Feel Like A Goddess Inside and Out With these 10 Simple Self Care Steps Beauty is essential for life. It brings us joy, a sense of contentment, and I’ve come to realize it is valuable for our sense of well being as well. We need to feel good in our bodies- inside and out! Here's my list of musts when I need a pick me up, a mood shift, or a reminder of my innate goddess Self: 1. Bring the beauty of spring alive all year round by giving your Self fresh flowers. Whether a single stem rose, a lovely bouquet you gathered in the woods, or a large arrangement of your favorites, it's worth it to have the sight and smell of Nature nearby. It's amazing how walking into a room with fresh flowers can bring a mood shift. 2. When things seem pretty dismal or days have been long and unrelenting, I need a good pat on the back for my efforts and a reminder of what my inherent values are. I can't count on others to give me all the messages I need, so I remind myself. Simple and sweet is all I need. "I am enough and I am loved. Thank you for being." Want the world to go 'round? Share your affirmation with someone special. 3. My bath rituals are a weekly, personal necessity and they are part of my list of recommendations to clients for clearing energy and promoting inner peace. The maha version includes an abyangha (Ayurvedic self massage) with Vaidya Mishra's Rasayana Oil and then a soak in the tub with sea salt (clears energy) and my favorite essential oils (usually lavender). Don't forget a mud mask if you have time! 4. Along with my weekly rituals, I include a minimum of one day per week of "light eating" as a gentle detox. This is part of a standard Ayurvedic protocol, but is excellent for feeling tip top from inside out. I eat kitchari several times a week to help keep my belly in check. The best part? It cooks while you do other things and then voila! It's ready to eat when you are! 5. Take a walk in the fresh air and move your body! Nothing says "goddess" like the energized feeling you get from moving your inner prana and getting your circulation going! 6. Just a touch of rouge and lip gloss will do! No need for a heavy make up routine. A quick brush of blush on the cheeks and a hint of gloss on the lips will brighten your look and your mood. It feels good to look good. 7. Walk barefoot outside and hug trees. Ground through your feet and soak up earth's natural ability to clear EMF's and stress by touching the earth with your bare feet. Hugging trees is also a great way to ground, defrag the system and get close to Nature. 8. When I've been sitting in front of the computer too long, my eyes begin to glaze and my body says stop. My favorite way to pause is with a good spritz of Vaidya Mishra's Blissful Awakening spray. Don't have any on hand? Plain rose water will do! It is a great facial toner and also helps calm Pitta dosha as well as the eyes. For the maha version: put your feet up, spritz two cotton pads with rose water and put them on your eyes. Rest for ten minutes while taking deep breaths. This is the ultimate pick me up. Your eyes will thank you. 9. Dance and sing. As the saying goes: "dance as though no one is watching and sing as though no one can hear you." It's good for you and uplifts the spirit. As a student of body-centered Expressive Art Therapy, I will vouch for this! 10. Adorn your Self! Put on earrings. Drape your Self in layers of necklaces. Wear jewels and malas. No place to go? No worries! Do it because you are a goddess and you deserve to look good and feel good from the inside out! Ready to take your inner growth to the next level and deepen your relationship with your inner feminine wisdom?
Join me for my Jyotish Astrology Classes for Transformation and Healing. Classes begin April 2016. Get the Details Don't miss my *free* new Moon Creative Ritual Class. Honor this cycle of release and the upcoming Navaratri celebrations. Join the Class List.
