11/08/2024
Hi my dear Bellies,
Well....I guess the time has come to tell you that I will be moving to New York in February 2025. This is a deeply personal move for me, first and foremost. I had always wanted to go to college on the east coast and live in NYC in my 20's, but due to the complicated relationship I had with my mother, I never got to have either of those experiences. Then she got sick and I spent 13 years caregiving for her with my dad. I felt trapped in the Bay Area for a very long time, putting my life aside to center my mom and her needs. I do absolutely love it here, this place has raised me (as much as it also drives me crazy) but now that my mother is on the other side, it is crystal clear that it's time to fly the nest and know that I have the freedom to do so. To know that I can put roots down elsewhere is incredibly liberating for me and an essential step in my growth at this time.
So what does this mean for Underbelly in the Bay Area? Well, it has grown tremendously post pandemic and there is certainly a strong and obvious need in our nervous systems for this slower work and repatterning/reorienting- especially in the chaos, unrest, and speed of our times. I will continue facilitating weekly Underbellys until the end of this year. Then there will be a pause as I listen for how things would like to move forward. I am beginning the process of trademarking and building a strong foundation that can support the possibility of having other Underbelly facilitators doing this work with me, allowing it to expand to different places (and continue in the Bay Area) since I cannot do it all alone or clone myself 😉 More to come on this. I do not feel capitalistic urgency around this process and am prioritizing what it means to be in right relationship and right timing with this body of work.
What does this mean for Underbelly in NYC? Well, I'm coming for ya 🙂 I will be sending out more details once the venue(s) and time have been established. Please spread the word and get on the mailing list here: amyrogg.com/underbelly
It is bittersweet to be lifting roots out of the Bay (excitement/fear/laughcrying), but I will be back to visit often 🙂 I was joking with a friend that I'm going to be a "Bay Yorker." When I make trips back to the west coast, I will certainly be holding Underbellys, so hopefully that is something we can look forward to 🙂. I do want to acknowledge that for some of us, Underbelly has become a refuge that we can land in every week and that these changes may feel jarring. Please know I am holding you close and with tremendous care in this transition.
This is what I have for now. My prayer is to continually be in devotional service to the spirit and community of Underbelly and to keep this work rich in quality, integrity and heart. Thank you for trusting me. It feels both fulfilling and challenging working in the subtle counterculture space...I know it is where powerful shifts for our collective are born, even if the changes aren't highly visible in a single lifetime. Real, sustainable change exists on a much longer timeline, through countless and continued actions taken every single day over generations. When I slow down, I can feel the all pervasive steadiness that travels under the volatility in this country and all over the world. And in this post-election time, may we have permission to not push through pain, injury or confusion so we can encounter the wisdom of our hearts breaking- and not just because of results, but because the results are a mirror of innumerable bodies and lives that are hurting.
Please take extra good care of yourselves and I'll see you this coming Monday at The Alembic ❤
