“Nurture the vision of who you are”

heartLife balance for a woman can be a challenge, in our business, being a mother, wife, girlfriend, daughter, lover and friend. Sometimes trying to be perfect at all these roles just leads to us feeling burnt out and overwhelmed. This week was a great lesson to me and as I began to write this I began to recognise in myself I was on my way to burn out. My body was trying to send me signals that I could hear but choose to push away as I needed to forge ahead or so I thought.

By Monday after my workshop I arrived off the train shivering and shaking with a fever and a throat like razor blades. The diagnosis was tonsillitis and I was told to rest. Thankfully I have an amazing mother who took my son and I under her wing and we stayed in the countryside whilst I surrendered and gave myself some time to breathe. There is nothing like the healing vibes of nature and sunshine to help one recover.

The majority of us have grown up in a world dominated by masculine energy to strive, achieve and do. These are all important traits but what happens when we merge our feminine and masculine qualities? Being feminine requires a unique combination of both. Masculine energy is in the mind, when operating our feminine energy we are receptive, intuitive, sensitive, passionate, creative, emotional and nurturing.

Being in our feminine power means us embracing slowing down, self care and stepping away from the busy pace of life and creating. From this place we can manifest everything. When we come into our power, we can find our voice, we come out of hiding. We feel less vulnerable to reveal ourselves and realise that actually showing our vulnerability is very powerful. We manifest the things our hearts yearn for, intimacy, creative expression, authentic community and meaningful contribution.

Be honest with yourself, are you being true to yourself?

Sometimes with the demands of modern life we can become disconnected with mother earth and all her balancing and healing rhythms and cycles. Nature exists for a reason. We are intimately connected to her. Intuition can become a stranger. The thinking mind can dominate and we ignore our inner wisdom and the quieter voices.

We talk about our ‘gut feelings’, ‘butterflies and knots in our tummies’, ‘gut wrenching’. We hold onto so much emotion in our bellies and we can feel bloated, have cramps or bad digestion. We clench our bellies. Holding it all in and blocking our feminine energy channel.

So here is a really simple breathing exercise that I practiced this week to help restore my feminine side and balance with my masculine side that I would like to share with you.

Find a comfortable, quiet space and allow yourself 10 minutes to do this exercise and make sure you won’t be interrupted. Lay down on a rug or a yoga mat with a pillow beneath your head. Now bring the soles of your feet together. Gently let your legs fall out to the side (resting on cushions or bolsters if you need too). Relax your belly and feel yourself connecting to your breathe. Place your hands on your belly and as you inhale feel the belly rise and as you exhale feel the belly go down. Imagine there is a ball of light growing in your tummy with each breath. Begin to breathe through your mouth letting the inhale and exhale dissolve into each other with no pause in between. Allow the exhale to be relaxed.

Simply follow your breath as it enters and leaves your body from the base of your spine and your hips going up into the midsection and then into the chest. Feel your belly fill like a balloon with each inhale. Allow the breath to be effortless and relaxed. .Inhale in through your left shoulder and down into the left side of your body. Continue until you get a feeling that your feminine, receiving side is a little more spacious and flowing. Then shift your awareness to the right side of your body.

Inhale through your right shoulder and down into the whole right side of your body. Each inhale has a cooling and calming effect on any excess masculine, pushing or forceful energies. Continue alternating between the left and right side of your body until you feel an evenness of energy flowing between the left and right sides of your body. With each exhale and inhale use the affirmations in your mind ‘I am in perfect balance and harmony’ and ‘I embrace my feminine side’, ‘I embrace my masculine side’. Just breathe and feel yourself gently letting go.