Devotion to Self

Gratitude Practice Day 10/30 💜My daughter Hailey💜 On her 29th birthday today, I am feeling immense gratitude. She chose me to be her mother in this lifetime and I am beyond grateful for that. If you know her, then it's obvious what an incredible woman she is. I have always felt blessed. Our connection has always been easy and in flow. She has always been a joy to me. I have loved pouring my love and attention onto her, and I still do. It is a wild experience to grow older and watch my daughter become a woman. To watch her in each stage of her life and remember myself at those moments - I learn more about myself by how she approaches life. And it's wild to see the evolution of generations happening in real time. It's a gift of ageing I suppose, that I am coming to realize for myself. My daughter is one of my greatest teachers. Through our connection I am able to see so much of myself, and where I want to grow, where I may be out of alignment with something or in a pattern. It is not always easy to see and very often confronting. One of her gifts is how she holds herself and I graciously receive the reflection. It's a lot of the basis for my own motherhood work in the world. She has taught me how to be powerful and vulnerable at the same time, and how to lovingly speak my mind. How to slow down and honor my body. The lessons go in both directions, and we often speak of the magic we get to do in this lifetime together as mother and daughter. It makes life infinitely more fun. We share codes. We pass keys and flashlights back and forth. There are rooms and winding paths we walk. Sometimes together, often alone. But always in synchronicity. Part 2 in comments…

Gratitude Practice Day 9/30 💜Yesterday, March 24💜 March 24 is a big day for me, a swirling soup of emotion. Three big things mark this date: 1. I went in to labor with my beautiful daughter, 29 years ago. (she was born 2 days later!) 2. Her dad's birthday, my ex-husband, Tony. 3. The day my own father took his own life, 23 years ago. The day hits me differently each year. There have been years I don't even realize the date, and other years I feel it creeping up on me. This year, it crept up slowly and sweetly. Tony turned 60 this year and that marked something pretty big for me. When I sit with it, I feel the huge waves and wells of love inside of me for him, for our friendship and love, for the life we built together and for the family we created, and all the fun and laughter along the way. Sitting beside that love is another giant well - all the loss, hurt, disappointment, grief, sadness and regret. I went into labor on his birthday, 1995. It was magical and incredible in all the ways. And Hailey was born 2 days later, on the 26th. It was a Friday. I came home from school (I was teaching then) and that's when my contractions began. I was finishing my graduate degree at Hofstra and had finished gathering the information I needed from my students for my thesis *that day*. I think my body knew I had all the data I needed and that's when the labor began. I know, a very Virgo situation. The 24th of March, 29 years ago, is the day my daughter started her journey to be with me earthside. What a miracle. My heart explodes just thinking about this. I am beyond blessed with the gorgeous woman who chose me as her mom. And then in 2001, on this same date, my father tried to take his own life. I have written and spoken about this a lot publicly and, it's just shocking to me still. This was devastating, confusing and completely disorienting to my being. I was 32 at the time and my children were 6 & 3. I lost my dear father and it broke my heart. Part 2 in comments

Gratitude Practice Day 8/30 💃🏽Agreements with my Body💃🏽 This morning I went to a Zumba class. I realized how out of shape I am in this particular way. I walk and have a daily yoga practice, but I don't have a lot of stamina with cardio movement. I stopped Zumba in 2010 because I injured myself. And I have sworn off it until today. But I felt a big YES to attending this class - it was led by this amazing woman, Yoshimi, who also taught a how to make sushi class a few weeks ago. She is full of life and I was extremely inspired by her energy levels. I loved the movement - I love Zumba because it's based on Latin dancing, which is so much fun. I love to dance. My edges were definitely pushed as class went on. I knew class was an hour and was starting to feel tired and lose energy. I figured it was almost over, but I didn't know. I try to surrender to a container and trust the teacher is keeping time, but ultimately, I take responsibility for my own well being. As she was bringing us into another song, I asked her how long class was. That my body was feeling stretched and I have an agreement with my body that I don't override her. Living in my body, it's a delicate balance between the two. Turns out we were at the end time, and she had no idea. She said she could go for 3 hours! Everyone thanked me for speaking up. The teacher took a few moments to thank me too as I spoke about the balance of stretching my edges and honoring my ability. What I loved about her is that she really took the time to show us how to move in a way that works with our bodies, so we don't get injured. The key element that was missing for me in 2010 when I got hurt and never went back. We did one final dance and a cool down. My body was a YES. It's not that I never override my body, sometimes I do. But it's my deep practice to hear what she is telling me and back her with an attuned action. Today it was listening to my body, then speaking up and asking when class was over. I left class feeling grateful for the class, for the teacher's aliveness. Mostly, for backing myself by attending class, and also knowing when to stop. pic: not me after Zumba 🤣

Gratitude Practice Day 7/30 🙌My Ride or Die Women 🙌 I would not be the woman I am today without you. You show me what is possible. You listen to me, you remind me of who I am when I forget. You reflect my beauty and wisdom to me. You sit with me as I cry. You tell me the truth. You remind me of my desires. You accept me where I am, and don’t try to fix me or push me. You feed me and teach me. You show me what is possible in ways that I wouldn’t or couldn’t think of. You share your true self with me. You share the parts of you I know you don’t share with the world. And that inspires me to reveal my parts too, and reminds me that the parts I find gnarly are just some human parts that need love. You share your desires with me. I love knowing the deepest parts of you, I love receiving this and holding it. I love holding you through difficult and wonderful times and reflecting the beauty and humanness of your process to you. It is a gift to receive these real and raw parts. You laugh with me and be silly. You listen to my predictable silly jokes. You ask about my children and family and share yours. I am intentionally not tagging people ~ you know who you are. Maybe we speak every day or regularly, or maybe we speak in waves. Or maybe we have crossed paths. I am so grateful for the ride or die women in my life. I feel deeply met and always inspired to be more of myself, that this is welcomed and desired. It is medicine for me. Thank you thank you 🙏🏽💜 #Gratitude #GratefulHeart #Thankful #AttitudeOfGratitude #GratitudeJournal #GratitudeEveryday #Gratefulness #GratitudeAttitude #GratitudeChallenge #GratitudeQuotes #WomenSupportingWomen #Sisterhood #GirlGang #Besties #EmpoweredWomen #FriendshipGoals #StrongWomen #FemaleFriendship #WomenEmpowerment #FriendsForever

Gratitude Practice Day 6/30 👅DELICIOUS FOOD👅 I love to eat mouthwatering delicious food. I love quality ingredients that surprise and delight my taste buds. I love to go out to eat and I also love eating in or eating someone else’s home cooked food. Last week I ordered a pizza and even had it delivered..this is not something I usually do and it was hot and delicious. I don’t eat cheese so my pizza is loaded with fresh veggies with grilled chicken or sausage. I love love to cook and prepare delicious nourishing foods. I pretty much put fresh lemon, EVOO, salt, pepper and garlic on everything. Except my chicken soup, which I simmer on the stove for two full days and nights. I also make an incredible pea soup and lentil soup. I have so many favorites! I am a sucker for fresh Italian ingredients, pasta and homemade breads and sauces. I love sushi and nachos piled high with messy deliciousness. I am currently obsessed with caesar salad and also make incredible homemade croutons. I love Indian and one of my all time faves is Ethiopian. And of course Thai and barbeque in the summer. I feel very blessed to eat so well, to be able to enjoy such incredible foods with people I love. What are your faves? #Gratitude #GratefulHeart #Thankful #AttitudeOfGratitude #GratitudeJournal #GratitudeEveryday #Gratefulness #GratitudeAttitude #GratitudeChallenge #GratitudeQuotes

Gratitude Practice Day 5/30 💜My son, Jeremy💜 Looking at pics to choose one for this post brought me to tears. They are all so precious. He is now way taller than me, 26 years old, and a beautiful man. I am so grateful for his presence in my life. I enjoy his company so very much. He is handsome, intelligent, kind, a good conversationalist, and so FUNNY! He is a Leo and makes everything playful and way more fun. His presence taught me to play - since he was born he always had the energy of a playful puppy to me. He would wake up at 6am to play since he was a baby - and he’s still a morning person. We live near each other these days and he comes over often - he spent Shabbat dinner here last night. I am cherishing him living nearby right now because I know it won’t always be that way. He brought me flowers last night for International Women’s Day. It was such a sweet surprise. I am blessed and I know it. He has taught me so much. His presence has taught me how to raise a man. How to let go. How to be more compassionate with myself. How to not take things personally and that play makes everything better. That sometimes the opposite of what you think is actually what is needed. The biggest of all is how to love and how to keep my heart open. 💜💜💜 Thank you thank you 💜💜💜 #Gratitude #GratefulHeart #Thankful #AttitudeOfGratitude #GratitudeJournal #GratitudeEveryday #Gratefulness #GratitudeAttitude #GratitudeChallenge #GratitudeQuotes

Hey Amazing Mamas! 🌺 The doors to my FLOURISH program are open through Sunday night at 9pm eastern. 
🌺FLOURISH🌺 is an empowering journey for mothers ready to embrace their true selves and lead with love and wisdom. In FLOURISH, we’ll embark on a transformative exploration, diving into: 🌿 Honoring Yourself: Respect and cherish your body and energy. 🌿 Living as Practice: Embrace growth and learning from experiences. 🌿 Mature Feminine: Lead with trust and confidence, guiding your family from a place of knowing. 🌿 Feeling: Be honest with your emotions and heal past wounds. 🌿 Embodiment: Trust the wisdom of your body and deepen your capacity for love and compassion. 🌿 Boundaries: Establish loving boundaries for yourself and your relationships. 🌿 Forgiveness: Accept yourself and your past choices with compassion. 🌿 Attunement: Be present with yourself and your family, nurturing closer and more honest relationships. 🌿 Spaciousness: Create room in your life for rest, creativity, and joy. 🌿 Desire: Listen to your heart’s desires and follow them fearlessly. Apply via the link in my bio! 🌟 Or DM me for private work if you feel the call.🌟 When you flourish, your family flourishes too. Join me on this life-changing journey today. 💖 #MotherhoodJourney #EmpoweredMother #SelfLoveJourney #FamilyConnection #InnerWisdom #SelfDiscovery #TransformativeJourney #MotherhoodEmpowerment #EmbraceYourDesires #EmpoweredParenting #AuthenticMotherhood #SelfCareJourney #MindfulParenting #MomLifeBalance #EmotionalWellness #SpiritualMotherhood #InnerStrength #SelfReflection #MindfulLiving #NurturingFamily

Gratitude Practice Day 4/30 🧘🏽‍♀️My Yoga Practice🧘🏽‍♀️ My yoga practice holds me each morning. I have had a daily practice for at least 15 years. It’s my own series of poses that my body has come to crave. The poses have changed over the years. I am so grateful for the incredible yoga teachers I have had who have inspired me to change or add a pose to my series. There’s always beautiful music. And this year I added green tea, a sliced orange and a rice cracker with almond butter and jelly. It’s my first breakfast. I used to be rigid in this practice. It was the same for many years, and I grew bored and spent many years avoiding it even though my body wanted it so. I have learned to listen to my body in this practice. And be soft and easy with my morning yoga. I change it up a lot. Years ago I added prayer and a check in of what is present for me in the moment. I have pulled many goddess cards in this practice, and at times not pulled them for months. I have seen how I override my body for the sake of getting it done. When I have had injuries there were times I played with how far I can go into certain poses, but my body was a Giant No. And I saw myself doing them anyway. I learned to let go of my ego and skip the pose. This practice is how I slow down and connect with myself before connecting with the world. I can go through tornados of emotion and clear all kinds of things during this time each morning. So grateful 🙌 #Yoga #YogaEveryday #YogaLife #YogaInspiration #YogaPose #YogaPractice #YogaJourney #YogaLove #YogaCommunity #YogaTeacher #Gratitude #GratefulHeart #Thankful #AttitudeOfGratitude #GratitudeJournal #GratitudeEveryday #Gratefulness #GratitudeAttitude #GratitudeChallenge #GratitudeQuotes #FeminineEnergy #FemininePower #FeminineStrength #FeminineBeauty #FeminineEmpowerment

It is possible to build your skills and I promise you, it matters. Link to my free masterclass, How to Talk to Your Children, in my bio or DM me for the link. #EffectiveCommunication #ConversationSkills #QualityConversations #CommunicationTips #ConnectThroughConversation #MotherhoodUnplugged #MomentsInMotherhood #MomLifeBalance #Mommyhood #MotherhoodRising #MomLifeBestLife #ModernMotherhood #MommyLife #MomsOfInstagram #MomBoss #MommyLove #MomCommunity #MomTribe #MamaLife #MotherhoodThroughInstagram #MommyMoments

🌟 Join me to learn some tips for how to have easier, smoother conversations with your children (and everyone)🌟 Ever struggle to connect with your kids? Building trust and understanding is possible. 💖 There are HUGE reasons why bustling this skill in yourself will directly benefit your child and your family life. It’s worth it to embrace our imperfections, and invest our time to foster deeper more honest connections with our children.🌈 Join me in my FREE CLASS Thursday evening How to Talk to Your Children. Dm me for the link or find it in my bio. #ParentingJourney #CommunicationIsKey #EmbraceVulnerability 🌸 #MotherhoodUnplugged #MomentsInMotherhood #MomLifeBalance #Mommyhood #MotherhoodRising #MomLifeBestLife #ModernMotherhood #MommyLife #MomsOfInstagram #MomBoss #MommyLove #MomCommunity #MomTribe #MamaLife #MotherhoodThroughInstagram #MommyMoments #EffectiveCommunication #ConversationSkills #QualityConversations #CommunicationTips #ConnectThroughConversation

