Happy Valentine's Day~ Join Eve Ensler's One Billion Rising to End Violence Against Women, Win a Boudoir Photo Session and Dance Yourself Back To Love

Dear One, I am forever intrigued and enchanted by how a woman will begin with a heart break, a heart ache or a yearning that goes as deep as the center of the earth and as soon as she starts to move her body, express the full spectrum of who she is and feel the physical sensation of the blessings and challenges of the situation she is in, there is a peace and calm that starts to emanate through her eyes, a softness you can feel in her heart and a fire in her belly.

All life, every situation, has its blessings and challenges and what you look for is what you see.  Your job, your partner, your home, the weather, all of it.  The tendency is to polarize one's perception into only making a gratitude list of the blessings or collapsing into being victimized by one's challenges.  The invitation in life and in Qoya is to dance wildly across the spectrum and into the wholeness of the situation, of self and of life, with love.  To wisely acknowledge that it is both- that every situation, person and experience of life holds its blessings and its challenges.  Savor the blessings and the beauty.  Stop to smell the roses and enjoy planting seeds in the garden.  Honor the challenges and know they are not happening to you, but for you and for your soul's growth.  Why else would they be there?

One of the most profound examples of feminine power is the ability to do this.  To be able to sit with the pain and challenge and then use it as fuel for art and beauty and blessings, using everything that does and does not happen as a pathway back to love.  You can see this modeled perfectly by the V-Day Movement One Billion Rising created by visionary Eve Ensler, who wrote the Vagina Monologues, to use Valentine's Day as a global movement to end violence against women and girls through art.  Through expression.  Through the honoring of the real life challenges and abuse by more than claiming, seizing, the blessings of turning pain into power and strengthening our spirits to find a collective voice of truth.  Visit her website here to see how much magic, beauty and love can be born when we mature to stand, and then dance, together.

One Billion Rising aligns with the essence of Qoya.  Through movement, we remember.  We remember our essence as women, our truth, as wise, wild and free.  Through the embodiment of spirit, through the dancing of our souls, we judge and analyze less to feel and experience more.  Our knowingness resonates as a zing in our spine and a confidence in our bones.

There's an important piece of the puzzle to One Billion Rising.  It's the invitation for women to rise up and stand for a world where they can share the full expression of their brilliance, beauty, sensuality, power and life force.  There is a tendency with women to stay small to stay safe, but the more women speak up, shine and share their unique gifts, the better this world will be.

I recently had the pleasure of working with professional photographer and Qoya dancer Lori Berkowitz for my first boudoir photo shoot.  Her intention is to capture moments where a woman can recognize her own beauty- inside and out.  The interesting thing about boudoir photography for me is like Qoya, it's less about how it looks and more about how it feels, what it evokes.  It's an experience of embodiment of selfhood, of being whole and holy onto oneself.  It's a captured moment of the remembering of the divine feminine light in this world, at this time, in 2013.  Through these images I was able to see  the part of me that is constant, and impenetrable, regardless of gain or loss, the spirit of being a woman.   I was so moved by the transformative power of my experience and wanted to share it with you. Lori is going to be offering Boudoir sessions at 50% off her normal rate at the Costa Rica Qoya Retreat April 6-13, 2013 and we will raffle off one free session to all women who have signed up for the Costa Rica Retreat by February 21, 2013.

To see Lori's website, go here.  Boudoir photo sessions with Lori in Costa Rica will be offered at half price, which is $275, and includes a full gallery ofall images and 2 retouched custom prints.   If you can't make it to Costa Rica and want to get your Boudoir on please call  212 244 2232 or email lori@loribnow.com for a friend of Qoya deal!

Besides being able to win a free boudoir photo session, I'd like to share one paragraph about the Qoya Retreat in Costa Rica. In an ideal world, I wish we could all go to Costa Rica together and begin our day, instead of with an alarm clock of obligations, with the bright Central American sun coming through our window and the sound of howler monkeys ready to play.  I wish that on our walk up to early morning meditation and breathing, we would be overwhelmed with gratitude to have some time and space in our lives to reflect, to be and then to dream.  I wish that we could allow ourselves to be deeply nourished for an entire week with food that is all organic, mostly vegetarian, delicious, nutritious and made with love.  I wish that as we danced Qoya for hours every morning we would have the most profound remembering of our essence- of our wise hearts, wild souls and free minds through the movement of our holy bodies.  I wish that in the free space of an afternoon, we could follow our intuitive guidance to take us on external adventures of surfing, zip lining, horseback riding along the sunset or internal adventures to rest, to receive a massage, to have an hour long talk by the pool or sit and watch the waves of the ocean rise and fall.  I wish that as we gather together in the evenings to sit with spirit in sacred ceremonies, we would remember the power of our interconnectedness, to each other, to nature, to life.  I wish that with every time we immersed ourselves in the warm ocean water, felt the cool breeze, saw the canopy of palm trees or the butterfly crossing our path, that we would be able to pause and take a deep breath and that the moment would fill us completely.  Here is the link to the 3 minute Qoya video which really captures the essence of this trip to Costa Rica.  There are still some spaces available, so if you're thinking about joining, please do.

QOYA RETREAT - Costa Rica April 6th - 13th 2013 from jodi jones on Vimeo.

