meditation – Amber Joy Young – Offering Care and Support

Inner Guidance

2nd March 20264th March 2026Amber_Young

For thousands of years our ancestors have connected with the stars to help presence themselves upon the earth. Looking up at the sky we’re reminded of how we are a small and sacred part of a great wide vast web of life – beyond our conscious knowing.

The wisdom that travels through to us when we quietly connect with our natural world has the possibility of helping to support us through challenging times in our lives, as a way of self care. An anchor for me has been to go outside on a clear night and simply look up, I did this just last night after a special practice, gazing up at the stars and the moon almost in her fullness.

The stars are always there, shifting in their placement as we move through the seasons, but constant. It feels like they hold us in their loving gaze and presence.

In these quiet moments of wonder you may even notice your breath naturally travel a little deeper, and what emerges is often the truth of how you’re actually doing. When we give ourselves time to listen and be fully present to the experience our nervous systems are soothed, and we may even hear guidance about questions we’ve been pondering in unexpected ways.

As I look out my window, now in this moment on a cold and sunny Monday morning in Eastern Ontario, the first tides of spring are moving through the land (yes, even on this chilly day). We ready ourselves for the coming equinox and the constellations shift in the sky to where we are in cycle. This time of year our natural world whispers reminders that the warmer days of spring are coming as we find ourselves now past the coldest darkest days of winter.

The times we are living in are confusing, overwhelming, and sometimes it can be hard to maintain a sense of hope. Some days it may feel difficult to decipher your own truth amidst the chaos in our external world. I think sometimes the noise and chaos around us can easily throw us off course, and often quiets our guidance so it seems almost imperceptible. I’m writing about the stars because maybe in those quiet moments of reflection they can help to guide you to that place of hope and clarity that is quietly pulsing deep inside – even amidst the chaos.

The macrocosm of our world is changing, and the future is filled with so many unknowns. If we’re being honest the future has and will always be filled with unknowns, we have no idea what our next steps hold, however we do get to choose how we move in those steps.

Our self care requires us to begin by checking in with how we’re actually doing and showing ourselves compassion by feeling the sadness and overwhelm, the joy and excitement, the anger and the grief. It’s incredibly important to give ourselves space to honour what we’re truthfully holding in our hearts and allowing these emotions to move through us in a way that will help us to process these feelings.

From there, the ways we care for ourselves matter immensely. We start with smaller things; offering ourselves rest when we’re tired, hydrating our bodies, eating nourishing foods within what’s accessible for each of us, becoming curious about the wisdom of the seasons, and being gentle and kind with the messages we send ourselves.

I realize for so much of my life as a mom, and in my career as a massage therapist and yoga teacher, I focused on how I could best care for others. Over the past few years, since my own cancer diagnosis, I have come to realize that if I want to continue on this path that the answer is actually found in how I care for myself, in the small simple ways of ensuring I’m okay first unapologetically, and only then offering care and support outside of myself.

Sometimes our bodies and our minds struggle, this I deeply understand, which to me is a reminder of why the ways we tend to ourselves are incredibly important. Self care also asks us to to remember that we are part of a wider web of life – bigger and more expansive than the small perceived singular self, and that we heal in community, especially when the struggles feel to big to carry alone.

Through our acts of care, we get to know the parts that sometimes we didn’t even realize we contained, the parts that may have been numb or were kept very small out of fear of judgement, offering compassion to all these aspects of ourselves and to one another.

Many things have become non-negotiable for me over the past few years; unrolling my mat daily for my body and my spirit – not just for when I’m teaching, picking up a paintbrush with no expectations or judgement of what comes through on the canvas – just engaging in this activity as soul care, dancing and singing, sitting in the forest – literally doing nothing else except sitting there, resting when I need, giving my thoughts an outlet of expression in my journal, receiving bodywork, playing my drum or spending time with crystal bowls. These are all forms of therapy for me, part of the tapestry of my own wholeness which I know extends beyond just me.

I wonder what’s one small thing you can do today to offer yourself gentle care?

I also wonder what are the things that distract you from tending to your needs?

I sincerely hope that amidst the responsibilities of your life, and the external pulse with it’s ebb and flow, that you’re able to listen to what feels true for you, spiraling inwards to the internal pulse. What would feed your soul today even and especially in the smallest most subtle ways.

