Embodiment Practice of Welcoming Everything/Welcoming More

By Lara Christine 

Welcoming Everything or Welcoming More is a concept and quality that I have been inviting into my own life and practice. Opening to this has not always been easy but it does support me in integrating more wholeness in my human experience. The ultimate goal to include and transcend, for me is to become more spacious and to have less inner friction. Thank you to my teachers in the world of Authentic Relating who have gifted me with these concepts. This practice has been adapted from tools I have learned through my T3 (Train the Trainer) training and the C4 (Creating Connection through Conscious Communication) Institute. 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WELCOME EVERYTHING/WELCOME MORE? 

Welcoming Everything or Welcoming More is the practice of allowing what is to be and of creating space for what is. Asking ourselves, what is here and giving it the time and presence to provide it with space. 

Please allow your practice to be a deep contemplation of the human journey. Be gentle with yourself as you consider this rich exploration. Notice in real-time what is happening to you. How much can you illuminate that part of you that lives in the shadows that operate under the surface and runs the show? Start with self-awareness and notice how that naturally progresses towards self-acceptance, & self-compassion, and ultimately, more liberation and sovereignty around self-expression. 

Welcoming does not imply that we are people pleasing, approving of something that goes against our own values and desires by denying our own authenticity. Welcome does imply that we begin to invite a sense of curiosity to illuminate how we are relating to ourselves, our parts, and life. May this practice support us to ignite more self-empowerment on our paths to becoming more fully human. 

“The moments when I am not welcoming are the access points into the practice of welcoming more. For me, it is these moments that can often lead to more expansion bringing divinity into my humanity. “ - Lara Christine 

What are some things that we resist? 

• Pain 

• Disappointment 

• Truth 

• Being nervous 

• Feeling incompetent 

WHAT  ARE WE DOING WHEN WE ARE NOT WELCOMING? 

Contracting, hiding, turning towards addiction, lying to ourselves and others, not being willing to see, numbing out, distracting, making excuses. 

THE FOUR STATES WE WILL EMBODY: 

1. Resisting 

2. Avoiding 

3. Denying 

4. Welcoming 

WHY WOULD IT BE HELPFUL TO WELCOME MORE? 

Before we begin this practice, I invite you to anchor your own unique why. Consider how the benefits of welcoming more would impact your life. Let us now begin … 

An Embodied Exploration of Non-Welcoming & Welcoming: 

Step 1: Set Aside 10/20 minutes of uninterrupted space, consider having a journal and pen to take down any notes or inspirations. 

Step 2: Sit across from your partner. Take a few deep breaths together and consciously shift into a place and space of practice together. 

Step 3: Choose who will be Partner A and Partner B. 

PARTNER A - “The Explorer” the person who will be in the practice of exploring the four states of welcoming and non-welcoming  

PARTNER B - “The Not Welcomed” the person who will be in the practice of what it is like to not be welcomed. 

• For the explorer, the not welcomed could represent human contact, a specific person, or something in your life like a situation or circumstance 

• For the not welcomed, you are invited to simply experience what it is like to be in relationship when someone/something is welcoming and not welcoming of you as you are.

Step 4: Partner A distinguish what you want “The Not Welcomed” to represent. You do not need to share this out loud unless you feel moved. 

In the role of “The Explorer” take a few minutes to really sit with and inquire about what are(s) of your life that you are not currently welcoming. What is something in your life that you are working with that you know you could invite more welcoming of? 

Examples:  a breakup, financial debt, anger towards a situation, etc. 

Step 5: Both Partners close your eyes and take a moment of mindfulness. How are you at this moment? What is alive for you already as you consider this contemplation for yourself 

Step 6: Both partners open their eyes, place your hands out in front of you making contact palm to palm. Begin in a neutral place of meeting with equality. 

Step 7: Explore the States of Embodied Non-Welcoming 

• Partner A Exploring Resistance: What is it like to resist this coming towards you? Partner B “The Not Welcomed” offers pressure forward through the palms toward Partner A “The Explorer”

• Both partners notice mindfully what happens through the body. Notice thoughts, sensations, impulses, and desires. Allow your whole body to experience this now. Give yourself full permission to express and feel. 

