Carly Mountain

An Introduction To The Butterfly Work

on October 12, 2017 No comments

A new Year 1 Group is constellating for January 2018 and will be held monthly from January – July. I am holding an Introductory Day on October 21st at Yoga Kula Leeds. Below is a piece I wrote about my personal journey into the Butterfly work and how it has emerged into the course it is today.

I came to the Butterfly work shortly after having my second child. I was exhausted and out of practice, but craving some time to connect to myself and a way to nourish and enjoy my body. I started to practice just 10 minutes a day and quite quickly I found that that time for myself had become integrated into my daily life.

It took three years before the full practice moved through me. At this time, I emerged from a yoga school from which I had learnt a tremendous amount, but whose structures were masculine and hierarchical. I had been teaching yoga for 10 years and the desire to share this work with my students and other women in my life became louder and louder. But I felt instinctively that this feminine work needed a feminine way of holding. The terms masculine and feminine are fraught with often unhelpful connotations and I want to underline that this is not about gender. There are men who have the capacity to hold a feminine space and women who lead with a predominantly masculine energy, which is great. What I am referring to is difficult to name in definitive language, but essentially, what I was seeking to offer was a space that reached beyond the hierarchy of guru and student. A space that could include emotional expression, a space to be nourished and accepted in shadow and in light, and a place where sacred feminine energy could be free to emerge and be felt through each woman.

In Butterfly we sit in circle, the circle connotes a sense of equality. Within that circle, I may take the role of teacher, but I continually hold within my view that the relationship is always reciprocal. There is some teaching through the form of yoga sequences, mudra and poetry. But, both me as the teacher, and the form as the teacher meets what is naturally arising from within you. As my Teacher Kim Rosen illustrates so beautifully, “I cannot teach you anything that you don’t already know. But if I am lucky, I will say it in such a way that you know, that you know it”. Therefore, I would say that the Butterfly work is place where we can remember what we have forgotten, lost or denied. Form can be a beautiful, sacred expression of what is underneath our layers, just as words create a form through which we can reach towards mutual understanding. As a guide, I can facilitate, watch, intuit and create a container within which you can explore, but the rest is up to you.

Likewise, we cannot “do” this work. So many women come to the practice thinking they can muscle through it. But this is a truly yin practice, so what is required is a deep listening and surrender to what lies beneath the waves. We live in such an active world, which can be seen in our obsession with asana. This collection of practices are a powerful antidote to all the doing. I often compare it to orgasm, you cannot muscle your way to an orgasm. All we can do is indulge ourselves to the place where the pulsations of pleasure carry us over into orgasm. We allow ourselves to be taken beyond our will. The practice of yoga is similar. The place where form meets what is spontaneously arising is the union, and when we are taken by that meeting we enter yoga. And like orgasm, it can be a delightful, immersive sometimes even transcendent experience.

Many yoga schools prioritise calm over other emotional experiences as a sort of preordained tick box that we have achieved union. I am not saying that finding stillness and peace is not a desirable aspect of practice, it is very beneficial. But, I have no desire to be permanently calm, anymore than I desire to be permanently in rage. I was craving a space that would embrace and honour the wisdom of my emotional body as much as any other facet of my being. So much of my learning has come through relationships, engaging in them, the breakdown of them and the joyful and often messy interaction that true intimacy can bring. Behind our masks, there are many weather systems and it feels as though rather than always reaching for the light aspects of ourselves through practice, it is time to own and embrace the shadows as equally valuable as well. After all, emotional being is a flow in itself, and when we allow emotional expression to happen at some point we can guarantee that that energy will transform and find it’s onward flow. It evolves, just like a yoga sequence. The more we allow, the more we begin to realise that even the strongest feelings flow into other states. And they can be a vehicle to awakening and absolute presence.

All this creates a delicious cauldron, made even juicier by the unique gifts that each woman brings. One of the benefits of this work is the space it creates for you to spend time with other women. This is often one of the most nourishing and enjoyable aspects of the Butterfly course. In fact, all the ingredients I have named above are about intimate relationship; relationship to practice, relationship to support, relationship to ourselves, relationship to other women and underlying all that, relationship to the mystery that guides and weaves it all.

The Introduction Day at Yoga Kula in Leeds will take place on Saturday 21st October. I cannot teach the Butterfly mudra in one day it takes time and investment. But what this introduction day will offer is a flavour of the work that accompanies the mudra practice, a feel for the space I hold and a chance for us to meet. So, if any of this resonates with you, come along! I am really looking forward to it and would love to see you there. You can book the Intro Day here.