Our ancestors have much to teach us – in so many ways. The stars have provided constancy and guidance for thousands of years, I turn to them often, as part of my personal care.

Sending you lots of love

Amber

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Gentle Touch To Soothe Pain with a diagnosis of Cancer; Physically and Emotionally

1st January 20265th February 2026Amber_Young

Compassionate touch is one of the many sacred ways we can connect as beings; it is a true honour to be welcomed into a person’s circle of care and to hold healing space.

As the number of cases of cancer, and other manifestations of illness steadily increases in our world, there also exists an increased need to connect with eachother in ways that bring us physically together as humans and support one another.

Touch given with a therapeutic and compassionate intention has the potential to affect an individual physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Gentle massage can soothe physical pain and create space for the mind to come to a place of stillness and greater acceptance of challenges we may be facing in our lives. By being fully present with an individual and honouring pain that may exist, an environment for a deeper level of healing is fostered, and we are reminded that we are not alone.

When I began giving massage therapy to individuals with cancer, through complex care and at end of life; it increased my understanding of human suffering and the ways in which it is a shared suffering. I have witnessed the incredible impact touch can have on an individual when we meet one another in this place.

It’s important to balance all of the unknowns of a cancer diagnosis and the stressful effects of medical appointments with supports and care that; anchor us in our wholeness, support us to integrate the whirlwind of appointments, information, tests and treatments, and help to continually build our resources so we can cope.

Massage therapy is one of many complementary therapies that offers the potential to soothe pain, on a physical and an emotional level, balancing the effects of many medical treatments.

Massage is a safe and supportive therapy to receive when you have a diagnosis of cancer. It is important to understand that there are considerations when receiving treatment, to ensure you receive the best care possible. You want to find a therapist who understands and is open to learning about the disease process in your body and your changing needs. A trained, respectful and educated therapist can provide massage during diagnosis, medical treatments (ie. chemotherapy, radiation, surgery), when in remission, and through palliative care with a terminal diagnosis.

Massage therapy is also a profound support in “the after”. This is a time when cancer did not take a person’s life (they have survived), intensive treatments are over, sometimes supports fall away, there is no evidence of disease, and some folks are adjusting to living with a chronic cancer and a changed body. In this phase, the nervous system is often in a state of dysregulation and needs support that works directly with establishing a sense of safety in the body, and specific care to the brain and spinal nerves. This is often the time a person is processing the lived experience of cancer and is in a dance with acceptance as there is often a lot of change; in a person’s physical body and in the way they navigate and perceive the world. This is a time of deep integration.

Reflecting on my clinical experience over the past 20 years, as well as reference to the reputable studies that have been done, massage therapy has helped people with; pain management, anxiety, depression, disconnection from the body and/or from people, decreased self esteem, body image, muscular tension, sleep issues, stiffness and pain, swelling, nausea, fatigue and feelings of isolation or loneliness. Massage therapy and other forms of bodywork also help to create space to release the accumulation of emotional trauma from our body tissues.

When I enter a therapeutic relationship I often find that a primary goal of our time together is to support the reintegration of a person, reminding them that they are so much more than a diagnosis. Often what is needed most is a safe place to rest, to offer comfort and compassionate care, and to help with symptom relief specific to the individual.

Every person is unique, as is their story, and this requires deep reverence in treatment. The experiences and the stories I have been privileged to share with people through my hands and my heart have shaped me as a massage therapist, as a yoga teacher and how I experience life.

Some general guidelines of important concerns to discuss with your therapist would be:

(adapted from Tracy Walton’s “Massage therapy for people with cancer: Fear and Healing”)

Where is the specific issue you are presently dealing with, and naming how it feels
Current or past treatments (surgery/radiation/chemo/bone marrow transplant/etc.), side effects, complications, and discuss how this will be considered in the massage treatment
Discuss lymph node involvement and risk of lymphedema
Discuss medications and their effects
Blood counts if known, and any clotting considerations
Discuss if dialogue with your Medical Doctor, Oncologist, Naturopathic Doctor would be appropriate and necessary, based on your health history, status, and stage of progression.
A continued update to any changes in your health is essential, and it is also necessary to chart your response to every massage treatment to ensure you are always getting the best possible care.
Most importantly, how YOU are – not just physically, but emotionally as well

This is a simplification and a general look at some key areas that need to be covered when you have a more complex condition and you’re seeing a massage therapist. Not all areas noted above will be relevant to everyone, and in some people there will be a need to expand on the complexity of the above. When these concerns are discussed openly and honestly between you and your therapist, the treatment can proceed with more confidence and a greater depth of trust for everyone involved.

