Monday Mantra :: Taking Up Space

This past weekend, I spent a few days in Chicago visiting my sister and was reminded by the lesson that big cities can teach us: take up space, yo!  Very early on as a polite gal from the midwest living in New York City/Brooklyn I realized that if I didn't push myself onto that crowded subway, be the first to walk through the open door, or make myself seen by that taxi during my commutes, I wasn't going to get ANYWHERE.  I'd be stuck waiting for a sea of people to go first before I even took my first step.  I believe this is true, and we can use this metaphor, for other areas in life.

While there is value in holding the door for our neighbor and making ourselves "hidden" can be a useful skill, this week our focus will be on where in our lives we can (and need) to speak up and make more room for ourselves.

Where do you feel yourself playing small?

When are you holding back or biting your tongue at a detriment to your own happiness, health, desires, dreams, authenticity?

Who can you ask to help get your needs met, whether from your boss, your lover, your family, your friends, your government, your divine support team?

What is one action step you can do for you that puts you one step closer to your desires?

When reflecting on those questions, what feelings come up for you?  Nervousness?  Anxiety?  A lack of clarity?  A crystal clear vision of that life area you want to see bigger, bolder, more bad-ass?  While we could get very deep with this practice and reflection, this week, we'll keep it simple and just give ourselves permission:

Take a deep inhale and exhale.

Bring your awareness to the space right below your diaphragm in the center of your core (your solar plexus!).

Say as many times as you need: I allow myself to take up space.

As you breathe into this mantra, imagine and feel into the space and your boundary around your solar plexus, around your core.  Feel it expand.  Feel it broaden.  Feel it get stronger and brighter and more full.  This week the moon is waxing (getting bigger and more full) - follow her inspiration and really magnify your needs, wants, and your ability to hold (and ask for!) all you desire.   

This week's mantra :: I ALLOW MYSELF TO TAKE UP SPACE.  

Monday Mantra :: Stillness

When I moved to Brooklyn from Upstate New York a few years ago, I didn't know what I wanted.  In a women's workshop early on during that transitional period in my life, I was instructed to ask my heart what I wanted and I was embarrassed that I had no idea.  I also felt frustrated and let down by myself that I didn't know myself. 

Then, I began to attend monthly moon circles.  Each month, cycle by cycle, new moon by new moon, I would gather with different women around a different theme and slowly but surely, I was reminded of who I was and what I stood for.  By taking time each month to check in with my body, my breath, what I was feeling about life around me and IN me, I got more clear and more authentic.  I was reminded of how to find my center.  

Sometimes I forget and feel stuck in my own muck of confusion or lack of clarity, especially when I find myself in the middle of a transition in my life.  But when I come back to stillness on a regular basis, I find my inner guidance.   

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With the new moon on Friday, I was again reminded of that period of my life and why I love to gather around this time each month.  But you don't need to be with other people or attend a workshop or a class to find your center, to discover what you love, declare what you want, and be your authentic self (although finding and being with your tribe is a lovely way to support all of these things!).  This week's mantra is a practice for you to go inward and to listen to your own inner guidance: 

Take a deep inhale and a deep exhale.

Close your eyes for a moment and bring your awareness to your core.

Say to yourself: In stillness, I find my center. 

This short and simple inward gaze can take two seconds and can be done at any time of the day.  Before you hop out of bed, while you brush your teeth, between reps at the gym, before you walk into work, as you finish up your meal, in the shower, walking your dog, on the road stuck in traffic, in a crowd, or in the quiet of your home on your meditation cushion.  Stillness.  Inward.  Oh, there you are, self!

With so much going on in our world right now, there's a lot of pull around ways to act, protest, engage, or not.  Our beliefs, opinions, and what we stand for may be called into question, challenged, or engaged in conversation.  It's easy to get caught up in the chaotic energy of the internet, the scrolling of the newsfeed, and the speed of information, so use this mantra this week when you need a little reminder, a little pause, a little stillness in the eye of the storm we call life.

This week's mantra :: IN STILLNESS, I FIND MY CENTER.   

Monday Mantra :: In and Out

We are in waning moon time, with the end of the week (FriYAY!) bringing us a new moon.  This means it's the perfect time to clean house, both literally and figuratively.  Clear out the clutter from your counters, closets, drawers and the clutter from your thoughts, emotions, and energy. 

What is no longer working for you?  What leaves you feeling uninspired and stuck?  Where in your life could you use some breathing room or a breath of fresh air?

This week's mantra gives you a practice for calling in what you need and for letting go of what you're ready to release.  A way for you to clean the house of your body with your breath: 

On your INHALE, say in your mind and hold the intention: I BREATHE IN LOVE.

On your EXHALE, say in your mind and hold the intention: I BREATHE OUT FEAR.

Continue a few reps, filling in the blanks for what you want to breathe life to and what you want to release.  Here are a few more examples to get you started: 

I breathe in peace and I breathe out stress.
I breathe in calm and I breathe out anxiety.
I breathe in abundance and I breathe out scarcity.
I breathe in energy and I breathe out depletion.

This week's mantra :: I breathe in ______ and I breathe out _________ .  

Monday Mantra :: Connected

Last week's mantra focused on being grounded.  This week, we'll put our attention in the opposite direction.

In a theatre technique I trained in, we studied the qualities of gravity.  Gravity is pulling on all of us, all things, all the time.  Assisting us in our grounding.  What we theatre artists discovered is the drama (and good hero-worthy story-telling) was found in the character's WILL TO LIVE.  With the concept of physics at play, the will to live had to be strong enough for the character to stand up against gravity and move about the world.  

When we, the leading characters in our own lives, have that will to live, the will to RISE, we send energy in two directions.  Not only can our feet be planted firmly on the ground, but our crown's can be soaring and open to the heavens and we become powerful, authentic, connected characters.  

With much change happening in the world around us, feeling connected to our authentic selves and our community is extremely important and valuable.  So this week, I invite you to take a few minutes each day to feel into this connectedness: 

Take a deep inhale and exhale.

Bring your awareness to the tip top of your head (where awareness goes, energy flows).

Say to yourself: I AM connected.  

When you feel stuck, confused, frustrated, closed-off, unmotivated, or any other heavy sensation, this mantra exercise is a perfect tool to use to realign yourself to the highest good and your highest self.  If it's helpful you can imagine a beam of light coming out of the crown of your head, like the branches of a tree, shooting up into the sky.  Or maybe visualizing the clouds, the stars, the sun, the moon gives you that feeling of rising up and feeling one with the universe and all things.  When we connect this way, we can remember there are endless possibilities and we are never alone.  We can know that there's hope and hero-worthy, story-telling moments to be told.  

This week's mantra :: I AM Connected.

**I will be holding space for community at several different spaces in St. Paul as ways for us to connect to one another and ourselves.  Restorative Yoga and Reiki on 1/22 will be a sweet and savory way to connect with your body in a healing way.  An amazing group of people are already gathering for Breathwork on 1/27, where we dive into clearing our blocks, habits, emotions with the breath.  And on 1/29 there will be the opportunity to journal, share, and reflect in a new moon circle.  If you feel called, it would be lovely to have you.