 

 

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Carly MountainAn Introduction To The Butterfly Work

Embracing Autumn – Poetry & Yoga Nidra Evening Saturday October 7th 2017

on September 16, 2017 No comments

The transition into Autumn is a perfect time to stoke the inner fires of your creativity with this evening of Poetry & Movement. We will begin with Dancing (5 rhythms-esque) through to a Poetry Dive, which is a really simple and evocative way of experiencing poetry, followed by time to write and possibly share. Finally settling down to a sumptious Yoga Nidra to finish off.

You don’t need to know, like or even particularly enjoy poetry to take part, this is a really delicious way of releasing your creativity through a cocktail of movement and words so if you feel intrigued, I encourage you to come along and give it a go.

As part of my thrid year working with Kim Rosen, she asked me to create a Poetry based event and this is the result. It is donation based evening in aid of the SHE College Fund which helps young women at the VDay Safe House in Kenya (after fleeing FGM) go onto get a College Education. It’s great work and I am pleased to be able to support it in any small way that I can, but I can only do it with your help. So please come along and bring your friends!

Booking essential please email info@carlymountain.com to book your space. Hope to see you there.

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Carly MountainEmbracing Autumn – Poetry & Yoga Nidra Evening Saturday October 7th 2017

NEW! Yoga Teacher Mentoring Course For Autumn 2017

on June 9, 2017 No comments

As yoga teachers, we are not required to have supervision but actually working alone can be quite challenging and isolating. As we teach and continue to hone and integrate our skills there can be many questions arising which go unanswered or get lost along the way. 


This course is a way of holding consciously the questions, and deepening the layers of your listening as a human, a teacher and a perpetual student of yoga (as all good teachers are!). It will support your self-practice, your creative process, your teaching practice and your relationship to your deepest essence that weaves the thread of those parts of you into union. The course will ensure that within a busy life and work schedule that you leave specific time and space to continue your own yoga journey with support. Each session will have a theme as the basis and from there we will co-create a session that is responsive to where you are at and what is needed.

 Course Themes and Dates

Session 1 –  9th September – Fear, Doubt and Creativity – What are your fears? What do they point towards?

Session 2 – 7th October – Authenticity – Deepening connection with the essence of what you bring.

Session 3 –  11th November – Embodied practice – union and the subtle body – How does the space you hold resonate?

Session 4 – 2nd December – Self practice and Teaching practice – Living practice and walking the prayer.

Session 1 and 4 will run 12-5pm Session 2 and 3 will run 12-4pm (in the event of a small group all sessions will run 12-4pm)

Costs and How To Apply
This course is designed for those who already have a teacher training certification as ongoing development. It is suitable for seasoned teachers and fledglings alike. No matter where we are on our journey, we all hold fears and doubts, challenges and awakenings. Having a held space to share these can create a cauldron of creative juice that feeds us all. 
Places limited to 6 people commitment to all 4 sessions is required. £220 for 4 sessions/earlybird rate £198 if booked and paid by July 10th.

What does that include?
– 4 mentoring sessions with a small group so you can have your individual needs met
– Ongoing support between sessions by email or text
– Buddy sessions with another member of the group with structured guidance
– CPD certificate at end of the course

All applicants will be asked to submit a short piece of writing (around 500 words) about what lead you to train as a yoga teacher, what joys and challenges you have met so far and the reasons why you wish to do this course. If you have any specific questions please email me and we can set up a time to skype or speak on the phone. To apply email info@carlymountain.com. 

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Carly MountainNEW! Yoga Teacher Mentoring Course For Autumn 2017

Butterfly Introduction Day Autumn on 21st October 2017

on June 9, 2017 No comments

Full Moon Love on this beautiful Rose Moon.

I have already had enquiries about the next Butterfly intake. So I am planning a new Year 1 group to start January 2018. Dates will soon to follow. There will be a taster day at Yoga Kula in Leeds on 21st October 2017 and it is now open for booking. For more information and to book please click here.

Love Carly

 

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Carly MountainButterfly Introduction Day Autumn on 21st October 2017

Durga

on April 13, 2017 No comments

The thrash of the tiger
Is held so quietly within
the stillness of her striped form.
Soft muscularity,
Terrifying black, gold beauty.

Would my hand dare caress
Her silken curves,
Her pulsating chest,
The vicious magnificence of her passion,
Deadly and divine
With no transgression
Sensuous jugular enclosure
a powerful embrace,
Enters the darkness in rapture
Overpowered by grace.

Meditative feline
Stalk the deepest depths of being
Heart roars, erect claws,
Mortal flesh trembling.
Golden mirror of my soul
I know you could consume me whole
Untamed beast flying wild
She honours her nature
Like an innocent child.

What is the mirror that you hold
Hidden in your black and gold
Devoted to your enticing grace
Your ferociousness holds no distaste
You hold the power of the passion
Unashamed and unrationed.

