I like to pretend I am Superwoman. The amount I can get done in a day and the amount of projects and collaborations I can take on, makes me feel unstoppable, unshakable, immovable. And then, I slow down for some R&R and I am hit with exhaustion. Rather than pulling to the side of the road for a breather, my whole engine shuts down and rewires and suddenly I am left to figure out how to operate a new vehicle, with new insights, rules and connections. I have gotten so much better at listening to the whispers to slow down before they become screams, yet this time of year - with minimal sunlight and long nights - I just feel the need to spend more time in solitude, quiet contemplation and self-inquiry. I feel a death happening, of everything I am letting go of, releasing, and stepping out of - and that requires some grieving, healing and awkward practicing as I step into what I desire more of.
While I am definitely coming out of the fog of my latest deeply nourishing slow down, I am noticing a desire to create something epic for New Years Eve/Day for others to participate in and get their momentum going for the year ahead. While I do have an event at Yoga Nova on New Years Day (Yin, Yoga Nidra & Sound Healing), I find myself comparing my offerings to other health and wellness brands and I am lacking the New Years program to support others in getting their groove going for the year ahead.
Yet, I am also stepping into this year with some insights and desires that feel like uncharted territory for me, which is encompassed by the word GENTLE. And when I sit with the energy of Gentle, scrambling to create and launch something for NYE doesn’t feel like alignment. I have made a business by being creative and often that creativity is impulsive and comes from a flow of energy that feels simultaneously pleasurable and somewhat forced. Learning how to embody GENTLE is so much harder for me than I thought it would be. I have found myself falling into hypoarousal more often in the past couple of weeks, partly because I have consciously created space for NOTHING (which feels oh so good) and because I have built a habit of avoiding lots of space in my schedule because I do “busy” a lot easier than I can do “stillness and gentle.” Finding the balance is going to be my key to success this year, and to say that it has been a bumpy start to this new practice is an understatement.
So what would be the gentle approach to meeting this desire to create and facilitate a New Years Eve program or initiative? My soul lights up when I am in creativity and my heart sings when I perceive my work as impacting others in a positive way. While I gift myself the space to continue integrating my own personal lessons and desires from 2019 leading into 2020, I am opening up the possibility that I will create something to share within the first few days of the New Year, and in the meantime, I have gone through my video history on my youtube channel and pulled from the archives to share something that may be exactly what you need.
How to Create/Land on Your Word of the Year
This is a recording of a zoom call I hosted for my friend Lucy Dunne’s personal training group last January. I share my journey with Word of the Year starting back in 2013 and then guide you through a series of questions and exercises to support landing on your own word.
Enjoy and Happy New Year xoxo