Ok loves, I leave you with an invitation to join One Billion Rising in support of ending violence against women.  Dance today and honor your movement as prayer and your intention as a portal for the divine to flow through you in this video as , "Only Love is Real.  FEAR is False Evidence Appearing as Real."   May it be so.

Only Love is Real. Fear is False Evidence Appearing as Real. from Rochelle Schieck on Vimeo.

May it be better than we can even imagine,

Rochelle

Testimonials for the Qoya Costa Rica Retreat

Rochelle Schieck's Qoya retreat was a magical, loving and liberating experience for me! She taught me how to connect to my inner wisdom through moving my body in a way that was less about what looks good more about what feels good ... Rochelle is the most loving, giving, kind and inspirational women I've ever known. I recommend Qoya retreat to any woman looking to deeply connect with self, meet amazing like minded women and experience more joy in their life! You will have a blast! You will leave Qoya retreat feeling rejuvenated and more of you again!!!" - Brittany Daniel, Los Angeles, CA

I was lucky enough to celebrate my birthday at Qoya Costa Rica last year- Rochelle set off an incredible dance party to ring in my 41st year that I will never forget.  We were high up in the sky over looking the ocean and feeling it all!  Best BIRTHDAY ever- can't wait to return every year for celebrating LIFE!  - Lori Berkowitz, NYC

The Qoya Costa Rica retreat can be summed up by the expression of how all people greet each other: PURA VIDA! (Translation: Pure Life!)  The return on your investment in yourself when you sign up and go on a Qoya retreat is infinite...being wise, wild and free is truly priceless.  The Costa Rica Retreat is a shortcut to BLISS by way of heaven on earth.  - Tara Dixon, Brooklyn, NY

"This retreat is the place I go to fall in love with myself again. Qoya Costa Rica ignites my soul. When I am there I find myself dancing with wild abandon, laughing with delight, washing away my sorrows and connecting deeply to spirit. Qoya reminds me who I am as a woman. I can't think of a better way to spend a week. I am so grateful."  - Sarah Charlesworth, Toronto, Canada

Rochelle is a the true version of a modern day Sikh. She embodies a matriarchal energy that can lead, generate, inspire and renew a Spirit within all of us to deeply connect with ourSelves first, and the community at large. Rochelle's Qoya retreat in April of 2011 was one of the most sacred weeks I've ever spent with myself and an awe-inspiring group of women. She had me connecting with my own matrilineal lineage through special rites and ceremonies that truly swept my heart away in gratitude for the duration of the retreat and beyond. Rochelle is a modern day gift bestowing magical presents from what seems to be from a time long-ago. I encourage ANY woman to be a part of Rochelle's Qoya retreat not only for Herself, but for what she'll invariably inspire amidst her own community after her return!  -Kelly Quintia, Los Angeles, CA

Qoya in Costa Rica blew my whole world open! I was confused about where I was in life and why I was there and didn't even think I should go an such an extravagant trip as Costa Rica, but once Qoya started I knew immediately it was right. Rochelle has a way of daring you to face your dreams and Qoya empowers you to know you're capable of achieving them! I never felt so light, so connected, and so ME as I did while I was in that jungle paradise, dancing everyday. Thank you Rochelle for blowing open my mind and changing my life!      -Luci Butler, St. Augustine, Florida

The Qoya Costa Rica retreat was for me, THE BEST!!!!!!! I have actually gone twice! And twice, I fell in love. I fell in love with the environment we are placed in, the fascinating howls from the howler monkeys vibrating through the trees each night, the delicious, wholesome, taste-bud sizzling food, the guidance and teachings each day, the connection with other girls who just so happen to all be incredibly rad, interesting and fun. But most of all, I fell in love with the way I was able to tap back into everything and anything I ever wanted to know/feel/intuit/strengthen/lossen/deepen/open about and in myself simply through moving my body to the words and music offered on this retreat. Just So Good.    -Becca Kannapell, NYC

Visioning a New Year in 2013: Learn How To Do A Three Card Story And The Grapevine

I've been living in LA for almost two months now, teaching Qoya and planting seeds for her to grow out West. In the last Qoya class of the year, I led the women through a visioning ritual that I want to share with you today. It's called a three card story. First, let me differentiate between visioning and goal setting. I borrowed a friend's car recently and there was a CD of a lecture by a man named Jacob Glass where he described himself as a de-motivational speaker. De-motivational because many times our motivations or goal setting can come from a place of ego whose acquisition is outside of  oneself. Strategizing for things to happen can sometimes be a useful planning tool, sometimes a pacifying approach to the ego to further the illusion that it has control and sometimes be the default M.O. to a culture that even when things are going horribly, we can help feel better by knowing we are "working hard." I'm not opposed to working hard, but am curious about becoming more conscious about from what place our projects stem from- ego or spirit.

Ego generated goals will likely be exhausting and when fulfilled, satisfaction will be fleeting.   Spirit generated visions will have a soulful satisfaction, regardless of the outcome, to know that you have given yourself fully to the task and shown up not only for the material rewards, but for the inner transformation that always happens when we grow. And why do we set goals or visualize for the year ahead? Is it because we perpetually just want more or is it because we deeply want to evolve? Is it that our dharma, the unique thing that can only be birthed in this world through us, is calling our name?