If I am you and you are me
We are the perfect symphony.

~ Carly Mountain

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Carly MountainDurga

Springing Back…..

on April 1, 2017 No comments

 

Spring is springing and the daffodils are singing! And after a slow and restorative start to the year I am rekindling the fire of my yoga practice.

And from May the Friday morning class will be back 9.30-10.30am at the Nether Edge Studio starts May 5th – 16th June inclusive (no class on 2nd June) £60/£54 concs. Initially, as I ease back into teaching this will be a slightly gentler format with a Yoga Nidra to finish. Spaces limited so book early to avoid disappointment.

NEW! Dancing Bubbas – a postnatal Dance and Yoga class for Mums and Babies.

I will also be offering a Dancing Bubbas class – this is a fun postnatal class for Mum and babies. Starting with dancing with the babies in slings, followed by some yoga and specific pelvic floor work. And then tea! The perfect way to reenergise tired Mums. Starts Wednesday 3rd May – 24th May 11am – 12.15 inclusive £36 for 4 sessions.

Wishing you a wonderful start to spring.

Carly

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Carly MountainSpringing Back…..

A Journey…

on March 17, 2017 No comments

A journey makes us vulnerable,

takes us from our more secure environments and commits us to the unknown.

Perhaps this is why the journey has so often been our basic

metaphor for life itself. Our life journey is a precarious

pilgrimage, a passage through landscapes of promise and

peril, a crossing from the darkness of the womb to the

shadows of death. We travel in the hope that the light

will not fail to guide us, that the star will not be lost,

that homecoming will be granted and love not witheld.

– Thomas Merton

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Carly MountainA Journey…

The Butterfly Course 2017 – taking bookings now!

on August 2, 2016 No comments

Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning

That is at one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;

Hold nothing back,
learn to find ease in risk;

Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,

For your soul senses the world that awaits you”

For A New Beginning by John O’Donohue

The Butterfly Course is an invitation to soul dive into the mystery and joy of sacred feminine practice.  Using mudra, yoga, poetry, movement and creative enquiry this course creates time and space for you to move, feel and breathe your way into a deeper intimacy with your body, soul and natural abundance. It is an opportunity to deepen your listening to the language of your body and soul, share space with other women who wish to do the same and uncover whatever it is within you that wishes to unfold.

The backbone of the work is the sacred Butterfly Mudra practice. In Year 1 we will learn the short form. The full mudra sequence can take 3 years or more to learn so this first year is an introduction to the practice. You will be invited to do a 10 minute daily self practice at home in between sessions which other women have found invaluable, often in ways they never expected.

In addition to the mudra work, we will also explore other sister practices to bring greater freedom and awareness to the layers of our being-ness. Since every woman is unique so you will each naturally gravitate to different aspects of the practice. For those who already practice regularly at home, this course can offer ways for you to enhance or deepen your practice and those new to self practice can uncover a personal routine that is perfect for you and one that can evolve with your life.

Many women find that one of the most enjoyable things about the course is having other women to journey with, providing a sense of support and community which can be invaluable.

The course will start and finish with two 2 day non residential intensives in Sheffield. Though the intensives are non residential, if possible, I invite you to clear your weekend and dive deeply into the work and some time for you. If anyone is travelling from outside of Sheffield, I can help you arrange accommodation that is very low cost or possibly free of charge.

This year I am excited to announce that I will be assisted by Cordelia Gray, an Integrative Arts psychotherapist (UKCP reg since 2006) with many years experience working creatively with different people and issues. Cordelia has also completed 3 years of the Butterfly work with me and is now going onto her 4th year. I am thrilled that she will be joining us.

Dates 2017:

Opening retreat Feb 11th-12th 10-5pm and 10-4pm

March 19th 10-5pm

April 30th 10-5pm

May 21st 10-5pm

June 11th 10-5pm

Final retreat 8th -9th July 10-5pm and 10-4pm

Places limited (maximum 12 women) so book early to avoid disappointment. I have really tried to keep costs down to make this course a possibility for all. At the moment, I envisage being able to offer a sliding scale fee so that you pay whatever you can afford. The minimum payment being £385 – £495. And if you pay in full by December 1st an early bird rate of £375. These figures are based around a smaller group, if it works out that a few people pay the higher rate or we have a large group then I hope to be able to offer a further reduction on cost. I don’t wish for money to be a prohibitive factor so please contact me if you need to discuss a further reduction.

If you have any questions or would like to speak to me directly please feel free to email me info@carlymountain.com and we can arrange a time. I so look forward to sharing this transformational practice with you.

With Love, Carly

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Carly MountainThe Butterfly Course 2017 – taking bookings now!