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How to Use Jyotish Wisdom to Heal Your Body Most people think of Jyotish Astrology as a means of charting the planets, the stars, the movements of the heavens. For those of us who subscribe to this very ancient body of Vedic knowledge though, we understand that there is a correlation between the cosmos and our own inner nature, our experience of life. There is a connection between the macrocosm and the microcosm, the two are not separate, but dance, mingle and co-create. This divine interplay is what makes studying Jyotish so valuable. I use Jyotish as a means of explaining and exploring the inner being, the inner realms of our own felt experience. In fact all of my transit reports are a reflection of my own experience with the cosmos, my own expression of their movement. This is why the consciousness of the Jyotishi is of the utmost importance; traditionally, the life of the astrologer has been one of constant purification and refinement, so as to "see" more and more clearly. Jyotish after all is the science of light, the science of vision, sight. If we can use the wisdom of Jyotish to see within ourselves, our consciousness, we can use this awareness for healing insights as well. Truthfully, Jyotish is so vast and all-encompassing, it includes all expressions of our humanity- our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies, or the four bodies. I share more about this unique correlation in my article on sensitivity. Quite literally the Jyotish chart (I strictly use a North Indian style chart) shares in detail the connection to our various bodies- through the planets, houses and even the nakshatras. We could even say that each one of these pieces of jyotish wisdom connects to one of the four bodies, so that ultimately when we are looking at our jyotish chart we are looking at a web of energies, a web of our own cosmic energies. The multiple layers of the chart are so interwoven, it is this complexity that we study in Jyotish in order to see the many relationships between energies and how they express themselves uniquely through us. This is a nuanced and intuitive awareness that comes with much studying, clarity and inner vision. I believe in fact that this gift is possible for each one of us to embrace; it is after all connected to our intuition, our felt senses, our inner knowing. This is a refinement process we can learn and create. One of my greatest passions is helping others awaken to their own cosmic nature- studying one's jyotish chart gives us that ability. I encourage all of my clients to study their own charts, in fact, I believe that is really the whole point of Jyotish! To know ourselves, truly, inside and out. To awaken to our own cosmic nature! This is why I'm offering my ongoing classes, Jyotish Basics for Transformation and Healing. So that you can begin to awaken to the wisdom of your own existence, your path, the effects of the transits, and how to track these changes within you. Get all the details about my Jyotish Basics classes here. Because I bridge my Jyotish knowledge with the wisdom of the body, as well as the creative arts, I use the Jyotish chart a resource specifically to study the physical body and its myriad of expressions. My embodiment work is deeply intertwined with body part metaphors and the implications this has on our life experience. Therefor the connection one's chart has with specific body parts is of the utmost fascination and importance for me. We can look at the body part connections within the chart from multiple lenses- whether it be through the houses, the planets or the nakshatras. To keep it simple, I'll share in this article the specific body parts that are connected to specific houses in the chart, as this is a wonderful first step for identification purposes. We can then connect the houses of our own chart to our own specific body parts. If for example you are having hand pain, you would look to the third house to see what is effecting the "house of hands." There is also a natural connection to Gemini as well because Gemini correlates to the number three, or the third house. The body parts (and houses) also connect us to specific chakras as well. For now, let's just stick to the houses and their correlating body parts and keep it simple. First House: Head and face Second House: Throat, neck and mouth Third House: Hands, arms and shoulders Fourth House: Chest, heart, lungs, breasts Fifth House: Upper stomach, solar plexus Sixth House: Lower abdomen Seventh House: Pelvic bowl and organs therein Eighth House: Sexual organs, genitals, excretory organs Ninth House: Legs but specifically thighs Tenth House: Knees Eleventh House: Calves, ankles Twelfth House: Feet My work specifically includes a synergy of Jyotish wisdom, embodiment tools and art therapy resources, so working with body parts specifically is highly useful for making diagnosis and prescriptions for my clients. Often we can get ample wisdom from the body itself, and then take that information back to the chart for deeper investigation. It's this cross checking that becomes a very potent healing and transformation tool. To give you an example of this, I'll share a Creative Ritual here so you can get started with the self tracking process. We will be working directly with these tools in my Jyotish Basics Classes for Transformation and Healing. If you want to grow in the wisdom of your body and its cosmic intelligence, I strongly encourage you to join me for these Sunday classes. Register here. It will also help if you have your own North Indian style chart to study. If you need a copy of your chart, I offer this service here. Creative Ritual Self Tracking, Learning from the Wisdom of the Body {Audio recording below} 1) Sit, stand or lay down. Close your eyes and fall into the rhythm of your breath. Notice the rise and fall of your chest, the waves of breath moving in and out of your body. Take some time to relax into this rhythm. 