Spring Into New Beginnings
Happy Spring Equinox!
We welcome the season of Spring, the time of new beginnings, rebirth, balance, and acceptance. We begin anew and plant the seeds of manifestation with vision and hope in our hearts.
This is the time for honoring the past, recognizing the present, and looking forward to the future. It’s an opportunity to find balance between our dark and our light, to understand our own emotions, and to move out of the darkness of our shadows and into the lightness of our being.
We celebrate how far we have come, and honor the experiences that have brought us to the present. The joy, the pain, the light, the dark…each has educated us and carried us to this perfect moment here and now.
This is a wonderful time to take a pause and truly acknowledge how far you have come. Here is a short ritual to help mark this time of new beginnings:
- Make a list of the challenges and experiences that have led you to this moment here and now
- Acknowledge what you are grateful for about what you learned
- Create very clear intentions for this new season of rebirth
- Write your intentions, speak them out loud, and spend some time in the emotion of what you would feel like if the intentions were already here, fully realized
Celebrate this fresh, clean slate! Be mindful about where you choose to place your energy and attention, remembering that your thoughts, words, and actions are all frequencies of energy.
If you are interested in working more deeply with the energies of the season, join us for a special Lunar Group on March 26th. This is a distance healing group, and you don’t have to commit to a particular time or place. You can find more details here.
Enjoy this beautiful season of hope and renewal.
Namaste, Beth
Buzz Your Way to Balance
Happy February, the month of Love!
Most of us think of romantic love at this time of year, but the truth is: before we can truly love another, it is important to fully love and appreciate ourselves! What would actually happen if you made loving yourself a priority this month?
Let’s face it, the past few months have been really challenging for most of us. There are a lot of intense emotions up at the surface right now, and we have been very focused on the events and experiences in the external world. Lots of things “out there” are asking for our attention right now. That’s just par for the course when we are dealing with life on the physical plane.
The challenge arises when we find ourselves no longer in balance. When we focus predominantly on the external, we get stuck in our heads, and that monkey mind starts chatting away. Soon we can find ourselves in a downward spiral…feeling lost, angry, upset, and hopeless.
So what can we do?
It’s time to balance ourselves with inner work. Pause, take a moment. Let’s do something to feed our souls. Let’s find a way to ground back into our bodies. Let’s remember… we are not the external chaos happening around us.
The more you remind yourself that you are a being of energy and a being of LIGHT, the more calm and centered you will be.
My favorite way to center myself is through conscious breath. I find it the quickest way to shift my vibration into a higher state of well-being. It’s easy. It’s free. And we have to breathe anyway, so why not make it a healing event.
Bhramari Pranayama (Bee’s Breath)
What it is: Humming (Bhramari) has a strong and positive effect on the pineal and pituitary glands. It relieves tension, anger, and anxiety. It also calms the agitated mind. Humming brings sound and vibration into the body. When done with intention and intensity, the bones of the sinus cavities begin to vibrate. From there the sound travels on the bones and shifts the vibration through the rest of the body.
We can use our intention to send our humming vibration to any area of the body-mind system that needs healing or support.
Humming gives relief if you’re feeling hot or have a slight headache, helps release migraines, improves concentration and memory, builds confidence, and helps in reducing blood pressure. Bhramari pranayama induces a meditative state by harmonizing the mind and directing the awareness inwards. The vibrations of the sounds create a soothing effect on the mind and nervous system. This breath extends the exhale longer than the inhale, which moves us out of the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) into the parasympathetic nervous system (relaxation). The only time it is not a good idea to practice Bhramari is if one is dealing with an ear infection. Otherwise, it is safe for everyone to practice.
How to: Sit on the edge of your chair with a straight spine. Bring your chin slightly inward (rather than up) so that your larynx voice box is close to your cervical spine. Use your index fingers to press gently on the cartilage flaps of the ears or place the fingertips in the actual canal- the goal is to close off the ear from external sound. Elbows stay out to the side. Inhale fully. As you exhale, hum out loud, thinking of a bee… focusing the sound forward and letting it buzz into the bones in your face while you focus on the third eye. Gently pull the belly in as you exhale. The pitch does not matter; just keep the sound audible and constant. (This drowns out the chatter of that lovely monkey mind!)
Allow the sound to continue until you naturally run out of breath. Then take your next inhale without gasping. Repeat this process several times. When you feel complete, sit quietly and observe the effects on the body.
When in doubt… BREATHE! It’s one of the quickest ways to shift your vibration to a higher state. A challenging day, month or year can be greatly transformed with breath. With humming. With ease!