How to Talk to Your Children Masterclass is on Thursday March 7 @7pm est. I will be sharing 3 parenting tips to help you have easier better convos with your kids. Link in bio or dm me 🌺✨

Come to my free masterclass on Thursday March 7 @7pm est. link to register my bio or DM me. It’s free! 🌺✨🧡 #motherhood #motherhoodunplugged #motherhoodrising #honestmotherhood #motherhoodsimplified #unitedinmotherhood #motherhoodinspired #thisismotherhood #momentsinmotherhood #motherhoodintheraw #motherhoodmoments #motherhoodalive #documentingmotherhood #memoirsofmotherhood #myhonestmotherhood #acupofmotherhood #candidmotherhood #motherhoodjourney #westchestermoms #ossiningmoms #longislandmomsofnassaucounty #longislandmomsgroup

💛How to Talk to Your Children💛 There have been so many conversations I never wanted to have, or didn’t know how to have. So many I skipped. And so many that I showed up for, shaking in my boots. Just this morning I had a conversation to unravel a conflict with my partner. It takes all of me every single time. Honestly, I keep getting better at this, because there are skills involved that I have been committed to building in myself. When these conversations are with our children, it can be doubly challenging. Not only do we have our own feelings about particular issues, but we are responsible for holding and guiding the conversation when it comes to our young children and teens, and even into their early adulthood. Sometimes you just don’t know what to say. Or how to say it. Or you feel like you keep saying it wrong. So you avoid the conversation altogether. But that feels worse. How do you show up? When they give you those one word answers? Or have their face glued in their phone or the TV? Or you’re triggered? And you feel frustrated and overwhelmed trying to show up as your best self for the most important part of your life...your children. Join me on Thursday, March 7th, for my free Masterclass, How to Talk to Your Children. I will share 3 tips to have easy, and honest conversations with your children. I’ll show you that deep down, your children want to connect with you, but they need you to take the lead. I will share my wisdom, experience and hope, that I’ve cultivated from parenting and working with thousands of children and families over the past 3 decades. It’s free. Link in bio, or drop a YES in the comments and I’ll send you the link. #motherhood #motherhoodunplugged #motherhoodrising #honestmotherhood #motherhoodsimplified #unitedinmotherhood #motherhoodinspired #thisismotherhood #momentsinmotherhood #motherhoodintheraw #motherhoodmoments #motherhoodalive #documentingmotherhood #memoirsofmotherhood #myhonestmotherhood #acupofmotherhood #candidmotherhood #motherhoodjourney #westchestermoms #ossiningmoms #longislandmoms

Gratitude Practice Day 3/30 💦Living by the Hudson River💦 I woke up in the middle of the night and heard the words to the song Into the River - “I wanna lay my bones down in the water” and took that as an invitation to drive to a favorite spot of the Hudson that I love to walk at. I am so grateful to live by the water - it nourishes my soul. I get to look at a gorgeous river view from my living room, from my bed. It is STUNNING. I love seeing how the river changes each day, when she is still or moving so strongly that there are waves and whitecaps. The different colors she is, from slate gray to deep blue to greenish. She often sparkles - it’s like there are diamonds on the surface. It’s truly magical to witness. I love watching how the tide comes in and out, how drastically it changes from day to day. There are times I can walk far out on the rocks, where yesterday it was fully covered with water, and the path was unseen. Water is a gift and a force. She is powerful and has my deepest respect. Her changing tides reminds me of how much I change day to day, week to week, year to year and to flow with what IS. She is presence. I am so grateful to have such a front seat to her absolute majesty.

Gratitude Practice Day 2/30 🫦Spaciousness and Adventure💋 Something I absolutely LOVE is a sense of S P A C E in my day. I love to follow my intuition and find myself in new situations or places. Adventures for my soul. The other day after my chiropractor appointment I wanted to go to a coffee shop to work. I wanted something cute and lovely to sit at for a while, plus some good food. And something new. I found the @katonahreadingroom and when I pulled up front I was tickled at how adorable it is. Just the vibe I desired. And in a town I had never been to before, about 30 mins from home. Turns out they’re a no computer zone, which irritated me at first bc I specifically wanted to work and write in my laptop. The fun about adventures is letting go of the plan. So I ordered food and went upstairs to eat. I ended up sitting with the owner, Gretchen (hiiii!) and I watched her paint while I ate and we chatted. When I was done eating she asked me if I wanted to paint! YESSSSS I would love that 🙏🏼 She brought me everything I need, which was so generous. I had such a lovely time painting and chatting. It was just the medicine I needed that day. I’m so grateful for her adorable cafe and her willingness to follow her truth and not allow computers in the space. It encourages talking, connection and creativity. Just what my soul really needed. I’m grateful that I know this about myself…. That I value SPACE to BE and not have a plan. And that I create circumstances in my life to have it! To follow my intuitive sense and have mini adventures. And that there are places like this that exist that bring me so much joy. #intuition #gratitude #gratitudepractice #ketonahny #adventuresofthesoul

🧡✨Putting your Own Agenda Aside as a Mother✨ In the book The Alchemist, the father gave his son his blessing to be a shepherd, so he could follow his dream of traveling and seeing the world. It was the family's plan for the boy to bring pride to the family and become a priest and he had been studying his whole life in preparation for this. The father blessed his son further by giving him the 3 cold coins that were going to be his inheritance, so he could buy his flock. It's a beautiful loving act, and a necessary one, to put your own agenda aside. To see your child for who they really are. To give your honest blessing for them to follow their own path in life. Of course, this looks different at different ages of development. It's hypocritical to teach them to follow their dreams, and simultaneously block them. I read a parenting book years ago that shaped me as a mother. One concept in the book stood out to me as such deep TRUTH - to let go of your own agenda, see your child for who they truly are, and align with that. This can be a tricky as a parent. Because we have our own desires, projections, egos, judgements, wounds, past experiences and ideas on how our children can or should live. And we don’t want to see our children get hurt or fail, or make the same mistakes as us. So we often try to save them from failure. Part 2 in comments

Gratitude Practice Day 1/30 💗My incredible dream last night about POSSIBILITY💗 I had a dream last night that was more of a download, an embodied channelled message. In my dream, I was looking down at my body, in a kneeling position, and I was full of pink and gold sparkles, full of light. I was big, full, nourished, alive. I felt a deep sense of possibility come through me. A trusting. A knowing that anything truly is possible. I could feel my daughter in my dream - she wasn’t in the dream, but there was a felt sense of her that filled me with love. I have been in a down the past 2 days. I have been resting, taking care of myself, my body, all while digesting so much goodness I am having in my life right now. I feel an expansion that has been happening for a while now, and I needed a pause to digest and integrate it. I also realized I was not fully expressing the deep gratitude I have for so many things in my life, so this 30 day gratitude practice from @perri_chase comes at perfect timing.🙏🏼 This dream reminded me of possibility. I felt the down lift from my body and heart when I woke up this morning. I am grateful it can be that easy, as a consequence of deeply caring for my being. Thank you thank you 💗 pic of the Hudson River for the algorithm

🌺Self Forgiveness in Motherhood🌺 Beating yourself up for all the things you feel you did wrong is blocking you from your love and presence with your children and all areas of your life. Your money, your life force energy, your desire. There may be truths to acknowledge. Responsibility to take. Maybe you want to change a behavior or make an amends. There may be tears to be felt. Or maybe your Inner Perfectionist is running the show and it’s impossible to please her? I’m here to let you know that repair is always possible. With yourself and others. I promise you that you are the perfect mother for your children and what they want and need is YOU. All of you. Your presence and love, not your perfection. FLOURISH is my deep dive program into being the woman and mother you want to be. Your true self. The mother your children need. It matters. ✨Application in bio or dm me✨ We begin March 12🧡 #motherhood #motherhoodunplugged #motherhoodrising #honestmotherhood #motherhoodsimplified #unitedinmotherhood #motherhoodinspired #thisismotherhood #momentsinmotherhood #motherhoodintheraw #motherhoodmoments #motherhoodalive #documentingmotherhood #memoirsofmotherhood #myhonestmotherhood #acupofmotherhood #candidmotherhood #motherhoodjourney #westchestermoms #ossiningmoms #longislandmoms Loving you 🌺

Everything on our motherhood journey is here for us to learn and grow. For those who feel the calling to carve a new path, motherhood becomes our mirror. Motherhood is a reflection of all the parts of ourselves…our love, our joy, our beliefs about ourselves, how we show up in relationships, how we treat ourselves and those we love. It also reflects our shadow (what we can’t see) and where our patterns, traumas, hurts and addictions are leading. There’s no way around this and nothing you could have done for it to play out differently - it’s the human experience. And. It’s a mature move to begin being more honest with ourselves, with what is happening in our life, where we feel lost, guilty, hurt, out of control. If we are willing to face reality, and bathe it with our acceptance, love and attention, we can create shifts. It’s a beautiful bold move to view motherhood in this way. To allow it to shape and grow you. I’ve been deep in motherhood as a spiritual practice for many years, and I can tell you the gifts are bountiful. With my devotion to being on the mat of life with what my mirror shows me, I receive the most beautiful gifts…my true self, power, compassion, and the best gift in the world - intimate honest joyful relationships with both of my children. This also extends to the generations before me as well. This means everything to me. 🌸The gate of entry is your willingness to let the truth lead🌸 To say yes, to choose YOU. I am holding a group of mothers on an intimate journey beginning in March who want to look at motherhood as a reflection of yourself and grow to be the woman and mother you know is inside of you. The mother your kids truly need and want - your true self. 🌸FLOURISH🌸Motherhood as a Spiritual Practice🌸 Application in bio or dm me 🐣Early bird pricing through Thursday! We begin March 12 #Motherhoodasaspiritualpractice #healing #selfcompassion #westchestermoms #ossiningmoms #motherhoodasajourney #parenting #motherhoodrising #honestmothering #honestmotherhood #couragousmotherhood #courageousmothers #flourish #flourishinglife #intergenerationallove #intergenerationeeltrauma #intergenerationalhealing

Have you ever felt guilty that you didn’t give your children enough? Or that you messed up? Or the most common one I hear moms saying - you got angry or upset and they got the backlash of it? I don’t have the ability to physically take you back in time. We can never change the past. But I do have the ability to sit with you now and look at the deeper thing that was happening for you at the time, and feel the emotions that got stuck. This is one way I help my clients heal past hurts. When I take clients back in time in this way, it has a magical ability to effect the present moment. I do this with myself all the time too. Being stuck in guilt and regret of the past keeps us from showing up fully in the present. If you want a better relationship with your kids, don’t want to feel guilty anymore, or want to let go of some past hurt or regret, join me in FLOURISH, Motherhood as a Spiritual Practice. Whatever ages your children are, it is possible to change course and have the relationship you want with them. In the last round of FLOURISH, the moms had children ranging from 7 years old to their late 30’s. They all had beautiful moments of going back to past moments and healing hurts that got stuck. 🌺FLOURISH, Motherhood as a Spiritual Practice🌺 is a 4 month group program for mothers who want better relationships with their children. You can have it, it is possible. Application and more information in my bio, or DM me. 🐣Early Bird pricing through February 28🐣. We begin March 12. #Motherhoodasaspiritualpractice #healing #selfcompassion #westchestermoms #ossiningmoms #motherhoodasajourney #parenting #motherhoodrising #honestmothering #honestmotherhood #couragousmotherhood #courageousmothers #flourish #flourishinglife

Motherhood as a Spiritual Practice = living life and motherhood honestly, while growing and learning along the way. And learning compassion for yourself as a human on a journey, doing the hardest job around, raising the next generation. Any change in your life or home or children begins with YOU. If you’re considering applying, this is your sign to follow that intuitive hit. Message me to chat. Apply to FLOURISH. Application in bio - early bird through Feb 28 I love you, Brenda #honestmotherhood #motherhoodsimplified #unitedinmotherhood #motherhoodinspired #thisismotherhood #motherhoodintheraw #motherhoodmoments #mymotherhood #unitedmotherhood #realmotherhood #motherhoodalive #documentingmotherhood #memoirsofmotherhood #myhonestmotherhood #acupofmotherhood #candidmotherhood #motherhoodjourney #motherhoodrocks #rawmotherhood #motherhoodlens #dailymotherhood #slowmotherhood #motherhoodinstyle #modernmotherhood #motherhoodslens #motherhoodunfiltered #beyond_motherhood #eternalmotherhood #magicofmotherhood #motherhoodquotes

Imagine mothers treated themselves as the sanctuary they are?! What would it look like to honor and respect yourself? To respect and love your body? To honor your time and energy? To honor your True YES and NO? What would change in your life? What would you do? If you CHOSE YOU? 🌺FLOURISH, Motherhood as a Spiritual Practice🌺 is a 4 month container of learning to choose YOU, and in doing so, you create space to be present for your children in the way they truly need. In the way you want to be there for them. Honestly. With the real YOU. Application in bio. Early bird through Feb 28 Or dm me! 🌺💋🧡