2) As the body moves to greater stillness and relaxation through breath awareness, locate a sensation in the body. This sensation might show up as a tingling, a pulsing, or a sense of vibration. There might even be a color, a shape, a sound or a word that arrives in connection to the body part. Listen and honor whatever arrives for you. Don't filter the messages, judge or critique them. Your only job is to listen right now. Be curious, be interested, and be present to the body's messages. What body part emerges? What sensations are arriving? What messages are shared? Take note of this wisdom coming to you from your body. 3) Create an image of this physical body sensation that arrived through your self tracking. Use craypas or paint and put your experience on paper- so as to transfer the felt senses into a tangible, visual expression. This is a powerful part of the process and one that can shift us into deeper awareness of our body wisdom. 4) Once your image is complete, give it a title. Now, let it speak. What does your image have to share with you? If your image could speak, what would it say? 5) Pull out your Jyotish chart. What body part emerged in your self tracking exploration? What house of the chart is connected to this body part? Study this house within your chart. What do you notice? We can analyze the experience of the house by noting: What planets are sitting there, if any? What sign is located in this house? Do any planets give their drishti (gaze)? Finally, note the current transits and what planets might be effecting this house currently. Your body is sharing with you a very specific message. This message is directly connected to your needs, your desires, your deep longing for nourishment, comfort, safety and support on some core level. When we can access the wisdom of the body directly, we get very clear, unfiltered messages and insights. The cosmic intelligence of the jyotish chart can then help us further identify what is impacting us both macrocosmically and microcosmically. This is the vital information we need for deepening our healing and transformation process. Ready to learn more? Want to dive into more about this divine interplay between your body and your karmic Jyotish map? Learn more about your karmas and how to overcome blockages hindering you from being well fed by life. Please join me for my June Jyotish Astrology Classes. Get the Details. Need some extra guidance and clarity? Schedule a session with me.
Plan your week in tune with nature. Never miss a planetary update. Sign up for my weekly newsletter. Was this post helpful? Please share it with a friend! Thank you. Ask yourself: "What have I done today that feels nourishing, supportive and inspiring- for my well being, my joy? If you can answer this question, then you are well on your way to working a conscious self care practice into your life. Self care comes in many different shapes and forms, with many different activities and choices falling under the label "self care". The purpose is always the same, however- to deepen the nourishment, support and care you give yourself. It is learned behavior though. Sometimes we have to learn new ways of taking care of ourselves, or we may already be doing many self care practices, but we may be simply unaware of them! Self care is vital for our lives and our well being. I consider self care to be the #1 priority of every being- even if it feels impossible or fleeting! Here's how to start your self care practice: 1. Start Small. If you don't already have a self care regimen in place for yourself, remember to start small. Savor a cup of tea quietly, listen to your breath for 5 minutes each day, walk barefoot in soft grass, or take a warm bath. These can all be small, yet meaningful ways to nourish yourself. 2. Put Your Self First. You can't give to others if you don't first give to yourself. If you are wearing yourself ragged, you will be giving to others from a very fragile and sensitive place. It will likely be with agitation, frustration, fatigue and even stress. Not ideal for you- or your relationships. I think of self care like the mantra we hear on airplanes: "when the oxygen mask falls from above, assist yourself first, and then the person next to you." Make your needs a priority. Because self care is not a one-size-fits-all reality, and individual needs vary, we have to be willing to adjust and re-adjust our needs and priorities along the way. I consider self care a practice- like a yoga practice or learning a new skill. It's a practice that is ongoing, life long, and requires constant attention and intention. Some days will be easy, other days will feel impossible. If you can do one thing (at minimum) every day that nourishes you, then these baby steps can really add up! This can be the momentum you need to embrace self care more rigorously. Use my reminders below for strengthening your self care practice and get nourished! 