Breakthroughs come from Insight and Innovation

“The first step in shifting a long standing life pattern, is to connect to our physical body as the container of that pattern of energy. All life changes require a change in how we relate to our body.”

Breakthroughs come from Insight and Innovation

Hello Beautiful,

Like so many people, are you feeling the need for some breakthroughs in your life? Do things feel a little stuck? Or, are you longing for a break to catch your breath, integrate the last chapter, and savor a bit before the next thing starts up? I have some encouragement for you my friend! Settle in and read on for a juicy tale of finding freedom…

When Emily came to me, she was feeling pretty stuck and needed a new approach to transform some repeating patterns. It seemed like she was going from one crisis to another rather than being the captain of her ship. After many years and many strategies, she had started to wonder if life could ever be substantially different. It can feel like the “whack a mole” game, where just when one problem settles down, another arises. It’s not that she expected an easy life (she was realistic and a very diligent soul), it’s just that she felt perpetually on her heels. She wanted to get to the point where the pulse of life was nurturing and forward moving.

From that stability she could deal with the curve balls life sends to us all with more equanimity and less depletion. She wanted to create a new way of feeling moment to moment. She knew this would create a totally different quality of life-one that she had long craved. It had space. It had simplicity. It felt nurturing and forward moving.

Here’s how I helped Emily create a new normal….

We started with a deeply relaxing yoga session to help her get into her parasympathetic nervous system and release the stress she was carrying as a baseline “normal” sensation in her body. As Einstein said, “We cannot solve a problem from the same level of thinking in which we created it.” We have to access a different part of ourselves to find solutions for our evolved future. The first step in shifting a long standing life pattern is to connect to our physical body as the container of that pattern of energy, and better understand what our body knows. It knows a lot. It keeps a record of our joys and sorrows and our baseline way of being. All life changes require a change in how we relate to our body.

Next, we did a guided relaxation where she zeroed in on where she carried her tension—the pit of her stomach. Knowing that, we could support her stomach under the burden of tension it was often under. We then went into a journaling session where the wisdom of her centered, aware self could guide our work together most effectively. We explored several questions that helped clarify core beliefs about herself and the nature of life that kept her in her current patterns.

We also explored new and empowering beliefs that could be her new baseline to create a life around. My goal here was to connect Emily to her own spiritual and intuitive wisdom to re-create her life in fullness and balance. It’s an ongoing process and this phase of our work together was beautiful.

Out of the guided meditation and journaling work, came our game plan. First, we addressed the needs of her body: carrying her tension in her stomach made her susceptible to upset stomachs and bloating that depleted her energy and made her feel socially awkward at times. We decided to do some work on eliminating things we knew didn’t digest well for her, and to add probiotics and digestive enzymes.

Also, she committed to one month of 3 meals a day (no snacking) eaten seated at the table (no more meals on the run). Over the course of a month, her digestion improved dramatically, her abdomen reduced by nearly two inches, and her energy doubled. She felt clear headed and focused at a level that delighted her. What a breakthrough!

Next, we worked in her kitchen. She realized that it didn’t feel welcoming; she felt overwhelmed, yet without viable options. A kitchen purge was needed! We de-cluttered cookbooks, half the cooking gear was donated, and the pantry was purged of outdated and unhealthy options.

We made a list of her favorite foods and meals and found the best ingredients and recipes to use in a 14 day menu rotation. Now, her kitchen was twice as inviting—with everything easily accessible and uncluttered. Eating felt like a pleasure and meal planning and preparation was doable. She was saving money by eating at home more and was delighted that she released 5lb effortlessly that month. The pay off for clarity and creating a supportive system for meals was delightful.

As our work continued, getting to the root issue for Emily was key. As she had reflected in our initial yoga+ meditation+journaling session, she felt that she had always struggled to feel worthy of love. This came from childhood wounds, painful dynamics in her previous marriage, and the voice in her head that always put pleasure after completing a project.

After all, “I have to earn the right to be treated lovingly” had deeply lodged in her subconscious. It’s why she stayed up too late working (being tired is irrelevant when you need to prove your worth by working). It’s why she delayed eating meals (she had learned to quiet the needs of her body as nuisances rather than important cues for connecting to herself). It’s why she hadn’t moved forward various projects in her home (she treated her home like she treated her body—it can wait- outside needs are more important).

As Emily connected these dots, she realized that healing her emotional wounds and her connection to her body, were both key to moving things forward in her living environment and even her career. It was a cascade effect of insight and strategic action moving her forward.

Bringing this key issue to Light, and consciously re-patterning her approaches to reflect the truth-she is worthy of love and tender care separate from her helpfulness/productivity freed up her energy, released stale dynamics in her relationships, and healed parts of her Soul that had been neglected for a long while. The process is gradual and long term, but the initial insight, the loving support and new approaches I was able to bring to help her re-pattern, they all gave a sense of progress and hope that felt like fresh air in Emily’s sails.

After this set of changes felt deeply ingrained and natural, we  resumed our work and went deeper, expanding to other areas of healing, nurturing, and designing new systems and supportive environments.

By healing our souls, nurturing our bodies, and creating new patterns, we have an ever evolving path. In this way, we can actually age in reverse…releasing old patterns and becoming freer and more intentional over time. That is true freedom. It’s all connected and if we can take the time to listen, we can create a new way of approaching our life and our total well-being.

By connecting with the wisdom/needs of our body, we can tune into our emotional/relational lives, we can connect to our unexpressed creativity/sensual energy, and our physical environments (the stuck energy/extra weight we live with). I love helping women find lasting change through root cause insights.

We then create new environments and habits to support permanent shifts in the direction of living a nurturing, expressive, fulfilling, and calm life. And from that foundation of strategic living we can then weather the storms of life with greater ease, less trauma, and actually gaining strength and resilience.

Are you ready to make some changes? Let Emily’s story inspire you that it is possible. Reach out to me if you want a guide on your path…its my calling to empower successful women to re-prioritize their wellness and long term happiness.