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On All-or-Nothing Thinking

Reading Time: 9 minutes

Do the words in this picture resonate for you?

They resonate for a younger version of me. And, they still resonate for me sometimes, although to a lesser degree and in different ways than when I was younger.

The holidays often bring up all-or-nothing thinking and doing for folks, especially around health—food, exercise, and alcohol are at the center of holiday festivities, whether we’re together or alone together in a pandemic.

All-or-nothing thinking and doing can arise from many parts of ourselves and our lives. Here I briefly outline possible origins of all-or-nothing thinking and […]

December 8th, 2020|Coaching, Decisions, Emotional Wellness, Holidays, Me, Nervous System Regulation, Self-Awareness, Trauma|

When You’re Climbing the Walls: Cultivating Flow in the Nervous System

Reading Time: 13 minutes

I posted this photo on Instagram recently and wondered if any of you, like me and my kitty, are climbing the walls? For me, climbing the walls is another way to say that my body and my mind are feeling the effects of stored stress physiology. It’s as if my body has one foot on the gas pedal (fight or flight) and one foot on the breaks (freeze), and it leaves me feeling both activated and exhausted, electric and burned out. I’m acutely aware how this space and this time are challenging my nervous system in new and profound ways AND giving me the opportunity to […]

December 3rd, 2020|Anxiety, Coaching, Emotional Wellness, Learning, Me, Nervous System Regulation, Resources, Self-Awareness, Trauma|

On the Practice and Power of Pausing

Reading Time: 4 minutes

It’s Election Day today. I woke at 4:30am with an anxious kiddo who needed some TLC. Our tween daughter’s angst, while understandable, felt rather unmanageable in our attempt to arrive on time for the school line-up.

So, I had a good cry this morning…a cleansing, softening, releasing cry. I held myself with extra tenderness, honoring my body’s craving for humming in my morning meditation. Journaling came first before work today, because I needed a giant PAUSE. I chose not to wait until later in the day, despite the pressing to-do list. And, because it’s Election Day today, I’ll be pausing even more than I typically do.

[…]

November 3rd, 2020|Anxiety, Chronic Illness, Coaching, Learning, Me, Nervous System Regulation, Resources, Self-Awareness, Transitions, Wholeness, Women's Health|

Why It’s Hard for Women to Trust Our Bodies (and Why it Matters)

Reading Time: 11 minutes

“Trust your body more,” my husband offered during my moment of anxiety last week. “Think less.”

“I love it when you hand my words back to me,” I replied knowingly and appreciatively. He smirked. My husband often reminds me of what I already know and what I sometimes lose touch with when my nervous system gets triggered and old patterns come for a visit.

More and more I trust my body, and dwelling in this space of trust has been one of the most transformative shifts on my healing journey. Life continues to offer opportunities to deepen and expand this trust, which is where I am now—a moment of opportunity. I know […]

October 26th, 2020|Anxiety, Chronic Illness, Community, Emotional Wellness, Healing, Learning, Me, Nervous System Regulation, Resources, Self-Trust, Trauma, Women's Health|

Two Truths About Self-Awareness | The Course

Reading Time: 8 minutes

I shared my first ever course with a small group of womxn in June. For months prior I’d been envisioning a workshop, ideas flowing from pen to paper in random spots in my journal. At some point I realized I had more than a workshop in those notes, which were a culmination of my personal healing experience, my professional training, and my education. So, six womxn gathered with me virtually, mid-pandemic, to explore the foundations for a course in self-awareness. This trial run—and their invaluable feedback on the course format and content—led me to the version of Self-Awareness | The Course that I’ve been sharing with […]

September 29th, 2020|Coaching, Community, Learning, Me, Resources, Self-Awareness, Women's Health|

Delivered to My Healing, Part 2

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Vulnerable. It’s the word that resonated for me the moment a doctor pulled our daughter from my womb, and it’s the one that I return to when I’m contemplating motherhood. My whole heart was suddenly outside of my body the day she was born. I knew this would expand my capacity to feel and to love, and I also knew that my heart would get farther and farther away from its protective cage as my daughter grew, expanding my capacity to feel that vulnerability. Surrendering to this lesson, this truth, has not been easy.

At the time I also remember wondering if they added a sizeable dose of guilt […]

September 14th, 2020|Chronic Illness, Connection, Healing, Learning, Me, Mothering, Women's Health|

Nothing Is Wrong With You

Reading Time: 9 minutes

I wrote these words for my community of letter subscribers recently, and I’m sharing them here now, because womxn told me they needed to hear it.

Do you ever wonder if you’re OK? Do you ever think or feel like something is wrong with you?

This used to be one of my patterns of thinking, a trauma adaptation and a product of the subconscious belief that I was broken. Through my personal healing and my work with other healing womxn, I came to know that I was not alone. Womxn breathe the air of our patriarchal culture, which programs us to question our bodies, our feelings, our thoughts, our Selves. We’re conditioned to question our OK-ness in other ways, too. […]

September 9th, 2020|Coaching, Emotional Wellness, Healing, Homeopathy, Nervous System Regulation, Resources, Self-Awareness, Self-Trust, Trauma, Uncategorized, Women's Health|

How Do You Decide?

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Our family had an important decision to make this week. For the first time in a long time, I struggled to connect with what felt good and right for me and my family.

Despite the challenge, there were nuggets of goodness in this process. One was the reminder of my continuous evolution. I realized the uncomfortable sensations and feelings that accompanied this process, while distantly familiar, are no longer an everyday thing. For me, the “Big D” feelings that understandably come with Big D (or seemingly life-altering) decisions plagued me even with inconsequential decisions. Another nugget of goodness was the opportunity to take a coaching approach with myself. After some time spinning my […]

August 5th, 2020|Anxiety, Coaching, Connection, Decisions, Emotional Wellness, Learning, Me, Self-Awareness, Self-Trust|

A Short List of Things I’m Learning and Remembering

Reading Time: 6 minutes

I recently posted on Instagram that I’m feeling the pull to rest and reflect, to go inward. This great awakening is offering me so many opportunities for healing, and rest is a crucial part of that healing. We’re almost halfway through 2020—this pull to rest and reflect is my body is syncing up with the time and season so I can create space for integration of all the work in the first half of this year.

In this spirit, I thought I’d share a short list of some of the ways I’m healing and learning right now. I feel like it’s important to […]

June 28th, 2020|Antiracism, Coaching, Community, Connection, Healing, Healing Modalities, Homeopathy, Learning, Me, Self-Awareness, Self-Expression|

Racism is a Public Health Issue

Reading Time: 10 minutes

I muted myself last week on social media, inspired by Jessica Wilson and Alishia McCullough‘s Amplify Melanated Voices movement. I paused and invested more time in listening, learning, and taking action. I invite you to read my blog thoughts (at the bottom of this page) AFTER you look through this list of resources and, if you haven’t already, pick a few Black men and women to learn from and listen to right now. Their voices are more impactful and important than my own in this work. I’ve first highlighted the voices and resources that I’ve already been following. Below that I’ve included […]

June 8th, 2020|Antiracism, Community, Connection, Healing, Healthcare, Resources, Self-Awareness, Trauma|

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