When I was growing up, girls were not taught to love, honor and respect ourselves. The messages we received were obedience, people pleasing and working hard. Thank goodness this is changing. I see it in my women’s circles, in younger generations, and in my children Progress is slow and not linear - but it IS happening. I’ve been unwinding my own conditioning for years about overriding myself and people pleasing. The effects of putting myself last were pretty loud and left me starving and desperate to feel my life force energy and desire. It’s so easy to do this. Especially as mothers because we are so busy and have a nasty habit of taking on too much. It’s easy to create a life of overriding our bodies, doing what makes others happy and working ourselves to exhaustion. Our society rewards this while we internally suffer. It’s a hamster wheel of madness, with all kinds of side effects like dis/ease, depression, anxiety, addiction to substances/medication/drama, and basic unhappiness and dissatisfaction in life, to name a few. The only way off this hamster wheel is to ✨choose to remove yourself.✨Choose something different. This takes wild self commitment. You’ve gotta want something different so much that you’re willing to look at all of your beliefs that built your life this way. It’s possible. I see it in my clients and friends. In myself. And by choosing YOU, you are choosing self respect. Respecting your energy, your body, your mental health, your partnership, your sex, your time…everything. And this choice 100% affects the quality of life and health for yourself and your children and family. Your legacy. The hardest part is to CHOOSE YOU. Choose sanity and loving yourself over the hamster wheel. What would it look like to treat yourself well? To respect your body? To honor your energy and time? To be honest with your YES and No? What would be different for you? For your family? If you chose YOU? 🌺FLOURISH🌺 is a 4 month journey of choosing you. And in choosing you, you become available for your self and in turn, for your children in the way they need. In the way you want to be there for them. Application in bio🌺

My post yesterday inspired me to share more about this invitation….that motherhood is an invitation to transform, to evolve. When contorted, this teaching could be yet another way to punish yourself for being human, making mistakes, for not doing it perfectly. Well, that is exhausting. And it gets you nowhere except more misery, more perpetuating the distorted belief that you were supposed to be a perfect mother. Instead, Motherhood as a Spiritual Practice invites you to show up honestly, to build self compassion, and to learn and grow along the way. Your children want the real you, your presence, not a perfect version of you. Applications are open. I would love to receive your application and chat with you about your motherhood journey and desires. FLOURISH, Motherhood as a Spiritual Practice Application in bio or dm me. Early bird through February 28 Loving you, Brenda #motherhood #motherhoodunplugged #motherhoodrising #motherhoodthroughinstagram #uniteinmotherhood #ig_motherhood #honestmotherhood #motherhoodsimplified #unitedinmotherhood #momentsinmotherhood #motherhoodintheraw #motherhoodmoments #mymotherhood #unitedmotherhood #realmotherhood #motherhoodunited #candidmotherhood #motherhoodjourney #motherhoodrocks #rawmotherhood #motherhoodlens #dailymotherhood #slowmotherhood #motherhoodinstyle #modernmotherhood #motherhoodslens #motherhoodunfiltered #beyond_motherhood #ossiningmoms

If you're a mom, it matters that you respect, honor and love yourself. We teach our kids how to be in the world by how we behave and speak, said and unsaid. This begins the first moment we hold our precious baby in our arms. They learn from us what to believe, how to think, how to act, and this creates their experiences in the world. Children are biologically designed to learn from their parents in this way. This is why loving and respecting yourself matters. You can’t fake these things. You can't preach self love to your kids and then quietly hate your weight or your wrinkles when you think they aren’t looking. They pick up on your inconsistencies, they feel you on deep levels. They will learn more from what they sense and feel, than from what you say. This is all an invitation to level up. What I have learned about self love is that it means unconditionally accepting myself. Unconditionally...meaning, no conditions attached. It's been easier to love and accept my body when she is doing and looking how I want. It's been harder to find unconditional love with extra weight, wrinkles and random aches. The question has become, Can I love my body in all conditions, as I age and my body naturally changes? I've had to dig deeper to find this self love. Accept myself as I am with all the changes age brings. Accept reality and then live in it, peacefully within myself. I did a nude photo shoot with myself last week and the first batch were hard to do. I felt awkward and could feel myself dimming my light. It was uncomfortable to feel this way after so much embodiment work. I KNOW what it feels like to feel juicy in my body. So I slept on it. The next morning, when I was sweaty and smelly after my morning walk, I started dancing to AC/DC and felt the spark of my juiciness, and snapped some pics. I felt my mojo, my enjoyment of my body, the way my hips moved and how much I turned myself on just by being in my body exactly as she is. Part 2 in comments

Your children don’t need perfection. They need your presence. It’s not possible to do motherhood right or be perfect. It’s distorted to think so because it goes against the very reason we are a human in our body - to experience life, to learn lessons, and evolve. You will mess up. You will get upset and angry. You will say weird stuff sometimes. You will lay in bed sometimes and wonder why you (fill in the blank). I can’t even tell you how many nights I have spent in this space. Wondering why I made the choices I did. Beating myself up. So much so that I got stuck there for a while. Looping around in the stories and the past. It’s so easy to do. Every mom I know has been there in some form. It’s a torturous cycle. And only when I was really really ready, and only because I got a peek into the hurt my lack of presence was causing, I was willing to face reality. I looked the truth in the face, and let it break me down. Until then, the shame, regret and guilt was actually easier to feel than the pain of facing the truth. But it was keeping me stuck, and absent in a way. If I wanted to get unstuck and be there for my kids, in the way they truly needed, I needed to lean more into reality and truth. I have always wanted to be an all-in kind of mom, like BE IN IT, no matter what, and I am in it for the long game, and that meant (and always means) really looking at myself. I was called to deeper truth, and it was confronting. As I let it in, I was able to finally feel the wells of grief, sadness and anger. This was really scary for me and I kept leaning in anyway, because it’s what was needed. Part 2 in comments

Come Friday night to hear Bass-Baritone, Spencer Smith, and jazz pianist, Frank Squillante perform a set of gorgeous love songs. @efescue These two are MAGIC together ✨✨✨ It’s free! 7 pm 67 Central Avenue, Ossining, @hudsonvalleybooksforhumanity #ossining #ossiningmoms #ossiningpride #ossiningfamilies #ossiningmatters #westchesterthingstodo

Mothers hold the keys to the future🔑 We are at a time when it is more crucial than ever for mothers to know their power, to be embodied and lead their family from a place of self trust and self love. For children to thrive and be healthy in mind, body and spirit, mothers must lead the way, and that begins with honoring and respecting themselves. 
Your children don’t need perfection. 🌺They need your presence🌺 What would it take for you to flourish? To thrive and be alive? To be present and loving? To shift family patterns and parent in the way you truly want to? To love yourself and find compassion for yourself in this complex world, in the most important role of your life, motherhood. 🔑I promise you, these thing matter🔑 In FLOURISH, I generously share how I parent with grace, self compassion and joy, and I guide you on your own personal path of flourishing. 🌺FLOURISH, Motherhood as a Spiritual Practice🌺 ✨Doors are now open. ✨Application in bio or DM me ✨Early Bird until February 26 ✨We begin March 12 🧡🔑🌺 #motherhood #momlife #baby #parenting #love #family #mom #parenthood #babygirl #newborn #mother #motherhoodunplugged #momsofinstagram #babyboy #kids #mumlife #mama #momblogger #maternity #fatherhood #motherhoodblog #motherhoodismagic #motherhooduprising #motherhoodandme #momsofteenagers #momsofadultchildren #motherhoodlife #motherhoodasaspiritualpractice #motherhoodasajourney #motherhoodasaspiritualjourney

I am overflowing with creativity and inspiration right now. I planted so many seeds and they are sprouting. It feels incredible. So what better time to share this podcast episode with you about artistic expression and creativity? I was listening to this episode this morning on my walk and I am so drawn into the magic of how Elana weaves ritual and creativity together. There’s a gorgeous piece in this episode about the generations too - how her mother Chana raised her to be fully expressed and how she is raising her own son to express himself creatively too. If you desire more creative inspiration or expression, if you’re currently creatively stuck or want some good ideas about how to bring more ritual or creative expression into your life or with your children, or maybe you just love Elana, you will enjoy this episode. Catherine & I would love to know what touches or inspires you, so if you listen, please let us know. xoxo #desireasmedicinepodcast #desireasmedicine #ritual #creativity #creativefire #creativefirecircle #inspiration #creatives #artists #artoftheday #branding #creator #motherartist #motherartistsatwork #collaboration #fullexpression #podcastersofinstagram

I received loud, clear lessons at the end of 2023 that served as a giant mirror. Birds eye view, I was able to watch myself choose the harder path. Choose the option that led to depletion and feeling drained. Pattern work is like that when you're paying attention - you keep going around the cycle of the pattern and each time there is more and more awareness, and with that is the opportunity to make a different choice. In December, I watched myself choose the harder road. Twice. Both times there was a cost. Both times I was able to SEE it in a way I never could before. I am grateful for the lessons and for how gentle they were overall. I have had much louder - like divorce and a hurricane destroying my house. My word for 2023 was FLOURISH. And the year ended with this gorgeous embodied lesson of how I need to take care of myself so I can flourish. It was clear that I need to back myself big time, in new subtle ways. Put myself first in a way that feels confronting, that means speaking more uncomfortable truths and letting go of whatever isn't true. This lesson has been tricking in over the years and this is a big chunk I was ready for. I fully received these lessons by acting on them, by making different choices once I could see the full path laid out for me. If we want something, we need to show up for ourselves to have it. This part of the path becomes clearer and clearer as we go. Each time we choose differently, we are transforming. Because each mirco shift adds up and this is how change occurs. Part 2 in comments 💦

I walked 39 people through creating Vision Boards for 2024 in the past week. It was truly magical. Several women returned from last year's event and reflected on how powerful creating their board was, that the fruits of their visioning for the year took them on a beautiful and unexpected journey. One woman is about to hold a gallery show for her art, another got the job of her dreams at twice the salary she was expecting. Another woman put marriage on her board in 2023 and showed me her new gorgeous diamond ring. We laughed so hard when she told me that this year she wrote herself a check for $1 million dollars to put on her 2024 board. YESSSSS to our big outrageous desires! I also had several men and a few kids over the course of the 3 workshops. Plus a few people who never even heard of a Vision Board and came anyway. Now, THAT is a gorgeous following of the whispers of desire. In case you never heard of this, a Vision Board is a collage of images and words representing your dreams, wishes and desires. It serves as inspiration and motivation for you to manifest your dreams & desires. It's vulnerable to admit and claim the desires of your heart. And creating a board as a home for them is a powerful act. A Vision Board is a great visual reminder of our desires and dreams as we go about life and especially for when we forget what we want or get lost in life. I love talking about desire. One of the most fascinating aspects of desire to me is the dance between having clarity / holding your desire while also letting go of attachment to it. It's a wild tricky dance to follow the breadcrumbs and the callings of our soul but not get too wrapped up in the How, When of If. And this is a wonderful thing because in my experience the Universe provides way beyond what we can imagine for ourselves. It's why I bless people's desires with a phrase like, "So shall it Be and Even Better than You Can Imagine." Thank you 🙏🏼 Thank you I am available to host in person group or private Vision Board events. Reach out to me if you feel called. So shall your desires be and even better than you can possibly even imagine. xoxo

Asheville & Leland Trip 🎄a few faves 📸 1 walking up the Blue Ridge Mt road - it was closed to cars so we walked a bit and it was gorgeous and saw beautiful spots you’d miss by car 📸2 the scarf and braids 🙏🏼 📸3 I closed out FLOURISH on this trip right after Christmas we had our last call & it was wonderful 📸 4 I took morning walks most days to digest and enjoy the fresh mountain air, and chat with @michele_wellington & @elana_bell 📸 5 Biscuit Head day after Christmas brekkie with Spencer, Hailey & Jeremy, my brother Jordan & his new finance Ashley and @shumsker 🍳 📸 6 @haileymarino 💜 my heart is so happy to see her enjoy her life so much 🙏🏼 📸 7 OK, y’all my brother Jordan made sousvide prime rib and blowtorched it outside - it was INCREDIBLE 👅 📸8 delicious lunch at Jerusalem Cade in Asheville - basically every restaurant is amazing 📸 9 I hosted a Shabbat dinner with my family plus @cailinmcduff and her family 📸10 we made a wonderful stop along the way to visit my dear friends @2020flipflopsforever & @richjohnson932 and had the best time at their home Such a wonderful way to close out 2023. Very grateful for the blessings. #asheville #ashevillechristmas #grateful

My energy is my most valuable resource. This was one of my biggest lessons from 2023. In my 22 years of teaching, I was ruled by the clock and the calendar. It was hard and I was NEVER ready to go back to the classroom after the New Year. It made no sense to me to have a nourishing week off and then rush back the day after New Year’s. I always needed a few more days to just REST. If you’re in the world of the calendar and the clock still, I see you and I understand. The truth is there is a way to be easy, restful and soft with yourself even if your current job or life calls you to get up and go this week. And if you’re a mother of babies or young children, it is always time to get up and go. The years of raising young children are exhausting and resting sounds like a joke. There is no real time off. The moms I work with tell me this and I can see it on their faces and feel how their systems are in overdrive. And even with all of that, we can still choose to slow down and rest our bodies. Resting is a choice. The choice to rest stems from a belief that your energy is valuable. That YOUR energy MATTERS. That your livelihood, vitality and joy are a necessary nutrient for you, and for your family. That to be a loving joyful mother, you need spaciousness to be present for what comes up. And something always comes up. When I was working full time as a teacher, when my kids were young, I often looked at how I was spending my time and energy…because I was always tired. With a lot of trial and error over the years, I realized that I needed a LOT of SPACIOUSNESS. I learned to say No to invitations. I spread out after school activities, and stopped signing my kids up for everything. I didn’t add on extra plans the week after a big holiday or vacation. I planned easy dinners and created space for myself and my family to BE. Part 2 in comments

