Lead With Your Heart :: Part II

Happy Full Moon!!  

Like I said to my breathwork circle on Friday, I love using the cycles of the moon to remind myself to do a little check in.  The moon cycle is like a little mini year contained in each month.  It's a creative cycle every 28 days.  It's easy to get caught up in the hamster wheel of daily life so the moon is a great reminder to slow down and go inward on a more regular basis.  Rather than waiting for a new year or a new month or our birthday to do a little review, we get to reflect on what's working, where are we out of balance, WHAT DOES OUR HEART NEED, every month (and actually every day with every breath).  

Back in March, I wrote about an exercise class that reminded me to "lead with my heart" (you can re-read that post here if you missed it!).  Today, as we have arrived into the new spring season, I'd like to discuss how, sometimes, leading with your heart is hard to do!

Leading from the heart requires first LISTENING to the heart.

Sometimes your heart can be really loud and clear. Almost bossy even (all with love!). Many times your heart will speak to you softly, with little nudges, a tiny voice, or a pull of an emotion. 

And you have a beautiful and brilliant mind that likes to have a lot of air time when it comes to making decisions in your life.

All with the goal of keeping you safe, which is really important (thank you Mind!), your brain will plan, strategize, write a long list of pros and cons, throw in a healthy (and sometimes unhealthy) dose of worry, think about what is rational, logical, smart. That can be a lot of noise that definitely has tons of value AND can drown out the other part of the equation of making decisions that feel true and authentic and for the highest good of all involved.

And that's your own internal wisdom, intuition, and what FEELS best. 

And those answers come, most often, from your heart. 

So here are my tips for getting to the heart of the matter (see what I did there..?!):

1) Get physical.
Literally! MOVE your body to get IN your body. Do whatever movement you like that gets you OUT of your mind and powerfully present in your body. Here are some ideas:

• Lift weights
• Go for a run
• Walk or hike vigorously 
• Go through a few yoga flow sequences
• Self-pleasure yourself
• Dance to your favorite song
• Shake out each part of your body (a la the hokey pokey from our youth)
• Stretch
• Do some bodyweight exercises: jumping jacks, running in place, squats, planks
• A few minutes of breathwork
• If you're in a public place (like your desk at work or in a grocery store) tap on your sternum, take some deep breaths, and feel your feet on the floor.

2) Then get quiet.
Close your eyes if you can, place a hand or two on your heart. Listen. 

Sometimes the answer doesn't come right away and that's okay. Trust that it will and begin to pay conscious attention to the little synchronicities that show up, the intuitive hits you get, the opportunities that are presented to you, and HOW THINGS MAKE YOU FEEL. 

3) Act.
When you've heard your heart, acknowledge it! Send gratitude, act in the guidance, give yourself some love. The more you value your inner heart's wisdom, the more clearly you'll begin to hear it and the stronger it will feel. Trust is sometimes like a muscle we have to work at and build up. Help you and your heart trust each other. 

Now over to you! What is your favorite activity to help you get out of your head and into your body? How does your heart like to communicate with you? I'd love to hear! 

Shameless plug: the nature of all my healing sessions is to help you feel into your own inner guidance by clearing out all the distractions and connecting you to your essence. If you need a little extra support with listening to your heart, I'd be happy to hold that space for you. xo! 

{New Video} Spring Intentions

Happy first new moon of SPRING from snowy Minnesota!

My body and spirit were so excited for the first new moon of spring last month that I planned to host two events this weekend, both of which ended up getting either cancelled (breathwork) or postponed (vision boarding!) because of how much snow and ice we got in this spring blizzard.

It's been a funny contrast to see pictures of the blossoms, outdoor grilling, and trips to the beach from other friends and family in different parts of the country!  Please send some of that warmth here! 

I've been wanting to record a breathwork video for you to have for your practice in the comfort of your own home and I guess Mother Nature decided to give me the perfect opportunity to do so: being stuck indoors with the prep work for circle already done!  

My gift to you this spring is a recording of a breathwork session, as a thank you for being here in my community and for being a valued member of my newsletter list.

I recorded this for you yesterday in the midst of the flurries and wind and plows, so that it can arrive to you today, in time for the new moon.  New moon energy last a few days and you can do this breathwork session whenever you need some new fresh start energy. 

As with anything new, there's some things to tweak and adjust in the making and creating of recordings for you, but I'm so grateful for the ability to hold space to be with you virtually, even if I'm still getting my bearings with new technology.  I put a lot of positive, healing energy and love into this so I hope you can feel it through the interwebs! 

Happy New Moon!  Happy Spring!  And here's to all the magical seeds you are planting in the rich soil of your life.  Love you! xo

Lead With Your Heart

Behind the studio space I use for one-on-on sessions at Stockheart is a movement studio called Embody Minneapolis.  In a beautiful space with garage windows and various pieces of intriguing equipment, Gyrotonics and Gyrokinesis classes and sessions are taught.  Last week, I did a private session with owner Susan Gaines to get a taste of what it's all about.

The technique has a pilates-esque feel to it as the use of machines help you with the movement and exercises, but the gyrotonic technique is all about curving, arching, and spiraling the spine with the mission to create space between your vertebra and the joints in your back, neck, shoulders, and arms.  For a society that often spends a lot of time hunched over computers, I felt AMAZINGLY open and stretched and upright afterwards... like I had grown at least 2 inches since I walked in the room!

