Biodynamic Presence
Dear Friends, Clients, and Fellow Seekers,
Some remarkable experiences weave the fabric of our lives into a future that is unknown to the mind, yet essential for the expansion of consciousness.
This experience I am about to share is a testament to how presence can literally save your life!
Every year, I spend a month immersed in the wildness of nature in the raw Mexican jungle during the intensity of the rainy monsoon season. Although it is uncomfortable in so many ways, there are bugs the size of helicopters that dive-bomb your face; cockroaches falling from the ceiling to snuggle into your warm skin while you sleep somewhat safely in your bed; scorpions you almost step on because you are not wearing your glasses and your 20/20 vision has changed over the last few years; and water raining from the ceiling inside the tropical dwelling because the moisture deteriorates the cement and leaks are inevitable.
There is scorching heat with humidity exceeding the high temperatures, keeping your skin wet even when you have showered for the tenth time and are wearing the lightest fabric known—just your skin, bare naked. Sweat rolls down any area that touches another. There is weight loss from donating blood to mosquitoes of all different sizes, from the invisible to the blood-engorged, persistent mosquito that eats until it bursts when you give it a whack on your skin or on the mosquito net, leaving a red bloodstain—your own blood, hopefully!
Yes, I love it! Why? Because it challenges everything I know to be within my comfort zone and exposes me to the elements in ways that keep me alert and present in every moment. And is this not the Practice? All forms of yoga, breath, and meditation prepare us for the simple practice of Biodynamic Presence.
A friend and I were walking up to CAMINO AL BUDA, the yoga platform I built several years ago in the jungle. It was a new moon. My friend had been going through a deeply emotional experience over the previous few days, and we had done some Craniosacral sessions to assist her in her healing process. Before we began our pilgrimage up to the Buddha, we took a moment to honour this time by bringing a broom to sweep the white marble floor as a symbol of sweeping the mind, a candle as a symbol of the light within, water for nourishment of the soul, and a small blanket to sit on.
Now, I have made this walk up to Camino al Buda a million times over the past 15 years—in the daylight, in the darkness with a candle, during a lightning storm and torrential downpour, or on a clear, sunny early morning for meditation and yoga practice. Several students, during Restorative Teachers Training, walked this path up to Buddha in silence as part of their Practice and preparation for quieting the mind.
We were walking side by side in natural silence when I heard the sound of a branch breaking from its trunk. In a split second, which was all the time I was given, I signalled my body to use all its resources and run uphill as fast as my legs would go. The thick branch fell from the sky and landed on the side of my calf and my Achilles tendon. The broom held me up, and I fell slightly forward, using my right hand to support myself. The tree branch landed with several other branches it had brought with it on its journey to the ground.
My friend, on my left side, also ran upon hearing the sound, at the same heroic speed. Looking at her smiling face in a state of pure astonishment, she said, “¡Salvamos la vida!” We saved our lives!
Presence is what allowed me to run in this moment of life-threatening danger and use all the systems my body needed to create the adrenaline for a sympathetic response of flight!
We were present, listening, being in the moment.
Not a second too late!
This saved our lives from the potential of immediate transition or crushing of the head by a heavy tree branch falling a long distance from one of the tallest trees that thrives and grows naturally in this jungle terrain.
It was a split second that could have changed my reality forever.
Gratitude followed this moment of pure presence.
Gratitude for my exquisite life here on this planet NOW!
I heard the words, “The universe is my ally.”
When I shared the story with my daughter, she said, “If you were to die in that moment, was your day a day that you wanted to remember as doing all the things you love?” This has always been her question. Since she was a child and people died, she always wanted to know that their last day was amazing.
I thought about what I did that day. I rose at 6 a.m. and made my daughter breakfast before school, wished her a great day at her new university, made coffee, meditated, facilitated a Private Restorative Biodynamic Session for a woman who is restoring the use of her legs, cared for our new rescue kitten and resident wood turtle, swam in our pond, and contemplated and prepared for our pilgrimage up to Camino al Buda—a walk in the natural world.
“Yes!” I said. “It was a perfect day. I did all the things I love to do!”
She said, “Well, that’s good then!”
For my friend, the learning was different. She discovered later that, at the moment the branch fell, her younger sister was in the hospital and had a near-death experience. She had a hemorrhage from a spontaneous abortion. For my friend, the message was that the falling branch was her father, who had already passed on, saying, “Save your life,” to both her and her sister.
Although we shared a similar experience, the evolution and growth are very personal to our stories. We continued our walk up to the Buddha and lit a candle in gratitude for our lives and the lives of those we love.
Fortunately, I am still here. I will continue to offer Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy and the Transformative Treatment Plan, and to expand into Private Healing Intensives in Vancouver and Mexico—two places close to my heart and the wild Pacific Sea.
Transformative Treatment Plan for Optimal Health
Includes:
- 1 Biodynamic Craniosacral Session for Deepening Stillness
- 1 Self-Healing Dalian Method Session
- 1 Biodynamic Craniosacral Session for Integration
Personal Healing Intensives are now available with Isabella Scandolari RCST BCST.