A lot of goodness happening over here! More to follow on the details but the messages coming through are: 💋 feel everything that comes up ❤️ trust the process 🎅🏽 state your desires 🥰 back the f*ck out of yourself with inspired action 💗 lots of gratitude 🕎 be present with what IS 🌺 move your body #trusttheprocess #trustyourself #embodiment #embodiedwoman #selftrust #selflove #inspiredaction #desireasmedicine #desireasmedicinepodcast

Creating Space for JOY to enter💋 We often think our choices are: override ourselves OR don’t do it.  But we miss a WHOOOOOLE lot of gray in that black and white thinking. What if we paused and sat with what it would take to say YES to our desires in a way that honors ourself? The two questions I ask myself here are: 1. What do I want? 2. What do I need to be a YES to it?   Friends, this is called BACKING YOUR DESIRE.   Is all this a LOT of responsibility? Absolutely. Is it worth it?
Totally. When we stay open and get curious with ourselves, we can HAVE more of what we want in our lives.   This is how we create space for JOY to enter. Questions for You: What is it YOU want in your life?
What do you need in order to be a YES to it? Isn’t this the point of life?  To truly enjoy it with those we love? Try it and let me know what you come up with. #joy #possibility #hulahoops #hulahooping #play #boundaries #desire #desireasmedicinepodcast #desireasmedicine #selftrust #selflove #createyourlife

Create space for yourself and everything magically flows. And flow is where the juice of life lives. Even my curls are extra happy this morning. Join me in SOFT Yummy practices to create spaciousness in your life this holiday season. We start Monday Dec 4, 11, 18 @4-5 Come to 1,2 or all 3 $66 Link in Bio or DM me 💕 💕🌸💋 #spaciousness #lifeforceenergy #compassion #flowstate #holidayseason #yogagirl #practicepracticepractice

🌸Devotion to myself is the centerpiece of my life🌸 Dedicated time with myself each day gives me space to breathe, to feel, to be, to cry, to imagine, to create, to receive. This is essential to living my life, not an extra thing I tag on if I have time. It's built into my life. I still get stuck in my conditioning of feeling like I need to do for others more than for myself. In that scenario, I put my own needs last and it never goes well. Luckily the cycle is pretty short these days - a minute to a few days at most. 💗 Then I remember the kindest thing I can ever do for my relationships, my family, my business, is to take exquisite care of myself 💗 To tend to ME. This is the essence of SOFT... giving yourself dedicated time, & space to feel, cry, share, release, forgive and be. It's the best way I know to meet my relationships and life from a place of true open heartedness. Join me to connect to yourself & others through practices focusing on 🌸 keeping your heart open 🌸 being honest with yourself & others 🌸 forgiveness 🌸 self love & self trust 🌸 what you truly want 🌸 feeling centered & grounded Don't get swallowed up by the busy-ness of the season and lose touch with yourself. Let's stay connected, centered and soft, together. And yes, there will be goddess card pulling and dancing!!💃🏽 🌸SOFT🌸 Practices and connection to yourself & others in service to your soft open heart. Dec 4, 11, 18 @4-5pm eastern $66 We begin Monday!!! Are you coming? 🌸Link to join in my bio💗 #bestpractices #spiritualpractices #softopenheart #softhearted #holidaysurvival #holidaysurvivalguide #holidayseason

Create space to connect with yourself and your heart. To feel, to be, to feel your heart and possibility. It makes family get together so much better when you take care of yourself! When we are devoted to our Self, life is smoother, our relationships are smoother and more fulfilling. It’s easier to create boundaries, to know what you want to say yes and no to, and to speak kindly to yourself. Don’t lose yourself in busy-ness this holiday season. SOFT yummy practices focused on connection to yourself, feeling centered and leading with an open heart this holiday season. Dec 4, 11 & 18, 4-5pm est. Come to 1, 2 or all 3. $66 Link in bio. Also I made a link for 2 payments if you like it even softer. DM me with Qs. Happy Holidays 💋 #practicepracticepractice #openheart #softness #compassion #selflove #selfcompassion #practicemakesprogress #feminineenergy #femininepower #holidaysanity #holidayseason #elfonashelf2023 #momsofinstagram #momssupportingmoms

Before yoga class began this morning, there was the regular "post-holiday-laced-with-guilt-for-what-I-ate" kind of chit chat that women do. "My kids wanted chocolate cake for breakfast - it's flour, eggs and organic sugar - that's nutritious....righttttt?" "We ate pumpkin pie every morning - it's homemade and has butternut squash in it ---- so it's heal-thyyyyyy." "I fed my kids croissants and cheesecake this morning, ughhhhhh." I have personally been eating my homemade pumpkin bread with chocolate chips by the bowlful. It's so damned good. And I will be sad when it is gone (probably later today). I also have been up at night and scrolling on my phone to soothe myself instead of writing or meditating. Just OWN IT. Don't justify it. Or dress it up as healthy. We use guilt and shame as a way to keep ourselves in line with what we think is acceptable. When what we really need is some acceptance and softness towards ourselves. We are human and what is Thanksgiving if not to indulge in our favorite foods for 4 days straight? It's only bad if you say it's bad. What if you just FULLY ENJOYED it? What if you didn't beat yourself up afterwards? Then you will be more able to make adjustments and work on boundaries with yourself from a place of love. What if you just softened up? Like butter. Whether you ate too much pie or fed your kids chocolate cake for breakfast? Nobody ever beat themselves up as a way to love themselves. Only acceptance can do that. Join me for holiday practices where we will connect with ourselves & others, center our bodies, feel what is coming up for us, and soften to make room for joy, love and play? 🌸 SOFT 🌸 Practices in service to your soft open loving heart. We start Monday Dec 4, 11, 18 @4-5pm est $66 or 2 payments of $33 Link in my bio to join or DM me. xoxo #practices #practicemakesprogress #practicepracticepractice #selflove #selftrust #holidayparties #practices #compassion #selfforgiveness #mothering #motherhood #motherhoodasaspiritualpractice #selfacceptance #overeating #yogamom

🌸 SOFT🌸 a story & offering I recently had my color palette done and was told my dominant feature is my SOFTNESS. This felt very vulnerable to receive. I could feel the truth of it as I looked at myself in soft pinks, dusty roses, lavender, but it honestly threw me. It invited me to look at myself with a different lens. A more true one. I've always wanted to be more courageous, more bold and I naturally went for colors I loved to enhance that - purples, shades of red, orange, navy... and of course being a New Yorker, all black. But nope...SOFTNESS is my dominant feature. Outside, Inside. It feels vulnerable to speak it. And it is so undeniably true. I have been sitting with this for a few weeks. Letting it in. Feeling my softness. I got my first SOFT color yesterday, this winter hat at my favorite hat booth at the Bryant Park Winter Village in NYC. I tried on so many hats - because I am not used to seeing myself this way. I really love it. I have lived many iterations of myself and I am at a place where my heart feels open and I am leading with softness and honesty. And I want so much more of these qualities. It is actually pretty bold to be soft. To let my protections down. To admit I don't know. And share my heart and desires. Let people feel me. To drop my stories and be in the moment. It all dropped deeper into my body yesterday as I stood crying in the middle of Bryant Park Winter Village in my new soft pink hat. They were tears of joy. I had just received wonderful news. The kind that lit me up so bright and when I paused for a moment, it all poured out of my eyes. We went into the Turkish light booth afterwards, and the shop owner asked how I was today. I told her the truth and the good news I just received. More tears poured out. She felt my joy and hugged me. Joy and love are so connecting. It's good to celebrate. It's been a hard few weeks since Oct 7. How do we stay present for ourselves? For our loved ones? For our hearts? For the truth of our body? For our pocketbooks? For people who have complete opposite opinions than ours? For people we meet out in the world? Part 2 in comments 🌸SOFT🌸 link in bio

💋Desire & Feng Shui 💋 with Charmaine Mitchell…Episode 12 is ready for you!! We had the pleasure of chatting with the Feng Shui Queen, @charmainemitchell, in this episode of Desire as Medicine. Charmaine transmits a deep LOVE of the JOURNEY of life and desire that is so inspiring. Charmaine offers a beautiful practice you can do to help bring your desires into reality. Listening to Charmaine, I always have the felt sense of what’s possible when we commit to ourselves, to our desires and to our pleasure. Link to episode in my bio / Linktree. Let us know what your takeaways and insights are. #desireasmedicine #podcastlife #fengshui #fengshuilifestyle #desiremap #pleasuresnow #practicepracticepractice #spinalinjuryrecovery

This morning, a woman I know told me she is pregnant. She was SO EXCITED. She had only told close family so far, and it touched my heart that she wanted to tell me too. I hold a natural maternal energy - and women often tell me these things and I really love when they do. My heart burst with joy for her. I love conversations about motherhood. All the stages. It's so dynamic and juicy. There is so much to learn and see about ourselves during motherhood and pregnancy. Motherhood is a clear mirror that shows us where we can soften our hearts, love, grow and learn to take better care of ourselves. To mother ourselves. As she spoke, her face lit up and it was obvious how her body and her life was already changing, in only 8 weeks. Our bodies are brilliant in how they speak to us about what feels good, when we need to stop or rest, connect, eat or move. I shared some of my wisdom with her about listening to her body and trusting her intuition. It's shocking how we are so deeply conditioned to override our bodies and keep going, doing, lifting, moving, working. So many mothers take on too much and end up complaining and exhausted. It's so easy to go down this path, and our culture supports it. So many mothers I know tell me they woke up one day and didn't recognize themselves in the mirror. Where did my life and my joy go? The work of a mother is literally never done. There is always something to do. And if we live our lives following that philosophy, we end up exhausted, deficient, drained. We are the only ones who can say, Enough. E N O U G H ! It's time to stop. To rest. To stop trying to be superwoman and please everyone else while you are slowly withering in the process. Your kids will not suffer if you don't sign them up for a class to follow every tiny passion. This is not what makes you a good mother. Your presence does. When will enough be enough? Part 2 in comments

I heard the call of desire to write my book and I felt a strong YES to being in a November writing group. And as soon as I declared this, the writing got really tough, I just didn’t know what to say - which is not a very familiar spot for me. But I have never committed to my desire to write a book, beyond stating it. This time, I let the desire all the way in. I felt the clunk of truth to it. And I committed. Internally. It feels huge. And as soon as I said yes, I was faced with my Gremlins, as @lizzie.appel lovingly calls them. I have shown up every day to my writing group, me and my Gremlins, along with my resistance, my distractions, my excuses. But I showed up. I thought about dropping it. But I know by now that resistance is part of the process. Can I just BE with the discomfort of the resistance? I trust the process. I will not give up on myself. I am committed to backing myself in life, my business, my creative projects. At my first firewalk in 2022, we were asked to make a declaration for our walk. Mine was to back myself like never before. I yelled this outloud in front of a giant circle of people in the woods on a dark moonlit summer evening. And then I walked barefoot over hot coals. Was I scared? Yes. Did I do it anyway? Yes. This is what my deep devotion to myself looks like. Our desires lead us on a journey and take us on a ride. When we say we want to do something, when we hear the whisper of desire calling us, and we say yes - it truly carves us into someone new. I recommitted today to my writing project. I asked myself yesterday, Can I just give myself the hour to WRITE? Can I just give this to myself? Really back myself with my focused love and attention. It’s no coincidence that @coachcatherinen and I dropped our new episode this week, Desire: A Writer’s Journey with Lizzie Appel. Lizzie dropped major GOLD in it. Part 2 in comments

⚜️Dropping Lizzie Appel GOLD ⚜️ If you’ve ever wanted to write a book or are writing one now or have quit writing, you’re going to love the wisdom in this episode. The GOLD was abundant and juicy and overflowing in our latest episode, Desire: A Writer’s Journey with @lizzie.appel Link to podcast in my bio & Linktree. Or search #spotify or #applepodcasts DESIRE AS MEDICINE. Let us know what your takeaways are - we’d love to hear from you⚜️ #writinginspiration #writingcommunity #writinglife #nanowrimo2023 #publish #ghostwriting #desire #desireasmedicine #selfpublish #wroteabook #writeabook

This episode with @coachcatherinen was recorded on the fly. We got into this juicy pocket of conversation and we both realized, HIT RECORD. Our conversation was centered around an intuitive hit that I was going to lose a business client/contract I had secured for 2024. Losing it made no sense on paper. Everything was set, I had already begun, and felt great...but when one big piece in the business moved, I was very clear that it would be going away for me. This recorded episode is our real time convo about that situation, 5 minutes after I received a message that ignited this intuitive hit. A week after we recorded this episode, I the contract did fall apart. Just as I had intuited. One big concept we discuss in this episode is being comfortable with the uncomfortable. Such a real issue when change enters our life. And trusting that the universe is conspiring FOR us, and sometimes things drop off that are no longer aligned. It I was surprised at how much relief and gratitude I felt when this contract dropped off. And now there is space for something more aligned to enter for me - and I am excited about that! I did hit some challenging spots about losing the contract in the past week, and it was incredibly helpful to listen to this episode MYSELF🤣 - and hear my TRUE aligned response to the possible change. Link to episode in my Bio / Linktree. We would love to know your thoughts and how YOU feel about change. What comes up for you? How do you handle it? xoxo #podcastlife #podcasting #desireasmedicine #desire #desirejourney #desiremap #change #changeishard #changeishardbutgood

