“The Shadow is composed, for the most part, of repressed desires and uncivilized impulses, morally inferior motives, childish fantasies and resentments – all those things about oneself one is not proud of.’ Daryl Sharp ‘How can I be substantial if I do not cast a shadow? I must have a dark side also, if I am to be whole.” C G Jung
Focused Breathwork: Shadow & Light
To survive and live in society, we learn to suppress certain instinctual behaviors. These elements of our personality do not simply go away. They are forced into the ‘shadow’ parts of our psyche. Then, when any situation presents an opportunity, these less refined aspects re-emerge, usually in ways that can be destructive to ourselves and to others. With care and attention, however, these shadow parts can offer us creative ways to know our soul’s unique potential.
Most of us are only partially conscious of how much we suppress, and how real and active these aspects are. Our shadow is a dynamic part of our emotions and responses and reactions to the world.
Following Jung, the shadow realm includes positive and negative aspects of both a personal and collective nature. With respect and awe for what is at work in the depths of the psyche, we explore the personal negative shadow. So blame, shame, anger, hurt, resentment, betrayal, jealousy, anxiety, sadness and depression, as well as sexual, emotional, creative and spiritual repression and excess, are drawn into our awareness.
After initial discussions and mental and physical orientation, an intense and focused breath method is utilized to explore our personal shadow and the projections by which it reveals itself. Getting to know and understand more about our complexities, we begin to take responsibility for the hidden gifts that each of us have, and to start to experience the creative vitality of these dark imaginations.