Try it! And feel free to let me know what you noticed.
Blessing each one of you on a magical February!
For more tips like this, sign up for our newsletter below. Namaste
What are You Ready to Release?
Happy autumn, the season of letting go! Fall has always been my favorite season. I just adore the crispness in the air, the beautiful colors in the landscape, and warm cuddly sweaters and scarves.
There is something exciting and yet bittersweet about this time of year. We know that the days are becoming shorter, the winter is coming, and we find ourselves inspired to move inward. We gather the harvest from our hard work earlier in the year, and we are reminded of the impermanence of things. We are very aware that the days are passing and we can not slow down time, as much as we might want to. Just as the trees know that it’s time to release their leaves, we too know that it is a natural process to let go of things that are no longer serving our highest good.
We can learn so much from the wisdom of the trees. Trees don’t hold on to their leaves for dear life, clutching them even after they are lifeless. They release them naturally and effortlessly. And often, the thing that is ready to release becomes incredibly vibrant and beautiful just prior to dropping away. The leaves decompose and their nutrients return to the earth. The act of letting go provides sustenance. The tree prepares for winter by shedding, and it knows that the spring will come again. There is no fear, no gripping. Just a natural trust that all is in Divine order.
What if we could let go as easily and naturally as the trees do? What if we could trust that as we shed, we make space to nourish ourselves and bring forth the potential of new growth within us.
Every animal in nature and every plant innately knows that this is a time to slow down, rest, and go within!
What if you could let go of the tension, worry, and patterns that aren’t serving you without having to do anything other than lie down and relax? Imagine how your life would change if you decided to make loving and caring for yourself an actual priority.
I have found a practice that has really changed my life and allowed me to feel more peaceful and centered. It’s called Yoga Nidra , which is Conscious Deep Relaxation. It can help you create shifts in your health, your relationships, your level of success, and your sense of well-being. You simply lie down, relax, and listen to the recording. That’s all there is to it. No experience is necessary, and no sweating is required.
One hour of Yoga Nidra is equivalent to three hours of restorative sleep. Yes, I am serious! It reduces stress, helps you sleep better, increases productivity, lowers blood pressure, reduces anxiety and depression, and more!
I am excited to invite you to join me in practicing Yoga Nidra, Deep Conscious Relaxation, from the comfort of your own home! I have created a 30 Day Challenge including recordings, live group practices online, worksheets, bonus videos, and more!
My challenge to you is: Can you commit to at least 13 minutes a day, for 30 days, to quiet your mind, relax your nervous system, and bring your whole being back into a space of balance?
13 minutes is so do-able! You can do that, I know you can! Even if you have to listen right before you go to sleep.
I have seen huge shifts in my own life from practicing Yoga Nidra, and I would be honored to share this transformational experience with you. All of the details are at YogaNidraChallenge.com.
We begin on Saturday, November 5th and I hope you will join us!
Make yourself a priority as we move through this season of letting go. Indeed, dying can be beautiful.
For more details and to register CLICK HERE
Let Yourself Off the Hook
Have you ever felt frustrated because your life is not where you thought it “should” be by now? I have seen this come up so often with many of my clients lately. This past month we went through a very intense lunation cycle that contained 2 eclipses as well as the equinox. These energies really stirred up some of our deep wounds and left us looking within and examining our relationship with ourselves.
So, do you find yourself attached to the way you think it is supposed to look or be? Are you holding yourself to impossibly high standards and then beating yourself up for not living up to them? It’s time to Let Yourself Off the Hook!
Science has taught us that vibration is everything. Whatever frequency you are vibrating out is what you are attracting into your life. That’s all great when we are practicing positive self-talk, working with affirmations, and doing our best to avoid the negative. But what about the unconscious patterns and beliefs that are running without our knowledge? The deep rooted ones that are not in our immediate awareness? If we do a little digging, we will find them, and they are sending out their vibrations like a faint radio station. They may not be as strong as the ones we are consciously working with, but they are there, and they are consistent. These consistent unconscious messages to the universe can affect our lives and are important patterns to take a look at and transform.
One of the modalities I practice is called Resonance Repatterning, which identifies unconscious negative patterns and beliefs that are keeping us from aligning with what we really want – things like joy, happiness, love, abundance, and success. I have found that one of the most common beliefs we hold is the deeply rooted belief of “I am not enough”. It comes up time and again, and often stops us dead in our tracks. We are afraid to move forward because of FEAR; Fear of rejection, failure, success even, and often the fear that things won’t be perfect. Fear that if we fail, make a mistake, or get it wrong, something terrible will happen to us, or even to those we love. This ultimately comes from our fear around separation from Source, Love, God, whatever you identify with. We buy into the illusion that somehow we could be alone, abandoned, and unloved.
