[note from kelly: I met Anna at Shala's Yin Yoga training in Asheville, where she teaches. thanks to her for allowing me to copy this story here. . .sometimes accepting "what is" requires only a deep breath and a new perspective. sometimes it means fighting for your life. whatever it means for you today, this story may give you new courage to accept WHAT IS]
"when life asks us to open to what is, rather than what we wish it could be"
--anna ferguson
I received the below message from another teacher recently, and I felt compelled to pass it on. After having gone through my own health crises in the past two years and having to shoulder that burden both financially and emotionally from a medical system which is sometimes sadly ignorant of healing practices, I feel Sarah and her family's challenges deeply and to my core.
Please read her story here. She is being asked to open to WHAT IS in life, rather than what we wish would be, truly living in the present moment. Bless and adorn her journey with anything you can give; it is a gift to all of us, for we are all one.
--namaste, anna
Last fall, Sarah was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has been using Chinese medicine and diet to treat her condition. Recently, her oncologist told her that she was no longer a candidate for surgery and that chemotherapy and radiation could only prolong her life, not cure her.
Despite the diagnosis from her Western Doctors, Sarah's attitude is positive. Instead of succumbing to the fear that comes up when a doctor tells her she is going to die, Sarah has decided to pursue her life with everything she's got. Sarah believes she is going through this journey for a reason and will come out the other end with the tools she needs to help others face their own fears.
She is exploring several alternative cancer treatments and raising money to go to a clinic in Mexico where she can be under the care of oncologists while she undergoes deep detoxification and uses complementary medicine to treat her cancer. A serious martial artist, Sarah has a very tough exterior. Anyone who meets her can tell she is not to be messed with. But this is not why I think she has courage.
The definition of courage is moving past your fears. To a tough cookie like Sarah, nothing is scarier than being vulnerable. Sarah is learning that in order to heal, she needs help. She is learning that people want to help and support her, and she is learning to soften her toughness to accept that help.
In our yoga practice as well as in life, we want to begin from a place of softness. We call it opening to grace. When we open to what is going on right now in our lives as if it were grace, we are able to live life fully right now, no matter what challenges we face. To Sarah, cancer is grace. It is an opportunity for her to open in ways she never has before.
[to read sarah's story or donate in any way, click here: http://www.supportingsarah.blogspot.com/]
"when life asks us to open to what is, rather than what we wish it could be"
--anna ferguson
I received the below message from another teacher recently, and I felt compelled to pass it on. After having gone through my own health crises in the past two years and having to shoulder that burden both financially and emotionally from a medical system which is sometimes sadly ignorant of healing practices, I feel Sarah and her family's challenges deeply and to my core.
Please read her story here. She is being asked to open to WHAT IS in life, rather than what we wish would be, truly living in the present moment. Bless and adorn her journey with anything you can give; it is a gift to all of us, for we are all one.
--namaste, anna
Last fall, Sarah was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has been using Chinese medicine and diet to treat her condition. Recently, her oncologist told her that she was no longer a candidate for surgery and that chemotherapy and radiation could only prolong her life, not cure her.
Despite the diagnosis from her Western Doctors, Sarah's attitude is positive. Instead of succumbing to the fear that comes up when a doctor tells her she is going to die, Sarah has decided to pursue her life with everything she's got. Sarah believes she is going through this journey for a reason and will come out the other end with the tools she needs to help others face their own fears.
She is exploring several alternative cancer treatments and raising money to go to a clinic in Mexico where she can be under the care of oncologists while she undergoes deep detoxification and uses complementary medicine to treat her cancer. A serious martial artist, Sarah has a very tough exterior. Anyone who meets her can tell she is not to be messed with. But this is not why I think she has courage.
The definition of courage is moving past your fears. To a tough cookie like Sarah, nothing is scarier than being vulnerable. Sarah is learning that in order to heal, she needs help. She is learning that people want to help and support her, and she is learning to soften her toughness to accept that help.
In our yoga practice as well as in life, we want to begin from a place of softness. We call it opening to grace. When we open to what is going on right now in our lives as if it were grace, we are able to live life fully right now, no matter what challenges we face. To Sarah, cancer is grace. It is an opportunity for her to open in ways she never has before.
[to read sarah's story or donate in any way, click here: http://www.supportingsarah.blogspot.com/]
1 comment:
Wow! Thank you for adding this inspiration. It is a reminder to be open to everything that comes our way. Thanks Kelly.
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