Qoya means Queen. Not a bejeweled, emotionally distant, woman of inherited power, but a woman, or the feminine aspect of a man who remembers. Who is sovereign. Who is interdependent and reverent of the interconnection of all things. Who is embodying her essence as wise, wild and free. In Quechuan, the indigenous language of the Andes and shamans in Peru, Qoya means a feminine manifestation of higher consciousness. What is higher consciousness? LOVE. It's not about powerful kings or queens reigning over this world; it's about love reigning over this world. It begins with the benevolent king and queen within us becoming sovereign over Self.
Happy New Year Qoya Tribe!
In the ancient sacred scripture the Bhagavad Gita, there is guidance that it is better to fail miserably at your own dharma (soul work) than succeed at someone else's.
Your soul work can be your garden, the way you parent, a business you start, or whatever way that you infuse your gifts into the world to serve and steward life.
Dear Dancers and Prancers (as well as Comets and Cupids),
Hi! It's such an honor to be able to write words and have you read them. Such an honor to co-create paradigms that revere the embodiment of the feminine together. Such an exciting time to imagine more of us dancing and inspiring those around us to dance, literally and figuratively. Dancing with our lives. With art. With movement. Most importantly, with love.
If you are in a similar place to me or the multitudes of others I know in the multiverse, you will be feeling a LOT of fullness today and at this time.
So much is happening.
So much is changing.
So much is OPENING.
The tendency is to let this buzzing energy keep you up at night and daydreaming during the day. The invitation of these words are to ground into your body, root your deepest knowing into the soil, and let yourself be open to all the weather of this time - the rain, sleet, snow, sun, wind, and peaceful moments between. Stay open to life.
How do you infuse the Sacred into the external world?
More importantly, why do you infuse the Sacred into the external world?
The same reason you dance to remember the sacred essence of yourself that is wise, wild and free.
The default for most of us when something happens, or doesn't happen, is to stage a demonstration of our capabilities at mental gymnastics as we twist, turn and flip from one thought to another. While analysis can be helpful, it can also be paralyzing (I recommend having a good therapist to differentiate the two!)
I just completed 10 days of teaching a Qoya Teacher Training Intensive and our annual pay-what-you-can retreat outside Woodstock, New York at Menla Mountain Retreat Center. It is one of my favorite places to bring people in the world because you can feel the sacredness of the land that was commissioned by the Dalai Lama, stewarded by the Thurman family, and part of Tibet House honoring the powerful presence that he embodies: sharing his message of love and compassion.
Yesterday, I got to have an amazing experience teaching Qoya to a group of teenage girls who are chapter leaders for an organization called I Am That Girl.
When we are conscious, we can be present with others respecting their unique experience, and at the same time be aware of the part of ourselves that they mirror to us.
Being a dancer, I have a thing for musicians. On one fall day a few years ago, I had plans for a date, and this particular musician pulled a Houdini - or as the New York Times recently referenced, he "ghosted" me. Like Houdini, he disappeared, and only the ghostly, intangible, untouchable idea of him remained.
Luckily, my friend Kassidy Brown (co-founder of We Are the XX and birthday girl this weekend) was around to console me. After crying and collapsing into despair, I had an idea. What about catharsis?
When I'm leading a Qoya retreat or just hanging out with my friends, I often warn people that whatever question they ask me, I will often answer with, "What feels right in your body?" Fearful of sounding annoying or repetitive, I share that this question is meant to be empowering and a gesture of implicit trust that if something truly feels right in your body, that it is the right thing to do - not only in Qoya, but also in life.
“High degrees of self care will put you in the relaxation response or the terrain of magic, mystery, and a nervous system that feels the unity consciousness of two worlds, the one you can see and the one you can’t, but can feel – the ephemeral.”
—Dr. Anne Davin
It takes a lot of courage to be in a body. For my blog today, I'm sharing writer, yoga teacher and mind, body & soul coach Allison Richard's experience of her first Qoya class. I know in my own practice, it's amazing how the simplest little thing that I do or don't do in my body can reveal a life-changing metaphor if I'm willing to integrate it. Read her story below, and I invite you to join me for a class in New York this Saturday or in Woodstock in October for our annual pay-what-you-can retreat.
“Do you really want to look back on your life and see how wonderful it could have been had you not been afraid to live it?” —Caroline Myss
If you're feeling the existential ache, you're not alone. What the hell is going on in this wise, wild and free world?
As I scroll through my proverbial rolodex, I think of the people I know who have the strongest life force: passion in the eyes and fire in their will, so much so that you can hear the drum beat of their heart.
These people have connected to the calling within that is seemingly impossible until you begin. Once that first step is taken, though, doors appear where there were only walls. A sincere pursuit receives the reward of miracles, and as they individually transform, the world outside of them does as well.
Have you ever thought, "What if I'm wrong?" What if, at the end of your life, it turns out you weren't supposed to prioritize love? What if you weren't supposed to trust yourself, and you definitely were not supposed to be dancing?
Sometimes there are no words to express the depth of a feeling. We try and the attempts create so much beautiful art in this world, but instead of speaking, we can also dance as a way to communicate.
You know that saying, "calm seas don't make strong sailors"? For many of us on the journey to continue to choose love, we face many challenges. If you're paying attention, life can break your heart every day. Unrequited love, the job you wished for, the "what if?" things so different than how things really are - as well as the beauty of the sunlight coming through the trees, her smile, his laugh, all of it.
I just finished teaching at the Reveal conference at Kripalu alongside Meggan Watterson, Christiane Northrup, Kate Northrup, and Maya Azucena. It was an incredible honor to reveal our souls in sisterhood, and the wildest thing happened: I danced for everyone. I dance all the time, but I haven't danced for a group of 100+ people in 15 years since college.
