Metamorphosis

After a global pandemic and life altering shifts, I am not the same person as before. Perhaps you can relate.

Gratefully, I’ve had the opportunity to stay connected with trauma informed community in small ways. And each time I step back in, it’s clear the work isn’t over. 

What I‘ve experienced is a metamorphosis.

Mind you, I don’t take the word metamorphosis lightly.  

Do you know what happens after a caterpillar enters its cocoon? It doesn’t just grow wings. 

In a real sense, the caterpillar surrenders its existence in order to transform. It melts into an indistinguishable “life goo” and somehow, much like the mythological phoenix rising from the ashes, it emerges from its cocoon an entirely new being: a butterfly.

We celebrate the butterfly for its beauty, but we rarely acknowledge the messy and perilous journey that was required. Surrender, not knowing what was to come. Allowing a death of the self to take place in order to grace the world again in its fullest, most radiant expression. 

I’m no caterpillar, though I feel like I know something about its journey of renewal. I’m sure many of you do too. 

The death and rebirth of the self in order to emerge in our purest and highest form again (and again) is a natural response to trials and tribulations, or trauma. 

The time we spend in the cocoon stage is invaluable, perhaps some of the most impactful days of our lives. But it is: isolation, darkness, confronting the internal unknown and our innermost fears, in solitude. 

In early Vedic philosophy they called this Yajña, “the work”, also known as the “mud and the muck.”

At the end of each cycle we are renewed in a state of Ṛta, as beautiful and serene as a butterfly, our fullest expression of true “bliss.” 

And then, as life would have it, the cycle starts again: Asat, Sat, Yajña, Ṛta.

We are confronted with new challenges and obstacles that force us to confront and ultimately surrender ourselves to reveal a new expression. 

I invite you to consider your journey and metamorphosis over the past year or two. What challenges have you surmounted? How far have you come? If it seems not far at all - what aspect of life have you begun to master, no matter how small, that you felt unaware of or underprepared for in the past?

We’ve all grown. And it’s time to emerge renewed. 

To honor the journey of the past, I’ve shared archival content as free downloads on the IYC Collection webpage and IYC’s new YouTube channel. Here, you can download or stream full hour trauma informed classes as well as postural instruction for beginners to serve on your journey. I’m glad to share these tools and techniques, as well as science and philosophy, to guide your re-emergence, as they have guided mine. And, there are more to come…

For a short time, I am also opening registration for a virtual six week individual coaching program, I created entitled “Metamorphosis” to share my ten years of study in science, practice and philosophy with you, as you grow through the challenges of your own life and prepare for your own triumphant rebirth.

If you or someone you know might benefit from new insights, tools and techniques to serve on your personal growth journey, I hope you’ll join me for six weeks of guided self-reflection and practice. (Learn more or save your spot here.)

In the past year, I have found a new home - moving from Los Angeles to Providence, RI - closer to family, friends and my roots. Closer to my origins and the challenges that first inspired my journey of self-discovery and self-inquiry over ten years ago.

In Yoga Collective continues to offer virtual and in-person trainings to share evidence-based trauma informed yoga, meditation and mindfulness techniques with social workers, educators, parents and community members, prison facilities, recovery centers, and hospital clinics.

I look forward to the continued metamorphosis of In Yoga Collective as we grow in new geographic areas, throughout Providence, Greater Boston, Connecticut and beyond... 

As you continue to confront new and familiar challenges, rest assured that each new expression will be even more profound, more colorful and radiant than the last. Through cycles of struggle and surrender, we are ever moving toward our fullest expression of Self.

Wishing you well on your journey. Stay tuned for virtual and in-person trainings, coaching programs - and of course - writings here - as we journey forward together. 

Thank you for being a part of In Yoga’s trauma conscious community.

Onward…

In Yoga, 
Amy

Amy Osborne, M.A. E-RYT
Director / Founder
amy@inyogacollective.com