The vision process is always self-examination. It's never, "God, I want this. Make this happen." It's always, "What do I have to become to live the vision, to manifest it, to reveal it?" The visioning process, then, is a process of transformation of the individual. - Reverend Michael Beckwith

In Jacob's lecture he encourages you to wait for some guidance and that if Spirit wants you to do something, you will know it.  So, when you get the divine assignment, that is when you go full throttle and run with it! Sounds good, unless you have no idea what your divine assignment is.

One of the three essences of a Qoya class is based on the idea that all answers are within. Qoya is like a map, like a labyrinth, into the center of one self to access each individual's deepest truths. The three card story is another way in.

Step One: pull out your divination decks. I mix up my goddess oracle cards, any of my decks by doreen virtue and my new favorite the be your own oracle cards. You can use traditional tarot cards as well.

Step Two: take a couple deep breaths to come more into your instinctual being of letting your body lead you and feeling the card draw you to it. As you pull your three cards, root into your intention that one card is to symbolize the beginning of the story, one for the middle and one for the end. Leave the cards face down and wait to turn the cards over one at a time as you are writing.

Step Three: get some paper and a pen out and write this first sentence down, "Once upon a time, there was a woman who had a vision of the year to come." Then pull the first card to tell the beginning of the story. Trust whatever the words on the card or the image draws up for you. Sometimes it can be literal, but remember, the intention is to access the vision that lives inside of you and the cards are a way to access that. After writing a paragraph about the beginning of your story, then flip over the second card and write the middle of your story. Try to let the subconscious take over and write without pauses, just letting it flow. Lastly, pull over the third card and write the end of the story.

Step Four: from reading your story, listen deeply to your words to hear the theme, mantra, or intention that came forward.  Notice the difference between setting goals on what you think you "should" do and that this exercise is to take you into your intuition to open yourself up to the bigger vision that lives in you.

Step Five: from here, I encourage you to make a playlist that evokes the remembering of this intention and dance to it daily!  For ideas on easy and pleasurable ways to move your body, check out EmbodyQoya.com online with a free 10 day intro and a monthly membership with over 50 videos.

In Qoya classes, the structure is to begin with circling each part of the body to practice focusing less on how it looks and more on how it feels, looking for the place that feels good to move and open your body.  Then, we move into heart opening, hip opening, dancing sun salutation or a warrior yoga sequence, learning a choreographed dance, shaking, dancing our intention in free dance, community sharing and connection and we end with stretching.  In the spirit of New Year's Eve, here is a short three minute video to teach you the Grapevine!

Through movement, we remember.  We remember our essence is wise, wild and free.

May you be brave enough to remember the truth and intuitive enough to follow where it guides you. May love have its way with you. May the sweetness of the New Year be yours.

With love,

Rochelle

***And if there is an intuitive nudge somewhere in your three card story to come join us in Costa Rica, we'd love to have you! See the video below and click here to register!

QOYA RETREAT - Costa Rica April 6th - 13th 2013 from jodi jones on Vimeo.

Going Home: The Pilgrimage Back to One's Body (And other news about Qoya Kids, the online Qoya Studio (it's up!!) and the next Qoya retreat in Greece!)

"At the end of all our exploring,

Will be to arrive where we started,

And know the place for the first time."

-T.S. Eliot 

My last blog post was titled 3 easy ways to learn how to listen to your intuition.  If you're going to write about encouraging others to listen to their intuition, it puts oneself in a position of moral obligation to do the same, in order to be in integrity. So, when I received a clear intuitive message that said, "Go to Minnesota for your birthday and (specifically) go to the physical land that you were born on," I booked my ticket and packed my suitcase.

The first couple days of my visit in Minnesota, I found myself completely enchanted with my friends and family, with the beauty of all the gorgeous gardens, parks, bike trails and outdoor concerts. I went to a bunch of delicious farm to table restaurants like the Birchwood cafe, Lucia's, French Meadow and vegan oasis Ecopolitan. I was overwhelmed by the amazing women who attended my Qoya weekend workshop at Four Gates and I found myself thinking "...maybe I could move back here and make Minnesota my home base?"

I looked up the address of the hospital I was born in and was off for my pilgrimage to visit the place where this trip around the sun first began. When I arrived at what used to be the hospital where I entered this world, I couldn't believe what had replaced it- a beautiful (and chic) apartment building that just opened.  In that moment, my intuitive vision became clear - I'm coming home.

After having my intuition guide me so clearly to my next home, I went for a walk in the closest part to this apartment building and came across this poem by T.S. Eliot.  The words were the stamp and seal of approval, the poetic synchronicity that describing goes beyond words.  When you can feel your place in the web of interconnection amongst all things.  To feel your intuition is to feel plugged in and supported in a way that is stronger than isolated and alone.  Reading this poem, could make anyone want to go home- to go back to the beginning, back to the space between two waves of the sea.

I believe that the easiest way to tap into your intuition, into your happiness, into life- is to learn how to feel it through your body, through movement.

Qoya is based on this idea that through movement, we remember.  We remember, as women, that we are inherently wise, wild and free.

That through movement, we can experience our own way home.  Back to the place we started our journey in our body and knowing it for the first time.