Connecting in this way can pave the path for true compassion and healing, finding our way to wholeness. It is my hope that we as a society can have more conversations about existing fears of the unknown and the fear many have of illness. Perhaps it is possible that we can begin to move to a place where we’re able to embrace the mystery and humanness of life. There is a sacredness in sharing this journey with others through touch, bridging the science, the necessary education of the body and its systems, and the intuitive understanding of massage and hands on healing.

With a deep respect for the human body, and the safe spaces where we can put ourselves back together again.

Amber Young

I teach weekly online yoga classes Thursday mornings from 10:30 – 11:35 am EST, you can join from anywhere (live or with the recording). These classes are suitable for anyone needing to slow down and reconnect with their breath, I offer chair and mat options through the practice.

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References:

Medicine Hands, Massage Therapy for people with Cancer, Gayle MacDonald (2014)

Course work and Training Manuals, Tracy Walton, LMT, 2003 – 2005

Massage Therapy and Cancer, Debra Curties (1999)

Massage therapy for cancer patients: a reciprocal relationship between body and mind (Sagar/Dryden/Wong, 2007) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1891200/

The body keeps the score; brain, mind and body in the healing of trauma, Bessel Van Der Kolk (2015 )

Somatoemotional Release and Beyond, John Upledger (1990)

Haliburton Highlands Challenge in Support of Brooksong

24th June 20253rd July 2025Amber_Young

I wanted to touch in to let you know about an amazing initiative in support of Brooksong Retreat and Cancer Support Centre, based out of Haliburton, Ontario.

This piece asks for a personal reflection as an entry point. In 2022, as many of you are aware, I was diagnosed with a rare presentation of Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and was first introduced to Brooksong through a friend during my own healing journey with cancer. Through Brooksong I was held, offered space to explore movement, found comfort and understanding in community, dove into creative practices and experienced deep support through their virtual programming.

Brooksong is incredibly special, and has become very dear to my heart. I am in awe of what they have created and continue to nurture in support of ensuring no one walks alone through a lived experience of cancer – that includes folks diagnosed and those who offer care and support.

The Centre is located on a beautiful expanse of land surrounded by ponds and forests. It is truly healing just arriving there.

I feel honoured to now be a part of their facilitation team offering massage therapy and support at some of their in person retreats.

These weekends are held with love and compassion by an incredible team, nourishing foods, safe spaces to share or sit quietly, hands on care, gentle yoga and movement, creative practices, time for rest and soothing time in nature.

Cancer hits you hard; physically, emotionally and financially. This I understand.

The ability to go on a retreat focused 100% on your healing isn’t often accessible financially, especially during times of illness.

I am in awe at how everything Brooksong offers is free of charge to participants. All programs and retreats are funded through generous donations by amazing people and organizations who are able to comfortably offer this type of support. There is a waitlist of over 200 people hoping to be able to spend time at Brooksong from all over Ontario as they navigate cancer. This hurts my heart, thinking about so many diagnosed daily.

This year I decided to join the Haliburton Highlands Challenge (HHC). The HHC is a unique fundraising event that runs from July 1 – August 31 annually and celebrates the important health benefits of moving our bodies in whatever ways we are able as well as taking part in creative practices, while aligning with and nurturing the vision and mission of Brooksong Retreat & Cancer Support Centre. I believe so strongly in what Brooksong has created and am excited to join this community challenge as an act of support and to engage in daily tending practices.

I thought it would be fun to record 30 days of my community challenge sharing short tending practices with you. I hope you’ll join me through yoga, song, meditation, creativity, journaling, breath and other practices to help us tend to our inner gardens so we can support ourselves to thrive, and in turn help keep this important support alive and available to more people.

The practices I’ll be recording are inspired from my tending your inner garden offerings (you can learn more through this link) which is a program I teach that was born through my own cancer journey in 2023 – this feels important to share in this way.

I took this photo during my last trip to Haliburton (May 2025) offering massage at a Brooksong retreat. This beautiful sculpture is from the Haliburton Sculpture forest, another incredible place. It’s named the Sleep of the Huntress and was birthed by Doug Stephens . She is very special and offers me a deep reflection on how I tend to my own inner garden, honouring our need for rest and renewal.