I worked with a Dad the other day who was upset because his 23 year old daughter wasn't responding to his texts. This is a regular source of frustration for him. They have a generally loving relationship where they see each other often and share the real parts of their lives. His most recent frustration came after she had been sick for a few days. He was present for her but then went silent over the weekend when he checked in over text to see how she was feeling. This could appear as a texting issue, but like anything related to our phones, there's something deeper going on. And it has nothing to do with her. He was worried if she was okay, maybe she got sicker? Or worse? But that wasn't it because he heard from her sibling that she was out and about over the weekend. So, he knew she was okay. He could have put a stake in the ground about that, that he didn't hear from her directly, but that would be an egoic way to skirt the deeper thing, and it wasn't true. Because he knew she was okay. Looking back, she was sick a lot through her high school and college years, in and out of the hospital often. She had some undiagnosed issues that had the whole family upset and worried on a regular basis. This recent illness was a bad cold, nothing related to that. But when we dove deeper, he uncovered a well of unprocessed grief underneath the surface from all the times she was so sick. Her being sick at all, even a cold, was activating for him. All the times he worried if she would make it. All the times he felt powerless that as the father, the protector, he couldn't fix it, stop it or make her better. He felt like a failure in this way. It was emotionally exhausting for him and carried on into the present. Part 2 in comments

I was laying in bed the other night and it landed in me how much I am doing the very things I have dreamed of. Desire really does take us on a ride. I felt a tap on my shoulder 15 years ago and I really did not want to answer it. It called me out of the life I was living and it terrified me. I wanted my life to remain the same, but some huge deep force in me pulled me towards desires I didn't even understand. The wisdom of those deep deep desires that seem to propel us into the unknown is that they are inviting us to a newer, greater version of ourselves. If we get caught up in the attainment of any specific desire, we risk losing the opportunity to know ourselves deeper, to meet ourselves in ways that may surprise, delight and horrify us. I have met all of these parts in myself and seeing myself in the mirror has been a humbling compassionate journey. As I lay in bed contemplating these truths, I had a moment of WOW, look at all these wonderful amazing things I am doing!!! It's so important to acknowledge the good. A version of us in the past only dreamed of what we are doing now. It's been one day at a time, listening to the whisper of desire, following it, embracing the unknown, facing my own ego and resistance and learning to love and accept myself along the way. I am working with mothers in an embodied wise loving way! I have birthed my motherhood course - I DID IT - this body of work that has LIVED inside of me for over a decade. It grew and evolved and matured in my body. It is A L I V E in the world and it is beautiful. I cohost a podcast! ...Desire as Medicine. It is vulnerable and humbling and there have been moments I have been confronted and died a thousand ego deaths listening to myself on audio. Thank you Catherine Navarro for asking me to talk about desire with you <3 I am writing my book! I have truly not written much so far, and I have no idea what it will be, or IF it will be, but I get on Zoom every day and write with my friends. I feel a calling deep inside that this wants to be written. Continued in comments

We did it! @coachcatherinen 🙏🏼 Our first chapter of 💎Desire as Medicine💎 podcast is LIVE and ready for you to dive into. Desire has a feminine language and our first 8 juicy episodes are dedicated to us jamming about what the world of desire means and how to navigate it. Episodes are: The Basics of Desire, Being a Full Yes, Staying Fully Resourced, how to not Abandon Yourself while following desire, Compensatory Desire and Obligation verses True Desire. Whether you’re a beginner on the DESIRE path, or a seasoned practitioner, we invite you to listen and explore your own relationship with desire. The next chapter will be filled with amazing guests discussing their personal experiences with desire. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and all podcast distributors. Links to episodes in our bios! Congratulations 💎Desire as Medicine💎!! #desireasmedicine #desire #podcasting #podcastersofinstagram #podcastlife #feminineenergy #desiremap #desirepath

Last night in FLOURISH we took an embodied journey deep into our selves. It's magical what happens when we say YES and put loving attention on ourselves. I was so touched by what the women experienced. Out of body experiences, tears, deep rest, insights, messages from within. Transformation can be gentle and easy. It's the resistance and the fight against truth, the commitment to our stories and ego that is hard. Once we are willing to let that falseness fall away, infinite possibilities open. We can touch a tender spot inside of us and with our attention, by feeling what comes up, and staying with ourselves - we can lovingly soften and open, become more of our true self. It takes self devotion, to your deepest desires for yourself and your family. Our world needs mothers to be our true embodied fierce loving soft selves more than ever. Our families need us to be present and clear. Emotionally available, which asks us to handle our triggers, hurts and patterns. Ground our nervous systems. Slow the f*ck down. Current times are asking us to hold more complexity than ever - globally and in our living rooms. We have the power to lead our men into their hearts. We have the wisdom, the juice, the sight. The knowing. We are Creation itself. Mothers set the tone with our nervous systems and everything that exists in the home reflects that. If you want to see what you believe, look around you because you created it. We are always in creation, so what if, as mothers, we were more intentional about it? I can't think of anything more important right now than mothers being honest with themselves, trusting their knowing and leaning into the truth of how much their leadership is needed at home. The next round of FLOURISH begins in February - you can get on the waitlist. Private programs also available... Application in bio or DM me. With so much love 🌺 #motherhoodasaspiritualjourney #motherhoodasaspiritualpractice #motherhoodrising #motherhoodjourney #motherhoodsimplified #empoweredmothersempowerdaughters #motherhood #mothers #parenthood #feminine #truth #selflove #devotion

Babies have been on my heart this week. I can't stop thinking about the beheaded babies. The murdered children and families. I saw images yesterday that disturbed me deeply. This is our world right now. It's devastating. Someone I know in the states had a baby a few days ago and due to natural causes, he is fighting for his life. It's heartbreaking. This morning, on my way to my dance class, I rode the elevator down to the lobby of my building and a woman walked in, dressed up, holding a gorgeously wrapped gold present under her arm. I complimented her on how beautiful she looked and she told me she was heading to her new grandbaby's christening. I felt my heart crack open...Such a blessing. It is all true at the same time. I am holding the complexity of all of this at the same time. I feel it all in my body, mixed together. My heart is open, soft, grieving, grateful. I am grateful that I got to dance with all of this this morning. I shed a lot of tears and let out my anger. I feel the fear in my body. The love. The grief. The fire. And at the end of class, I pulled this card from the altar. A wave of heat ran through my body. The mothers are weeping. I weep with them. I am them. They are me. It’s devastating and heartbreaking We cannot be silent. These are our children. Our present, our future. #israel #israeli #israelpalestine #israelpalestinepeace #mothers #israelunderattack #israelpalestinegaza

When I was getting divorced, people would say how sorry they were. But I was so happy to be free that I couldn’t receive this. Little did I know that freedom lived inside of myself the whole time. It has taken me yearrrrrrrrrs to feel the sadness of divorce. My own divorce, and divorce in general. It’s tentacles reach far and wide. In the most unexpected places. The bill to pay is high, and I don’t mean money. But wealth is very much effected too. It’s a swirling pit of darkness. I know there are many reasons people get divorced. Sometimes it’s necessary and I really get that. I’ve gone back and forth more times I’d like to count wondering if I did the right thing. It’s a sick game of self punishment and stuckness. The irony is that it doesn’t even matter. Because it happened. So, now what? I have learned so much from the experience - it’s been true journey into my heart, my body and my soul. But what I’m saying here is how sad it really is. The disconnection. The trauma. The hurt. I feel the pain in myself, in my inner little girl who’s parents got divorced and how that played out in my life and in my marriage and divorce, and in my own children and family. In my partner and how that continues to unfold. It’s surprising to me how far the hurt reaches. And how much opportunity there is for softness and forgiveness. Grace. Love. So many lessons along the way. So much awkwardness. And so much beauty too. Alchemy is possible. With showing up for what is present in front of me, thread by thread, feeling it, allowing it to breathe, dismantling the parts of me that are hurt, angry, or protecting something vulnerable underneath. Accepting it all as it is. Having deep approval for what is in front of me. Keeping my heart open. This is how we FLOURISH🧡 The work we do as mothers matters. It is the key to alchemy and to the possibility of a beautiful flourishing family life. I’m opening FLOURISH for private 1:1 clients. If you feel called, message me to work on self forgiveness, acceptance and compassion for yourself inside of mothering and family dynamics. 🧡🌺🙏🏼

I've been heartbroken this week with what's happening in Israel, Palestine and the world. Holding the complexity of so many things true at once. I have been going slow with myself, plenty of time to rest and feel my emotions, connect with people in deep meaningful ways. My morning call was cancelled today and I suddenly had a lot more space than I thought. I have been at my lake home the past 2 weeks and have been going on morning walks and practicing yoga down by the dock. It's been cold, and nourishing. On my way down to the lake this morning a friend walked by who I haven't seen much and I invited him to walk with me. He came to be in the beauty of nature. We were walking slowly and he slowed me down even more, which I appreciated, and we walked, talked and pointed out so much beauty on the path, as the sun was warming the path. When we reached a spot of full sun, I did some yoga poses along the way. We picked up acorns, crunched on the colorful leaves and noticed fish plopping around the water (or was it a frog?!). When we got back to the dock, I did more yoga as we chatted on and off. I laid on the dock for a long time, feeling the sun on my face, the cool breeze on my body. My heart softened, holding the tragedy of the world, and the beauty and gratitude of my body laying safely in the sun this morning. It was a beautiful, unexpected morning, with little surprises along the way....Just how I love living my life. The 6th episode of my Desire as Medicine podcast with @coachcatherinen dropped today, 💎Desire Vs. Force💎, and it's a really juicy one. What's possible when we are in our bodies, present and following desire is truly beyond our wildest dreams. Link to podcast episode in my bio or DM me ✨ #desire #followingdesire #desirebasedlife #feminine #relationships #podcasting #podcastersofinstagram

🌺How to Talk To Your Children About War & Difficult Times🌺 These tips will help guide you to begin having honest compassionate age appropriate conversations with your children about current world events. For more information or guidance, please DM me. Please DM me about how conversations with your kids are going. I would love to hear. Holding the complexity of this entire situation in my heart and body, here in service. Praying for people everywhere and for peace. Warmly, Brenda #talkingtokidsaboutwar #motherhoodasaspiritualpractice #motherhoodasaspiritualjourney #parenthood #selfcare #selflove #difficultconversations #compassion #israel #palestine #peace

I had the most delicious morning. I poured my coffee and walked through the woods, and headed to my morning yoga spot on the dock on the other side of the lake. As I walked, it was magical and serene. Leaves crunching. Chipmunks squealing and playing. Acorns plopping. Birds chirping. The dock was wet and dewy, the air was crisp and cool. The lake was like glass, bright yellow leaves resting and slowly twirling on the water. After my yoga poses, I sat facing the rising sun, enjoying it warm my face. That is when I heard the lake calling me to swim in her waters. It's a call I find hard to resist. I contemplated my desire, as it was chilly and the lake has been cold lately as we drop into fall. My body was a YES. I will join you, my love. I usually dive in, but decided to not get my hair wet this morning, since it was chilly. On the ladder was the most beautiful spider web - blocking the stairs. I stood for a few minutes admiring it, and her weaver was perched to one side. I sat for a moment and considered my options: dive in anyway, climb over the web, or move it. It hurt my heart to ruin the web, but that is what I chose. I picked up 2 yellow leaves and gently moved the web from the ladder. I spoke to her and apologized to her as I moved it. I know she is resilient and will weave another. This is nature, and I am humbly a part of it. My body LOVES to be in water. I wonder what creatures are below me. There are two giant old turtles in the lake and some water snakes too. When I climbed out, I rested on my mat, finished my meditation, prayer and desires. The sun dried my body slowly and I felt invigorated. I walked back partially naked, my pants and coffee mug in hand, listening to the sounds of nature - feeling even more in tune now. I am grateful for this experience. It is a treasure to have time like this with myself. When I got back to the bungalow, I had the sweetest interactions with people, receiving homemade fresh granola and enjoyed laughter with friends. My heart was open and I felt smooth and joyful. 📸 pic from yesterday, because today's adventure included no phone

🌺💎Desire & FLOURISHing🌺💎 Feeling so much joy and love in my heart today. A desire dropped in over the summer to spend more time with my partner's two daughters. It was a deep body desire that honestly surprised me. He was very happy to hear this desire. Men are such gems, wanting to fill a woman's desire. I got worked by my own frequency of FLOURISH for this one! I was confronted by a few pieces. It is new for me to be in relationship with my partner's grown children, and him with mine. Families do things differently and I wasn't used to their way. I got upset and triggered a few times and really sat with what was getting touched in me. I got curious about what needed to be cleared inside of myself so I could be open, available and loving to spend more time with him and his daughters. And also, be present for him as he navigates his own relationship with them, which felt tricky, because it's so different from my relationship with my own children. What was under it was a need for boundaries with myself, with him and with my time. I am honestly not that flexible and I needed a lot of self-care, surrender and letting go of expectation to be present to have this desire. I have had my attention on this for a while and I am excited to say that hit the spot yesterday! I was able to release expectation and take such good care of myself that I was able to show up FULLY for a hang out and lunch. I was open and receptive and loving - exactly how I desire to be. And we had such a good time. I left with a desire for more time together, and that is happening this week! Part 2 in comments

💎 Being Fully Reaouced💎 Episode 4 is ready… @coachcatherinen and I jam a lot about our phones in this episode! And with our process/desire of checking our phones before bed and first thing in the morning. Waking up and going right on my phone in the morning was so unsettling to my nervous system and it took me YEARS to back myself in my desire to get my phone out of my bedroom at night, and not check it first thing in the morning. This is such a big and important topic for people, and for parents with children who have phones, too. Other topics covered in this episode: 💎 How do you keep yourself internally resourced? 💎 What does that even mean? 💎 How do you care for yourself physically, emotionally, financially so you are available for your life and desires? 💎 How digital devices impact our ability to be authentically present. 💎 How do you care for yourself when you have something challenging to do that day? 💎 How does setting boundaries gives you power? Find us on Apple, Spotify and other podcast directories. Link is in my bio for you! #podcastersofinstagram #podcastlife #desireasmedicine #desire #internallyresourced #feminineenergy #divinefeminine

