Ripple Effect by Rachel Ellen
Imagine standing at the edge of a lake. Beautiful and serene. The sky is clear and blue. The air is light. There are beautiful pebbles all around and something inside you makes you reach down and grab one. The next thing you know the pebble is being thrown from your hand, it plonks into the water and drops deep below. Under the water, the dust settles. Yet the ripple effect on the top continues to ebb.
Therapy for me was my pebble. My rock. I dropped it into my life when I felt I had nowhere else to go. It started deep within my core when the words "I think I need some help" left my mouth. Since then the ripple effect has continued in all aspects of my life.
My first therapy session was in a cosy, small room with a kind hearted lady. She spoke. Then I spoke. Then I cried. And we spoke some more. I felt like I had finally been seen. Heard. Held. After a little while, I went out on my own. Trying to figure out this new me I had uncovered. I delved deep into my yoga practise and the beauty in that is that I am now a full time yoga teacher. I dabbled in more therapy sessions until I knew I needed more again. The next time was different. COVID 19 was here. The cosy, small room was replaced with the spare room in my mam's house. Sitting in a chair in the corner. Blinds closed. Door shut. Headphones in and phone balanced against a candle holder. I felt like I had gotten my pebble back. The ripple effect had been boosted again. I spoke. She asked questions. I contemplated. The internet cut out. It reconnected. I cried. And I continued speaking. The magic was still there. The healing could still happen.
My voice is my most powerful healer. Firstly for myself. Then for those closest to me. And for my students. Finding the space within therapy to begin to express words that I had held deep within created a huge ripple effect in my healing journey. It allowed me to continue to ask for help. It helped me to journal again. To sing again. To write poetry again. The first time therapy was a last resort. Then it became a top up. Then it was proactive. The most important thing I have learned is that I have choices. Even when I feel like I don't. Sometimes therapy as we know it is not the right choice now, maybe it's a yoga workshop instead. But knowing that I have the choice to continue that ripple effect of healing whenever I need offers such comfort. And I hope you find your pebble. Your rock. The comfort that you need.
About the Author, Rachel Ellen:
I am an Edinburgh based yoga teacher encouraging you to breathe, pause and wiggle through the medium of Zoom. I hold space for you to come exactly as you are and run weekly yoga classes and workshops. You can find all the information you need on my website www.rachelellenyoga.com. Rachelellenyoga specialises in offering a range of relaxing and invigorating online yoga classes. Class types include Rise & Shine Flow to Slow Flow. www.rachelellenyoga.com or head to my Instagram page @rachelellenyoga to keep up to date with what I am offering and how I am continuing my healing journey.