Here is the link to view my fundraising page to make a donation directly to Brooksong.

Donation Link

My fundraising goal reflects the amount it costs to support one person to go on retreat, plus a little extra.

If you’d like to join me for the daily practices, I’ll post many of the shorter offerings on my fundraising page, and/or you can register to receive the full 30 days in your inbox through

This Link

Registering for the practice videos is free, and it also ensures you receive all the details for a few live virtual classes dedicated to my commitment to Brooksong. This is available for everyone.

By registering to join me, you’ll receive direct links in your inbox, as well as have access to a special video library with all the tending practices (ranging from 5 to 60 minutes) in honour of Brooksong, which will be uploaded daily, for 30 days, starting July 1st.

We’ll explore themes such as: Grounding and Presence, Community, Joy and Play, Healing, and Integration.

I’m going to kick this challenge off with a free virtual sharing cup and gentle movement session on July 1st at 12:00. Login details will be mailed to all registrants and dates for all the live classes will be sent to you once the challenge officially begins July 1st.

* The recordings will be available until September 30th and you can join anytime between July 1st and August 31st.

I am deeply grateful for your support and hope you’ll join me in any way you’re able for this fun and nurturing initiative.

This is my first time doing this so we’ll be learning with eachother and definitly leaning into joy along the way. Don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

Together we can create a huge impact through simple acts of kindness, this kindness has to start with how we tend to ourselves.

Here we go!

Lots of love,

Amber

Photo of me, Spring 2023

Solstice Blessings

20th June 2025Amber_Young

Thank you for being here with me. I’m so grateful for your continued commitment to your own self care.

As we anchor in to the longest day of light in the solar calendar, we have the opportunity to reflect on all the places we sense into light within and around us. Maybe taking some time over the next few days to breathe this in.

When we travel through the thresholds of summer and winter solstice, I personally turn to these expanding times of light and darkness as an opportunity to pause and consider how these threads weave their way through my own life. This is a potent time to remember how we travel through life in cycles and how every year we circle back to these points of reflection – changed in the way we arrive.

In the circle of time, the Summer Solstice brings us to the moment when light reaches its peak. I encourage you to drink this in, wherever you find yourself in your life in this moment, drink in this moment of expansion and light.

The summer solstice holds a time of remembrance of the potential for renewal as we drop into the spaciousness of summer rhythms, and bathe in the suns luminous rays.

The moments and days around the Solstice are a also potent time time to reflect on where you are in this moment in your life, perhaps at a crossroad. We are being called to step deeper into the ways we can live more authentically, unafraid of our own voice, urged to make choices that best support ourselves to thrive and in turn, it is my hopes, we will start to live more in alignment with how we can help to undo harm around us. The peak of the light honours where you are now, and gives you an invitation to dream in what’s next.

I want to offer you some reflections to journal around, or to simply think about:

What patterns continue to emerge in your life? What relationships, habits, or experiences have brought you joy or growth – OR – struggle and conflict? What could you offer to the fire to alchemize? What does your heart want to dream into being?

In entering the space of expanded light — through the breath, invite space into your body – what does this feel like? Or contemplate the turning of the Earth, our great mother, what does this bring up? We might also remember that we always have the potential to return to center – spiraling back in, this is where movement flows from.

How can you offer your hands and heart in meaningful ways for the times we’re living in?

Sending you lots of love for the days ahead,

Amber

bee sipping nectar on flower during daytime

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The Importance of Breast Massage

6th June 202510th June 2025Amber_Young

Things have been full the last while as I’ve been focusing on my families needs, interwoven with hands on care and sound healing. This has been deeply meaningful, however it hasn’t given me a lot of time to connect with you through my writing.

Honouring the ebb and the flow

I wanted to share a piece I wrote, which was posted on the blog for The Centre for Health Innovation, where I practice massage therapy on Mondays.

This was an important offering to write, and feels necessary to share widespread, this is support for you.

My intention in writing this piece was to share some insight and reflection on the consideration of a part of our bodies that is often neglected in our care, our breast health

Your whole self is important to consider in your care, every part of you contributes to the experience of feeling your wholeness.

The parts we walk around with and a deep honouring for the parts of us that have changed or that we have lost over the years. I am learning this more and more as time passes.

