Tune In. Just Breathe.
It’s all within you. What does that mean exactly? Every thought, emotion, action, feeling; both good and bad - happy or sad is all inside of you! Yes! You probably already know that we store all our experiences in our human body, so essentially our body holds our truth. Isn’t that crazy? When you feel stressed and overwhelmed, how often do you stop, put your hand over your heart and just breathe? My guess is not very often. These are the types of exercises I do to tune in and ground myself as well as with my coaching clients. These somatic exercises allow them to get out of their heads and into their hearts. While putting your hand over your heart and breathing sounds simplistic, there is truly an invitation to pause and feel that makes a difference in my clients lives. The heart guides you and knows the truth of what you really want from any given situation. That might sound overwhelming, but here is the good news: we have one very powerful free tool that is also within us - the breath.
When was the last time you had a good cry? Like literally fell apart like a taco? I used to cry quite often, and was referred to as a cry baby as an adolescent. I often had trouble catching my breath. So much so that I tried to shut the sensitive side of me down, but now I've come to learn and understand that I am an empath and highly sensitive soul which is clearly one way I found myself to the Akashic Records. This sensitivity is a gift and one of my superpowers, it allows me to be a phenomenal transformational coach allowing me to see and feel more intensely. I can remember my mom saying just breathe and I truly couldn’t understand what she was saying. I was trying to breathe, yet all the while holding my breath! I ultimately felt disconnected from my body.
As a young athlete, I was scared to compete. I knew one minor error would cost me the medal, make my coaches frustrated and I was so afraid to disappoint someone (or myself for that matter). “Just tap into your breath” they would say, and I was like “WHAT does that mean?!” I have come to learn that it was about tuning into my body and learning to understand where I truly felt the emotion, naming it out loud and breathing into it
to release it. To slow down and feel. So often we don’t allow ourselves to feel and sit into our deepest fears because our own fear holds us back from moving forward, the fear of losing control. One of my favorite books I recommend to all my clients is Feel the Fear and Do it Anyways by Susan Jeffers. It literally changed life and perspective to “What is the worst thing that can happen?”. The pattern of holding my breath persisted until I committed to these modalities to bring awareness and change to the behavior. Creating a new habit if you will. This is where my commitment to my meditation, breathwork and yoga practice come in. Our breath is the most powerful tool and is always available to us. It regulates our feelings of peacefulness, decreasing anxiety, and reducing mind wandering and intrusive thoughts. Which I think everyone struggles with just a bit, but it does not have to take over your life. One of the things I love about yoga is that it incorporates all three tools - breath to meditation to movement which works best for me! A threefer! The goal is to try to maintain balance on and off the mat which is what we refer to as of sthira and sukha. How do we find both effort in ease in our lives? Stihira refers to strength, stability and intent and sukha - comfort ease and openness. Balance is not easily achieved with our busy lives but when we choose to bring our awareness to it we can aim to be more whole.
I’ve been doing yoga for as long as I can remember. On my most stressful days there is nothing I long for more than a yoga class to bring me out of my head and back into my body allowing me to release the tension and anxiety. The focus of breath to movement in yoga represents a coming home to myself and what is important to me in life. It’s my time to be present with myself and my breath. To tune inward vs outward. To be. To feel and allow all of my emotions to surface. To focus. To build community. To share energy. To be athletic and strong. And to surrender and let go. These are all good reminders and true metaphors in life. Life is not static, it is about giving and releasing the flow like the waves of the ocean. Yoga is within you and within me. It is the present moment to your life.
Did you know, it only takes 16 seconds to come back to ourselves and shift our perspective? That is 3 breaths in and out. A simple effective tool. We take approximately 20,000 breaths a day unconsciously. Why not be more intentional about our efforts prior to a crisis? I also like to recommend the 5 Senses Technique where you can use sight, smell, taste, feel and hear to tune back into yourself and nature realizing something is much larger than ourselves.
As you all know, I love to make goals and plot a plan towards those goals. Of course, the most important part of goal planning is taking action to get there. At the end of 2019, I made the plan to move forward with a yoga certification and deepen my practice. I wasn’t sure if I was going to teach at first, but it all came clear more recently that it was important for me. You all know one of my values is learning and growth so yoga became yet another tool to offer my clients in our sessions in order to help them tune in to themselves and their hearts.
Most of the tools we need to live balanced lives are already ingrained within us. It's simply about accessing them in the most beneficial way now. We can slow our nervous system to feel calm or quiet our minds to tap back into self. It’s truly powerful what we can do by channeling our energy or shifting our gaze toward our breath within. You see, life is all but a constant game with our minds or spirits and our bodies.
Now, shifting from this internal perspective to our external endeavors, it's evident that the breath remains a pivotal tool in regulating our efforts, as I often experience during challenging workouts.I love to challenge myself with a good hard workout whether it be a yoga class, circuit training, Platefit with Founder, Rachael Blumberg, a hike or run. Typically, when we’re really intensely focusing our first reaction is to hold our breath. Did you know that!? Think back to one of the times you were working hard, whether it was at your job or school and think deeply about your breath. You were holding it right? Of course, we all know that holding our breath only makes the workout (and life) more difficult. If we aren’t breathing, we aren’t living!
