Energy Lessons

,

The Power of Words

,

Words are one of the most potent forms of practical magic we possess.

With simple word choice, we can either buoy our brain and body or quite literally flood ourselves with anxiety-inducing hormones. It turns out that self-talk really does matter and that the words we choose affect how we experience our reality.

Using intentional affirmations and mantras has been a go-to practice for me for over 20 years. Long before I knew the neuroscience of word choice, I took refuge in positive sayings simply because it made me feel better. When I consciously center myself in high-frequency phrases, I notice that I’m better able to manage anxiety, stress, depression and the general overwhelm of being human.

, ,

Charting the Map to Your Heart

, ,

I ripped open the box like a kid tearing through their presents on Christmas morning. As I peeled back the cardboard, I gasped in delight. Running my hand across the cover I felt tears puddle in my eyes.

The book opened with a crack, and that fresh-from-the-printer smell whooshed across my face. I flipped through the table of contents and lingered on the first few paragraphs of the introduction. I knew the words by heart, but seeing it bound hit differently. 

By the time I found the acknowledgements, tears were sliding down my cheeks. With my hand pressed against my heart, I read the words out loud: 

,

Feel Good As Hell in Your Body...Right Now

,

So, I literally just danced around my living room to Lizzo’s song Good As Hell on repeat three times because, for the love of cheese, I’m feeling fucking good as hell. I just had two smashingly great calls with my e-course students, I’m headed to Chicago tomorrow for a weekend retreat (where I’m the student, not the teacher - Holla!!!!!), and I’m wearing my new favorite underwear from Aerie.

I mean, does life get any better?

And as I was booty shaking on the back of my sofa and slapping my own ass, I wasn’t thinking about how my thighs could be firmer or my waist could be smaller. I was laughing out loud and thinking how great it felt to be jumping and singing at the top of my lungs for the motherfucking JOY OF IT.

The Secret to Life: How to Give Less Fucks and Feel Better

Okay, with a title like that, I feel the need to cut right to the chase. Because for fuck’s sake, there’s nothing worse than being strung along while you’re waiting for someone to just. get. to. the. point.

(That was me yesterday watching one of those ridiculous free webinars and yelling at the lady on my screen to just tell me the motherflippin’ content already.)

So here it goes….

Your Personal Responsibility Backpack

When my husband, my daughter and I go on outings that my daughter isn’t particularly excited about, I always tell her she can pack whatever will bring her joy in her backpack.

Sometimes she crams her backpack full of markers and paper and fidget spinners and random doodads. Other times she grabs a single book or some music and her headphones. Every now and then she brings nothing at all and decides to try giving life a go without outside entertainment.

The point is that each time she asks herself what she needs, takes the time to pack it up, and then pulls it out at just the right moment.

, ,

When Your Body Doesn't Feel Beautiful

, ,
When Your Body Doesn't Feel Beautiful

It happened again. 

But this time I was 15 stories up peering out over miles and miles of shimmering blue waters in front of me. The morning sun was soft and gauzy, and the sounds of the ocean sang a soothing tune that echoed on my heart. I was flowing through yoga poses and carefully twisting my body when the sabotage began yet again.

"You fatass."

,

You Are More Than Enough

,
You Are More Than Enough

Today I sat in mediation with tears streaming down my face, and I saw the litany of ways flash before my eyes that I've been beating myself up lately. Big things. Tiny things. Strange little things you wouldn't even imagine.

Like the planter in my window. I tried to start cilantro from seed about a month or two ago, and while three little shoots popped up to say hello, they eventually fizzled and fell. Now the planter is sitting in the window with dried out soil and tiny little cilantro carcasses, and I didn't even realize it was making me feel bad. 

, ,

Why I'm Hanging Out In My Comfort Zone With a Smoothie and a Smile

, ,
Why I'm Hanging Out In My Comfort Zone With a Smoothie and a Smile

I'm snuggled up in a hotel bed with the covers practically to my chin. (A good hotel bed is seriously one of my happy places.) My kiddo is snoozing soundly on the roll-away at my feet, and my husband is downstairs hopefully winning a million dollars in the casino. (A girl can dream.)

For the moment, all feels peaceful. 

We are on an overnight stopover making our way back to the mountains after a week at the beach. And even though it was all sun-soaked and jammed with joy, I am feeling the call of my space and the gentle pull of my nourishing routines.

My heart is full, but my body is honestly drained.

,

Your Go-To Guide for Releasing Negative Energy

,
Your Go-To Guide for Releasing Negative Energy

It happens to us all. We're humming right along in life, things are a-okay, and then we wake up one day in an undeniable funk. We don't exactly remember why we feel so bad, but we know for sure that we don't feel good.

We find ourselves analyzing and judging it in our minds. We push against it, and before we know it we're owning it. We're talking about it on repeat with our friends and family, and it weaves itself right into the definition of who we are.