10 self care ideas to inspire your process: 1. Pause and listen. Set a timer if you need to, but pause every hour or so and listen to your mental body, physical body and emotional body. At minimum, pause and listen once a day. I consider the 3 level check in step number one in our self care practice. How can we know what we need if we aren't cultivating a relationship with our mental, emotional and physical bodies? They each have different needs and it's vital that we know what they each need for daily nourishment. Listen up! Need a reminder about the 3 level check in? Find resources on my blog. 2. Self Care Journal. Keep a "self care journal" and record the steps you are taking each day to care for yourself. Record your 3 level check-ins in your journal and any steps you've taken each day to care for yourself. This can include movement, creativity, food choices, rest and meditation, using healthy boundaries, breath awareness and your 3 level check ins- and anything else that you are using to intentionally and radically care for yourself. This journal can be that thread throughout your self care practice of what's working and not working for you. What do you do a lot of? What are you neglecting? Here are some questions to consider for your SCJ: How have I nourished, supported and cared for myself today? What actions expressed my commitment to self care today? What steps am I committed to for my own well being this week? What boundaries are nourishing me or where might I need to re-commit to them? Where might I need to make some adjustments in my self care practices? What am I learning? 3. Nourish From the Inside Out. Eat simply, eat at regular meal times, and eat slowly in a quiet setting if possible. Nourish yourself from the inside out with delicious and wholesome meals. Now that it's fall, it's time to gently cleanse the body, according to Ayurveda. Need some new simple recipes? Here are my three favorite recipes for nourishment- using the Ayurvedic detoxification principles of Shaka Vansya Ayurveda. 4. Get Embodied. Move your body and get embodied. Whether it's walking, running, a ride on your bike or a stroll through the woods, move your body. Dance, stretch and do yoga. Move the prana in the body and get your system energized. Then do a 3 level check in and see what the response is within you. Need a reminder about the 3 level check in? Find resources on my blog. 5. Beyond the Body. Caring for your physical body in terms of self care is essential. Just remember that self care goes beyond the physical body and also must include the emotional body and mental body as well. Are you tending to your emotional body needs and your mental body needs in your self care regimen? Are you addressing healthy boundaries in you self care practices? Have you been re-evaluating your mental body messages? Are you working directly with the emotional body and the felt senses? Make sure your approach to self care is well rounded. You may need help with these pieces so check in with a coach, therapist or councilor if you need extra support. 6. Healthy Boundaries. Pay close attention to your boundaries. Listen to how you feel when you are with others. What sensations arrive physically, mentally and emotionally? What feelings and thoughts arrive? Be aware of how your relationships effect you. Do they nourish? Overstimulate? Exhaust or support you? What relationships are worthy of your time and energy- which ones should be restructured or let go? Healthy boundaries are a basic step in getting your needs met and getting the nourishment you need in your life. Use them as a vital self care tool. 7. Ask for Support and Express Your Needs. Are you piling your plate too high? Are you feeling burdened and heavy with responsibilities and general overwhelm? Remember to seek support, guidance, and ask for assistance. Don't self isolate and don't keep your needs to yourself. Who and what are the trustworthy support systems in your life? Call upon them, invite them in, anchor with them. Seek the abundance of support available to you and your life, but don't go at things alone and martyr yourself. If you don't feel like you have the support that you need, it may be time to call in a new team of resources. Find a trustworthy therapist, coach, counselor or mentor to get the process started. Seek answers and solutions. 8. Get Inspired and Go for the Joy! Do something new that inspires you. Try a new class, try a new cafe or recipe, or simply take a different hiking trail today. Be curious and explore while getting out of old ruts and patterns that might be less than fulfilling. Remember that this can be simple and doesn't have to be a move to a new state or an exotic vacation in paradise! Do activities that bring you joy, recharge your batteries and inspire you- but do it daily if possible. Walk in the woods, write poetry, dance, draw, journal, play with your animal companions, cook nourishing foods, do yoga. These are moments of radical self care! 9. Reflect and give gratitude. Openly express your gratitude to your self and others. This can be an essential ritual for experiencing more nourishment in your life. What are you grateful for about yourself? What qualities are you proud of in yourself