Think for a moment about the energies of our ancestors – generations and generations that came before us. All of the experiences and beliefs they had are stored within us in our DNA. Next, consider that we have each experienced other lifetimes, and all of those experiences are stored in our energy field. So doesn’t it make sense that we may be affected by experiences from the past that are stopping us from enjoying the present? Let me give you an example: imagine an experience in the past where your ancestor was killed for their beliefs because they did not go along with what the society was accepting at that time. Or perhaps in this lifetime or another lifetime you were banished or excluded from your tribe or town because you did something that was not looked at as acceptable. Experiences like this could most definitely be contributing to your fear around making “wrong” choices in the present. These experiences could be intensifying your fear, paralyzing you, and keeping you from moving forward with ease.
One of the ways we begin letting go of the past is to first acknowledge the patterns. Once we do that, we can start to recognize where it is showing up in our present life. It often shows up in multiple areas in one way or another. Here is a little exercise for you:
Grab a paper and pen, find a comfortable seat, and take some deep breaths in and out. Divide your paper into two columns, one on the left and one on the right.
Tune into your heart, and in the left-hand column write down what negative feelings are coming up around your challenge, problem, or pattern. Next, in the right-hand column, write down what you would like to experience instead of those negative feelings. Replace the feeling with a positive one. If you already have something positive in the left-hand column, write down in the right-hand column that you would like to deepen that experience.
Once you have your list of new feelings, play with how it feels to experience each of them RIGHT NOW…not in the future or in the past. If you feel any resistance to that idea, like “Oh that’s not possible” etc, imagine what it would feel like if you COULD experience that feeling. Give yourself a chance to play, to imagine, to fantasize.
Notice what happens in your body. Acknowledging and feeling is an important part of letting go and shifting your frequency. Practice this exercise often, and keep checking in to notice how your energy shifts.
We will continue to work with this concept in future posts, and work through some additional exercises. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter in the box below to receive all of the latest posts, as well as to keep informed about my upcoming events.
Keep at it, and know that with practice, this will become easier and easier. Don’t forget that we are here to create and play! It doesn’t all have to be so serious. It doesn’t have to be perfect…you just have to be willing to try. Let me know how it’s going in the comments below!
Take a Pause
One thing we can all agree on is that life is busy! We are all trying to find the balance, aren’t we? It gets tricky when things start moving quickly and sometimes you don’t feel like you can keep up. Between work, relationships, family, commitments, and then the necessities like groceries, errands, and laundry, it can get really tough to carve some time out for yourself. Life is constantly demanding of your attention.
Do you ever feel like everyone wants something from you and there is no space to even catch your breath? When life is at high speed, it’s easy to start feeling frustrated and emotional with no patience for anyone or anything. It’s as if life is pulling you in different directions, and there never seems to be enough time.
If you can relate to any of these examples, it may be a sign that things have moved out of balance. You know how it goes…the to-do list is pages long and the level of expectation that you have placed on yourself is simply unattainable. I mean, everyone on Facebook seems to be able to do everything, be everything, and have a perfect life, right? You are so busy trying to be amazing at everything you do that you push and push until you just have burned yourself out. Can you relate? We all can at one time or another! (And Facebook is full of it, by the way. No one is getting through this life without challenge, heartbreak, sorrow, and unfulfilled dreams. Most people are just not posting about it!)
My friends, it’s time to take a pause!
I have created a short meditation and affirmation statement to help you take a few minutes to reboot. Spending just a few moments tuning into yourself, your breath, and your energy can make a huge difference in the state of your well-being. It’s great for those moments where you feel overwhelmed, emotional, not quite yourself, or even when you are transitioning from one part of your day to the next.
Think of it as a reset button; A simple way to refill your tank so that you can continue to show up fully in all you do and ENJOY your life a bit more. It’s a chance to remember the truth that is within you…you are safe and all is well.
The more often we slo
w down, observe, and become present with the moment, the more we begin to recognize that we are so much more than the chaos in the external world. After all, we are spiritual beings having a human experience. The more we can make a regular practice of taking a pause and getting present, the more easily we can handle the challenges that life throws our way. So set aside a few moments and follow along with this meditation. Take a pause, and take time for you- you deserve it! Be sure to check in and notice how you feel afterward.
You can also use the affirmation statement “I pause, take a breath, and connect with my heart. I am safe and all is well.” Say this statement out loud at least 3 times each day, especially in moments where you feel life getting overwhelming. Eventually, this will become a new and positive habit.
