A yogi’s perspective to embody and live well.

I feel so embodied after I getting back from my very first Yoga Retreat experience. The Embodiment Project Yoga and Nutrition Retreat was hosted by Sue Van Raes of Boulder Nutrition, and it’s still vibrating through my cells. What this yoga & nutrition retreat reminded me is that it’s absolutely necessary to take a break. The Importance to surround yourself with people that inspire you, and hold sacred space for you is a non-negotiable. You have to take precious care of your Body, Mind, Heart & Spirit. Because if you are ignoring one of those areas within you, it’s a sure sign that you are not living life in true alignment.

Since the Retreat my yoga classes have been shall I say, softer. I’ve been creating more space for conversation and connection. I haven’t been cueing people to stretch further, rather stretch into where they’re at now. Everything has slowed down, and my students are feeling amazing after an hour together on the mat. There has been more of an emphasis on breath, relaxation, to meet yourself, check-in with the different parts of you, honor what’s going on in your life, and know that it’s okay to feel all the feelings – because they’re all neutral in the yoga practice.

I personally have been doing 5 minute check-ins throughout the day.

I’ve been more intentional with my class preparations, and how I’m showing up in communication. I even had a “Mindful Moment” at Jimmy John’s – of all places it’s the “freaky fast” place, and I chose to sit and eat my sandwich and sea salt & vinegar chips in absolute bliss. No cell phone, eating in the car, or scarfing the entire thing. All around me I saw people moving “freaky fast”, and all I wanted to do was invite them to my table and have a conversation with me over a Beach Club and Hydroflask full of water.

You don’t have to be a monk who sits on top of a mountain 20 hours a day to mediate in order to live your life embodied and in the flow. In fact, you don’t have to eat all organic, practice yoga, or be a blonde white female, either. To me, living embodied means taking the time to check-in with yourself daily. How does your physical body feel? What aches and pains or sensations are present? Is there spinning in the mind today? Can you notice the stories that are being told and how they make you feel? What’s waning on your heart? Are you following your passions and deepest desires? Is your heart pulling you toward something and are you listening to it or pushing away? Do you feel connected to your spiritual self? Or disconnected?

None of the answers you come up with are right or wrong. They just are.

You can’t fight with reality. Your perception of what’s happening in the now. When you take just a few moments to go inward, you can then take action from an embodied place. This action is what allows you to “live in flow”. Instead of forcing yourself to eat healthy, you begin to crave healthy foods because you know how you will feel after eating them. When you workout you do so by actually doing something fun that involves moving your body – not working out because you have fat to burn. The idea of being embodied and living in the flow should eventually trickle over into your work. You love what you do for a living and you also love receiving money for it. I want you to even consider your partner or primary relationship and if it feels in the flow/sensual/embodied.

The idea of living embodied and in the flow is a beautiful one. So why is it so hard for you to stay in the flow or to feel embodied all of the time?

It’s pretty simple, really. You are always evolving. Sometimes you make choices that evolve you closer to that state of bliss, and other times you makes choices that actually de-evolve you and hinder you from reaching that state of bliss. The more conscious you become of your thoughts/emotions/beliefs and actions, the more obvious it will be to you which ones are supportive and which ones are not. The work is never really done! Every day you are checking back in with yourself, hopefully multiple times a day, and evaluating what you need. Lifestyle Design isn’t just some frivolous thing that only the chosen few get to have. It’s available to anyone that’s open to receiving it. You can design a life you love if you believe you can. You can live embodied and in the flow more often than you are now.

It will take a commitment.

You might have to let go of something or someone in your life that you know is holding you back. It could be a deeply entrenched “toxic false belief” that you’ve been telling yourself over and over and over again in your head. Maybe you don’t love where you live; that will have to change. You hate your body so it will be hard to feel embodied. Feel stuck in a job that you absolutely hate but need the money. I say all of these examples because I’ve lived and transformed every single one of them.

My hope for you is that you are in search for Relief. 

That you are so ready to feel embodied and in the flow. All-in with this idea of being able to be in the body you have now, and to move through life in a whole different way – the flow way. Eat in a slow, and pleasurable way (without guilt or shame or tight control). Invite movement that feels joyful, stress relieving, open, and integrative (this might be yoga, but it HAS to be something you enjoy).

Once your survival needs are taken care of, and you’re feeding and moving yourself well (for you), you will be able to step fully into your power. Deliver your gifts, do what you were called to do, and gracefully be compensated for it. Spark a new flame in your love life. Meet all the right people, at the right times. And finally know how to live embodied and in the flow.

Feel like you need some guidance to live a life Embodied and in the Flow? Check out my newest creation – the “Embody your Life” Template below! It’s a one page handout that is super straight forward, and will ask you all the right questions. I suggest that you print it out and grab your favorite pen to journal out your answers. Enjoy!!

Namaste