On my birthday, something else happened.  I launched the Qoya online studio!  It's a growing collection of videos ranging from 5-10 ,15, 30 and 60 minute videos that remind you that your body is an incredible resource of wisdom to answer your deepest questions.  Videos that remind you that your body is a vessel to wildly and creatively express your essence.  That your body is one of the easiest ways to be liberated, to feel free and to have a daily experience of your power, purpose and pleasure.

Some is free; like the 10 days to Embody Qoya (which are 10 days of 10 minutes of movement a day to get you going!) and the Qoya Kids page (which has a 15 minute video and pdf print out to guide movement for ages 3-5, 6-9 and 10-12).   The rest of the site has a membership fee of $30 a month. Check out it's first unveiling here at EmbodyQoya.com.

My dream is to share all the things in which I have been blessed to experience and learn and create them in a format that is easy, effective and fun to serve, nurture and inspire others on their  journey. Do you have 5-6 minutes today to do the first day of the 10 Free Days to Embody Qoya? A little movement goes a long way.  Just a moment of remembering can be the kickstart you need.  It can be like control-alt-delete to reset your system again.  It can be the realigning of your compass, so that your body's wisdom can guide you home.

For the pilgrimage back to one's body, there's Qoya.  And now, you can have access to Qoya through your internet connection with dozens and dozens of videos on EmbodyQoya.com as well.  And then, there are retreats, which are sacred time to live the philosophy of Qoya morning, noon and night with morning meditation and breathing, longer Qoya classes, healthy delicious meals, adventures and learning how to sit with the sacred in ceremonies and goddess rituals.  The next 2 retreats are planned for Greece in the Fall and Costa Rica in the Spring. I'll also be teaching classes in NYC at Sacred in Brooklyn Sunday July 8th and 15th at 5:15pm and another workshop in Minneapolis Sept 4-9th.  I am so grateful for the growing community of dancers, for all the blessings that are and all the blessings that are to be.

Love doesn't even begin to describe it,

Rochelle

Know the Movements that Refuel Your Soul

Know the places that recharge your spirit.

Know the people who inspire your life.

Know the movements that refuel your soul.

If I asked you the three places in the world where you feel the most like you- would you know what they are?  The places where you feel deeply grounded?  The places where you feel like you have the most joy?  Where you have the most epiphanies?  The places where you feel the most powerful?

What if I asked you about the people who inspire your life?  The ones that have been around so long, no action is requrired for you to be moved by them, just knowing they exist is inspiration enough.  The new ones that captivate and catapault you into a higher realm of consciousness, fun or both!  Who are the mirrors of light when darkness is around and are like a bonfire in which your spirit can warm itself up on the coldest of nights?

What are the movements that refuel your soul? That GIVE YOU ENERGY for your journey?  How can you move in a way that you instantaneously remember that there is a part of you that is sacred, eternal and divine?  Do you know?   Wouldn’t it be fun if you did?

It’s up to each of us to take the time to notice and what you look for is what you see.  The next time you flip through your travel photos remember how it felt.  Where were those magical recharge stations?  Whenever you find one- be sure to go there more often.

When your phone rings, watch how your body responds.  Are you avoiding the caller? Sulking in obligation? Excitedly answering?  Stay close to the people who light you up.

The next time you go to the gym, go for a run, take a yoga class, twirl around in pole dancing, leap in dance class, strengthen your core in pilates or explore the wise, wild and free woman in Qoya~ notice what movements illuminate the path back to yourself.

Qoya is based on the idea that through movement, we remember.  We remember as women that we are inherently wise, wild and free.  My vision is that as you become centered in your deepest truth and feel empowered as you embody your essence, you dance with pleasure along your unique path that leads to the highest destiny for you and for all of us.

If you'd like to try Qoya, check out these videos online: a one hour Qoya routine called Paradise, a 10 minute movement ritual for Dreaming Bigger Dreams or a 5 minute exploration of sensual movement.  (Password to videos is: qoya.)

I’d love to hear what your favorite moves are as you dance, your favorite spots on the earth and some of your favorite people and why!  Please share with me on facebook and share this with a friend if you think they’d enjoy it.

Love,

Rochelle

A One Way Ticket To Paradise

My holiday gift to myself this year is a one way ticket to paradise. I'm talking about paradise literally AND figuratively.

Literally, I bought a one-way ticket to Hawaii.  Starting January 2nd, I am leading the New Year's Qoya Kauai Retreat. After that, I'm still open to the universe/spirit/god/goddess/my intuition to guide me.

Figuratively, I am inviting you to get your own one way ticket to paradise and join me. There is the paradise "out there". The paradise that seems elusive and temporarily experienced on a vacation, in the acquisition of a desire or in the daydreams and fantasies of the mind. There is also the paradise inside, that is available to us anytime regardless of external circumstances. It is the place where we feel ecstatic. Alive. Awake. Aware. Wise. Wild. Free. Ourselves.

The gift I am offering to you is a map to your inner paradise through movement.

Qoya connects us back to ourselves so that when you move your body in a way that feels good, you start to tap back into your essence, your truth, your radiance, so you can source from that center.

Once you have that tangible and measurable sensation in your body to reference, you can use it like a compass when making future decisions.  Does taking this job make my body zing like the way I felt when I was dancing?  Does this food make me feel lethargic and tired or full of energy like when I finished the Qoya routine?  Once you have experienced yourself at a high vibration naturally by simply moving your body, you know how to create the conditions to experience it again anytime you need it. (You move!)