{Image from @embodympls}

The reason I'm sharing this particular story is because while I was working with Susan on some of the machines, a cue she would often use was: "lead with your heart".  

Meaning, open up your chest, pull your shoulders down and back, lift with the sternum.  That's a pretty great message to hear over and over... lead with the heart, lead with the heart.  After hearing this phrase multiple times and focusing on this movement with my chest and spine, it got me reflecting (bear with me here, as this is a longer post than usual). 

When I first began my journey into energy and the chakras, the one I connected with first was the heart.  A friend from college had taken this brilliant acting class in NYC called Lucid Body that taught you how to use the energy of your chakra system to create character and story.  When my friend returned from the city, she made a copy of the heart chakra chapter of the book and gave it to me, insisting that I needed to read it.  I'm so grateful she did, because it resonated with me so strongly that I began to research and study the heart chakra and then all the other chakras over the next several years of my life. 

Flash forward to living in NYC myself, I became a student of the Lucid Body method of acting and in one particular class series, I told the teacher and founder Fay Simpson through teary eyes that I was devoting the next several weeks of class to doing the "heart work" I needed in order the next layer of my heart that needed to heal.  

Heart work.

Not homework, but heart-work.  That's what I'm here to do this life!

And after taking a Gyrotonics movement class, I was reminded again and still amazed by all the ways and opportunities that come about to help assist us in the work we are meant to do this life. 

 

So if you are here to do heart-work in this life (many of my clients are!) or you find the best way to travel through life is leading (and listening) to your heart, you have a variety of gentle tools to help support you: 

Heart work can be done with an acting technique.  Or explored in a workshop.  It can be assisted by heart opener poses in yoga.  It can be worked on by writing poetry or creating works of art.  Or by seeing a therapist.  It can be done by doing breathwork or any other multitudes of healing modalities like Reiki, Esoteric, Healing Touch, massage, acupuncture.  It can be touched by meditation or grieving or creating sacred ceremonies to honor where you are and what you're hearts been through.  It can be done around a table of your closest pals chatting the night away. 

And heart work can be done in an exercise class. 

How amazing is that?! 

Happy Full Moon Big-Hearts!  My wish for you this cycle is that you lead with your heart.  That you find the ways to support your work, your heart, and your healing that makes you feel valued, vibrant, and empowered. xo!

For the Tender Hearts

Last week on Valentine's Day, I was reminded of this poem I had written on Feb 14th back in 2015 after I had attended a group breathwork workshop.  Even though this is three years old, it still feels relevant and is a great depiction of how I feel about living in the world with a sensitive, empathic, tender heart.  

So I'm bringing it back as my love letter to you.  

"Lying on my back
In the dark, soft candle-lit space
Sandwiched between two yoga blankets
Held in support by the others lying in the room with me
Guided by a heart-centered healer
I breathed

First into the belly
The second chakra
The place where emotions and relationships and lost, almost forgotten, memories are held

Then second into the heart
Center of love
Center of compassion
Center of light

And then lastly out my mouth
Released
Let go
Returned to the Earth and to Source
To be re-used, transformed, healed

Belly, heart, open mouth
Again and again
Over and over
Through the awkward stage of dry mouth in the beginning breaths
And through anxiety that's telling me it's impossible to breathe this fast
this deep
for this long

But as I relaxed my body
And surrendered to the moment
Surrendered to the breath
Surrendered to the feelings in my body wanting to bubble out
Surrendered to Mama Earth who was rising to meet and support my back
The movement of energy began to flow

First in waves of anger
Long time held
Distant
Ancient anger
Coming out in a yell that had been suppressed for years

Then sadness, sorrow, grief
Rising up from my legs, torso, chest
Emerging from my breath in sobs, wails, tears

And with surprise
Laughter!
Hysterical bouts of giggles, belly laughs, joyful chuckles
Released freely, loudly, openly
As if to remind me
"Healing ain't got to be soooo serious!"

Back to the breath
Belly, heart, mouth
Hearing the person next to me
Holding the rhythm, the beat
While I take a moment to express
Before returning back to the breath
Belly, heart, mouth
Belly, heart, mouth
Belly, heart, mouth

And as the energy moved through my body
Touching on places of pain and joy
Blocks and openness
I came to a resting place in my heart
My tender heart
My deep and passionate feeling heart
The heart I protect
The heart I give from
The heart that holds so much

And in this space of primal, raw, humanness
I realized how hard life can be when you have a tender heart
When you feel all the feels
(Or avoid feeling all the feels)
And how important it is for us
To honor and hold and express
In order to not harden our tender hearts
Or hide them away from this hard
Beautiful, messy, difficult life
We need self care, soul care
Self love, soul love
And permission and sacred space
To go deep
Or just be
Present with our tender hearts
In connected solitude
Community and tribe."


 

Breathwork is my medicine for my tender heart (along with nature, my puppy, being truly seen by my loved ones, and connecting with Spirit). But it's not for everyone.

My #wednesdaywish for you is that you find the medicine that is a perfect match for your big, beautiful, brave heart. 

Join me this Friday for breathwork if you're a fan or if you've never tried it before. I also do private sessions if the Friday night group times don't work for you.  Everyone is welcome - no experience necessary! xo!