Statistics show that many people experience breast discomfort at some point in their lifetimes, and that the number that will report this pain to their primary care giver, or to anyone, is quite low. Perhaps because breasts don’t often receive healthy attention or the level of importance in a person’s overall care that they deserve. Breasts are sometimes seen as a “taboo” topic, often sexualized rather than respected, which may contribute to a decreased sense of confidence in voicing any concerns a person may have about their breasts.

Independent of gender, breast tissue is a part of all bodies, completely unique to each of us depending on the anatomical body we were born into, the impact of potential concerns and pathologies we experience, surgical removal, as well as the many transformations we undergo through our lifetime.

Our breasts may also evoke many different emotions, which needs to be honoured when we start to tend to this part of our bodies. This is a first step in deepening our understanding.

I wonder how you feel reading these words.

I invite you to take a moment to reflect, perhaps bring your hands to your heart and welcome in a few deep breaths. Notice how you feel and thoughts that may be arising.

Our breast tissue is located in the front of our chest cavity and in many bodies extends into our armpits, anatomically adjacent to our heart and lungs. This is the part of us that is energetically associated with compassion and love, as well as shame, grief, and sadness.

Every time we take a breath our breasts are affected by the movement in our chest wall. Did you know that the muscles of respiration (of breathing) are the same muscles which directly affect your breast health and contribute to the ability for the breasts to drain effectively.

Breath and postural patterns through the neck, chest (upper thorax), back and shoulders are some of the primary areas we need to assess when we start to consider ways we can offer ourselves care for our breast health.

Here is a link if you’d like to continue reading the whole article The Importance of Breast Massage.

The Important of Breast Massage

Heidi at the Centre for Health Innovation helped me to include some beautiful images to support your exploration.

I also created a self breast massage video, and some dry brushing guidance, just as an extra resource for you

This work travels through my heart to you.

If you need extra support or want to deepen your understanding of this sacred part of you, I offer a six – week virtual program (I’ll be setting dates for the fall soon), as well as one-on-one care / support (both in person and virtually). There are also so many other incredible practitioners in our wider community offering this care and support.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Lots of love

Amber

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Re – Emerging

3rd January 2025Amber_Young

I have taken the last while off from all distractions to focus on my family and my own inner need for rest, it has been bliss.

I didn’t realize how depleted and exhausted I was from this past year, it has held a lot ~ personally and as you, dear reader know, for the collective as well.

I feel grateful as I sit down to write these words, slowly re-emerging, to have this time with you. I haven’t been writing as much this past year, honouring the spaces in between and giving myself more time to just sit, usually at the trunk of my favorite tree. I have been experiencing more freedom to just be, not needing to produce or share my personal musings but instead honouring what’s alive in my own tender heart and holding this as sacred.

I wonder how you’re doing, underneath all the layers.

If you’re having a hard time, you’re not alone. It helps me sometimes to remember that we are constantly in flux – learning, growing and evolving and it’s not always going to feel easeful, I don’t think it’s meant to. The wheel, remember, continues to turn.

If you’re doing amazing, you’re also not alone, please don’t dim yourself. Your wholeness is felt, as are the ways you may have been broken over the years, it’s all part of this human experience. We feel eachother in our ebb and flow.

Before I was diagnosed with cancer I realize I didn’t actually give myself complete permission to stop periodically, to put everything I’m carrying down and take a real break.

I also didn’t honour all my cracks.

The past few weeks have reminded me that this is non negotiable for me now, time to deeply rest. Without it I’m not able to process the joys, the ups, the downs, the cracks, the necessary mending and the holy mess.

Many of you who know me, know that I work very intimately with people, and ride the waves of not only my own experience but also navigate the waves of everyone in my circle of care. Breaks and boundaries are NEEDED, this allows for the deep composting and integration to actually ever happen, which is necessary for our constant unfurling, tending and evolution.

No matter what you do in the world, I think sometimes we all get stuck riding the waves of our shared existence that never stops, unless we consciously decide to jump off for a while and return to our own unique holdfast and move from this place.

A while ago in one of my classes, we talked about this concept of our holdfast, looking at what holds us steady as the waves of life keep moving. Taking time everyday to feel where your roots are grounded, looking at how you show yourself compassion and softness. Maybe take a moment to reflect on how your boundaries are around your own self care time?