The whole point is to notice what works.  What lights you up.  What makes you feel alive and more connected to yourself, spirit and others.  Then, do that more often.  It sounds simple, but sometimes we forget.

Qoya is based on the idea that through movement we remember. We remember, as women, that we are inherently Wise, Wild and Free. Wise, Wild and Free are also the essence of the movement forms that influence Qoya. Wise comes from the wisdom of yoga. Wild is from the creative expression in dance. Free is from the pleasure found in sensual movement. The focus is less and less and less on how it looks and more and more and more on how it feels. When you're moving your body and it feels good to move, you're doing it right.

Here is the link to a one hour Qoya routine called Paradise (Password: qoya)! It and dozens and dozens of other videos like it will be on EmbodyQoya.com (the online Qoya movement studio I am working on as I travel), but until that launches, I would love to share this with you and encourage you to explore finding the way that your body wants to move, finding your map and your way to your inner paradise in 2012.

I know there are many of you on this list who have never actually tried Qoya. Thank you for your support and I hope that you enjoy this video as an appetizer and that we can dine together and feast on Qoya in person sometime in a class or retreat together. For those of you who I have danced with, I hope this will be a reminder that takes you back into the physical sensation of remembering and expressing your true self through your body.  Please let me know how you like the video!

***To prepare for your Qoya class, wear comfortable clothing (the movements are a combination of yoga, dance and sensual movement).  Most people prefer to do the class barefoot.  Before doing any exercise, it is best to be well hydrated and have an emptier stomach.   Always listen to and honor the unique needs of your body.  The class is one hour long.

Here's the link to the class again! Password: qoya.

May we remember how to connect to the joy and pulse of life by feeling paradise in our body.  And if you'd like to join us in person for Qoya's next excursion to Paradise, look at the Spring Qoya Retreat in Costa Rica April 21-28, 2012 at the beautiful Blue Spirit Resort.

Dancing in gratitude,

Rochelle

The Secret to Feel the Free in Wise, Wild and Free (hint: pleasure)

I am a free woman, unbound and limitless in my capacity to revel in and receive pleasure.

So are you.

This is 3 of 3 in a series of blog posts that focuses on the essence of each of the core expressions of Qoya: wise, wild and free.  Hands down, one of the most powerful ways a woman can own her life is through knowing how to access her own sensual pleasure. Before I go into how this philosophy is taught, embodied and lived in Qoya, I want to credit the woman who opened up this world for me- Regena Thomashauer.  Regena, a.k.a Mama Gena, started the School of Womanly Arts in New York City which offers a 6 month Mastery program where you learn the tools and the arts of using pleasure to have your way with the world. It's also called the pleasure revolution. I've done the course 4 times. I've done the advanced course called Inner Circle 3 times.  I've had over 40 of my friends and peers do the course and I've watched hundreds of other women completely transform their lives by shifting into the power of the feminine.  In all the personal growth and development work I have done, this is one of the most unique and effective ways I have come across to tap into your feminine essence and it influences and supports myself and Qoya everyday.

Regena is launching a brand new round of her online Virtual Pleasure Boot Camp, a ten-week program designed to take you out of ordinary civilian life and root you firmly in the tools, arts, and culture of the Pleasure Revolution, all from the comfort of your own home.  If you feel the calling to dive deep into your essence of being free to fully experience the joys of your life, I can't recommend her work enough.   It is because of my experience in the School fo Womanly Arts that I was able to identify my deepest desire and then have a community of women supporting me to make that big leap, which was creating Qoya.

I am forever grateful for all my experiences with the school and forever honored at the opportunity to share it with other women who are ready to take off the lid that keeps them feeling small to live the legend that is their life.  Please connect with me if you have any questions about Mama Gena's and I'd be happy to share more of my experience with you.  I do truly believe as each woman steps more into her power and her pleasure, it gives permission for another woman to do the same and another woman, and then the men in her life, and then her children, and pretty soon we've got a community of people enjoying their lives, expressing their unique gifts and truly evolving our world.  Sounds fun, huh?

Back to where we started...Qoya...wise, wild and FREE...sensual pleasure....

Sensual movement gives us permission to explore how to slow down, to indulge in circular, swirling, non-linear motion; to sway from side to side, to roll around on the floor, to circle your hips and feel the freedom of your own body.  The intention is not how the movement looks, but exploring which movements feel good in your body.

When a woman moves naturally in her body with fluidity and power, it can appear "sexy" – and it is. But, in Qoya, we don't do it to look good for an observer. We move this way to enjoy our own bodies.

Embracing our sensuality releases conscious and unconscious layers of shame, guilt and doubt that no longer serve us.  Qoya encourages each woman to remember how to access the pleasure that is always available to her through her physical form.

FEEL YOUR FREEDOM NOW.

Stand up and place your hands on  your hips.  As slowly as possible, circle your hips a couple of times to the right breathing deep and slow.  When you feel ready to switch directions, circle your hips a couple of times to the left and start to let your hands dance anyway they want to.  Explore enjoying the feeling of touching your own body.  Here's a video from a previous blog post last year's holiday season to hip circle along with. It only takes a couple minutes and a little movement goes a long way, so give yourself a couple minutes to enjoy your body, click here to see the video and circle!

