YOUR STORY STUDIO
How many of us are familiar with the concept of a ‘studio’?
As a kid, my mother would retreat to her studio (which happened to be an illustrators desk in her bedroom window) and spend hours drawing. She would always emerge full of life and inspiration. I loved it when she went to her studio.
I have come across many kinds of studios in the years since, but each one has the similar magic of providing a safe, quiet space away from the noise of daily life within which we can pause, reflect and enjoy time working with our gifts.
As I mentioned in last weeks storyhack, one of my favourite reflection spaces right now happens to be that of the yoga studio. These are typically clean, tranquil, purpose built places where the vibration of repeated practice, intention and vision combine to facilitate transformation. Every time I come to my mat (no matter what studio I am practicing at across the world), I change.
The nature of the change is somewhat different each time and linked to where my head, heart, body and soul happen to be on any given day. Sometimes the transformation comes in the form of personal insights that sneak up on me when I least expect it (often as I am breathing through a challenging pose!). At other times, the instructor will say the magic words that lead me down a rabbit hole of self-awareness, helping me to see my life, my body and my story in a completely new way.
Either way – I change. Without fail.
You see, when I come to my studio an amazing thing happens. My everyday story switches off. ‘Genevieve’ stops for a period of time and starts to observe what is happening in her life experience. Much like a viewer of my own movie, I settle back into the comforting embrace of my soul’s arms and observe the stories, thoughts and feelings that flow through my awareness as I practice. Awareness is always the first step but I need to make time for it to emerge. Awareness can’t be forced or ordered to arrive like a slave. He/she must be courted and romanced into your life. And like any good fling, romance should never be rushed, only savoured.
The studio in its various forms creates the space and backdrop for my self-awareness to be flirted with again and again. Patience and repetition are key in the development of a strong, nurturing relationship with your self and your story. What you do in your studio is less important than the inner space that you cultivate whilst in there. Whether I practice yoga, meditation, drawing, dance, play or any other number of creative things doesn’t matter nearly as much as the fact that I return again and again to better understand myself, my movie and my creative choices.
I work with people from all over that world that come to me in a state of impatient frustration. They say things like:
“My life isn’t how I wanted / imagined / hoped it would be – why can’t I seem to change this?”
“I am fed up of trying new strategies, diets, models and teachings only to find that they don’t work and I end up back at the beginning each time.”
“I don’t know what else to do, everything I have tried so far has failed.”
I find that the common factor in many cases is that people haven’t spent enough time in their studio! They haven’t come away enough from their absorption into their daily life to stop, witness and see through a different story lens.
Another common meaning for the word ‘studio’ relates to a space where television and films are made. What if by coming to our own personal studio time and time again, we are able to not just see our life movie differently but to re-write it into a new form?
We are the only ones who can create and choose a life movie that we love.
Awareness breeds choice.
Choice creates stories.
Why not choose to step into your own story studio and practice awareness?
Practice choice?
Soon, we will be inviting you to help us create a special kind of studio that to our knowledge has never been born before. The kind of studio that can be returned to again and again no matter who you are, where you are and what you wish to change.
The Storyhack Studio is coming…… are you ready to practice on your life?
