insights - Spiral Path

‘The Bright Light of Clarity’ and Other Potent Breathwork Gifts

by Moss | Apr 4, 2024 | Breathwork

‘My legs shake relentlessly against the bed where I lay, as my lungs pump like bellows bringing more gifts of awakening through the increased oxygen coursing through me. The heightened activity in my hypothalamus is being experienced in myriad ways as tears course down my cheeks and I laugh through the tears as I process the explosion in understanding that has just occurred. A culmination of my last several sessions breathing, with the life-changing insights they bore, I marvel at the bright light of clarity as I see how it’s all connected. The well-worn urge for protection from a violating childhood operation, the world-shaking rage I’ve held from every unsaid thing, the volcanic surge as I stepped into my power, the fear of vulnerability, of people leaving, of speaking up, of, of, of and the resistance trembling through me as i fight for release… and then so much love, so much support, so much wisdom. It all builds, stone by stone the path of healing stretches before me and each insight and each session carries me forward…’

This is a snippet of some of my recent experiences from my personal breathwork sessions, the results of which are SO hard to put into words whilst simultaneously so very life-changing.

I haven’t even been doing breathwork for that long, but every single time I’m left blown away at the enormity of healing it gifts me. This is why I’m so honoured and excited (and a little scared truth be told), to be finally sharing this remarkable practice with my communities from the end of this month.

I can feel the part of me that is already holding its breath in readiness for the flood of feedback. Breathwork is so potent and I’ve seen it have such wide ranging impacts on folks, that I just can’t wait to hold space for you and all that our sessions bring up in you.

Some more realness: I never imagined my Spiral Path journey would take me to this place of offering healing services. I’ve always seen myself as a word-based facilitator, using information and discussion to bring folks closer to nature and themselves. And that’s another thing, I’m almost unconsciously waiting for someone to say, ‘what has breathwork got to do with nature?’, but that’s just my clever imposter wearing a different costume.

But if you are wondering that then I can tell you! May close attention to the end of my new-ish strapline, ‘radical re-connection to nature and self.’ Nature and self are indivisible. We are nature, not separate from it. Human supremacy is also settler-colonial white supremacy and just look at the mess it’s got us in. The climate crisis has been caused by the forced disconnection from nature we’ve undergone from various oppressions and I don’t think it will be solved until the majority of us can find some point of reconnection to the Earth.

So, if we can see ourselves as part of nature, and we can give some time to healing ourselves, then ultimately we are healing nature and our connection to it. If we see ourselves in the land, we are less likely to harm the land.

Don’t get me wrong – this isn’t an argument for more of the hyper-individualistic wellness culture that would have us see our healing as a solo pursuit with individual ebenefits. Healing ourselves as a part of the land can only ever be successfully done in the wider circle of our human and more-than-human kin.

Which brings me to the name: EARTH BREATH. The breath is the key we’re using here to connect to the body, but the earth does more than just gift us the air we breathe. I’ve found through experience that in the height of emotion during a breathwork session, sometimes I crave to lay down the weight of what I’m feeling and be held close. And the land is always there for just that, both within the inner landscape of our mind, and the outer landscape around us. I include in my process ways to let the Earth hold you when you need it most, and that, I believe, is part of a lasting relationship of nature-connection that benefits both you and the rest of nature.

I’m so pleased to say that you can now join EARTH BREATH session’s online in group and 1:1 sessions, and in person (Ipswich, Suffolk, UK) also online and 1:1.

It would be my honour to guide in experiencing the potent power of your breath and the healing gifts that hold for you.

For more information and booking: https://www.walkthespiralpath.co.uk/breathwork/

Moss x

A Fools Leap Helping Me to ‘Know Thyself’

by Moss | Oct 19, 2023 | Uncategorized

I’ve always admired the easy leap of faith taken by the fool of the tarot, seemingly content in ambling off the edge of a cliff. Didn’t they see the edge or are they embracing the descent into new ways of being and thinking, turning their life upside down joyously?

When it comes to turning my life upside down, I’m a quintessential Libra, living up to my sun sign as I spend many moons weighing the pros and cons, dreaming into change, making lists, consulting the tarot, seeking guidance from my deities and advice from friends.

So I want to tell you about a big decision I’ve made recently, but also some of the impacts and insights that have come with it, as well as share with you some of the tools I’ve used along the way.

The decision it’s taken me all year to make is to give up my permanent contract at the library where I’ve worked for 18 years and switch to a zero hour contract. I have done this before and I know there will be enough hours available that I will be ok for money, but the lack of certainty has still made it a difficult decision. The reason I’ve chosen this option, is that I can’t yet make a living from my business only, but the extra flexibility and more time I can spend on my business will really help.

The thing that pushed me to decide, was seeing that I wasn’t following some advice that I often give to others; that in order to make change in our lives, we first have to make space for it. I had been expecting my life to change drastically, but without creating the conditions for that change to happen. Once I realised that, there was no other reason I could see not to take the leap – fool or not.

This was during the Summer, and I spent these months asking my employer for details of the process. By the time Lughnasadh arrived, I had officially given notice, effective from Samhain (I had to right?). There are a lot of details about the process that I won’t bore you with, but that make the transitional months between contracts a REALLY tough time ahead. Giving my notice had been really empowering, and I felt great about taking a leap of faith in favour of my business, but by Lughnasadh I was really worried about how I was going to cope financially during the 3 month transition period.

I did a lot of reflection at Lughnasadh around the themes of this seasonal celebration: harvest, abundance and sacrifice. I was very grateful to receive insights that reminded me of the role of sacrifice in the harvest. There’s no apples without the shedding of leaves beforehand, for example. So, I was able to reframe these difficulties as a necessary sacrifice in preparation for (hopefully) a future harvest of increased income from my business. Don’t get me wrong, this insight didn’t wave a magic wand making all my fears disappear, but it certainly soothed me.

My final realisations around this have come from revisiting a wonderful free zine download called ‘our bodies as authentic business mentors’ by the wonderful Yarrow Magdalena (sign up to their newsletter for the download here). The beautiful text and gentle journal prompts asked me to check in with my body, where I was surprised to discover grief. When I went deeper with this I came to see that I had unwittingly created a narrative at some point, about how I expected my business to grow steadily, meaning I would naturally arrive at a point where I would give up my library work entirely to focus on my business. A neat little story I hadn’t even realised I’d internalised and was even grieving the loss of!

Wrapped up in these experiences you can see the power of reflection and listening to the body. It feels like we can move through our everyday life incorporating narratives and limiting beliefs without even realising, even when they can cause us difficulties in moving forward and growing.

I’d really recommend trying practices that connect you to your body to identify your feelings. Once you have that you can ask where these feelings are coming from. Also, any tool or resource that allows you to question yourself is well worth the time. Remember that leaping fool? Tarot is a favourite tool of mine, both in reading for myself, and for the client readings I offer through my website (here). It never ceases to amaze me the way that divination can bring new perspectives sharply into focus, like an outspoken dear friend.

Finally, if you’re eager to do such work but need some radical support, do check out the Labyrinth Life Coaching page of the website (here), as I’d dearly love to support you on the path to such insights and on the quest, as it says on the ancient temple ruins of Apollo at Delpi, to ‘know thyself.’