But, what do we need to do to regulate our efforts? I’m hoping you answered with a tap into the breath. I was seriously thinking in my class “Why is this so hard today?,” In order to push myself to the end of class and that moment in life of reaching my goals, I often create intentions before class and use mantras such as “you are strong” and “you are powerful” to motivate me to commit the same amount of effort from the beginning to the end of the class. For some reason on this day, I was truly out of breath and I said to myself, “Use your Breathe Michelle it will carry you home back to yourself,” like a compass returning home. This truly settled me and reduced my stress since I push hard during my classes. Our Breath is our greatest tool. As you may be aware I’m a big meditator whether that be through Dr Joe Dispenza meditations, tea ceremony, or Unplug which was the first drop in meditation studio of it’s kind and they have a super app, in fact Suze Yalof Schwartz is on the Opportunity Knocks podcast. One of my personal favorites is Insight Timer, a FREE meditation app and has some of the best courses on personal growth. It is a known fact that the average person has approximately 11 transitions and in the last few years I have been yet at another journey transforming into this next chapter, stage or product offering or the deeper knowing of my self. It has been an amazing growth opportunity in personal development, a deep knowing and owning of me. This is also where my journey to finding and reading the Akashic Records came, a journey to our soul’s purpose past, present and future. The readings have been eye-opening and create openings in my clients' lives.
Guess what? My journey to breathwork and yoga also made me realize it is not only a gift to me but my entire community. I have some exciting news, I will be teaching yoga at some of my favorite exercise studios starting late October just after I return from Bali at A2 Squared Dance Academy in Santa Monica on Friday mornings! Shortly thereafter you will be able to find me at Platefit and a few others. The discipline and my yoga practice has brought me so many moments of self discovery that have helped me achieve my original goals but also to strive for new, more exciting goals! For example, I am sure you have seen I am hosting a Soul Celebration retreat in Bali, this opportunity came to me through my committed practice on the mat and community building. I leave next week and can hardly wait to share this experience with you my trusted community in the years to come.
So here's my request of you, the next time you feel scared, overwhelmed and that life has truly challenged you tune in to you and your breath! This beautiful gift we were given of life through our greatest truth our heart. More heart less head - it shows us the way. In our life's journey, moments of vulnerability and emotional release serve as reminders of our innate human resilience. The breath emerges as an unwavering force, grounding us in the present, empowering us, and connecting us with our authentic truths. Through practices like yoga and meditation, we harness this transformative energy, fostering a profound intimacy with our inner selves. Let's embrace a new day and chapter of life with a shared breath of renewal and expansion. Life's essence lies in choosing to consciously halt, inhale deeply, and reconnect with the core of who you are. Amidst the chaos of life, the breath stands as an ally, guiding us to our inner wisdom, resilience, and the ability to transcend challenges. If you need support in this area I am always here to guide you to your highest self and essences as your transformational coach.
It's time to truly to challenge yourself to live in alignment with yourself, your values and your breath. Remember wherever you go there you are...an opportunity to be present and tune in - indeed it is all within you!
I will be there and rest assured, together we will - Be well. Do well.
All my best,
JOIN ME FOR YOGA
@ A2 SQUARED IN SANTA MONICA
Join me for a Yoga Flow Class Friday, October 18th, 2023 at 8:30am
A Squared Dance Academy 1612 Montana Ave Floor 2 Santa Monica, CA 90403 If you are interested, go to the link here or the link in my bio and fill out the interest form. I hope to see you there!
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JOURNEY TO THE AKASHIC RECORDS
I've added this amazing tool and gift of reading Akashic Records to my list of offerings at EmpowHer Purpose - Why? It's truly changed my life and the lives of those I have read. It has given me some of my most profound guidance and insight. The Akashic Records inspire lasting change in those I coach or those that merely desire the insight into their lives from a reading.
There are always obstacles or things that stop us from moving forward in our life or that hinder us, but the question is why? This is where accessing the Akashic Records supports us. The records help guide us to a deeper understanding of ourselves and each person's roles in our lifetime(s).
Looking for inspiration and motivation? My suggestion is for you to tap into these entertaining and enlightening interviews.
I've listed our last 2 interviews on the topics of Mental Health & Akashic Records for your enjoyment.
LISTEN IN THROUGH THE LINKS BELOW...
We reflect on the importance of communication, discussing with Josh Borris, a friend and professional in the field of architecture, design, and real estate, emphasizing the role of good communication in meaningful relationships and shaping one's life.
Laura Coe, founder The Little Soul School gives insight into the Akashic Records - a journey into one's soul history and purpose. She explains how through a reading this ancient sacred modality can have life-altering on one's life.
As we reach the topic of mental health and obstacles, Olivia June & I had a great conversation on breath work and how she found ways to embrace it. Listen to our episode through the link above.