Spiritual Director |
Embodied Practice | Retreats
Online and Gumbaynggirr Country, NSW, Australia
"What is saving my life now is the conviction that there is no spiritual treasure to be found apart from the bodily experiences of human life on earth. My life depends on engaging the most ordinary physical activities with the most exquisite attention I can give them. My life depends on ignoring all touted distinctions between the secular and the sacred, the physical and the spiritual, the body and the soul. What is saving my life now is becoming more fully human, trusting that there is no way to God apart from real life in the real world."
- Barbara Brown Taylor
Embodied Spiritual Practice
We are whole beings, and every part of us matters. God meets us in and through every part of ourselves, whether it be in the book, in contemplation, in nature, the feeling of a breeze on our skin, looking in the mirror and seeing ourselves as good, dancing wild and free, singing, a hug from a loved one, or feeling our very own flesh. The body matters. There is no experience of God outside of the body, so we must learn to listen to it, move it and tune our bodies to see, hear, taste, touch, smell the movement of Spirit.
Bhakti Yoga
“The Christian life is seen as one of loving devotion to God in Christ, and the goal of life - that moksha or release or salvation for which Hindu and Christians long - is to be found in faith-union with Christ. Not absorption into the Divine but a loving, personal union with Him who said “Abide in me” - that is the chief end of man.” - Bishop A.J. Appasamy (Indian Christian Theologian)
Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti Yoga is the the “yoga of devotion” or as the famous spiritual leader Ram Dass said “Bhakti yoga isn’t something you join, it’s love. It means falling in love".
I want to welcome you into an experience of falling in love with God; mind, body and spirit.
As a devotee of Christ, my Bhakti is devoted to Jesus. Integrating traditional yogic philosophy, Yeshu bhajans, Scripture, asana practice as well as radical self love and acceptance of your physical body (regardless of where it is at) we will carve out space to meet with God, to fall deeper in love with the Divine who comes close, to do the "yoga" to find personal union with the One who said "Abide in me".
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Qualifications: 225RHYT, 300hr Master RHYT, 60hr Trauma Sensitive Yoga, Yoga Alliance
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I offer deep acknowledgment and honor to the thousands of years of yogic tradition originating in South Asia. I express gratitude to the many practitioners I have been fortunate enough to study under. I move forward with humility as I continue to learn and grow in my use, understanding, and pronunciation, of these sacred practices. I am deeply thankful for this gift in my life.
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Trauma Informed Yoga
No matter who you are or what your story we have all have experiences and traumas that have shaped us.
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When trauma occurs in the body, talk therapy alone can only go so far. As is famously said, “the body keeps the score”. In the event of a trauma or excess stress, our body systems go into fight, flight or freeze mode. This is our bodies way of protecting us. If we do not allow our bodies to process and complete it’s natural cycle, we risk being stuck in the trauma or the emotions for years to come. ​
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The intention of trauma sensitive yoga is to create a safe, welcoming, inclusive and supportive space where the individual can start to reconnect with themselves and feel safe in their bodies. It emphasizes safety, empowers choice, and shares tools for resiliency and self-regulation.
Trauma informed yoga provides a space in which many of the proven ways of completing stress cycles, trauma release and healing can take place, through turning to yourself with loving kindness and compassion.
“Traumatized people chronically feel unsafe inside their bodies: The past is alive in the form of gnawing interior discomfort. Their bodies are constantly bombarded by visceral warning signs, and, in an attempt to control these processes, they often become expert at ignoring their gut feelings and in numbing awareness of what is played out inside. They learn to hide from their selves.”
- Bessel Van Der Kolk
Movement Meditation
Movement and Embodiment meditation creates a space of contemplation and free-from movement. Drawing from dance, and somatic movement. Movement and Embodiment Meditation works with the belief that every Spiritual practice begins with the body and that God is inviting us into freedom, joy and expansiveness. Like the mystics of old speak about, God invites us to find Bliss with the Divine. Through contemplation on the ancient scriptures, poetry and feeling the body through movement we can work through our questions, feelings, emotions and doubts in this body; Mind, Soul, Body, Strength.
Every child has known God,
Not the God of names,
Not the God of don'ts,
Not the God who ever does
Anything weird,
But the God who knows only 4 words
And keeps repeating them, saying:
"Come Dance with Me."
Come Dance.
- Hafiz -
TESTIMONIAL:
"The Christian faith I learned as a child was a thing that lived primarily in my mind, separate from my body, the place where I actually experienced life. I was not taught how to live in an integrated way. So as an adult learning to heal from trauma, I had no faith language for how to come back to my body, how to be in it without fear, and to walk through what I experience in a way that is fully present, body and mind. Those practices came from other traditions and places, and they have helped me heal.
What Naomi has done for me is to give me a vocabulary in my "first spiritual language" for embodied existence, by integrating both modern and ancient Christian practices into an experiential way of engaging with God and with my life, through my body, through my senses, through my creature/createdness, with all of me. I've found all of it to be deeply healing. There is a richness and aliveness in the way Naomi invites people to enter into their own experiences and to practice being in the presence of God, there is an invitation to be fully present, body, mind, and spirit. I highly recommend you jump at the chance to be in one of Naomi's retreats, yoga classes, embodiment movement practices, or spiritual direction. She is a good guide through the wild country of your own heart into the sanctuary of your own soul."
~ Carrien, Thailand/USA