Lead With Your Heart :: Part II
Happy Full Moon!!
Like I said to my breathwork circle on Friday, I love using the cycles of the moon to remind myself to do a little check in. The moon cycle is like a little mini year contained in each month. It's a creative cycle every 28 days. It's easy to get caught up in the hamster wheel of daily life so the moon is a great reminder to slow down and go inward on a more regular basis. Rather than waiting for a new year or a new month or our birthday to do a little review, we get to reflect on what's working, where are we out of balance, WHAT DOES OUR HEART NEED, every month (and actually every day with every breath).
Back in March, I wrote about an exercise class that reminded me to "lead with my heart" (you can re-read that post here if you missed it!). Today, as we have arrived into the new spring season, I'd like to discuss how, sometimes, leading with your heart is hard to do!
Leading from the heart requires first LISTENING to the heart.
Sometimes your heart can be really loud and clear. Almost bossy even (all with love!). Many times your heart will speak to you softly, with little nudges, a tiny voice, or a pull of an emotion.
And you have a beautiful and brilliant mind that likes to have a lot of air time when it comes to making decisions in your life.
All with the goal of keeping you safe, which is really important (thank you Mind!), your brain will plan, strategize, write a long list of pros and cons, throw in a healthy (and sometimes unhealthy) dose of worry, think about what is rational, logical, smart. That can be a lot of noise that definitely has tons of value AND can drown out the other part of the equation of making decisions that feel true and authentic and for the highest good of all involved.
And that's your own internal wisdom, intuition, and what FEELS best.
And those answers come, most often, from your heart.
So here are my tips for getting to the heart of the matter (see what I did there..?!):
1) Get physical.
Literally! MOVE your body to get IN your body. Do whatever movement you like that gets you OUT of your mind and powerfully present in your body. Here are some ideas:
- Lift weights
- Go for a run
- Walk or hike vigorously
- Go through a few yoga flow sequences
- Self-pleasure yourself
- Dance to your favorite song
- Shake out each part of your body (a la the hokey pokey from our youth)
- Stretch
- Do some bodyweight exercises: jumping jacks, running in place, squats, planks
- A few minutes of breathwork
- If you're in a public place (like your desk at work or in a grocery store) tap on your sternum, take some deep breaths, and feel your feet on the floor.
2) Then get quiet.
Close your eyes if you can, place a hand or two on your heart. Listen.
Sometimes the answer doesn't come right away and that's okay. Trust that it will and begin to pay conscious attention to the little synchronicities that show up, the intuitive hits you get, the opportunities that are presented to you, and HOW THINGS MAKE YOU FEEL.
3) Act.
When you've heard your heart, acknowledge it! Send gratitude, act in the guidance, give yourself some love. The more you value your inner heart's wisdom, the more clearly you'll begin to hear it and the stronger it will feel. Trust is sometimes like a muscle we have to work at and build up. Help you and your heart trust each other.
Now over to you! What is your favorite activity to help you get out of your head and into your body? How does your heart like to communicate with you? I'd love to hear!
Shameless plug: the nature of all my healing sessions is to help you feel into your own inner guidance by clearing out all the distractions and connecting you to your essence. If you need a little extra support with listening to your heart, I'd be happy to hold that space for you. xo!