Sensuality is only one aspect of being free, but it’s important to realize that tapping into the sensual pleasure of your own body is one of the fastest ways for a woman to reclaim an aspect of her power that may have been previously given away or self-abandoned.  Knowing oneself in this way encourages not only a woman to feel free, but to feel empowered.  Being empowered sensually often translates to being empowered in life.  Qoya desires to offer women an opportunity to tap into their sensuality in a safe and sacred way and in doing so gain clarity about their desires and feel their sensual essence as fuel for the journey.

To revel in the pleasure of your own body is to accept the gift of being a woman and one of the most profound ways to say YES to your life.  Thank you for being here with us at wisewildfree.com today.  I look forward to the next time we are able to dance together.

Here's to each of us living our yes,

Rochelle

Join us in Woodstock Labor Day Weekend for a Qoya Retreat devoted to exploring the Woman that is Wise, Wild and Free with morning 2 hours+ movement sessions, afternoons off to relax or go on adventures and evening gratitude and visioning prayer ceremonies.  Register by Friday, August 26th!

Want more?  Read the Qoya newsletter sent out yesterday about how Woodstock is calling all wise, wild and free women to dance again!

Feeling Good

I’ve been back from Costa Rica for about a week and I am still Feeling Good.  Hands down, without comparison, the Qoya Retreat in Costa Rica was one of the best weeks of my life.  Qoya is based on the idea that through movement, we remember.  We remember, that our essence is Wise, Wild and Free.  We reclaim our bodies as the pathway to spirit and enjoy expressing ourselves as embodied soul.  Seeing over 30 women take the journey into themselves through their body and emerge with bright sparkling eyes, strong toned bodies and ecstatically expressive hearts was an honor to witness.

Qoya is about turning up the volume of each woman's inner wisdom, of her creative spark and of her desire- first through her body, then in her life.  In Qoya, we focus less and less and less on how “it looks” and more and more and more on how it feels.  When it feels good is when you’re doing it right.   This is a shift from being previously dependent upon external validation and transitioning into a place where you trust your body as a guide and not only approve of it’s messages and desires, but you listen to and follow them!

Once you truly know the messages of your body- once you truly trust the messages she gives you in the form of your intuition, your instinct, your gut feelings, your zing- then you can fly.  You can rely on your own sensation as your compass.  I think I may have quoted Shakira on this blog before, but here it is again, “Your hips don’t lie.”  Neither does your heart, your yoni, your gut or your full body zing.  However, be wary of the monkey mind that loves to loop you around.  If the mind starts to sound like a used car salesman trying to sell you something, that is probably your ego trying to recruit you for team fear.  If your inner voice's guidance feels expansive and timeless and bold, that is probably the voice of your inner wisdom.

I want to share with you a couple of profound moments where I followed the zing in my body and the consequences of doing so.  These are times where it made no rational sense to make the decision I did, but I just did it anyway.  I  took bold action in the direction of my desires because I felt a strong hit of intuition.  It started with a deal I made with myself around 12 years ago where I decided that I believed that the universe would always support me in the pursuit of my true heart's desire. Therefore, all I had to do was figure out what that heart’s desire was and leap in that direction.  Before you read these stories, imagine what it would be like in your own life or what it would be like if we all believed the world is conspiring on our behalf.  What if we all believed that whenever we step out of our comfort zone and stretch in the direction of our biggest dreams that we are sacredly supported? It could be fun.

I hope as you read these stories your awareness of the ways you are supported and the remembering of the courage you have already modeled in your life arises. What I really hope is that those dreams that have been a soft whisper start increasing in volume and begin to howl like a wolf for it’s pack.

Once upon a time, I had a feeling that enrolling in Shaman School at the Four Winds Society was my next step.  Please note, this did not make logical sense to use all my savings to travel around the country and then to Peru for 6 months studying energy medicine.  However, I felt the zing in my body and I am devoted to answering the call when it arises, so...off I went.

After a passionate study of the divine feminine for many years, I found myself in tears in my first introduction to shamanism.  This was an unbroken lineage of energy healing for thousands of years all in service to the divine feminine.  The divine feminine being mother earth.  Many of the metaphors of healing are done through connection with nature as a way to connect with spirit.   One of my most powerful overlaps of the divine feminine and shamanism was during a pilgrimage to the sacred mountain Salkantay (pictured to the left) outside of Cusco.  All of the mountains around Cusco ground a particular energy and this mountain was said to hold the energy of the "Undomesticated Feminine."  Shamans (of the Andes) believe that when you die your body goes back to the earth from which you came, your spirit goes to the heavens, but all the knowledge you acquired goes to the mountaintops.  Many medicine men and women will hike to the tops of mountains and meditate to access insight to their questions.  We hiked 16,000 feet over 5 days, took breaks to be in awe at the wild avalanches and at the top of that mountain is where I received the clarity of my message for Qoya: that our nature is wise, wild AND free.  It was there that I saw that Qoya is an opportunity to express and embody the full range of woman as kind and wise, nurturing and soulful, sensual and erotic, fierce and protective and wildly wildly creative.  All of us.

After hiking Salkantay, I went into the heart of the Amazon jungle to study with the Shamans there and here begins a beautiful synchronistic tale.