❤️‍🔥Embodied Emotional Release❤️‍🔥 Unexpressed emotions get stuck in your body. All the frustrations. Anger. Grief. Daily Irritations. Our bodies were meant to move. Our emotions are meant to be felt. We are meant to feel clear, joyful, to be expressed. Embodied. Freedom and joy comes through being honest with tour feelings and letting it all move through your body. Moms have so much pent up anger, rage, grief, frustration. Giving yourself space to feel it is the best gift you can give your children. What you’re giving them an embodied spacious mother who can be loving and present for them. 🌺FLOURISH🌺 Motherhood as a Spiritual Practice - March 2024 🔑application in bio or dm me 🧡 #motherhoodasaspiritualjourney #motherhoodasaspiritualpractice #feminineenergy journey #embodiment #embodiedmotherhood #embodiedwoman

Movement & Motherhood I feel so invigorated after our emotional release practice last night in FLOURISH. I didn't plan on doing the practice during class, as I did my own practice earlier in the evening. I also had the best time making the playlist. But during class, I felt so called to MOVE my body more, and I am so glad I did. Our bodies were meant to move. And to be in our feminine, to be soft, open. Expressed. It's been a big few weeks for me with a lot of expansion and transition happening in my life. A lot of family happenings to be present for. My motherhood course was birthed and is happening. My podcast is OUT. My partner recently retired. I began my pension. The relationship transition stuff triggers my Flight Pattern - to GTFO. I know this is a protection, and my practice under it is to notice it, to soften, to follow the breadcrumbs of what my body and soul need. This helps me stay open and present for my life. I have had a LOT of feelings over here and all the emotional release from yesterday was so liberating. What does this have to do with motherhood? EVERYTHING. When I care for myself in this way, I have S P A C E in my body to be present for my children, my life, my partner. Because I have given myself what I truly needed - and that is always a deep level of honesty with MYSELF first. Continued in comments 🌸

🌺The Joy of Flow & Alignment 🌺 4:08 I ordered the book: When God Was a Woman 4:09 I laid down to do a pussy practice 4:10 a woman signed up for FLOURISH Flow and alignment is the best!! Being of service and following the call of desire and truth is everything. It welcomes so much joy into my life. I am deeply honored to serve the energy of FLOURISH and be of service to women being their full out true selves in motherhood - we begin tomorrow! Doors are open til midnight eastern time ... if you feel the call, the time is now! Application in my bio 💜 #motherhoodasaspiritualpractice

🌺 You don't want your children to have to navigate your hurts and triggers to be around you 🌺 It’s 100% normal to have all kinds of feelings and patterns come up as a parent. This is part of being human - there is no bypassing this. And it’s your responsibility to hold yourself as an adult, as the parent, so all of your feelings and emotions don’t spill onto your children. So your hurts and tiggers don’t lead. In FLOURISH, there will be embodied journeys to put attention on your inner child and what hurt parts want your love and attention. Accepting yourself where you are and compassion for yourself is everything. Nothing can shift without accepting and loving it first💜💜💜 Doors are open through tomorrow, Monday September 11. Application in bio. #motherhoodasaspiritualjourney #motherhoodasaspiritualpractice #femininejourney #motherslove #intergenerationalhealing #intergenerationallearning #intergenerationalliving

✨💛 Resting & Receiving 💛✨ I have been on full out rest mode the past few days. It's been an incredible summer of travel, creativity and connection. I have travelled to Asheville, Manhattan, Pittsburgh and my lake in New Jersey in the past 6 weeks. Plus other places to visit with friends - it's been absolutely nourishing and I have been having the best time. After my new podcast with Catherine Navarro dropped the other day, I heard a voice to STOP MOVING & REST. My body was very clear: Stay home. Rest. Sleep. Eat yummy food. Drink a lot of water. Watch Netflix. Work from bed. I have happily been obliging. It sounds wild but I have been working on REST since the pandemic hit in 2020. How do you work on rest? Sounds like an oxymoron 🤣 It is a giant noticing practice. It means intentionally slowing down, pausing when needed and noticing where my mind wants to DO instead of BE. My mind is always going, telling me there is something to do. The truth is it will all be there for me when I have more energy and desire to do it. It's taken me a loooooong time to be okay with leaving dishes in the sink and not listening to all of my thoughts. We are so conditioned to GO GO GO and it's truly exhausting to our bodies to do so. It contributes to stress, overriding our systems, spilling onto others, disconnection, illness and overspending. Sometimes I am going past my limit and I don't even realize it...it's very easy to do. Part 2 in comments

Creating the online space for FLOURISH today...oh my heart, I love it so much. The energy of this course is so lush and loving and beautifully deep. If you've been feeling the pull, life begins with your YES. Doors are open for 5 more days. Application in bio #motherhoodasaspiritualpractice #motherhoodthroughinstagram #motherhoodunplugged #motherhoodjourney #practicepracticepractice #selflove

Our 1st podcast episode is LIVE!! 💎 Desire: The Basics 💎 In this episode, we get into the Desire being a compass for the life force energy that runs through us, owning our desires and how following desire can welcome so much more intimacy, connection and joy into our lives. We went out to a delicious dinner last night to celebrate 🙌 Right now it's only on Spotify, but more places to listen coming soon-ish. Link to episode in my bio... Please follow us, listen and leave a review! #desire #podcastersofinstagram #podcastingwomen #podcasterlife #firstpodcast #newpodcastalert #newpodcastepisode #desireasmedicine #desireaspireinspire #womeninbusiness #practicepracticepractice #onthemat

🌺Learning Self Compassion🌺 As a teacher I have always asked myself, how do I share new concepts and teachings with others? How would they best learn it? The more curious I got, the better the experience was for my students. The more they got it and had a good time doing so. It always felt intuitive to me that having an experience with something is how people best learn. I used to create interactive stations for my 11 year olds to learn about the culture of Egypt or Mesopotamia. It was really the best and I had a great time planning and setting it up. I asked myself the same question last night after a call with a new mom client. How do I create a space for her to start feeling compassion for herself and her humanity? To let go of perfection and the unrealistic rat race demands of our world? What came to me is layered. Embodying it is the first and most important piece - transmitting it from my very being. I know that learning to feel compassion for our mother hearts is mine to teach because I have had my nose in the dirt with this one for a while. So I can be with you in the dark places because I’ve travelled through them myself. I was beating myself up for my choices and after many many many cycles of this, and seeing how I was causing my own suffering, I slowly began to accept my imperfect humanity and feel some compassion for myself. It has built from there and it gets easier each day as I keep my attention on it. Unlearning and relearning is a big piece as well. We need to unlearn and unwind our conditioning and limiting beliefs. This takes time. And it’s also important to experience a reeducation of what’s possible. Our wild juicy feminine knows deep in our bones that we are infinite powerful beings, but we forget. Being together as women and moms in sacred space helps us remember and connect with this part of ourselves. That we are creation itself. Part 2 in comments

Mothers are so hard on themselves. I don't know one mom who hasn't felt mom-guilt or wished she had done something differently. I believe it's because our love is so freaking GIGANTIC. H U U U U G E When we say 'I love you to the moon and back,' we Are. Not. Kidding. And that honestly just touches the very tip of the edge of how expansive our mother-heart love is. I N F I N I T E Maybe the word infinite covers it...m a y b e. That love can lead us to do some crazy ass shit 🤣 What if one of the crazy ass things we did was to be compassionate with ourselves? What if we remembered that we are human and that we will make mistakes along the way? That we were never meant to do life perfectly, that it's an ongoing learning experience? So why would we expect our motherhood journey to be perfect and without mistakes? What if we were as forgiving with our own humanity as we are with our children's? We know they are learning and growing, but do we forget that we are too? It matters that we remember to love our humanity. It doesn't excuse us or remove responsibility. / Part 2 in comments /

Moms, you’re a human on a soul’s journey and it’s not possible to do motherhood ‘right’ or perfectly. Learning to accept yourself as a human who makes mistakes is a huge part of the journey. I get it - you don’t want to f*ck up and hurt your kids in any way. And you’re on a souls journey, here to learn and grow. And we learn through our ‘mistakes’. Your children chose you as their mom to journey with you. You chose them. This is all on a soul level. There is so in divinity in this connection. Trust it. In FLOURISH, we will explore this truth, feel our tender loving mother hearts and learn to build self compassion. Your children want your full true joyful self and beating yourself up stands in the way of all of that. Ask me how I know🌺 Application in bio or DM me. We begin September. 12. #morherhoodinspired #motherhoodasaspiritualpractice #compassionatemotherhood #morherthemother #selflove #truth #souljourney #motherhoodasaspiritualpractice

🌺 Being Present With What IS and Trusting Yourself 🌺 I received my first pension payment this morning. When I saw the deposit notification, I felt a slight retraction around it, meaning I didn't _fully receive_ it. I sat with this and asked myself, Why? I want to make good financial decisions. I want to trust myself with money. I want to feel Right about my decision. Some doubt about my decision dropped in about 2 weeks ago and I knew I needed to look at it. I have about a week left to completely change my mind - to not take my pension this year. I decided I would look at the numbers today - get my calculator out and do some math. And that would reveal some sureness to my decision. I have been carrying the papers around with me in my bag for 2 weeks. But, what I quickly realized was that what I mostly needed was connection around it. After speaking with a dear friend, who reflected the rightness of my decision back to me as I teared up, I sat with Spencer and we talked about it for a long time. This pension is bringing up so much for myself and my family. There is an opportunity present for some deep healing that feels like a soft, loving wave washing over us. It goes way beyond money. It feels beyond this lifetime. It feels soul related, karmic. It has brought up doubt, fear, anger, hurt, the need for control and sooooo much grace, compassion and love. There was some shadow lingering that I wasn't aware of and when I was able to see it, I let it do its work on me, showing me what was needed from me. It has created deep beautiful connection in places I couldn't see. It has helped me see myself and people I love more clearly. It has opened my heart and love is pouring in in places I didn't expect. My heart is so full as I write this. There is healing and softness. Compassion. Grace. I have 14 days from my birthday last week to retract my retirement paperwork. For sure, waiting until I am 62 would mean a bigger payout. That is basic math. But that is not how I made my decision. Part 2 in comments 🌺

🧡✨Putting Your Own Agenda Aside as a Mother✨🧡 There's a line in The Alchemist that jumped out at me as I began to reread it this week. The father gave his son his blessing to be a shepherd, so he could follow his dream of traveling and seeing the world. It was the family's plan for the boy to bring pride to the family and become a priest and he had been studying his whole life in preparation for this. The father blessed his son further by giving him 3 cold coins, that were going to be his inheritance, to buy his flock. It's a beautiful loving act, and a necessary one, to put your own agenda aside and see your child, to give your true open hearted blessing for them to live their own life, make their own choices. Of course, this looks different at different ages of development. It's hypocrisy to teach them to follow their dreams, and simultaneously be the thing that blocks them. I read a parenting book years ago that shaped me as a mother. This one concept really stood out to me, and it goes way beyond mothering, into relationships of all kinds. It's about letting go of your own agenda and seeing your child for who they truly are, and aligning yourself with that. "Try to see your child as a seed that came in a packet without a label. Your job is to provide the right environment and nutrients and to pull the weeds. You can’t decide what kind of flower you’ll get or in which season it will bloom.” ~Blessings of a Skinned Knee, Wendy Mogel This is a tricky pose as a parent. Because we are humans with our own desires, projections, egos, judgements, wounds, past experiences and ideas on how our children can or should live. We don’t want to see our children get hurt or fail, or make the same mistakes as us. So we often try to save them from that, but what we are actually doing in that situation is blocking their real life learning and this does not allow your child to grow into the fully functioning happy adult you say you want them to be. We all learn by our lived experiences and yes, it’s hard to watch your child hurting or do something you feel isn’t the best course for them. I have experienced this so often myself. Part 2 in comments

🌸Motherhood is for Life🌸 I recently read @innatetraditions article "How Long is Postpartum?" and it touched me so deeply. I could barely sleep after reading it - her words were so alive in my body. She talks about the many stages of postpartum and each part is so beautiful and rings as wise truth. Postpartum is for LIFE. What truer statement for a mother is there than that?! That fetal matter remains and grows in our bodies for decades. DECADES. We are never the same once we have a child. Everything about us is different - emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually. I never paid attention to any science around motherhood or pregnancy and I find it fascinating to read now because it puts pieces together for me that I have known as truth in my body. I remember this feeling my first few days and weeks as a new mother. That I was given the key to a magical land, one that I had never even known existed before. Suddenly I was able to see and feel more than I had ever been able to see or feel before. It was like all the mothers were in a huge cosmic room waiting for me to arrive, smiling, licking their lips. It was a deep body knowing, a remembering. A coming home and a welcome into the mystical magical wise world of mothers. I could feel my mother and my grandmothers, women, on new levels. It was like a Knowing was dropped into my body and suddenly the universe was wider and newer than ever before. This was both unfamiliar and familiar at the same time, and very clear. I have a felt sense of this in my body still, over 28 years after becoming a mother. It was both a feeling and a vision and a deep body knowing. My body is truly a miracle. Giving birth, creating life. I have such reverence for it. I have felt wired to nourish and love these beings to the best of my human ability. We chose each other. My children's souls c h o s e me. My soul c h o s e them. I personally feel blessed by this every single day. This is a sacred and magical soul agreement. To be together in this lifetime, in this way as mother and child. Part 2 in comments

