I am beyond excited to be hosting a school year long circle starting in September.
I am calling this nine-month circle because it’s time. Nearly four years ago I had my first tarot card reading at the suggestion of a close friend. The spunky card reader, in from LA, wouldn’t let me leave before plugging into my phone the contact of a woman offering circle experiences here in Omaha. She fervently made me promise I would call immediately to inquire. I called, and lo and behold, there was one spot left in an upcoming leadership circle.
For the next year I spent two hours a month with a group of women with whom I would otherwise never have come in contact. At that point I had my academic world, my yoga world and my family world, but all other social worlds, especially those inhabited by women, really scared the bejeezus out of me. I had many preconceived notions about the worlds I didn’t inhabit. I didn’t realize these unexamined and almost unconscious beliefs were like chains, holding me back from both experiences and ease.
This first circle was a mix of women of varying careers. There were social workers, part-time workers, stay-at-home-moms, attorneys, executives and many in the midst of transition, at various points of career change. The sense of belonging was immediate and palpable. I had never before been with a group of women that treated each other so kindly. They genuinely wanted to listen. And cheer. And call bullshit.
We even had a talking piece. When I held it in my hands, I could speak and no one interrupted or hurried me. It was novel. All eyes turned toward me allowing me to share my story. I discovered I had a story! My voice quivered. I was nervous, but it was exhilarating. Was this for real? The feeling was similar to the first time I experienced svasana (corpse pose) in a yoga class — then it was amazement and wonder at a room of adults lying vulnerably on their backs, seemingly napping in the middle of the day. This time the amazement and wonder sprang from a group of moments-ago-strangers who, wide awake, faced each other sharing genuinely and listening deeply.
That first night a tender part of me was touched for what seemed like the very first time, waking me up to a giant world of possibility and potential connection. It was magic. The magic created when people gather on purpose in circle. The monthly gatherings became my anchor, my reprieve, a connection to a deeper part of me and relationship like I hadn’t known before.
Since that time I have sat in other circles, and I have begun to host my own, a blend of my background in academia and this new found magic. I called my offering Reading Circle, as it centered around recent memoirs and classic self-enrichment texts. These weekly experiences have continued to prove transformational, and the time has come for me to share the circle experience in a more inclusive and less bookish way.
This Fall I will host a monthly evening women’s circle. Through conversation we will explore the self through the modalities of mind, body and spirit. We will see and be seen. We will listen and we will be heard. We will converse on topics that don’t have time to surface in the school parking lot or around the water cooler at work. We will create a nest-like container in which to relax and let go, and we will create energy to explore the constraints that may have us tangled. Most importantly, we will take time to be.
I host this coming circle in the hopes that in whatever way participants may be feeling stuck we will find the space, breath and power to set ourselves a little bit freer.
If this interests you, please consider joining, and message me with questions.
xoxo,
Katie