and in your life? What can you applaud yourself for accomplishing each day that serves your well being? Celebrate yourself! And celebrate others! Expressing truthful gratitude to others can be a balm for their hearts as well as your own. Speak honestly and kindly to others and remind them why they are so special. I consider this an essential ingredient for life and love. 10. Work it like a job! Consider self care to be your part time job- or full time job! Nourish yourself daily and always be moving towards greater nourishment for your self and your life. Take baby steps or leaps, but remember that what you do today will provide sustainable nourishment and well being for your future days. Your steps really add up! Above all, do what you love, and love what you do, your life depends on it! As you continue your self care journey, remember to pause periodically and ask yourself how your self care practices are working for you and if there are any holes in how you are caring for yourself. Make the necessary adjustments along the way and remember this is a process. Enjoy! Need some extra tips for radical self care? Here are my 10 tips to help you feel like the goddess that you are. Need some extra guidance and clarity? Schedule a session with me. Plan your week in tune with nature. Never miss a planetary update. Sign up for my weekly newsletter. Was this post helpful? Please share it with a friend! Thank you. New Moon Wisdom for the Waxing Moon Cycle Moon nears conjunction of the Sun as it becomes completely new in the wee hours of the morning on September 24th. New Moon is at 01:14 am CDT in Uttaraphalguni nakshatra while in Virgo. The coming weeks are potent- and a poignant time for working with our long term sustainability. Themes for this waxing cycle include caring for and nourishing the physical body as well as those essential ingredients for our long term sustainability. What steps do we need to take in order to insure sustainability and more lasting support and nourishment within our lives? What fruits are we hoping to harvest in the coming weeks and months? Our intentional action steps right now make or break the richness of our harvest. Aryaman, the deity who rules over Uttaraphalguni, is alive and well within us and around us- encouraging health, well being, as well as inner and outer sustenance- if we align with his offerings. Connect, co-create and use relationships intentionally in the coming weeks. Do your relationships nourish and inspire you? Or do they zap your energy and harm you? Do your actions and environments support you and offer harmony? Or do they feel harsh and abrasive? Where in your life and in your relationships are you not being authentic to your needs? If you want potency and power, it will take potent and powerful actions to get different results. Sow the seeds you want right now and ask the ancestors for help with the process. Aryaman is aligned with the ancestors to insure that your lineage is well nourished and protected, so make sure you ask for dharmic wisdom to help you on your journey. We can do so with our choices and our action steps. Think in terms of aligning with long-term sustainability, not short term gratification. Aryaman will provide for you. Trust the process and ask for support. In addition to the New Moon, September 24th marks the beginning of the Navaratri celebrations and the first day of three that honors Ma Durga. Read my past Elephant article regarding the poignancy of Navaratri. This is an especially potent and powerful time period, where we celebrate in the Vedic calendar, the holy trinity of goddesses: Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. The veil is thin right now between realms, and it is an especially powerful time for being inward, cleansing, nourishing and meditating. If you haven’t joined my 10 day Self Care Challenge, you can do so here. I'll be sharing resources, tips, and tools during this special 10 day period. Creative Ritual for the Waxing Moon Cycle Whether or not you are joining me for my 10 Day {Navaratri} Self Care Challenge, I encourage you to keep a "self care journal" during this waxing Moon cycle. Use this journal to record the steps you are taking each day to care for yourself. Record your 3 level check-ins in your journal and any steps you've taken on each day to care for yourself. This can include movement, creativity, food choices, rest and meditation, using healthy boundaries, breath awareness and your 3 level check ins- and anything else that you are using to intentionally and radically care for yourself. These journals will be an important part of the harvesting we do over the next 10 days and I will be sharing more about this as we progress through the waxing Moon cycle. I'll also be sharing more about self care in an upcoming article so look for that soon! I'm looking forward to hearing about your process and your self care steps! If you haven’t joined my 10 day Self Care Challenge, you can do so here. My 3 Levels of Awareness Immersion is Sunday, September 28th! Use this workshop for navigating boundaries, inner and outer dynamics as well as increasing embodiment. Sign up here. Need some extra guidance and clarity? Schedule a session with me. Plan your week in tune with nature. Never miss a planetary update. Sign up for my weekly newsletter. Was this post helpful? Please share it with a friend! Thank you.