Alternatively, if we don’t take this time, we can unconsciously get pulled under or thrown against a rock – forcing us to stop in often very uncomfortable ways. This I understand.

Many humans have a tendency to keep going, no matter what, and we put a strong emphasis on the ways we’re resilient, and the ways we’re strong, the ways we can handle so much. I too have put a lot of emphasis on these qualities, but I find I’m moving differently through the world now. I wonder if we can continue to build our inner resources, celebrate our strength, but maybe make space to experience our strength through a different lens – one that honours the pause, the fragility, the breaking and the stopping that’s necessary to grow and heal.

I wonder if we can learn to be comfortable in mess, because let’s face it there is a whole lot of mess going on at the moment. Accepting and being realistic about mess doesn’t make us less, I think it actually helps us to fill in some gaps and gives us space to not always have to have the answers or to make sense of everything.

I grew up in a home where people didn’t expect a lot of me, which translated to me expecting ALOT from me, trying to prove my worth. A year and a half ago I put that story down, I offered it to the chemo as it burned through me. In the spaces that were created, I decided to invite something different, to instead show up exactly as I am without unrealistic expectations or being so worried about others opinions. I decided for the first time in my life to be truthful in who I ACTUALLY am, with honesty and compassion – mess and all.

As we transition into the new year, can we collectively consider a slow return, offering us discernment and renewed purpose.

What is your holdfast and can you find ways to return to it daily.

Have you taken some time to reflect on the pivotal moments of this past year, perhaps letting go of what doesn’t need to travel with you into the year ahead, honouring necessary endings.

Can you acknowledge any areas of your life that might feel a little messy right now? Maybe considering out of the chaos comes lessons, clarity, an awareness of what’s actually important to you. Mess also has the potential to lead us to true beauty.

As I look ahead, I find myself curious about how the days will unfold in all of their mystery and wonder.

Thanks for reading, I appreciate you being here.

Much love,

Amber

You may want to consider upgrading to a paid subscription and enjoy a weekly email with some short practices and reflections. My Birch memberships starts at $6 CAN, created for folks who believe in what I’m offering, intended to offer inspiration and gentle guidance in the spirit of supporting eachother.

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Memberships range from $6 – $55 with varied access.

I also teach weekly virtual gentle yoga classes, and monthly tending your inner garden sessions. Send me an email if you’d like more information

amber@suryadaya.ca

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Love and Gratitude

26th December 2024Amber_Young

This morning when I sat at my alter and lit my candle, I said a prayer for each of you – one of compassion, of loving kindness, of peace, and wishes for your happiness.

I want to offer you deep gratitude for being with me on this journey, moving through the seasons of our lives and giving ourselves pause for reflection. As we approach the transition from one year to the next, I pause for deep reflection of what is needed these days, and I feel in my heart how this will be different for each and every one of us.

Your presence in this world and your openness has great meaning to me. I just want to say thank you, it’s truly an honour being here with you during these times in our world.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,

May the clarity of light be yours,

May the fluency of the ocean be yours,

May the protection of the ancestors be yours.

And so may a slow wind work these words

of love around you,

An invisible cloak to mind your life.

~ John O’Donoghue

Much love for the days ahead, Amber

Honouring This Turn Of The Wheel

12th November 202412th November 2024Amber_Young

This week I’ve been sitting with mystery and magic, and how it is woven through our lives. Setting clear intentions and perhaps shifting our perspective, we all have the potential to open to a deepening – and perhaps to something new and unexpected – in our ordinary day to day rhythms.

The deer in the fields that you looked to the right exactly in that moment while driving your car, the sun on the morning dew and how it sparkles, the last petals falling to the ground before their winters rest, the rays of the suns light through the trees, the incredible tapestry of images in the clouds, the phone call or email received from that person you were literally just thinking about, a sale at the grocery store on your favorite food.

The magic of our day to day lives.

Honouring where we are in cycle as I reflect on the energies of the past few weeks, this time of year acknowledged across traditions as Samhain, Día de los Muertos, Hallowe’en – all a little different AND all holding in our hearts as a time of mystery and magic as many of us feel the veil between us and the spirit world as a little thinner this time of year. Feeling into our ancestors, honouring those we love and have lost, and for many of us our guides who are with us in the most ordinary of moments.

