Tag: Mind Body Soul

Friday Focus – 5/18/18 {Managing Expectations}

When we give ourselves a moment to think about what we really want in our lives, we, for better or for worse, realize the imaginings of a perfect fairytale.

We want the perfect partner and loving relationship, we want a career that fulfills us, we want a beautiful home with perfect neighbors who become our best friends, we want to travel the world and have the most exciting foreign experiences, and so it goes on.

While desiring a certain level of success and growth of our own potential is perfectly normal, what gets us into trouble is with our expectations.

Typically when we think of these future focused desires what we aren’t thinking about is the reality of life:

  • The inevitable arguments and ups and downs of any intimate relationship that, if handled well, only strengthen the bond between two people
  • The nuances of what it means to work with other people as you are on the path of a fulfilling career
  • The renovations of an aging house
  • The airport delays and possibly even stomach flus we get while traveling to foreign countries

And the moment our expectations aren’t met we end up having a harder time managing our mind and the myriad if emotions that surface.

What if instead we understood life was 50/50? That when we come across the valley, we understand it will take time to cross it in order to get to the mountain top.

Instead of being surprised, angry, or frustrated when things don’t go your way, because hey, life right?, we are met with acceptance and understanding that sometimes things happen.

All of this is said so that when we manage our expectations we are allowing and living with more lightness in our lives. Less heaviness, yearning, grasping and more lightness.

Can you notice a subtle shift?

When looking back at your most recent disappointment, what was you expectation of the outcome? How did you manage your emotions and how can you use the 50/50 rule when it comes the future expectations?

So, here’s to managing our expectations and allowing more lightness into our lives.

In wellness,

Susan

Susan is a Life Coach based in Seattle, WA. Her main focus is to coach people build a strong emotional container so that we can experience the fullness of life coming from a place of deep confidence. Susan also coaches clients looking to heal adrenal fatigue by using a mental meta-model aimed at breaking down old mental patterns and behaviors so that we can finally tap into our own personal power.

Photo by Unsplash

Sleep On It

We all know the importance of sleep, but do you really?

I’ve noticed for myself when I lack sleep or am on the verge of sleep but decide to push off the need to go to bed in order to work more, my decisions and thinking lack the grounded and holistic qualities I normally would have.

Since noticing this I have put an importance around nighttime rituals with a particular focus on timing. For example:

  • Tea around 8:30 PM
  • Shutting down electronics at 9pm
  • Journaling/Automatic Writing if there are recurring thoughts the mind wants to analyze
  • Meditation for 5-10 minutes
  • Reading
  • Essential oils

You see, when you prioritize your core needs to be your best self by allowing yourself a good night’s rest, thinking becomes clearer, you become healthier, decisions aren’t so clouded anymore.

Have you ever gone to bed and woke up the next morning with a whole new perspective? Feeling lighter and ready to take on the day? Possibly even thinking quite the opposite of how you were feeling the night before? This is the importance of sleep!

I always tell myself and others, “If you’re trying to rush a decision – SLEEP ON IT”.

After all, you might just discover your need for rest and quality sleep is skewing your very own perspective on any given situation.

So give yourself the rest you deserve. It just might change your life.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Logan Nolin on Unsplash

Friday Focus – 12/22/17 {Thoughts As Creation & Being Guided}

It’s about that time…. I can just feel the energy in the air as people are busily getting ready for Christmas. The last minute gift shopping, picking up dessert for Eve’s dinner, and so much laughter everywhere!

This week’s Friday Focus is going to be a bit random, but oh so important. There are two ideas that stood out for me over the course of this past week and I’ll dive right into them:

  1. Your thoughts as creation. According to the first Law of Thermodynamics, the energy of our Universe can neither be created or destroyed, but can manipulate its form (i.e., water to ice, fire as heat, etc.). So how does this relate to our thoughts? If even our thoughts are considered as energy then we have a direct correlation to patterns and behaviors (manipulated energy form) that have culminated in the past few years to lead us to where we are today. Pretty powerful isn’t it? Our thoughts have brought us to exactly where we are today! Whether that is good or bad is beyond the point, the point is we have the power of today to direct our thoughts toward a future we want. So tell me, what is it that you want?
  2. Being guided. Have you ever felt a nudge, an inquiry even, about a particular “thing” but never followed through on it until a later time only to realize it was exactly what you needed? Whether it was to apply to that company, pick up that book, call that acupuncturist, etc.? I call that guidance. Whether it’s from outside influences, your subconscious, your higher self, God, you name it… your guidance system is showing you the way at all times, and how wonderfully comforting is that? Now if only we can get quiet enough to hear the call… 🙂

Pretty epic am I right? Now to flip the switch – what recurring themes or ideas stood out for you this week? I’ve found that since starting Friday Focus it’s been a wonderful way to recap big themes and close out the week. I’d love to hear if there’s been anything on your mind in particular!

With that said, have a wonderful, long, joyous weekend leading up to Christmas. May you be filled with immense joy, peace, and love no matter who you are with and where you are in the world.