• Return to a neutral meeting with equality and take a few breaths before moving to the next state. 

• Partner A Exploring Avoidance: 

Partner B “The Not Welcomed” offers pressure again forward through the palms towards Partner A “The Explorer”. 

• Both partners notice mindfully what happens through the body. Notice thoughts, sensations, impulses, and desires. Allow your whole body to experience this now. Give yourself full permission to express and feel. 

• Return to a neutral meeting with equality and take a few breaths before moving to the next state. 

• Partner A Exploring Denying: What is it like to deny this coming towards you? Partner B “The Not Welcomed” offers pressure forward through the palms toward Partner A “The Explorer”

• Both partners notice mindfully what happens through the body. Notice thoughts, sensations, impulses, and desires. Allow your whole body to experience this now. Give yourself full permission to express and feel. 

• Return to a neutral meeting with equality and take a few breaths before moving to the next state. 

Step 8: Explore the State of Embodied Welcoming 

• Partner A Exploring Welcoming: What is it like to welcome this coming towards you? 

Partner B “The Not Welcomed” offers pressure forward through the palms toward Partner A “The Explorer”

• Both partners notice mindfully what happens through the body. Notice thoughts, sensations, impulses, and desires. Allow your whole body to experience this now. Give yourself full permission to express and feel. 

• Return to a neutral meeting with equality and take a few breaths before pausing the practice for reflection and sharing. 

Step 9: Share back and forth between partners. 

• For the “Explorer”: What was it like to resist, avoid, and deny? What was it like to welcome? 

• For the “Not Welcomed”:  What it was like to be resisted, avoided, and denied? What was it like to be welcomed? 

Step 10: Switch roles and repeat 

Step 11: Integrate and complete 

• Journal any insights

• Derole at the end of the practice and said out loud, “I am not the explorer, and I am not the Not-Welcomed. I am …. “ (Repeat your own name or any other affirmation you wish to anchor at the end of this process.) 

Embodying Wholeness: Yoga and The Four Facets of Our Integrated Self

Join Lara Christine for a four-week yoga class progression exploring our human potential and wholeness through the map of Bill Plotkin's Wild Mind Book. 

Reminding us of our innate wholeness and inner resources, Bill Plotkin's map, based on the cardinal directions offers beautiful direction in becoming fully human and meeting any hardships we may face, as true adults, capable and able to grow and thrive. 

4 weeks starting March 31st 

Friday mornings 

9:30-10:30 am MDT 

at Full Circle Yoga Longmont 

or online worldwide via zoom 

To register: https://www.full-circle-yoga.com/schedule

3/31 NORTH FACET = The Nurturing Generative Adult 

4/7 SOUTH FACET = The Wild Indigenous One 

4/14 EAST FACET = The Innocent/Sage 

4/21 WEST FACET = The Inner Muse Beloved 

Dive into each archetype to uncover an embodied resonance and blueprint that you can take with you, off the mat and into the world. 

Embodying Wholeness: Yoga and The Four Facets of Our Integrated Self Event on Facebook

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About the Book

Our human psyches possess astonishing resources that wait within us, but we might not even know they exist until we discover how to access them and cultivate their powers, their untapped potentials and depths. Wild Mind identifies these resources — which Bill Plotkin calls the four facets of the Self, or the four dimensions of our innate human wholeness — and also the four sets of fragmented or wounded subpersonalities that form during childhood. Rather than proposing ways to eliminate our subpersonalities (which is not possible) or to beat them into submission, Plotkin describes how to cultivate the four facets of the Self and discover the gifts of our subpersonalities. The key to reclaiming our original wholeness is not merely to suppress psychological symptoms, recover from addictions and trauma, or manage stress but rather to fully embody our multifaceted wild minds, commit ourselves to the largest, soul-infused story we’re capable of living, and serve the greater Earth community.

https://www.animas.org/books/wild-mind-a-field-guide-to-the-human-psyche/

PARTNER YOGA PLAYTIME 2023

Sure, Valentine's Day is a Hallmark Holiday. Still, as a Partner Yoga Teacher, I always look forward to the season of love, when people of all ages remember the importance of connection and intimacy. In reality, we should be honoring Valentine's Day every day, but in the meantime, let's find the time for some nourishing connection, touch, and healing partner yoga practices. 