If you enjoyed this post, please join my mailing list to be kept up do date with all of the new tips, classes, and events I have going on. We are all in this together, taking it one breath at a time. Namaste.
How Well Are You Loving Yourself? 25 Ways to Spend Time Loving YOU
Happy February, the month that celebrates LOVE! Valentine’s Day usually makes us think about romantic love. But what if YOU are the greatest love of your life? What if YOU are your Valentine? This month I challenge you to consider,
How well are you loving yourself?
It’s so easy to place our own needs aside, especially when we are busy taking care of others and dealing with the demands of life. We all know the airplane speech where the flight attendant advises us to put our own oxygen mask on before assisting others. But really, have you thought about how important it is to do this in life? If we don’t, the stress will eventually take its toll on the body and serious conditions like adrenal fatigue, illness, and imbalance can occur. Once the body is compromised, it takes a whole lot of energy to try to bring it back to balance. So the key is to care for ourselves NOW to ensure that we restore and recharge.
So let’s get real for a moment. Take a pause, breathe deeply, and ask the following question:
Where in your life are you not being true to yourself and your needs?
Think about it. Maybe you are not sleeping enough. Maybe you are not eating well or even regularly. Are you spending way too much time on facebook or watching TV? Are you in a negative pattern of complaining? How’s your sugar or junk food intake? Have you not given your inner child a chance to play lately because it’s been all work, work, work? Have you been keeping healthy boundaries and allowing yourself to say NO to things that drain you?
When we take the time to become aware of how we are treating ourselves, we open up to the opportunity to make some changes. Even a tiny shift can affect great change and increase the quality of life.
Here are 25 Ways to nurture and love on yourself:
- Take a bath. Calgon, take me away! Light some candles, play some soft music (or just enjoy the silence), add some Epsom salt and some lavender, and enjoy the time alone. Mmmm.
- Sit down and enjoy a hot cup of tea (or cocoa) and actually drink it while it’s still hot.
- Take a walk out in nature without the cell phone, even just around the block. Breathe deeply and connect with nature.
- Garden…get your hands in the dirt and help something grow.
- Dance. Yep, put some music on and dance it out.
- Get your nails done. You can enjoy looking at them each time you look at your hands.
- Get quiet and breathe. Call it meditation or contemplation, but take some time to slow down and drop into the quiet within.
- Cook a delicious meal that you love and give yourself time to eat it without rushing.
- Call that friend you keep meaning to call and connect with.
- Drink more water. Your whole body will do the happy dance.
- Do something creative, like color, paint, or craft. Tapping into our creativity allows energy to move.
- Take a nap. Even closing your eyes for a short amount of time can make a huge difference.
- Declare a pajama day, curl up on the couch and watch movies with popcorn.
- Spend some quiet time in prayer. Connect with something greater than the chaos around you.
- Take a yoga class. Breathe, flow and take some time to center.
- Sing at the top of your lungs. The vibrations travel through the bones and help shift the wave patterns in the brain.
- Play a game with some friends and laugh. Laughter heals!
- Get some exercise. Not only is it good for you, but it releases those endorphins and helps you to feel more positive.
- Write in your journal, daydream, and open up to the idea that life is full of possibilities.
- Buy yourself some flowers, a plant, or some other “gift” that makes you smile when you look at it.
- Take a savasana. Give yourself 10 minutes to just lay still and let go (this will change your life, I promise!).
- SLEEP. Give yourself the gift of turning off the electronic equipment at least 2 hours before bedtime. Do your best to get your system to calm down so that you can let go and actually sleep.
- Ask for help! Let go of the idea that you have to do everything all by yourself. Ask, and when the help arrives, accept it with a smile.
- Start your day with alone time. When you wake up, do not look at your texts or emails until you take time for yourself. Breathe deeply, set some intentions for the day, and maybe make a gratitude list. Fill your tank before you let other people start pulling your attention.
- Get a massage. If time or money isn’t an option, then give yourself a massage. Get some great smelling lotion or oil (coconut works well too!) and spend some time working it into your muscles. Give extra attention to your feet, hands, and your neck and shoulder area. For even extra points, thank your body while you work, and tell it how grateful you are for all that it does for you on a daily basis.
I know a lot of these are common sense, but that doesn’t mean they are common practice. Pick at least one of these (or one of your own) and do it today. What are you waiting for? You are worth it, Valentine! And when you choose to make yourself a priority, you are sending a clear signal to the Universe that YOU matter. The universe will respond with that same energy.
What are some of your favorite ways to recharge and nurture yourself? I’d love to hear.