In cheer,

Susan

Photo by Robert Lukeman on Unsplash

Friday Focus – 12/15/17 {Our Relationship To Emotions & Ways to Center}

It’s officially the middle of the month guys… are you taking advantage of every moment? Drinking in the last few days of 2017?!

I know for certain I have had a few moments this past week where I am caught up in the busy-ness of the day to day, but thankfully yoga and meditation brings me back to center.

What are your day to day staples that help you bring you to your center?

No really, do you have something that can help you calm the thoughts? the emotions? the discomfort of being in your body at times?

Oftentimes we forget that it’s OK to have the emotion but what’s actually causing the suffering is our RELATIONSHIP to the emotion which causes angst and incredible pain.

That’s where the practice of silent quality time with yourself can come in handy. Whether you have a practice already or not, I thought I’d list a couple here. Personally I have found it helpful to switch it up at times.

Ways to Center

And the list goes on! The point here is to give you a breath of inspiration OR allow yourself to pivot from any of the ideas above so that you can creatively find new ways to center.

This practice is powerful and if you already have a personal practice you know what I’m talking about. They’re a life saver 😉

So, if there’s one thing I can emphasize for this week’s Friday Focus it’s this – it’s not our emotions, it’s our relationship to the emotion that causes the suffering.

Here’s to finding more ways to find our center and a new awareness of our relationship to our thoughts and emotions.

In deep wellness,

Susan

Photo by Kalen Emsley on Unsplash

Beliefs

They say, you practice an emotional state ’til it becomes a neural trait.

~Melissa Tiers

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Allef Vinicius on Unsplash

Letting Go Of Mental Shaming

I see a lot of mental shaming that goes on when people can’t seem to make a desired change. Particularly when they don’t understand why all of their efforts and mental willpower doesn’t lead to enact permanent change.

First of all, don’t judge yourself. That is the worst thing you can do in this type of situation. Why? Because it’s not your fault. And trust me, I’ve been there myself where I used to judge and blame myself for failing multiple times in trying to change behavior.

You see, somewhere deep down in your unconscious mind there is still a limiting belief (aka Fear) holding you back. So no matter how hard you try or consciously believe you want the change, there’s still some work involved in trying to get your unconscious to believe it.

Aside from actual behavior, another way we know we are running old belief systems is by taking a closer look at our body. Our bodies store a lot of this hidden emotion; more than we can ever truly know. Try to think of one specific goal you’ve been trying to work on for the past few months or even years. Now, take a moment to be honest and ask yourself, “what event or trigger prevents me from going the last mile?”. You’ll often notice that when you recall a specific moment your body is also reacting to the limiting belief. Whether it tenses up, becomes anxious, angry, etc. your body is only reacting to a running belief system.

Now for the good news: whether you get to the underlying belief system or not is not nearly as important as this one fact – you have the power to change.

As I’ve mentioned before, making permanent change requires you to understand and pinpoint specific moments where desired change should happen and change your response by changing your state. If old belief systems were running our outcomes then it requires a NEW belief system to make new outcomes. What do you need or want to believe so that you don’t run up against the same wall over and over again? How do you need to feel in order to overcome the block? These are just a few key questions you can ask yourself to get started.

Now, having said that though also requires a bit of faith and surrender. After all, if we can’t surrender and/or aren’t willing to see things differently where is the room to consider possibilities? Change? Hope? Where is the room to learn, grow, and be open to greater magic to unfold?

And of course on that note…

Sometimes, surrendering and knowing this is where you need to be for where you are is good enough.

Sometimes, what we need is more compassion and time for the dust to settle.

And sometimes, that is more than good enough.

So be kind to yourself. Trust the process and know when you are ready you have all that you need to make positive change happen. Last but not least, lean in to surrender and faith. Don’t be too tied to a specific outcome. After all, who knows what the Universe might give you instead? 😉

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Jason Briscoe on Unsplash

Sage cleansing

Yoga Teacher Training

Yoga. How do I put into words what this ancient practice gives me?

I find myself on the mat as I go through a variety of emotions throughout this life. Elation, peace, anxiousness, hurt, you name it, the mat has felt it all.

But let’s back up a minute…

I’ve always been drawn to yoga but didn’t have a consistent practice. The earliest recollection I have of any hint of what yoga offers me now was back in 2009 when I started to go to hot yoga. What I remember most was how I felt afterward. Immense peace and awareness. A stillness even.

But it wasn’t until I moved to San Francisco and adrenal fatigue hit hard where I somehow discovered Dana Damara and in my gut KNEW yoga would be a part of my life.

If you haven’t noticed by now yoga has been the best medicine for my soul. As I find myself falling more and more in love with this practice and community I have found another layer of me that fits the alchemy of my soul and heart.

You know what’s really funny? I found an Evernote that I jotted down in 2015 (yep, 2015!) and it reads exactly like this:

  • Practice yoga for a few years
  • Take yoga teacher training(s)
  • Teach at some point

And this year the timing is right and things have fallen into place where I will finally be taking yoga teacher training this Fall! I am incredibly excited and honored to be experiencing what every yoga teacher has experienced and most importantly to deepen my own practice.

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I’m sure this won’t be the last I write about this… 🙂 More to come as I step into 200 hour yoga teacher training.

All the love,

Susan