From Do to Be

The last eleven months have been a time of transition and adaptation to a new country and a new way of living for my family.  From first arriving in the beautiful city of Brasília, the capital of Brazil and where my husband’s parents live in September 2008, to traveling in Israel recently, and then moving again to another city a few hours away named Goiânia (goy-en-ee-ah), things have been transforming in our lives at rapid pace.  We were just getting settled in Brasília, with me teaching yoga at the Canadian Embassy twice a week to a class of nine wonderful international yogi diplomats, when we received the news that my husband had been offered a dream job in Goiânia, as Director of Product Development for the company Organizição Jaime Câmera.  OJC is a major multimedia conglomerate in Brazil, consisting of newspapers, magazines, television stations, and radio stations, and they are looking to expand into gaming and the internet.  My husband’s job is a new position created to facilitate the integration of each of these areas, something he is really enjoying.

I on the other hand, have been focusing on getting settled in our new home, meeting people and exploring the small yoga community here, as well as practicing speaking Portuguese.  In June, I found out that I passed the Portuguese proficiency test (CELPE-BRAS), something that was necessary for me to do in order to practice as a licensed psychologist in Brazil.  There are several hoops to jump through in order to become a permanent resident in Brazil, which is necessary for you to do pretty much everything—from getting a driver’s license, to opening a bank account, as well as business, and each of these take a long time to process.  Only recently did I receive my official permanent visa status, after almost a year here; this allowed me to apply for my  driver’s license, open my own bank account, and also start the process of transferring my degree in Brazil.  The degree transfer is the most critical thing for my career, as I will be able to officially register as a psychologist to practice in Brazil.  As difficult as it has been for me to wait for these things, it has taught me an enormous amount about the virtue of patience, letting go, and acceptance of the way things are.  In the working through of this in my first year in Brazil, I wrote an article on the process of transition, titled “From Do to Be”, in which I have incorporated some classic yogic philosophy.  Earlier this year, I opened my yoga therapy practice in my home under the name of Samsara Terapia (Samsara Therapy) and designed a website for it (www.samsaraterapia.com).  You can find this article available for free on my site under the Publications section.   I am also in the process of writing a chapter in a book that will be published in 2011 by the Integral Institute, on clinical practice from an integral perspective in Brazil, which I will make available on my website as well.

Now that I can speak fluently in Portuguese, things have expanded quite a bit for me, and I am excited to say that I will be starting a two-year specialization program in Gestalt therapy in February, after the birth of our son (who is due in January, 2011).  Once my degree transfer is complete in the next couple of months, I will be able to officially attend clients as a psychologist; in the meantime, I have been counseling several children this year in a free school for the underprivileged, which is run by a church organization here in Goiânia, as well as volunteering for the program Angels of Tomorrow (Angjos do Amanhã).  Anjos do Amanhã is a government-run endeavor, which takes children from high-risk situations and provides them with psychological support and adoption services as necessary.   You can learn more about this program at: www.anjosdoamanha.tjdft.jus.br.

Speaking of children, I’ve added a couple of pictures of our little one, Lila, who is now 31 months old and is speaking fluently in both Portuguese and English.  I’ve been updating pictures of her on Facebook, because she is growing so quickly, and pictures do more justice than words.  She is the size of a 4 year old and a natural yogi—she can do a mean baby pose, squat and forward seated bend!!  It’s an amazing experience being a parent, as many of you already know, and has taught me a multitude about myself and learning to be a good parent and teacher in the process.

To stay in touch, you can find my yoga therapy related blog at www.andreaaraujo.com.
I am also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/andrea.vilela.araujo and on Twitter every once in a while under “sacredchakras”.
I look forward to hearing from you!

Love and blessings from Brazil,

Andrea

Update from Brazil

We recently received news from our yogini in Brazil. Andrea has now added new yoga classes at a studio in Goiânia (where she lives in Brazil) called Namaste. The website is www.namasteyoga.com.br .  We are so excited for her and continue to wish her success and blessings on her journey.

- Shelley Prather Kinney