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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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 4^th year. I am thrilled that she will be joining us.

Dates 2017:

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

March 19^th 10-5pm

April 30^th 10-5pm

May 21^st 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 1^st 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

The post The Butterfly Course 2017 – taking bookings now! appeared first on Carly Mountain.

The post The Why appeared first on Carly Mountain.

Modern life is not geared around natural cycles instead we are encouraged to prioritise other things. Take a flu remedy, work through it, be more productive. But in this disconnection we lose something.

In nature there are clear cycles, the waxing and waning of the moon, the seasons, the life/death/life cycles are with us all the time on micro and macro scales. Yoga is union. Through practice we can tune into ourselves and others becoming increasingly wakeful to life. Which brings pain and beauty. Light and dark.

Have courage, embrace change and move with the cycles. Trusting and reaching into the vastness of your existence with love.

I chose these photos because they were taken on one of the last golden days of last year. And I am now welcoming in the golden days of this year.

Wishing you a wonder filled Spring Equinox.

With love Carly xx

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You would hope that in 2013 we had progressed beyond such obvious stereotypes. But no—walk into any large toy shop and pink is still for girls and blue for boys. And colour is just the tip of the iceberg.

Open a kids book and still the characters are predominantly “he”. Hats off to the Julia Donaldsons of this world who have female and male characters in her books. Sadly, she is in the minority. I constantly change characters when I read our children books so that female characters feature as much as males.

Simple observations you might say, but why then do we still take it for granted?

Meanwhile in a conversation sometime ago at my house…

My daughter, Aurora, age three: ”Look at my rabbit.”
Friend: “What’s his name?”
Aurora: “Its a she and her name is big rabbit.”

I was thrilled when this conversation first happened as our naming all the toys “she” had worked. But when friends and family come around to visit 99% do not think twice about about presuming all the toys are male. Pah, you may say its a toy it means nothing; but I disagree.

It’s the little things that mount up to a big message and this is the insidious way that the patriarchy in which we live perpetuates itself.

I am a feminist—not because of the number of books I have read, but because I am a woman living in the world. A world where, on a micro scale, I still get post from women of my own generation addressing me Mrs James Mountain (my jaw drops every time). Am I a possession of my husband? I ask myself.

And on a macro scale, a world where, “603 million women still live in countries where domestic violence is not a crime, and 2.6 billion have no criminal legal protection from marital rape.” Taken from the 2011-2012 Annual Report from UN Women.

Astonishing.

Feminism is not something that just concerns women – it concerns us all. When one suffers, we all suffer. The whole basis of yoga is union, union of Ida and Pingala, of masculine and feminine on a micro scale of the body and on a macro scale of the universe.

This does not depend on sexuality, gay, straight, black, white we all have masculine and feminine within us. Union is the only route to liberation. But there is no use cultivating union on a yoga mat if it does not translate into daily life.

It’s about humanism and equality; we all deserve love and respect.

According to both UN Women and the World Bank, countries where women have the same rights as men also enjoy greater financial and social prosperity.

There are fundamental differences between males and females and these are to be celebrated—but also numerous studies have shown that a lot of our behaviour is learned not innate. And there is still not enough balance.

My concern as a woman and mother is that whilst ever the simple daily expressions and experiences of our children are so male dominated, regardless of what we do at home these inequalities will continue.

I love men – my husband is one of the biggest feminists I know! Only through education and awareness of those tiny things that mold and shape our children can we change society.

I don’t want to live in a female dominated society but I would like to see equality.

True equality—and it has to start with the kids.

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