By Kristine (Dhairyavati) Freeman

Interviewed by Marlene (Matrikaa) Gast, Yogaratna

Two years ago, a bone scan showed osteopenia in one of my hips.  

Last spring, I wanted a home practice sequence with standing poses to address it. So I scheduled a private session with one of our Swamis.  I also knew that, at the same time, I’d be in a retreat with Gurudevi at the Ashram.

Instead of a pose practice, Gurudevi said I needed three thirty-session sets of Embodyment^® Yoga Therapy.  This was a Shakti Blast to my brain!  I reacted with shock.  How could I find the time — or the budget?  Yet in my Embodyment^® session with Swami Praj~nanda, I heard inner guidance: This is a gift from your Guru.  Can you find a way to accept it?

Home in MA, I found a longtime Embodyment® Yoga Therapist and realized I could make this happen. At first, I took lots of notes after my sessions. My lingering question was what if I do all these sessions and nothing happens?  Still, I felt an undercurrent of Grace supporting me.  I felt deeply settled, a steady stillness in the world.

By July, I’d completed my first set of 30 sessions. At the Ashram for another retreat, I could easily sit on the floor for meditation.  I could do all the poses without the modifications I had needed before.

During recesses, I didn’t need to rest in Shavasana and do Ujjayi.  My stamina had increased.  I was told my face looked lighter.  In August, a bone scan showed the osteopenia had stabilized at the level shown years before. The best-case scenario!

Now I’m in my third set of 30 Overlap Healing sessions.  Once again, I’m at the Ashram for a retreat with Gurudevi.  The seven-hour drive from MA was easy. I did not need long breaks, nor did I need caffeine. My body is free from the deep fatigue that I’d been living with before these therapy sessions.

I feel that “investing” in my bones has also delivered increased longevity and quality of life. With stabilized bone density, I don’t need medication for osteoporosis.  I am so grateful for Gurudevi’s Shakti Blast!  It’s been a highly effective intervention and so much more.