Reflecting on my ancestors, the love and determination of so many that have made it possible for me to be here today. My roots travel deep to Sweden, England and Prussia, a country that was dissolved around the time of WWII. I feel that in my bones as a feeling of being displaced – reconciling that home is exactly where I am, my home is the Earth. This time of year reminds me to sit with the lineage I carry forward, breathing into the places that are fractured and need healing, and honouring the traditions I hold in my blood, breath and bones – longing to know more.

Honouring and remembering our ancestors also opens us beyond our blood lines – you may honour those who have supported you through your life – either as an anchor or during a chapter of your lived experience, those who have guided you through this life, in seen and unseen ways. It’s important to widen our circle of reverence to include animals, trees, stones and rivers – these too are our ancestors – and part of us, we are part of them.

We are all deeply connected, I think when we can truly feel this in our hearts the vast ocean of compassion available to us deepens.

This poem has been drifting through my awareness lately, by Mary Oliver, I feel inspired to share this gift of her words with you here:

When Death Comes

When death comes, like the hungry bear in autumn;

When death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse

to buy me, and snaps the purse shut; when death comes like the measle pox;

When death comes

like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,

I want to step through the door full of curiosity wondering:

What is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?

And therefore I look upon everything as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,

and I look upon time as no more than an idea,

and I consider eternity as another possibility,

and I think of each life as a flower, as common as a field daisy, and as singular,

and each name a comfortable music in the mouth tending as all music does, toward silence,

and each body a lion of courage, and something precious to the earth.

When it’s over, I want to say: all my life

I was a bride married to amazement.

I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it’s over, I don’t want to wonder if I have made of my life something particular, and real. I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened, or full of argument.

I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.
Mary Oliver

We can hold it all as sacred. This is how we continue to take the fullness of the world into our arms.

Honouring this wild and precious life – YOUR life. Remembering those we’ve lost, those who have walked before us, honouring the spirits of the land, and saying our silent prayers of gratitude for the guidance they offer us when we’re quiet enough to listen.

Sending you so much love on your journey

Amber

In case you missed my Autumn newsletter, you can get caught up on all my latest news here

Monthly Tending Sessions begin November 26th and December 6th! This is an offering that is very dear to my heart, born through my healing with Cancer and the love and support of community. This year these will be offered as monthly sessions – with a day and an evening option. To find out more you can click here.

Consider upgrading to a paid subscription and you’ll receive bonus practices, guided meditations and movement classes, as well as weekly check ins. Memberships range from $6 – $38. You can find out more here Extra Support

Gentle Spaces For Self Exploration

19th August 202427th September 2024Amber_Young

I love this sacred window of time, as I close my eyes and imagine all of us, sitting together in circle, honouring the evolution and unfurling of who you are, who we are – moment to moment.

Thank you for inviting me into your inbox, you give me inspiration to keep doing this work, and I am grateful.

Earlier this month I celebrated 20 years as a Registered Massage Therapist, I can’t believe it’s been over 20 years since I started doing this work. My first experience was a training at the Mueller College of Holistic Studies in San Diego in 1999, later becoming Registered in British Colombia in 2004. That feels like a lifetime ago. I guess in many ways it was, thinking about how much I’ve changed over the years, and also how much we are continually learning about how we heal.

As I reflect on all of the care, the trust and the stories I’ve been honoured to hold for people, I am in awe. It is an honour and a privilege to do this work in the world, spiraling deeper and exploring different ways to hold healing space for folks.

We are a complex interconnection woven from our anatomy, the DNA we carry, our families history, our ancestral lineage lines, the experiences we carry in our hearts, our energetic bodies, the health of the Earth and the elements, spirit, the ways we are affected by the collective, our individual beliefs – and so much more. I’m curious how people are able to focus their attention on a presenting lesion or pathology, becoming trapped within a diagnosis and forgetting to consider all the factors that contribute to our wholeness.

In my heart I feel how much we need gentle and accepting places to explore ourselves, now more than ever.