I hosted a Shabbat dinner last night. One tradition I hold during it is to ask everyone to share a highlight of their week. It's a beautiful way to close out the week and share what's on our hearts. When it got to a friend of mine, he began to share that his highlight of the week was listening to a podcast I was recently a guest on with Meredith Lynn. I did not expect this and I felt a wave of heat run through my body. Seriously, my glasses fogged up. He was so moved by what I transmitted about mothering and said he wished he could join FLOURISH to explore his own fatherhood journey. I really felt his heart in this and felt deeply grateful he shared it. In the podcast, I speak about my parenting journey and how it intersects with my 22 years of teaching. This combo has given me a lot of perspective about children, their parents and families overall. It led to some long deep conversations at the table about parenting. The kind of conversations that are curious and open ended, that truly ask the questions of how can we be present for our growing children with all of the things that come up for them in our world today? When the things they are going through are tricky for US to navigate? That we may have our own feelings about? And how do we take care of our own hearts and not project or spill our triggers on to our children? How do we raise fully expressed children, keeping our own capacity expanded to be present with them as they grow into adulthood? It takes deep devotion, y'all. Deep devotion to show up clean and clear, loving, curious, compassionate, present and wise. To put your own agenda aside and allow your child to have their own experiences and live their life, while also guiding them. Part 2/2 in comments

🍯On Owning Desire🍯 One of my teachers often told a story of when a woman wants to share something, she will often ask their man a question about it as a way to open the convo. Instead of just coming out with it yourself. It's a covert way to share something without the full responsibility of holding and owning it. I noticed myself do this the other day and adjusted myself in real time. My lake community has a talent show this weekend and I thought it would be perfect for Spencer to be in it. He is an amazing opera singer so this makes a lot of sense. But when I felt into it, I realized, WAIT - *I* want to be in the talent show and felt the desire to do a duet with him. This is a most inconvenient desire because I have _never_ sung on stage. I am not a singer, although he says I have a beautiful contralto voice and I believe him. But I do love singing and my soul clearly wants this experience. So I owned this desire, he was a YES, and now we are signed up to sing Don't Go Breaking My Heart on Saturday night🎶 Desire is our soul calling us to experience life and ourselves fully, it will grow us if we are willing to follow the vulnerable calls. And my soul loves to play and push my edges and have fun, all in range that my human can be with. My son once reflected to me that I love to put myself in situations in which I feel stretched and out of my comfort zone, and then I do it, love it and feel great and expanded on the other side. So yes, I am going to sing a duet on stage and I am really excited about it. #desire #owningdesire #createyourlife #playwithlife #feminine #singing #dontgobreakingmyheart

I’ve worked with thousands of children in my life in my classrooms. Most of them I’ve met their parents and have often experienced multiple siblings from one family. The apples really don’t fall far from the trees. I’ve experienced families with gorgeous communication and backing of the children’s innate strengths. Compassion. Love. True loving care and devotion. What would regularly break my heart is the children who were clearly struggling in some form and the parents had no ability to support the child in any change. Because the child is the product of the home. The symptoms of the family dis-ease are mirrored in the child’s behavior. We would do what we could in the classroom, and to give a child the experience of true love and acceptance was very fulfilling. But unless there was some major shift at home the child would mostly continue to struggle. A change at home would require a major shift in the parents as individuals. And the root of this is mothers. We hold incredible power and responsibility as mothers. When a woman is awake, in her body, tapped into her intuition, she has spaciousness for truth, full expression and individuality. She is internally resourced and not interested in external validation. Raising children from this spot is magic. It creates space for children to be who they truly are. For them to create and play and imagine. To be silly and messy and feel safe enough to take risks in their life and fail and learn. Mothers who are tapped in to their hearts, flourishing in their lives, living in their feminine, are raising children who think for themselves. Not as a reactive trauma response, but with an embodied knowing in themselves and a deep trust in the journey. Part 2 in comments.

🌺 FLOURISH - Truth, Forgiveness & Nourishment 🌺 My birthday this year will be my million dollar birthday. Yes, a million dollars will be coming to me over the rest of my life through my teaching pension, but more importantly than the number, I am fully open to receiving this money. Fully HAVING this in my bones, in my heart and in my soul. Up until recently, I was blocked around my pension money that I become eligible for when I turn 55. It's in my divorce agreement that my ex husband gets half of my pension. I can't tell you how INFURIATED this has made me over the years. Our divorce became final in 2017 and I have been stewing about it ever since. I have been Angry Righteous Victimized Flat out PISSED I am in approval of all the anger I had about this, because it's where I was. Feelings cannot be skipped or bypassed. I trust the journey and the process very deeply, and anger was a big part of it. I held a great story about why him getting half my pension was so terrible. Why he didn't deserve the money. How I deserved all of it. I had LEGIT reasons that made actual sense. A huge piece shifted for me around this in the past few months after deep internal work around money and relationship. A truth dropped in that was so beautiful. But I was too attached to my pissed-off-woman story to hold on to the beautiful truth for very long. But I could SEE it. Then, about two months ago, I had a huge embodied cry about it all. I cried for HOURS to a friend and I released whatever was keeping me stuck. It was ready to go. And in that release, I was able to receive the truths about my pension money. Tony was a loving supportive husband. We built our life together and he backed me in my teaching career 100% over the years, starting from the very beginning. I didn’t do any of it on my own - I couldn’t have. But there is an even deeper truth... Part 2 in comments

These days I do a lot of behind the scenes in courses and events. I love being part of the magic. But this week I get to fully let go and be inside the course. I’m here in NYC with @perri_chase for LINEAGE and so ready. So much of what’s alive for me these days is intergenerational healing and motherhood with my new program, FLOURISH, so of course my desire led me to NYC for this transmission course called LINEAGE. Following the thread of truth and desire is truly the best ride. Here we go, see you on the other side. #intergenerationalhealing #lineage #truth #feminine

🪻FLOURISH🪻 Everything on our motherhood journey is here for us to learn and grow. For those who feel the calling to carve a new path, to mother differently, motherhood becomes our mirror for the truth. When we weave it into our spiritual practice, intimate possibilities are born. Motherhood is a reflection of all the parts of ourselves…our love, our joy, and our beliefs about ourselves, relationships, desire. It also reflects our shadow, our patterns, hurts and addictions. With love and compassion, we can be more honest with our ourselves, with our situation, with the challenges we face. If we are willing to face these truths, and bathe them with our acceptance, love and attention, they will start to shift. It’s a beautiful bold move to view motherhood in this way. To allow it to shape and grow you. I’ve been deep in motherhood as a spiritual practice for many years, and I can tell you the gifts are bountiful. I feel an unwavering call to Truth and with my devotion to being on the mat of life with it, I receive the most beautiful gifts…my true self, my power, my compassion, and intimate relationships with my children. This also extends to the generations before me as well. This means everything to me. The gate of entry is your willingness to let the truth lead. I will be holding a group of mothers on an intimate journey beginning in September who want to look at motherhood as a reflection of yourself and grow to be the woman and mother you know is inside of you. The mother your kids truly want - your true self. 🪻FLOURISH🪻 applications in bio #motherhood #motherhoodasaspiritualpractice #motherhoodasaspiritualjourney #motherhoodjourney #motherhoodrising #divinefeminine #truth #motherhoodasamirror #flourish

🌺The HEART of FLOURISH🌺 You may not know this about me, but I was a 6th grade teacher for 22 years. I LOVED this job. Actually it never felt like a job to me - until the very end, which is why I left. When people would ask me what my dream job was - what I would love to do on this earth if I could do anything - the true answer was simple: I was already doing it. I taught 11 year olds in a middle school, which I found to be the greatest age…they were young and sweet, still with a childlike playfulness and wonder… yet old enough to have deep conversations about important topics. Teaching 11 year olds was not easy by any stretch. It was quite challenging at times, it pushed my edges and rattled my nervous system often. I was exhausted a lot. Sadly, teaching in public school pretty much requires you to override your body and your knowing. But that is a story for another day. I loved welcoming the students for their first year in middle school. I learned to hold their systems and teach them about lockers, hallway etiquette and had the beautiful opportunity over and over to guide them to tap deep into their true selves and dare to be that. What I didn’t know then, which is one of my gifts, was always returning them back to themselves, which is what I do now with adults. I taught Writing, Reading and Ancient Civilizations. I was often a chapter ahead of them, learning about Mesopotamian irrigation right along with them. They taught me so much about life, love and I learned to appreciate the ones in the back who were literally in their own world having their own experience. I am sharing all of this because I have often lamented leaving. While I felt a strong calling that my teaching career in that form was complete - it was a soul calling I chose to answer - it was not the greatest financial move. I went from making steady 6 figures to starting my own business, which took me on a rollercoaster of a journey of healing generational money wounds and learning how to create steady income for myself in a way that honored my body and my natural gifts. Part 2 in comments application in bio

tending to our hearts is a most loving radical act we can do for ourselves to slow down and pause and rest allow the tears to surface our heart to be felt to empty out doing internal work is a lot on our systems sometimes seeing our patterns and how we recreate the exact things we said we would never do there is no need to keep going to press on if we do then we are missing something a huge piece in the process that is to be with yourself your heart to let it flow and be felt it is where softness lives and compassion is born to be present with the truth of what is it is enough no need to do anything or get a tissue let it flow be in the space of softness feel your love grief truth it is then you can hear her what she wants you to know and maybe you can receive it take it in allow it into your being and feel that here, now maybe just for a few moments your sweet loving heart FLOURISH a group journey for mothers with any age children who want to see and be themselves more deeply and truly, because this is what heals the generations and changes reality application in bio #flourish #intergenerationalhealing #motherslove #motherhoodjourney #motherhoodrising #over50women #heartcentered #intergenerationnel #intergenerationallearning #intergenerationallove #truth #femininebeing

Motherhood as a Spiritual Practice medicine has been simmering in my blood and bones for years. I recently heard a clear voice that it is time to share her and serve her energy. This work has a beating heart. She is alive and lush and in service to mothers being their true full selves. I believe this is the medicine needed for families to create space for children to healthily blossom into who they truly are. I spoke about my new motherhood work, FLOURISH, for the first time with @meredythlinn on her podcast, Serving Love, and so many downloads came through. I am so happy to share this with you. 🌺Podcast link in my bio. Enjoy xoxo 🌺Applications are open for FLOURISH. DM me or click the link in my bio. #motherhood #motherhoodasaspiritualpractice #motherhoodasaspiritualjourney #practicepracticepractice #feminineenergy #truth #intergenerationalhealing #intergenerationallearning #thejoyofmotherhood

Motherhood is a wild, winding, deeply vulnerable path It is your teacher, your spiritual practice. Everything on your path is here for you to learn and grow It is all here FOR you On a soul level, you have chosen it all, even the most painful parts You feel a deep call to carve a new path, You See it. Taste it, Feel it. It asks for the deepest commitment to yourself Pointing the compass back to your Knowing Carving out what is not truly you - hurts, patterns, protections It’s not easy but you Know this is your path It was never meant to be easy, it was meant to be true You are devoted to staying present to it all, to live in your body Trusting, following your inner guidance Always returning to the mat, humbled, softened You feel the calling to be your fullest, most true woman To expand in motherhood as your children grow This will push all of your edges and you will be asked to look deeply at yourself It brings you to your knees It destroys all that is not True It asks you to embark on journeys of the heart where the path is not clearly laid out There are times of darkness and fear But you press on, one step at a time You are Devoted To yourself To your soul To the souls of your children Even when it makes no sense Especially when it makes no sense Because you know the magic lives in the unknown. Taking the risk is everything. Allowing your true self to unfold, to be seen. Welcome to your path of Motherhood as a Spiritual Practice. You will fall, and you will falter. You will want to claw at your face to change the circumstances. You will have moments of clarity and joy. This is the way of the path. You learn the deepest compassion for yourself along the way. True self love and acceptance. Forgiveness. To love all of your parts. You will go through the cycles many many times in your Practice, just as you have for many lifetimes. The time is now For your deepest practice To be your fullest erect self With a soft heart As a Woman and a Mother For yourself The gifts ripple out It’s a soul calling that cannot be denied Allow yourself to be held in the practice of it To be Unearthed To be Loved FLOURISH September 2023 application in bio

"I'm sorry" is what was written on the back of my HS softball team shirt. My friend's said, "I'm sorrier." We thought it was so funny. It started as a joke about how badly we threw and caught balls on the field and somehow it went so far as to be printed on the backs of our shirts. Yesterday, I spoke with a young woman who is a recent graduate from a very prestigious university. She was recognizing how much she apologizes for this or that. Basically for existing. We had a great conversation about it and I told her the story of my softball shirt and how far I had come. The fact that she sees it means she is ready to let it go. Being Who You Are is a journey of undoing, of unlearning, of reeducation, of allowing and unfolding. It's loving all of our parts along the way. I was at an event recently and when I walked into the Women's Room, a young woman was coming out of the stall. She looked at me and said, "I'm sorry" as she went to the sink. Then again as she walked out of the bathroom. Why? It's so invasive, so deeply ingrained in us at such a young age that we are wrong in some way. That taking up space is wrong. That breathing the same air is wrong. I do let my Crone voice out in these cases...she is compassionate and loving and firm in her Rightness. Don't apologize for speaking up or for breathing. Own your space. Take a risk. Dare to exist, and be bold. I take my own medicine here. I am currently working on an offering that is so deep and bold. My most vulnerable pose to date, it's about motherhood. I can feel the parts of me that want to run, shrink, bend, turn back. Those parts get so much love but they don't run the show anymore. I am going slow with myself here, learning how to fully hold it. The most loving act is to dare to Be Who You Truly Are. To stand in that, to own it, to feel your heart beating inside of it. To let your wisdom, joy and love breathe in this world. The world needs this medicine. #motherhood #spiritualjourneycontinues #embodiment #selflove #bodylove #truth #embodiedwoman