February 2023 I will offer several Partner Yoga Events to bring joy and satisfaction to your embodied connection this Valentine's day!

• Sunday 2/5 2-4pm at Yoga Pod Longmont 
• Friday through Sunday 2/10 - 2/13 at Kripalu 
• Tuesday 2/14 6:30-8:30pm at Full Circle Yoga 
• Sunday 2/19 2-4pm at Yoga Pod Boulder 

For those of you seeking a deeper study with more full-on level one training, we will also be offering these Level 1 Immersions in 2023: 

• Principle-Based Partner Yoga Training Level 1: The Art of Yoga & Relationship April 20th - 23rd in Sedona Arizona 
• Training in Partner Yoga Level 1 August 8th - 13th at Kripalu

For questions please contact me at larastouch @ gmail.com 

TAKING BACK PROJECTIONS >>>

{A PRACTICE IN TAKING BACK PROJECTIONS:

TRANSFORMING STRONG ATTRACTION OR REPULSION

INTO INTEGRATED POWER}

This practice can be done solo, with another, or as a group discussion. After you do the journal work it can be useful to share what you are learning with another in your life/circle. In addition, after you complete this practice you will have a leans to see what happens for you in future moments if/when you feel strong attractions or repulsions arising inside of you. Pausing for a moment to feel and notice with mindfulness is the first step towards radical empowerment. 

STEP 1: Set aside 10/20 minutes in a quiet space with your journal and pen. 

STEP 2: Light a candle, burn some sage, and settle into an intentional space to be with yourself in this powerful inquiry. 

STEP 3: Find a comfortable seat or lie down and begin taking slow deep breaths. Allow your attention to shift inward towards yourself. Scan your body, heart, and mind for how you are doing at this moment. 

STEP 4: Once you feel settled, conjure up the person with whom you are either strongly attracted or repulsed. Imagine the person there with you and allow yourself to just feel what it is like being in their presence. Notice what you are either drawn to or pushed away by. 

STEP 5: Notice what arises and take 10 minutes to free-write in your journal about everything that arises from you. Do not hold back. Allow yourself to feel all of it. The key here is welcoming all parts of yourself to be present with our judgment or make wrong. Be as unedited as possible to really let the energy flow! 

STEP 6: Look back over what you wrote and reread your discoveries. Try to have an open mind and begin to try on the idea that what you see outwardly (your repulsions and judgments) are really all projections living inside of you that you are not willing to face and own. Ask yourself powerfully, what is it in the other that I either resist or desire in my own life/being? Take a serious look at the judgments and see if you can take responsibility for this aspect inside of you. 

*example: I notice that one judgment I have is that “she” seems to have such a successful career and is so confident! ~ Turning back to own my projections I would start to see that what I see in her is actually something I want for myself. I would love to have a successful career and be confident like her. Perhaps we can shift the focus towards, “wow, she seems so confident and successful. Maybe I could learn something from her!” Instead of making her wrong, I can actually celebrate her and her wins. 

STEP 7: Make a commitment to take notice of how and when this comes up for you as you move forward. Again, we are not trying to change or fix anything, just simply bringing awareness to the parts of ourselves with mindful awareness. As we notice projections and repulsions in others, we can begin to reclaim the lost parts of ourselves that are really speaking through our judgments. 

STEP 8: Share what you are learning about this with your other sisters. Continue to inquire ongoing about this conversation. Comment and share what you are getting from this experience. 

************************************

Lara Christine Resume 2022

 Lara Christine

Certified and Licensed Massage Therapist

Experienced and Registered Yoga Instructor

Advanced Clinical Hypnotist

Objective

To acquire and maintain a position at this establishment that allows me to grow and share my passion for creating health, and awareness within this community.

