Monday Mantra: January 30, 2017

Today, and the past few days, I have woken with anxiety in my stomach and worry in my heart for the world. I cannot shake this underlying subtle feeling of fear that lurks just beneath the surface of every Facebook post, conversation, and news article. With the new president making quick changes, and the world showing it's anger in very active ways, it is hard to turn down the fear and turn up the peace.

Words soaked in heavy emotion sway me one way in one article, and then quickly take me another way in another article. The world, right now, is an intense place for the souls who are highly sensitive to the energy around us. And while I agree with so many of you, I realize that living in a state of anxiety every day is not the way to live. I do not believe in sticking my head in the sand and pretending that real issues are not happening around me, but I do believe in compartmentalizing and taking action one moment and returning to a peaceful state the next - for myself and for those around me.

When we live in fear consistently, we spread it around us. Fear radiates from our bodies and it spills onto those around us - to our children, our friends, our pets, our loved ones, and to those we do not know. Protests and shouting and writing angry words can help to change the things happening, but there is another way to create change in our immediate environment. So today - today I choose peace. Today, I realize that the United States, and the world around us, is in a precarious time. But, today I understand that change can begin with me. So today - today, I choose peace over fear. I focus on peace beginning at my very core, in my heart, and from my home. Today, I breathe peace and I show peace to everyone I meet through my actions, my words, and my presence.

Peace within me. 

Peace around me. 

Today I am at peace.

(Repeat, repeat, repeat when fear begins to creep in)

How to "Just Let Go"

If you're going through some stuff right now, chances are someone has told you, or you have read in books, to just "let it go" (and maybe you have wanted to cause them bodily harm for saying so). Maybe you've gone to yoga class, or to therapy, or to church, and been told to "release and move on". But how? How does one cope with having someone/something one day and wake up without it the next? How do you "just let go and move on"? How does that work? I was told these things, I have told myself these things, I have read these things, I have heard these things - and I had questions, so many questions. I've done some research of my own - as in, I just did everything and anything that I could/read/was told - and I can say with great certainty that one thing helped me recover and let go of my loss faster than anything.

Yoga for Sleep

Our days can be tough to wind down from, often leaving us staring at the ceiling, trying to go to sleep at some ungodly hour, counting the time we have left to actually sleep before the alarm goes off. Yoga is a great way to calm the mind and signal to the body that it's time for rest. This nightly routine takes just about ten minutes and can be done by anyone, regardless of your experience AND it can be done in your bedroom, on your bed if you'd like, in your pajamas. Try to shut off the "am I doing this right?" demons that live in your heads, and to settle into each posture for about 2 minutes each (or whatever feels like 2 minutes). Main goal: don't stress too hard. Make it a little routine. Make it an event, making it special if you can, by lighting a candle. Make it your nightly ritual for a week or two* and see if it helps you fall asleep quicker than usual.

15 Things to by Yourself on the Weekends

Photo cred: Eva Lin Photography

Growing up, I always had built-in playmates in my sister and my neighbors; and in grade school and high school, I was blessed to have good friends. Once college hit, I took some time to "find myself" and eventually joined a sorority. And then fresh out of college, I met my (now ex) husband. Fast forward to age 30 where I found myself, for the first time, alone. Everyone around me had started creating their little families, bringing children into the world and building houses and moving away while I was finding myself back in my parent's house, single and alone for what felt like the first time in my life. I cried every single weekend, and felt relief every Monday morning. Weekends have that effect when you're suddenly single, or have been and are trying to find a new way of life. What do you do when you're alone on the weekends?

Why YOU Need a Thunder Shirt

After my ex-husband left our marriage, I was forced to move into my parent's basement with little left to my name except 2 suitcases full of clothes. I slept in my sister's bed and my two cats and one dog, all slept in that room too. We had very little, but we were safe. At the time, the thought of just opening my suitcase to pick out something to wear induced tears - big tears - the kind that splash when they meet a surface, and there was really no telling when they'd end. Every piece of clothing reminded me of my old life, so I took to wearing my sister's sweatpants around the house most days, and buying a piece of clothing here and there if I really needed it. That's how I found my Thunder Shirt.

Monday Mantra: Week of January 16, 2017

Us humans are weird little creatures, aren't we? We're skeptical of things that can bring about a positive change in our lives, especially if there isn't tangible evidence, like medical backing, that proves its validity. This is the case with mantras. We don't always want to believe that changing the way we speak to ourselves could actually bring about change, so we don't bother with it.

Simply put, in our western world - and for the purpose of this website, a mantra is a group of words that we use to set an intention, or cultivate a feeling in ourselves. It is a set of words that we repeat to ourselves to bring about a feeling of positive energy. Words like "I am focused" or "I am strong", can be used as a mantra in settings where we need to conjure up that energy in ourselves when we feel weak or scattered.

Overcome or Become

When tragedy strikes, we have two choices: we can become or we can overcome. There is no gray area, no middle ground, no limbo that we can live in once loss has happened. Any choice but to grow from the experience is a choice to become the sadness, the pain, the loss, the tragedy. Maybe that sounds harsh - maybe you'll say "well she never experienced the loss that I did, so she cannot understand" - and maybe you would be right. But I did experience a loss of my own - the deepest pain I have felt to date and the hardest hit I have taken in life - so I'm somewhat versed in the loss department.  So maybe, it sounds harsh - the idea that we choose to stay in sadness or to move past it. And I'd say - yes it is pretty harsh.