My body is my life. Not an annoyance or something that gets in the way. She is something to be revered and honored. Respected. Loved. Listened to. Followed. Cared for. Put first. #bodylove #dancingqueen #bodyismylife #feminine #embodied #embodiedwoman #embodiment #selflove

First of all, this song is the best 💃🏾 As I was dancing yesterday I felt a deep sense of gratitude for this beautiful body. That I have learned to live IN my body. It wasn’t always that way - I used to override her on the daily. I used to feel awkward in this tall curvy body. It’s been two decades of transformational work to strip away patterns and beliefs that kept me separate from my body. Bring here now feels whole, true and honestly, so very joyful. It’s a blessing and I believe what we are here for - to LIVE in our body. To take care of her and honor her. To put her first. It’s not always convenient. The truth rarely is. But it’s so worth it to feel fully alive and whole. Truly a blessing and joy. Join me to paint your Pu**y at my workshop at the Radiant Ecstasy Festival on June 30-July 2. Link in my bio or DM me. Also, message me to host Pu**y Painting at your retreat, course or event. #embodimentpractice #embodimentmatters #feminine #feminineenergy #truth #genxwoman #acdc⚡️

Orgasmic Painting was born from my body and soul and invites you deeper into yours. I am honored to offer this workshop at the Radiant Ecstasy Festival in NY in late June. Link in my bio. Orgasmic Painting is an embodied, creative painting experience where I take you on a journey into your deepest self with movement and sound. Into your body, into the parts of you that know. Your body holds deep wisdom - it’s where your desire and love live. She was born to create and play and move. Painting your Pu**y on canvas is a magical experience and the icing on the cake is taking your painting home as a cherished memory. So much is possible when you carve out sacred space to be with yourself and be in your body. It’s where we build self trust, acceptance and compassion for self. And from there anything is possible. Radiant Ecstasy Festival June 30-July 2 NY Link in bio 🌸 #radiantecstasy #feminineenergy #embodied #embodiment #selflove #bodylove #paintingasaspiritualpractice #genxwomen

I keep coming back to the truth of this lesson. It’s taking me a few rounds to have it fully land in my body. It’s landing deeper and deeper each day. Grateful for this powerful MAZE ride of relationship chronology and cleaning out the pipes 🙏🏼 @perri.chase 💜🙏🏼 #relationships #soullessons #selflove #truth #femininledmovement #motherhood #perimenopausalwoman #genxwomen #practicepracticepractice

After Hailey turned one, I cried. I thought all of the "firsts" were now over since it was her first birthday. I quickly realized how wrong I was. Firsts happen all the time. Especially when kids are little, almost everything is a first. Adding Jeremy to our family created an entire new layer of joy, richness and firsts. Also, I want to say that while firsts are very special, because they are markers of growth, we are pretty obsessed with peak experiences in our culture. The truth is that the continued evolving of a child is truly the most magical experience I have had in my life. Motherhood continues to shape and mold me. Seriously, every day. And even now, as my kids are grown and living their own lives, I am still having "first" experiences. Because when we grow and change the way we live, we experience situations in completely different ways. For me, it is expanded to include all of the nervous system and embodiment work I have been doing over the past decade plus. I don't think parenting is ever "done" and yet the way we parent does need to evolve. Because the entire purpose of having children is to raise them to be Who They Truly Are in the World - and to go out and live their lives with all the ups and downs that being a human invites us to do. So if we as parents don't look at ourselves and our patterns and behaviors, we are not going to be able to be present with our children as they move into all the stages of adulthood and even beyond us, as the next generation inevitably does. I want to be present in all the stages of parenting as it evolves over the years - it's my greatest joy. Presence requires being in reality, being in the truth of a situation. And I will tell you that this part is confronting as f*ck. It is confronting and ego smashing for me to see my children run patterns & protections that I have played out in my life. And it truly couldn't have been any other way, because I raised them - so I have so much compassion for my humanity here. This is how it is being a human, and especially a mother. Continued in comments

Being in The Maze is powerful and kicking my ass in the best of ways. It’s so rich to see the truth of the unconscious patterns that run our lives. I am so grateful to have enough awareness to see the pattern play out, to talk about it and share with my partner. And to PLAY with it by dancing and making this reel🙏🏼 We all have patterns that we have created to protect us in different ways. Part of the alchemy is in the acknowledgement of it because only with awareness can it begin to shift. Being human is a full time feeling situation and I really love the earthly human work. This work shifts the lineage too and I see that in my family and I’m so grateful for it. Thank you @perri.chase 🙏🏼 #patternwork #patternobserver #selflove #relationships #feminine #truth #freedom #alchemy #lineagehealing #intergenerationalhealing

Following my desire to build body strength is taking me on the best most mind blowing body ride 🙏🏼🌈🌺 This was a really funny story 🤣 #genxwomen #agingwell #bodystrengthening #feminineledpath #feminineledmovement #feminine #selflove #desirebased #bodylove #bodylover #rockclimbingwomen #bouldering

I left with tears of joy. Busting my own limiting beliefs. It’s possible. But not by overriding any part of me. You need to build trust with yourself. Get curious and follow the next true move. And go slow. When the belays were unavailable, I stayed OPEN. I put on my harness and shoes anyway, walked onto the mats and was open to what was possible and available for me. It was in that moment that the desire to TRY bouldering came through. I had been a hard NO until that moment. I went slow and stayed with the slowest part of myself. And with that self trust and willingness, I did it. I bouldered! It always begins with a soft hearted commitment to self open YES. #desireled #rockclimbing #genxwomen #selftrust #selflove #bodylove #noego

When I got to rock climbing today, the auto belays I use when I’m on my own were being reset, so they were unavailable. I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to climb today. But I stayed open. I knew my choices were to pack up and go home or I could put my harness and climbing shoes on and see what was available for me. What is the universe offering me today? The lovely young woman at the front desk told me that bouldering was available. I have been a complete NO to bouldering because there’s no harness - you just free climb a rock. 🤣 I didn’t believe I had the strength, and I certainly don’t have the skill. And very little confidence here. BUT I do trust myself. So I decided to try bouldering. I asked for some lessons and pointers, and I listened intently. I was able to try it because I have an agreement with myself to stay completely in range and go very slow. There’s no room for ego here. My desire was simply to try it, with no end goal. Even that was pushing the edge of my comfort zone. I breathed and went slowly. I chose the easiest straightest climb. I DID IT! And I went to the top. It felt doable and so I went for it! So today, I have blown the limits of my own beliefs about what I could do. I busted my own limitations. I DID today what I woke up thinking was impossible and out of range. It brought me to tears. Tears of joy. #feminineledstrength #feminine #over50women #genxwoman #desire #desireled #perimenopausefitness #perimenopause #bodylove #selftrust

Following my desire and intuition to BE in my body, strengthen her. It’s a massive act of self love. My movement practice is Feminine Led - trusting, following truth, staying in range, enjoyment and connection. There’s no force, no goal, no weight loss, no before & after. It’s a completely new paradigm of exercise that has been slowly speaking to me over the past few years. It dropped in Uber clear recently and it’s been a fun ride to trust and follow. I love all the parts of me and I’m going at the speed and pace needed to gain strength, endurance and balance. And that changes regularly. Loving the journey so far 🙌🏽🌈🌺 #feminineledstrength #feminineenergy #feminineledmovement #desireled #trusttheprocess #bodylove #wmbodiment #genxwomen #agingwell #over50women

You will never have the whole path laid out for you. It’s not meant to be that way. Every time I jump I feel the terror of the unknown. What if…? How…? But it’s a leap, a jump of faith. Following a path that’s not guaranteed. You could fall on your face. And I have. And there’s so much learning and humility in that pose. And thank goodness it’s not all laid out for us - we would be bored and what would we learn and how would we grow? Besides, the universe has delightful surprises for us that are way better than what we can even imagine. “ When we leap, a net appears” is one of my favorite proverbs. It asks for devotional self trust. I’m a fan of jumping, of following the next true thing, of stretching and being uncomfortable. Every time I do, there’s a bouquet beyond my wildest dreams. And I drop into a ME that was unimaginable before. Radiant Ecstasy Festival upstate NY June 30 Link in my bio 💜 #devotional #devotion #truth #joy #selflove #leapoffaith #desire #desireasmedicine #takeachance #leapoffaith

A piece of my movement journey. Building strength and balance. It’s a slow long game with no goal or force. It’s a whole new paradigm and I’m really diggin it. Thanks for the inspiration & belay @jesss1358 💜 #feminineledstrength #feminineledbodystrengrh #rockclimbing #over50andfabulous #over50fitness #genxwomen #perimenopause #perimenopausalhealth

I’m curious and excited to follow this desire and see where she takes me 🌺 #feminineledmovement #feminineledstrength #bodylove #selflove #embodiment #boundaries #perimenopause #feminine

I’ve embarked on a Feminine Led Body Strengthening Journey 🌺 I want to feel stronger in my body. More balanced. Resilient. Being 54, peri menopausal and post pandemic, I really feel a difference in my body. She’s different than she’s ever been before and she’s asking for my love. And I’m giving it to her. It’s new and self loving and beautiful. I’m at a crossroads with my body. This desire dropped in crystal clear. My choices were clear too - Ignore it and degenerate. Or follow this desire to move and stretch out of my physical comfort zone and build strength and health. There’s only one option AND I needed to fully choose it. I’m such a Full Yes 🙌🏽 This desire for movement feels different than ever before in my life. Because it is. I’ve never been here before. My body is bigger than ever before, there’s random aches that tell me I’m getting older, and it feels true that I physically cannot do what I could do at any other point in my life. My knowing tells me to follow this desire to build strength, balance and have fun along the way as I move into age 55 this summer. It’s going to be slow, as there’s no place to get to. This is a long game. Feminine led body movement means staying in range with my body. Stretching but not pushing. There is no force. It’s desire based and deeply honors my body where she is right now. There’s no goal, I’m not trying to lose weight. It feels natural, organic, loving. I’m documenting my journey of movement…there’s dancing, rock climbing, walking and lots of resting. It feels like a massive act of self love and taking responsibility for my life. I’m curious and excited to follow this desire and see where she takes me 🌺 #feminineledmovement #feminineledstrength #bodylove #selflove #embodiment #boundaries #perimenopause

Creation is THE BEST. And I am tickled to be part of 🌸The Radiant Ecstasy Festival🌸 ☀️ Upstate NY, June 30-July 2 ☀️ I mean, what a line up of women: 🌺 Sensual Alchemy @Lauren Harkness 🌺 Conscious Kink & Erotic Dance @meredythlinn 🌺 Sound healing @elana_bell 🌺 Womb alignment @Liv Olivia Pavlov 🌺 Dance party @Tasha Blank 🌺 Orgasmic painting - yours truly 🌺 Fire drum circles 🌺 Cocoa ceremony 🌺 Sisterhood time to rest and BE 🌺 Masculine presence to serve🙏🏽 All at Lauren Harkness's new retreat center, Sanctuary of the Sacred Dream. I have had the joy of being there numerous times and it is glorious. Some OG photos for fun... DM me any questions or for the link🌺 xoxo

#greenossining #greenossiningearthdayfestival #earthday2023 #play #joy #creation #ossiningny

Climbing was a beasty empowering challenge for me. Tears welled up as I took my first step up the wall - the fear gripped me. Because I couldn't find the strength to even do one step up. I breathed into it. I was fully accepting myself where I was. I knew I would be taking this slow. It's a tricky spot to navigate with my body - stretching my physical limits and also not overriding Her in any way. I didn't want to fall and get hurt. I was scared of that. But also I was a total yes because there I was, harnessed up and agreeing to climb this wall. I am aware of my body changing, getting older. I feel a strong desire to be stronger and more resilient in my body. I know I will only get there by staying in range but also stretching myself. It feels like a slow game. Because it does feel different for me at age 54. I was with my friend @jesss1358 and my son, both in their 20's. It would have been easy to compare myself to them, and shrink. But no. I am in approval of where I am - which is proud of myself. It feels pretty badass to be 54, scared of heights & falling and also a total YES to this. Part 2 in comments

If you want to work alone or do it all yourself in your business, I am not for you. My behind the scenes business magic is for the coach, teacher, guide who KNOWS they need to rest during their retreats and courses. You KNOW that rest, staying in your frequency and taking exquisite care of yourself is key to carrying out your vision. You KNOW you want my nurturing love and intuitive eye on your whole shebang. You know how to ask for help and you know how to surrender and be in your magic while I handle behind the scenes details. I am the love-ninja in the background who wakes up early to take photos of your students who are journaling by the ocean or laying in the grass. I chat with the chef to double check the menu and meal times for the day based on the day's schedule. I will bring you tea when I know you need it and listen to you when you want to talk something through. Bringing your vision into the world takes an enormous amount of courage. And if you're like me, you know you can't / don't want to do it all yourself, that was never the point. I have your back so you can carry out that vision and serve your people. DM me to chat about planning and on-site assisting at your Retreats, Live & Online Courses.🍯🥭🌺 #truth #joy #behindthescenesmagic #behindthescenes #transformation #selflove #bodylove #sacredspace

All my Triple Virgo Love & Joy on your Retreat, Event or Course 🌺🥭🍯 Message me to chat about how I may serve you in planning and / or on-site assisting your creative vision 🍑 🍯🧡✨