Community Guidelines

Here’s how to prepare yourself for the inward journey that you’re about to go on.

Guidelines

• Please make sure you’re in a private space, free of distractions and outside noise. Headphones are recommended if you’re practicing in a space where there is the chance of noise nearby. 
• Please do not ever try to attend a circle while in your car, parked or driving, or in a public setting such as at a cafe. You’ll need a private solo space where you can move and sound freely without other people around. 
• Be sure to arrive before the circle begins, as we start promptly and lock virtual doors at that time. 
• We kindly ask that you do not leave early. Each embodiment circle is a deep sacred journey. Only attend a live circle if you are able to stay until the end. 

Arrival

Please arrive 10-15 minutes early for all Amba Community embodiment circles, workshops, and events  so that you can have time to settle and ground into your body. Virtual doors open on Zoom 15 minutes before our circle begins.This is a good time to light your candles, clear the energy of your space, pour yourself some tea, breathe, pray, and tune into your intention for the practice. 

Entering the sanctuary

Just as you wouldn’t wear dirty shoes or bring your phone with you into a sacred temple space, you’re invited to set down your phone (out of your practice space or turned to off or at least do not disturb), and also set down anything that’s weighing heavy on your heart, such as a life challenge or unsettling experience you recently had.

You may find that you want to write these things down and imagine that you’re handing them off to your divine team. You could even place them in a special basket or on your altar. The more you feel that your practice and time going inward is a sanctuary, the deeper you’ll be able to go. 

Sharing inside of the circle

• Please bring your full presence and attention in the space during sharing. Breathe into your body as you listen. Look at and receive each woman’s share not just with your mind but through feeling it land in your body.
• What’s shared in the circle stays in the circle. Everything that’s shared in our gatherings is held as sacred, and with rigorous confidentiality.
  Together, we are creating a loving and safe container with the intention that every woman in our community feels warmly encouraged, embraced, and supported.
• As each woman shares, do your best to see and feel her through the heart and eye of the Great Mother. This will dissolve any patterning of comparing, judging, or criticism that we sometimes do unconsciously in groups of women.
• When each woman is speaking, imagine that she’s stepping into the center of our circle.
• In the sharing portions of our community gatherings, we kindly ask that you do not respond or give feedback to what someone else shares.
• Whenever you share inside of our Amba Community, please keep your share about you and your experience, and do not discuss or refer to others in the community.
• Please keep shares and questions relevant to our practices, experiences around the practices, and the subject matter pertaining to the Amba Method or how it’s impacting your life.

Supportive practice tools

For everyone (both in-person and virtual circles):

• Eye cover: You can search “mindfold” online or order from Amazon. This is not an eye pillow, but rather, an eye cover that doesn’t press into your eyes and will stay on through movement. It blocks all light and allows you to bring your awareness inward without being distracted by your visual sense and surroundings. If you prefer something softer, you can order a silk blindfold eye cover from Etsy or anywhere online.
• Practice pad: Rugs, carpets, sheepskins, soft blankets, and pillows. The softer the better. You want your practice area to feel soft and inviting, comfortable enough that you could roll around on the floor if you wanted to. I personally like to use 2-3 large thick rugs, and then I have an ethically sourced sheepskin from New Zealand on top.
• Winter warmth: in colder months you may want to invest in a heat pad or a bio-mat-like pad to keep you warm during Deep Nourishment. If you don’t feel up for the investment of the original bio mat, are many bio-mat alternatives that are great quality and a small fraction of the cost.
• To wear: Barefeet if it’s warm. Otherwise soft socks that don’t constrict your movement of your toes. Wear soft, loose fitting clothing for movement. No jeans or other tight pants that put a restriction on your breath or your belly.
• Journal and pen nearby: It’s recommended that you have a dedicated journal for your practice.
• Candles: Always have at least two candles in your practice space on your altar, or if you don’t have an altar, you place them on a table. Most candles are made with toxic chemicals that are harmful to your health, so we recommend pure beeswax or coconut wax, unscented. 
• A small bowl or box for your altar: even if that’s simply a table with your two candles, small pieces of paper, a pen.
• Sacred space clearing tools of your choice: this may include rose water, agua florita, copal, incense, Palo Santo, sage, cedar, or something else that you feel connected to. 

Questions about these guidelines? Please ask!