Education

● Graduate of the Boulder College of Massage Therapy B.C.M.T. with the 1000 Hour

training program including but not limited to; Therapeutic Swedish Massage Therapy,

Zen Shiatsu, Polarity Therapy, Chair Massage, Sports Massage, Chair Massage,

Hydrotherapy, Anatomy and Physiology, Pathology, and Client Communication.

● Graduate of multiple yoga teacher training including but not limited to: Techniques,

Teaching Methods, Anatomy, and Physiology, Philosophy/Ethics, Teaching Experience,

& Group Facilitation

● Graduate of the Advanced Heart-Centered Hypnotherapy Clinical Internship through the Wellness Institute

2021 Heart-Centered Hypnotherapy 2-Year Clinical Internship (200+ hours)

2020 Heart-Centered Hypnotherapy Training Intensive (50+ hours)

2019 Train the Trainer (T3) ~ Relational Leadership Training (700 hours)

2018 Body Temple Arts ~ Feminine Embodiment Training (200 hours)

2017 Authentic Relating Comprehensive (80+ hours)

2013 Hakomi Body-Centered Psychotherapy Training (700 hours)

2013 Level Two Principle-Based Partner Yoga Teacher Training (50+hours)

2012 Integrative Yoga Therapy Teacher Training (200+ hours)

2011 CorePower Yoga Level 2 Teacher Training (35+ hours)

2009 Principle-Based Partner Yoga Teacher Training (50+ hours)

2009 Hot Yoga Teacher Training (200 hours)

2009 Yin Yoga Teacher Training (30+ hours)

2008 Hot Power Fusion Yoga Teacher Training (30+ hours)

2008 CorePower Yoga Teacher Training (200 hours) Yoga Alliance Recognized

2006 Graduate of the Boulder College of Massage Therapy 1000-hour program.

2004 Longmont High School graduate with emphasis on Advanced Placement Art (AP

Studio Art) and Interactive Mathematics Program (Honors IMP).

Massage Therapy Experience

• Bodywork Bistro, Massage Therapist since 2006 offering walk-in table and chair massage.
• Private practice, Maintained and supported a thriving private massage practice at personal office spaces.
• Colorado Therapies and Aquatic Center maintained and supported a thriving massage practice.
• BCMT Student Clinic, Over 40 hours of massage in four different modalities.
• Boulder Community Hospital, 10 Hours of relaxation massage to patients of BCH.
• Bolder Boulder 10K, Provided post sports massage to runners.
• Fat Tire Classic Winter Park, Volunteer providing pre and post-event massage.
• Cafe of Life, Intern providing 10 hours of chair massage to potential chiropractor clients.
• Domestic Rabbit Rescue, Intern provided 5 hours of animal massage to rescued rabbits.

Yoga Instruction Experience

Private Practice Personal instruction to private clients since 2010

Yoga Pod Boulder & Longmont Teaching since 2021 offering regular classes weekly along with workshops

Full Circle Yoga Teaching yoga since 2013 offering beginner and advanced yoga classes

including vinyasa yoga, yin yoga, and Principle-Based Partner Yoga

CorePower Yoga Teaching yoga since 2008 offering beginner and advanced yoga classes

including vinyasa yoga, hot yoga, yin yoga, and Principle-Based Partner Yoga.

Private practice maintained and supported a thriving private yoga client base at a personal

office space.

Radiance Power Yoga Teaching yoga since 2012 offering beginner and advanced power

vinyasa yoga classes.

CorePower Yoga Internship provides 60 hours of yoga instruction to beginner students

Advanced Clinical Hypnotist

Private practice since 2021 cultivated, maintained and supported a thriving private client base in person and via zoom

Other Qualifications

• Professional Associations: First Aid & CPR Certified, Yoga Alliance, Insured
• Personality Highlights: Committed to continual personal self-growth, enthusiastic, confident, and outgoing, organized and detail-oriented, professional, and passionate about health and wellness.
• Other work experience: Managed and opened successful yoga studios and offices, & marketing and computer skills.

