by Gail Allen Olympic-Sized Goals
Many people who know me at all know that I don't watch TV. Like...at all. Not on my own, anyway. If you talk to me about your favorite show, I'll be happy to listen, but I have nothing to add because I have no idea what you're talking about unless your favorite show also happens to be I love Lucy! Kardashians? I’ll only have a vague idea who you're talking about. This is us? I know there must be something about a crock pot and some guy named Jack from a passionate conversation by some strangers that I happened to overhear in a store one time. But every 2 years (this year 3), I dust off the screen, find the remote, and become glued to the recliner. I am a self-proclaimed, Olympics nerd!
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by Gail Allen “Self-care” is the buzz phrase that we seem to all be hearing a lot of these days! What does it mean to you? What feelings does it bring up when you hear it? For many of us, especially women, I know we scoff. Our grandmothers and mothers didn’t need “self-care”, why should we?? And how selfish does it make us if we’re focused on ourselves instead of our children and/or significant others?
FREEDOM. Let’s pause for a moment and really reflect on that word. What does it mean to you? What images does it bring to mind? For many people, it likely is associated with some type of Independence Day celebration. Maybe fireworks, cookouts, parades, and patriotism come to mind. For others, maybe it’s associated with certain rights and privileges we’ve come to enjoy. Perhaps it’s a physical sensation in the body associated with lack of commitments. According to the Mirriam Webster Dictionary, there are lots of definitions of the word. The one that stands out the most to me is, “liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another.”
by Gail Allen All we need is love, right? Well, as it turns out, for a healthy relationship, perhaps not. Human relationships...man, they are difficult! Not only do we have to feel safe and have a balanced Root Chakra, but now, we’re going to move on to the place where a LOT of women seem to get stuck - Sacral Chakra!
by Gail Allen How’s your footing these days? With 2020 behind us, the Covid Pandemic hopefully drawing to a close, places and events reopening, it’s normal to feel a bit unsettled. What had become routine, now suddenly is being changed again. What had felt safe or somewhat safe is being pulled away. Our sure footing isn’t feeling quite as sure now. Not necessarily because of the pandemic, but just in general. So what does this have to do with Root Chakra? Well, as it turns out, structure is often what keeps us safe! Let me explain. If you have to climb scaffolding to reach the ceiling of a cathedral, do you want it to be old and rickety, swaying at the slightest movement? Or would you feel much *safer* with ropes, harnesses, and a solid foundation? If you’re mountain climbing, would you like to be on the mountain face with nothing between you and a certain death after a fall off the mountain face, or would you like some equipment? Even daredevil extreme sports fanatics who free climb usually train to build their skills before a major excursion. Structure keeps us safe. When the ground is shaky, we know to retreat!
But what if you didn’t? What if you couldn’t tell that it felt unsafe? What if everything felt unsafe? What if every step felt like the rug was being pulled out from under you, so you constantly were afraid of falling? What if it felt like ice was under your feet and you don’t know how to skate? What if you don’t have skates or your skates don’t fit? What if no one has ever shown you how to even put on skates, let alone taught you how to skate? Climbing mountains is hard. Skating is hard. Even for people who have the proper equipment and training, those things are challenging. by Gail Allen What the heck is a Spiritual Warrior? That’s the name of the 300 hour Yoga Teacher Training that Danielle and I are currently completing. For many people, that name conjures thoughts of religious crusades, triggers memories of self-righteous hypocrites, and perhaps just leaves a rather bad taste in their mouth. Spiritual “warrior” denotes some sort of aggression, right? When we think of warriors, someone who fights is often the thought. But historically, warriors were revered, not just for their fighting abilities, but for their dedication, self-control, and discipline.
by Gail Allen I love you with my whole heart. I feel that in my soul. I agree with my whole being. We say these phrases often. When you hear someone say something along these lines, what does it mean to you? Have you ever thought about it? There seems to be something within us that knows that we’re more than just our “mind” ...whatever that means to you. In Western philosophy, we’ve lost the idea, but in ancient Ayurvedic tradition, it was understood that every person has 10 bodies. Whhhaaaatttt??? What is this nonsense?? Well, they’re not at all physical bodies. We only have one of those. So what are the rest of them? All together, they make up our Subtle Body.
by Gail Allen Remember that old Sister Hazel song? “Hey, hey did you ever think that there might be another way? To just feel better, to just feel better about today? If you’ve had enough of all your trying Just give up the state of mind you’re in. If you’re tired of fighting battles within yourself...Change your mind.”
Yeah, right. Easier said than done, right? By Danielle Schwartz It is so easy for me to second guess myself. I have spent so much of my life hiding from myself that sometimes I surprise myself with what I love and what I know. I can get lost in the Negative Nancy thoughts and psych myself out of doing things. And I know I am not the only one.
You can change your own mindset, however. You can feel empowered to do and be all of the beautiful things that you want deep down in your wild soul. Learning to manifest those intentions can be as simple as starting your day - every day - with a quick reminder of just how wild you really are. Cause you are a wild bad-ass. We both know that. By Gail Allen Do you remember the first time you heard the word Chakra? Maybe you're reading it for the first time right now. Despite living in Asheville, NC (let's face it … the complementary medicine capital of the East Coast) and learning a lot about alternative healing, I'll never forget the first time I heard it! I had fractured my hip in a horse riding accident and a friend finally talked me into trying acupuncture after months of pain. I have a huge fear of needles (as evidenced by my lack of tattoos and piercings), so this was huge!
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