Sensitivity: Be Your Gift! My work is for sensitive individuals who have struggled- or are struggling- with using their sensitivity as the gift that it is. I often call us "Moon children" because the Moon represents our emotional body and intuitive wisdom in Jyotish. Read more about the meanings of the Moon here. Perhaps you've struggled like me most of your life. Years of depression, anger, challenging and destructive relationships, drug and alcohol problems, lack of motivation, confusion about life path and low self confidence. I've been sharing with you this past week about my own path and how my sensitivity has been challenging for me most of my life. You can read more about my struggles with emotional sensitivity and my favorite 9 tips that will help you care for your own sensitivity here. It's for you that I've created my Be Your Gift workshop series- to give you hope and to help you see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm so passionate about helping sensitive individuals use their sensitivity as the gift that it is, I created a four day teleclass dedicated to healing our wounds and creating more presence with this powerful gift. Unfortunately, most people don't realize that the emotional body can be the biggest tool of self awareness, self development and even spiritual growth. Most people do not experience their sensitivity as a gift. In fact, most people loathe their emotions, don't understand them, have not cultivated a conscious relationship with them, and certainly don't know that the emotions are directly connected to the intuition. If you don't know what your emotions are telling you, how can you hear the messages of your intuitive wisdom? There are markers for sensitivity in a jyotish chart and I've come to realize that this can be a very special tool, a blessing even, if used properly. It can lead us to our dharma, it can repair our family lineage, and it can change our lives for the better- but only if we know how to use it with TLC. You can read more about why I've developed an approach to working with sensitivity and using it as a gift here. Fortunately, we can create a healthy relationship with our emotions, learn to harvest the emotional messages more effectively and to use this wisdom as the seed for life changes. I share all the tools from my tool box during this Be Your Gift workshop series. All the tools, resources, jyotish wisdom, best practices I will share with you I've used my self and have been life saving including one of my favorite tools for emotional body awareness- somatic and expressive art therapy work. Sensitivity: Be Your Gift Workshop My Be Your Gift class series available once again, but only for a short period of time! This virtual class series will help you work with your sensitivity more consciously, cultivate more presence with it, and help you recognize it for the gift that it is. Here's what you'll learn in order to transform your relationship with sensitivity and your emotions: -Why sensitivity is your most powerful tool of self awareness and a life long gift. -How your sensitivity can be your most trustworthy ally. -How your sensitivity can build self confidence, trust in self and others, as well as self sufficiency. -What your body wisdom is telling you about this gift. -How to use your body's messages for deeper insights. -How to nourish and protect your sensitivity for maximum results. -Why sensitivity can be the missing link on your path and your dharmic journey. -What messages to look for in your emotional body in order for personal and spiritual growth. -How sensitivity is connected to the emotional body and the intuition, and why these are vital for your life. -The common mistake most people make when listening to their inner guidance systems. -"Best practices" for being a sensitive individual. -Why sensitivity is an indication of being gifted and talented. This is a four module class series shares over eight hours of class time! I share a variety of tools, including somatic and expressive art therapy techniques, so be prepared to move, create and share. Jyotish guidance will be given and discussion of the "markers of sensitivity" within a jyotish chart will be discussed so please bring a copy of your chart to the sessions. I'm also giving you three special bonus gifts and an additional live class with me April 11th that will help you deepen your intuition. Don't miss this re-launch of my Be Your Gift classes. This is the only time I'll be offering these classes in 2015!! The Four Modules Include: Module 1 Sensitivity: What is this sensitivity? How do I know if I'm sensitive? Using jyotish, somatic and expressive art therapy techniques, we will explore the dynamics of being sensitive, with an emphasis on cultivating presence in the emotional body. Module 2 Sensitivity: What does this mean for me and my life? Best practices for life, relationships, well being, mental/emotional health, and work/life balance as a sensitive person. Module 3 Sensitivity: Cultivating presence and awareness with this gift. How can this sensitivity be your biggest asset and what tools are required to nurture the relationship with your sensitivity, emotional body and intuitive guidance. Module 4 Deepening our relationship with the emotional body and felt senses with jyotish wisdom, somatic tools and expressive arts. Workshop wrap up. Get the details about my Be Your Gift class and listen to a free class I just taught- Ultimate Self Care for Sensitive Types. Don't miss out on my special re-launch pricing. Purchase before April 4th. Early bird pricing ends April 1st. Here's what a past workshop participant had to say: |
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