It’s about relationship

Throughout my Social Work career, no matter what kind of work I was doing, what made my practice successful was always the same thing: my relationships.  Whether I was working with at-risk teenage girls, families facing housing or health crisis, public policy advocacy, community organizing, students, or board members, the quality of connection between myself and those with whom I was working determined my outcomes.

In that spirit, I’ll share a little about myself and how Evolition came to be.

Several years ago, I came to a place where I could no longer stomach living in the reality of a sick, obese body and spiraling, depressed mind. I was lucky to have found Yoga as a young woman, but had always interacted with the practice intellectually. As I prepared to change, I stopped thinking about what I was learning and started doing what I had learned. I started to live the things that I knew, stepping one foot in front of the other, with the motto

Do some thing every day.

It was that simple.  At least one action, day after day, toward a healthier, happier me. I found fitness on that road, and somatic therapy, and picked up a mess of skills along the way. And I worked to know myself ever better, so that I could see why I was soothing myself with food and avoidance, and learn some healthier ways to take care of myself.

It isn’t perfect every day. I still work with patterns of low mood, anxiety, and binge eating that lead me into dark corners of shame and hopelessness. There are periods where I feel like my best and highest self, and periods where I descend into darker places. When that happens, I take the advice of my Teacher’s Teacher: to dust myself off and begin again. We can always begin again. One foot in front of the other, doing some thing every day (including learning to rest!), committed to walking with myself in love, health, and authenticity.

While on a retreat to Mexico in late 2016, a beloved Teacher of mine asked me what my purpose is and why I wasn’t serving it. I choked on my dinner, and then proceeded to spend rest of the retreat in my journal seeking the answer to her question. That’s where Evolition was born. Out of a desire to serve the wisdom that has helped me heal by sharing it with others.

Health is a practice, like Evolition is a practice. This practice is not about telling you what I did and how I did it and expecting you to do it, too. Evolition is about supporting you through your process. About finding what works for you, doing it, and making sure you have the skills you need to do it forever. I hope that walking with someone who’s been down this road herself is comforting and uplifting.

Warmly,

Tiffany Bucknam
Principal, Evolition and Owner, Akasha Collective