TESTIMONIALS

Spiritual Direction

Elizabeth has an empathetic heart and an ear for the Divine. She has journeyed with me through some significant life decisions, listening for God and gently speaking truth. Elizabeth has a nonjudgmental presence, which makes it easy to share the ups and downs of one's spiritual life. God has given her a gift for spiritual direction that has helped me move forward in exploring my relationship with God in deeper and new ways.

Elizabeth is a compassionate listener and provides a generous space that fosters self-reflection and personal growth no matter where one is at on their spiritual journey. I appreciate the poems and blessings she brings to conclude each session and often find myself revisiting them in between meetings. 

I appreciate Elizabeth’s active listening, intentional questions and genuine responses. Her inviting presence and gentle promptings provoke deep thinking and honest reflection, allowing me to be vulnerable and to feel safe as I explore various facets of my life and spiritual journey.

Yoga

I cherish each healing, weekly re-set—always stretching (yet never competitive). Thematic touches integrate every aspect: skilled instruction, transporting music, verbal prompts for suggested meditation, and compelling readings. There are scented eye pillows and brief (optional) foot and neck rubs. Artistic as well as athletic, each session embodies rigor and respite, closed with prayer and exquisite, a cappella song. Elizabeth Peterson’s deeply respectful aesthetic and presence gently encompass all. I come away soothed, recharged, graced, and grateful.

I started yoga with Elizabeth with some trepidation because I was older, had asthma, and suffered daily with fibromyalgia pain. I soon realized how tense my body was and how unfocused my mind. Elizabeth’s spirit-led yoga has blessed me in so many ways the past three years. My asthma and fibromyalgia are better, but more importantly I have learned to focus my mind and soul; my entire body has learned to relax. I have learned to accept with gratitude the body God has given me. Elizabeth has offered modifications that work for my body and I haven't ever felt judged for my limitations. I may continue to live with pain, but pain no longer has the power to shut my mind down or cause prolonged tension in my body.

My time in yoga with Elizabeth always centers on the simple truth that my breath and God’s Spirit are one. That intentional reminder steadies my soul, and ushers me into the grace that God is closer than we ever could comprehend.

Being in yoga with Elizabeth is like nothing I've ever experienced. As a chronic be-more, do-more, and do-it-quickly type person, I struggle to release anxiety and simply be with God. What Elizabeth does in her sessions is nothing less than usher you into the healing and restorative presence of Jesus. Through her incorporation of readings, prayers, and oil, Elizabeth's practice is distinctive from any other yoga class you may have taken before. Each session I attend, I leave having learned more about Jesus as God incarnate and the importance of caring for my own body. Her classes provide me with space to listen and be with God and always leave me feeling wholehearted.

Retreats

I am a person prone to believing I need to intellectually muscle my way through life's tangles and vicissitudes. However, the older I get, thinking my way out of trouble has begun to fail me as a spiritual discipline and as a coping mechanism. Commune Soul Care's retreats have introduced me to new, more body-centered possibilities for practicing God's presence, processing my own life, and discerning God's call. Elizabeth begins these half-day retreats with a full hour of gentle yoga before proceeding to self-guided reflection questions that engage the mind more directly. I have been so surprised to note that when my body is given the opportunity to be grounded and rested, when my breath slows and my nervous system calms, I can then move much more deeply into a time of contemplation and prayerful reflection. Now in my own time, apart from the retreats, I do not ask my mind to do heavy lifting until I get my body on board first. It has been an enormously fruitful new learning for me.

Elizabeth facilitated a retreat day for the women at our church. She led us through movement, scripture, silence and reflection. Elizabeth has a tender spirit and provided a beautiful space for us to become more aware of the presence of God in our journeying, and offered a gentle invitation to recognize the need to tend to our bodies, minds and souls. We left feeling refreshed and renewed!

 The past two years, I have participated in one of Elizabeth’s retreats; both were a breath of fresh air for my soul. As a busy mom of three small children I rarely give myself time to pause, reflect, and listen to that quiet voice of the Spirit. These intentionally planned retreats are a perfect way to reset, set some new intentions and rhythms, and experience much needed peace. I appreciate the incorporation of movement, thoughtful journaling prompts, and group sharing to move us through one of my favorite days of the year.