I was having a conversation the other day about pain cycles, specifically the cycles of anxiety and stress many are presently living with. These states bring our body into a sympathetic state – which is indicative of energy expenditure; rapid breathing, increased heart rate, muscular contraction – often referred to as the “fight or flight” response. We can become overwhelmed by our thoughts which can manifest as physical tension and disharmony in our bodies and our minds. Thanks to the work of Stephen Porges, Deb Dana and many others, we are also learning more about our nervous system’s survival response of freeze, a dorsal vagal response, where we can feel stopped and shut down out of a visceral reaction where our bodies are in actuality trying to keep us safe – our bodies are always trying to keep us safe. This response is like pushing a pause button and is our nervous system’s attempt to conserve energy. These reactions, both a result of stress, live in our bodies and require somatic explorations to support our unique pathways to healing, releasing, and integrating. We need to cultivate and nourish our bodies and our minds with experiences and practices that help us to feel safe, daily.

It’s important to take time to move the heaviness we’re carrying through us, not needing to cognitively understand or be required to explain ourselves, but rather to have the space to feel – to be quietly witnessed.

May we all have places and people where we can put down our defenses, allow tears to flow, honour our cracks, and explore who we are under all the layers we often carry.

In service to the sacred threads of life

Love Amber

As I celebrate my 20 year massage anniversary, I have welcomed in some supportive spaces to offer care:

Monday’s: at the Centre For Health Innovation located in the city of Ottawa at 429 MacLaren Street. To see me at this location you can book directly through the Centre.

Tuesdays, Thursday and Friday’s I practice massage therapy and sound therapy in my private forest studio, nestled amongst the white pines, cedar and birch trees.

Send me an email if you’d like to book in my private forest location. Booking is directly through me. amber@suryadaya.ca

I teach weekly online zoom yoga classes Thursday mornings from 11:00 – 12:00 am EST, you can join from anywhere (live or with the recording).

Let me know if you’d like more information amber@suryadaya.ca

The Ways We Care For Ourselves

12th August 202413th August 2024Amber_Young

During my chemotherapy, the book Between Two Kingdoms written by Suleika Jaoud was recommended to me (by Lisa Patterson during one of her healing yoga classes). This was the first time I truly felt like someone understood. Reading her words was like reading my own thoughts in a way I couldn’t articulate. I find myself now living between two kingdoms, inhabiting my body and the space I exist in the world in a very different way. Through this process I was introduced to the 100 day project, a creative dive for 100 days, which has been and continues to be, paramount in my healing and my daily life.

The ways we care for ourselves matter immensely, starting with the small things; offering ourselves rest when we’re tired, hydrating our bodies, eating nourishing foods, being gentle with the messages we send ourselves.

I realize for so much of my career as a massage therapist and yoga teacher, I have focused on how I can best care for others. Over the past few years I have grown into a more truthful realization of what that actually means. The answer is found in how I care for myself, in the small simple ways of ensuring I’m okay first, only then can I start to look outside of myself.

Last week I was privileged to sit in circle with a group of incredible women, it was my first in person Tending Your Inner Garden session. 9 of us gathered to hold space for eachother exploring what the act of tending to ourselves feels like, being held quietly in community as we moved through gentle practices.

In my own personal tending, I started painting bees and flowers to tap into that well of energy and joy that lives inside of me, with the intention to support my healing. Through this process I have become connected with all the parts of me, parts of me that I didn’t even realize I contained, parts of me that have been numb for most of my life – or that I kept very small out of fear of judgement.

These are created from my heart, for my heart.

I had never painted before and now it’s a non-negotiable part of my life. Many things have become non-negotiable for me; unrolling my mat for my body and my spirit, picking up a paintbrush with no expectations or judgement of what comes through on the canvas, dancing and singing, picking up my guitar or playing my drum as my boys play piano and their guitars. This is therapy for me, part of the tapestry of my wholeness.

I wonder what’s one small thing you can do today to offer yourself gentle care, tending to your own inner garden?

I offer you this with deep respect and gratitude.

Love, Amber

If you’d like to practice yoga and movement classes with me I teach weekly online zoom classes Thursday mornings from 11:00 – 12:00 am EST, you can join from anywhere (live or with the recording).

Once a month I also hold yoga and sound therapy at the Cedar Hill School House, Pakenham. These classes will run through to October.

If you’d like extra support you can find different video membership options , created with the intention to help you whenever you need a little extra guided support through a diverse collection of offerings ranging from 5 minute wellness capsule, mindful minutes practices, to 60 minute yoga and movement practices. Memberships range from $6 to $38.

Let me know if you’d like more information amber@suryadaya.ca

I’m dreaming about our next Tending Your Inner Garden offering, starting in the fall of 2024, stay tuned for dates and more information.