1- I meet the co-founder of Omega, Stephan Rechtschaffen, but I didn’t know he was the founder of Omega.  I just knew him because he came to my yoga class, we chatted a little and then went our separate ways.

2- Two weeks later, my inner voice demanded, “Go to Omega this weekend! Go to Omega this weekend!”  “Ok, ok!  I’ll go!” I conceded.    I arrive and the first person I see is Stephan.  I am amazed at the coincidence of meeting him in Peru and then running into him a couple of weeks later at Omega.  He mentions it’s not such a big coincidence because he founded Omega and is there quite often.  Ha!  I express my gratitude for him co-founding one of my favorite havens on the east coast, a center devoted to the evolution of consciousness and bringing like minded people and teachers from all over the world together.  He mentions he also started a place in Costa Rica called Blue Spirit and that he runs groups there too.  I shared with him my vision for Qoya as a way to evolve how women relate to their bodies and feel their spirituality by embodying the feminine.  Later in the conversation, I voiced my desire to bring women on retreat to Costa Rica. He said, “Let’s put you on the calendar.”  This was the beginning of a dream coming true.  The picture to the right is one of the gorgeous women on this last Qoya retreat fully embodying her wise, wild and free self dancing on the beach.  Nice.

3- During my first retreat in Costa Rica last December, guess who stayed in the room next to me?   Alberto Villoldo! Alberto is the founder of the Shaman School I attended, The Four Winds.  He was vacationing with his gorgeous wife and teacher Marcela Lobos, who led the trip I went on in Peru a couple months earlier. Can you believe it?  I invited Marcela to be a guest at my Qoya class one morning.  She came and she loved it and then invited me to teach Qoya at her next Women’s Altar retreat in Utah in April 2011.  I love how this story keeps intertwining and unfolding.

4- I had the most amazing time in Utah doing my first sweat lodge and going through the rites of passage of the feminine from maiden to mother to crone, with Marcela. I loved the opportunity to learn about the feminine through the experience of being in a true circle, where each woman was honored for her voice, medicine and unique expression.  It was a powerful and transformative week to be initiated through ceremony into the feminine rites of passage.  Click here to see about a similar class Marcela is teaching in her native Chile this fall.  I took many of the gifts of the Women's Altar into the Qoya Retreat in Costa Rica.  See picture below from one of our fire ceremonies at the beach where we stepped into the timeless tradition of gathering around a fire.

5- After the Women's Altar class, I took a red-eye from Utah back to New York and attended an amazing event put on by my dear friend Janine Francolini, the founder of the Flawless Foundation.  The Flawless Foundation is devoted to seeing the perfection in every child, focusing on bringing more loving and compassionate care to children with mental illness.  One of the speakers was Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy who spoke right to the heart of everyone in the audience.  Mr. Kennedy was addressing the topic of mental illness as a civil rights issue and asking each one of us to open our hearts and minds to see the “spark of divinity” in everyone and to truly treat others as we would like to be treated, with dignity and respect.

With the 50th anniversary of his JFK’s speech, Patrick Kennedy will be launching this decade’s “Next Frontier,” as exploring the “inner space” of brain disorders –– “a moon shot to the mind.”  This event is to be a catalyst for a unified, all-fronts effort like his uncle’s, President Kennedy's, space program.  The moon shot to the mind program is needed to combine research, build awareness and explore neuroscience to understand and heal neurological illnesses.

I spoke with Mr. Kennedy after his speech about how moved I was with his asking everyone to wake up to see the “spark of divinity.”  What I heard was an invitation not only to see the “spark of divinity” in these children with brain challenges, but I heard the call to wake up and see the spark of divinity in all of us.  I asked him if he had heard of the recently published book Power Up Your Brain: The Neuroscience of Enlightenment by David Perlmuetter and Alberto Villoldo.  The book combines the perspectives of a medical anthropologist and shaman with a neuroscientist to come together to explain the ever emerging connections between spirituality and science in a way to heal and power up your brain.  (I highly recommend this book and sent a copy of the book to Patrick Kennedy's office as a gift).

The moral of this story is like the most morals of most stories.  Trust yourself. Take incredible care of yourself by clearing your mind, opening your heart and feeling good in your body so that when your intuition arises, you know yourself well enough to clearly hear and trust it.  Then, take bold courageous leaps in the direction of your desires.  Follow your bliss.  Follow the flow.  And write thank you cards to those that help you along the way.

• What synchronicities in the past have lit you up?
• How much do you call on your own intuition?
• When a synchronicity happens, do you pay extra special attention like it is a dialogue with the divine or do you write it off as a mere coincidence?

I invite you to invite in more synchronicity, more miracles, this week.  Let the magic unfold!

Since my passion is in movement, here is a video to get you back into your body feeling good in your hips. Do this once a day or several times a day, but the most important thing is to do it.  Through movement, we remember.

Feeling Good from Rochelle Schieck on Vimeo.

Join us on one of Qoya’s next adventures!:

• Classes in New York City at  Sacred in Brooklyn Wednesdays and Sundays 7-8pm
• Launching of EmbodyQoya.com (an online Qoya studio) in May/June 2011
• Labor Day Weekend Qoya Retreat in Woodstock, NY September 2-5th, 2011 with an option to participate in a Qoya Teacher Training September 2-7th
• Qoya is going to India in October 28th- November 9th, 2011!!!
• The next Qoya Retreat in Costa Rica is officially April 21-28th, 2012 with an option to participate in Qoya teacher training.

