and the joy. Noticing both the internal and the external obstacles and resources that form the path to where we are going.
I’ve been thinking a lot these last couple of months about my own path and how what is changing on the outside, is demanding that I consider what needs to change on the inside. And again, the 4 questions lead the way.
Which brings me back to the question I’ve been answering a lot lately: What is yoga therapy?
First and foremost, yoga therapy is an individualized framework for self-inquiry, supported by yogic principles and practices. But how we do that looks different for everyone.
Whether the tools we use are the 5 pillars of the Somatic Spiral - nervous system regulation, self-compassion, deep listening, somatic parts work and deep imagery, the 4 questions framework, or the 8 limbs of yoga, the place we start is to ask:
How do I feel right now and what do I need to deepen or shift in order to feel safe, connected and meaningfully engaged in my life.
When things are feeling off physically, emotionally, or spiritually, yoga therapy can help us sort things out - whether that’s because, physically, we’re experiencing with chronic pain or fatigue, emotionally we’re dealing with persistent stress and anxiety or numbing or checking out, or spiritually, we’re feeling disconnected from our wise self or spiritual guidance.
And when we’re actually feeling good and wanting to take that feeling to the next level by cultivating deeper levels of connection, flow, gratitude and joy, yoga therapy can facilitate that shift as well.
And then there’s rhythm. Whether you're in a life stage transition, a shift in relationships or career, or that post, fall equinox feeling as we move into darkness, there are times when we simply know that it’s time to drop in.
If yoga therapy sounds like the right kind of support, I’d love to work with you. Just reply to this email and we'll schedule a free discovery call to discuss it.
And if working on your own feels more appropriate, consider the 4 questions as a starting point. Whether through journaling, movement, meditation, drawing, or a combination, find a way to sit with the questions and ponder what you want right now and how to set yourself on a path towards that.
Here’s to finding our way! Sending so much love,
Rachel
P.S. I have a favor to ask!
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