“Illuminate transformation and restore balance”- Lara’s Touch

Autumn Ecstatic Breathwork Release Party with Kelly Bearer and Lara Christine

Autumn Ecstatic Breathwork Release Party with Kelly Bearer and Lara Christine 

Sunday, November 20th, 2-5 pm 

@ Yoga Pod South Boulder 

633 S Broadway Unit N, Boulder, CO 80305 

$40 investment 

Holotropic Breathwork is a self-healing modality that can free up old, stuck energy, negative emotional patterns, and limiting beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors. Through the process of experiencing full, open, connected breathing, you can integrate the mind, body, and spirit at higher and deeper levels of consciousness. Healing, joy, bliss, and peace are common outcomes. This breathwork intensive is designed for those who are new to connected breathing as well as experienced breathwork practitioners. 

Join Master Hypnotherapist and DJ Kelly Bearer (aka DJ Sosan) along with embodiment and hypnotic healing guide Lara Christine for a magical afternoon of deep healing and transformation through a holotropic breathwork release party set to a live, evocative musical journey. Through intentional breathing, we will tap into the power of the subconscious mind to access altered states of consciousness for profound healing, growth, and transformation to support all areas of your life. Come with an intention of releasing something that no longer serves you and call in what you most want for yourself as you experience greater embodiment and a sense of well-being and wholeness through this healing breathwork journey. During our three-hour breathwork intensive, we will engage in a welcoming introduction and breathwork teaching with an intention setting, and from there we will create our sacred space for the journey together. The breathwork will begin as DJ Sosan carries you through an expansive musical journey. The entire experience will be supported by sitters holding sacred space for your journey. We will complete our time with an integration session that includes journaling/drawing, and yoga poses for integration. Please bring: - yoga mat, a pillow, and a blanket - a water bottle - a journal and pen - wear loose comfortable clothing that you can move freely in - optional art supplies - optional eye pillow - an intention of something you want to release - an intention of something you want to welcome 

Kelly's Bio: Kelly Bearer, MA, LPCC, ACHT an Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapist, Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapist, and the Founder and Clinical Director of the Boulder Hypnotherapy Institute where she trains, mentors, and certifies mental health professionals in clinical hypnotherapy. A graduate of Naropa University with an M.A. in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology, she has more than 20 years of experience in the counseling field. Her methodology includes Meta Hypnotherapy, Integral Theory, Transpersonal Psychology, Gestalt Therapy, Subtle Energy, and Holistic Integrative healing techniques. An ordained Zen Monk, her interests lie in exploring the intersection of spirituality and psychology, the ground where our healing journey begins. 

Lara's Bio Lara is a devoted student and passionate Yogini who believes in the power of presence and love to illuminate, transform, and restore balance. Along with her 10 years + of experience as a teacher and yoga practitioner, Lara has studied and practiced a wide variety of healing modalities that she synthesizes into her classes and private work. These include Vinyasa Yoga, Hot Yoga, Yin Yoga, Yoga Therapy, Principle-Based Partner Yoga, Body-Centered Psychotherapy, Heart-Centered Hypnotherapy, Massage Therapy, Feminine Embodiment Arts, and Authentic Relating. Each breath, each class, each bow, and each movement, represents a prayer of devotion and love. Through her own personal experience, she has discovered that yoga enlivens a power of heightened awareness in all areas of our lives. "When we begin to embody ourselves authentically on all levels, we have the innate power to heal ourselves naturally." Yoga is an art form that Lara carves into each practice to restore your body, mind, and soul, to leave you feeling more connected and aligned. When not on her yoga mat, you will find Lara singing, dancing, and hiking in the Colorado mountains as well as playing with her daughter Brooke.

https://fb.me/e/2XdgF2BQH

Hypno Healing with Lara: What is Hypnosis?

#hypnohealingwithLara 

As a Certified Clinical Hypnotist, part of my role is to educate my clients about the power of hypnotherapy as a healing modality. 

Hypnosis is widely misunderstood thanks to stage hypnosis. People may feel fear thinking that they will be "put under" to an unconscious mind state and be told to do something against their free will. In a therapeutic context, this is very far from true. For a hypnotic suggestion to take root in your subconscious mind, it has to originate from your own truth and desire to create transformation for your own healing.