I so look forward to dancing together,

Rochelle

Let’s Get It On.

In the spirit of the holiday season, let's get it on. Get it on? As in sex, sensual pleasure, orgasms? Sure, why not?

True or false: Sex is one of the most ecstatic physical, mental, emotional, spiritual experiences you can have.

True- especially when you know yourself well enough to be able to ask for what you want, receive it with gratitude and give generously. (Kind of like the art of giving and receiving X-mas and Hanukkah gifts). Whether you are single, mingling or in a committed relationship- sex transcends us. Orgasm gives us a glimpse into our true nature as a blissful being. It heightens our senses and reignites our ability to revel in and savor the gift of being alive. Sex also releases endorphins and oxytocin, your "feel good hormones," which are good for relieving stress.

If you want to be grateful this holiday season, I recommend tapping into the pulsing gratitude of heat between your legs, not the turkey's. Instead of the lethargic, borderline comatose, state after overeating these holidays- what if we went for a feeling of being radiantly alive? Can you recall an amazing moment of sensual pleasure? Of release? Of surrender? Of a long grateful exhale?

I recommend turning on a song that turns you on for a couple of minutes and doing movement that initiates with your hips (see video for movement suggestions and playlist at end of post for song suggestions). While doing some hip circles, swaying from side to side~ dance and connect with the power and life force between your hips. Like Shakira says, hips don't lie.

Hip Circling for the Holidays from Rochelle Schieck on Vimeo.

What you look for is what you see. As you dance, look for the thrill of being in your body. From there, I suggest you transition from a vertical to a horizontal position and take some time to be grateful for the sensual pleasure of being in your body. As you lie down, look for the ecstasy that is always available to you. As your face is flushed, memorize that feeling of delight. Embody your gratitude by enjoying yourself. Then with a knowing smirk on your face and sparkle in your eye, feel more gratitude for every person, place and circumstance that crosses your path for a truly happy holiday season.

If you're looking for some more sensual inspiration or a "let's get it on" themed stocking stuffer, check out Steve and Vera Bodansky's new book Extended Massive Life or one of their classics like Extended Massive Orgasm. Click here for a link to their books at Amazon.com.

Love and hip circles, Rochelle

P.S.  I'm getting ready to leave for Costa Rica this week for the first Qoya Retreat at Blue Spirit Resort December 11-18, 2010. I am beyond excited with women coming from California, Colorado, New York, even Norway! We have 2 spots left. If you want in, just let me know- I'd love to dance with you.

Looking forward to dancing together at the perfect time~

Hello, I love you. Won’t you tell me your name?

Hello, I love you, won't you tell me your name? As we're getting to know one another, I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Rochelle Schieck. I live in New York. I believe that through movement we remember. We remember that we are inherently wise, wild and free. I encourage women through my Qoya classes, workshops, retreats, private sessions and this blog to move. The big picture vision is that the more women move and subsequently remember, the more they trust their inner wisdom, express their wildness and revel in their freedom. And like most spiritual or wisdom traditions teach, we collectively remember that all we seek is already within. It's just about creating a passageway to the deepest truest parts of ourselves. One of the most pleasurable, exciting and confusing parts of the human experience is our sensuality. It's time to presence a modern embodiment of an empowered woman who oozes with self-love. Imagine it was simple. Love your body as it is now. Love how it feels to move in it. Love more. Criticize less. Let's practice and rock out a little along the way.

Question: When is the last time you felt sexy?  In 5 minutes, you are going to say, 3 minutes ago.

To me, sensual movement means moving the way your female body wants to move. Sensual movement gives us permission to slow down and feel. When a woman moves naturally in her body with fluidity and power, it can appear “sexy” – and it is. But, in Qoya, we don’t do it to look good for an observer. We move this way to enjoy our own bodies. To revel in the pleasure of your own body is to accept the gift of being a woman and one of the most profound ways to say yes to your life.

Movement:  3 simple things~ 1) walk across the room sloooooowwwwwlllly and enjoy yourself as you walk 2) a couple hip circles to the right, a couple hip circles to the left 3) repeat

Intention: This is an opportunity to say, "Hello, I love you" to your body.  Notice your inner dialogue as you move your body in a strong feminine and sensual manner.  You know you're doing it right when you're enjoying it.  Slow down and deepen your breath to tune more in to more physical sensation.

Music:  Hello, I Love You by the Doors

Take it with you: Do this experiment in front of a mirror where you try 2 different approaches to looking sexy. 1st- TRY. Try to look sexy. Use extra effort and notice how it feels. (It usually feels somewhat ridiculous). 2nd- Slow down, be you, and focus on FEELING pleasure in your body as you soak in the sensation just for you, not for anyone else.

Did you get it?  As I teach Qoya classes, I notice women can fall into a default of what they think is sexy, which can feel inauthentic.  A woman who is enjoying herself will always shine.  Get in the habit of enjoying simple things like the way you walk, make each hallway a catwalk, the elevator a stage to pivot turn on and see where else you can slow down, tune into your body and feel more sensation.  And from that place, introduce yourself to the next person you see with a Jim Morrisonesque hello.