I've been speaking about relief, the theme of this week's FREE group meditation and healing, and how my practices have become a big source of it for me over the years. That said, when I was in the early days of grief a few months ago, I was totally unable to sit down for my regular meditation and healing practices. My consistent twice-a-day practice went out the window in a matter of minutes.
Read MoreBalance has been on my mind a lot the past month. As an idea, a theme, and a practice. I, like many people, often view the world through "black and white" thinking. Things are good or bad, right or wrong, hard or easy. But the truth I've come to learn is that most of life and our experiences live in the grey. The in-between. The both/and. It's all so much messier than my control-seeking brain wants to believe.
Read MoreI can feel the energy in myself, my business, and life in general ramping up right now as we enter the holiday season. There's so much going on--things that bring joy, celebration & fulfillment as well as things that bring stress and anxiety. I have been noticing the tendency to want to ramp up with the energy (there is so much to DO!) this week, but I am doing my best to intentionally slow down when I want to speed up.
Read MoreWarning: I am on a self-kindness kick these days! Last week I shared the meditation concept of "tend and befriend" where we turn towards ourselves to offer the nurturing we need and even go so far as to befriend ourselves (even those messy, icky parts we like to hide or stuff down). It's so simple and yet so radical in our times, with all of its pressures and anxieties. Working harder, pushing more, and striving further are often celebrated no matter the expense to our wellbeing. What if kindness was valued as much as achievement? Health and wellbeing valued as much as status? A girl can dream.
Read MoreI wanted to share a theme that's been coming up for me this week that's captured by this quote from American nun Pema Chodron,
"Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already."
It reminds me of a saying an early meditation teacher of mine said during class, that during our practice we work to "tend and befriend". It's simple, but profound, and has always stuck with me.
I am excited to share a new free offering for my community today. I now have a private meditation library available to you for FREE. I wanted to create some meditations dealing with the most common needs that come up in my client sessions that you can download to support you whenever, and wherever you need it.
Read MoreIn the podcast episode I spoke on last week, I talk about my experience with therapy. I love therapy and still see my therapist regularly, but years ago I hit a wall while only utilizing this traditional mind-based method. I felt I had so much information about myself, that I could see and identify some habits and patterns that were holding me back, but I couldn't seem to embody those messages. I knew where I wanted to be but I felt blocked, or unable to get myself there. Like my head knew one thing and my body wasn't complying.
Read MoreI've been thinking a lot recently about how we interpret energy. Specifically, the energy in our bodies. I think that, after being diagnosed with anxiety disorder around the age of 14, I grew to blanket all of the energy I felt in my life as anxiety. There wasn't much wiggle room for other options. I was an anxious person and that was the end of that. So I tried to manage the anxious energy, doing my best to find a neutral space where I didn't have to feel the discomfort. You may guess that this led to a world of denial, stuffing, ignoring, etc. And that led to even more uncomfortable energy--whoops!
Read MoreI found Mindfulness and Reiki healing at separate times in my life, but I fell in love with them in a similar way. As if remembering a forgotten friend, I felt called to share these friends with my community. At first, I wondered how I could work with these seemingly different modalities in the same session, but over time I've come to see they are so complementary. I may even venture to say that they are inherent in each other.
Read MoreYou know that feeling when you walk into a room and meet someone new and just feel...bad vibes? There may be little to no reason in your logical mind for that feeling (you don't even know them!) and yet you feel the need to cut and run all the same?
This phenomenon has always been the easiest way for me to describe energy as the basis for my work. We are all made of energy and we are all giving out and picking up energy all day. Some of that feels good (like when we are with a friend who we feel supported by and leave feeling energized) and some of it feels not so good (like being around judgmental/mean/super negative people who you feel drained after seeing). And then, of course, sometimes WE are the judgmental/mean/super negative person with the bad vibes and it doesn't even feel good to be in our own energy!
Have you ever felt "stuck" in your life? Like you are being blocked from the place you want to be? I know I have. And so many of my clients come to me with these exact statements. Whether it's the feeling of being stuck in anxiety and negative thinking or the feeling of being stuck in a job or relationship, most of us know something isn't working, but don't know what to do about it. Hence, the block.
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