EXCEPT THE HEART
I've recently seen a new to me hashtag circulating the social networks called #fourthtrimester - the captions lament all the things a postpartum mother wasn't prepared to experience and the lack of knowledge or support available for this stage of new motherhood.
Last Summer, I wrote about early motherhood in my diary. You can read the post here. I'd have to say it's so sad that this lack of emotional education is still true. As a 24-year-old brand new mother, I felt emotionally sideswiped by how I wanted to feel and how I was feeling after my emergency C section. Interestingly the trauma surrounding my son's birth implicitly followed him into young adulthood, and the impact of 2020 became a mood and emotional tipping point. He found some relief with lifestyle edits, diet, exercise, and supplementation, which I'll share in another entry, but that wasn't enough; a pillar was missing. After working with various therapists, my husband and I found that Constellation Therapy, a less heard of modality, was the right fit - through a trusted referral.
Without the tools I now have, I didn't understand explicit mood and emotions, their effects, and how to deal with them. If I had the knowledge I do now, I would have been incorporating a holistic healing protocol for him and me postpartum. It wasn't until I became an asana instructor over 13 years ago that I learned how emotions can become trapped at a cellular level and how techniques like movement can help the release. Experiencing firsthand with someone I love that feelings buried alive never die, I've since furthered my education and personal practice to take a proactive approach preparing for middle life and an emptier nest.
Seasons change; this is the one thing we are guaranteed in life.
Spring means change for all of us, and we are all experiencing the season together. In TCM or traditional Chinese medicine, the organ associated with Spring is the liver and gallbladder.
Except for the heart, no other organ in the human body is attributed to the powerful emotions of the liver.
Right now is as good a time as any to address or Spring clean your emotional life, not just the home. When I purge and organize my abode, I can get overwhelmed, there is so much to do. It may always feel that way but the interest of good habits compounds, just like investments, and this is one of the best investments you can make.
Start small, begin here.
I have fallen in love with an essential oil called Release. I apply three drops under my right side ribcage; this is approximately where your liver lives inside of you - then I do my movement and meditation practice.
Are you ready to release something? Are you ready to let go? Let me hold space for you my friend. Join my live asana classes on Instagram. If you can't make it live, I'll keep the recording up for you, and any questions you have you can put in the comments, or you can reach out here. I'll be sure to reply.
RELEASE & EMOTIONS
Release is a helpful blend to aid in releasing anger and memory trauma from the liver to create emotional wellbeing. It helps open the subconscious mind through pineal stimulation (sandalwood and tansy stimulate the pineal gland) to release deep-seated trauma. For our purposes, trauma can be defined as "any situation where you got less than you needed and were not equipped to process it." These traumas actually get stored deep within our cellular memory, and we can use the limbic system of the brain to help shift our thoughts and emotions around these traumas and patterns. To learn more about this incredible oil, click here or to try it for yourself, tap below.
P.S. I genuinely share what I love; you can always count on that. I do earn a commission through the affiliate links I share unless stated otherwise. Thank you for trusting me.
ACCENT THE ETHER
What I love most about the new and full moon is that they both accent the ether and remind us that to everything, there is a season, that the shifts of life are part of the human experience we can count on. For some of us, change is more challenging than others, but it's rarely comfortable for any of us; however, it can often lead to something beautiful if we choose flow over force.
On the full moon ( day before, of, and day after), I like to incorporate moon salutes with specific essential oils into the classes I instruct. Moon Salutations are cooling and quieting. They are used to calm the mind and draw the awareness inward. Roll Peace & Calming or Stress Away on the spine and mastoids to help reduce nervous energy and stress. These essential oils may help you sink more deeply into postures for restoration.
Since some of us have cycles synced to the moon or are working on it, I thought I'd throw in another fun full moon fact. Specific shapes can help bring balance during menstruation and pre-menstrual syndrome. The Deep Relief blend in a roller reduces the physical symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome. I recommend applying to the low back and abdomen, then taking a child's pose, legs on the wall, or reclining queen. If you are taking a deep stretch class like the one I teach at 11 on Saturdays, you could potentially tap into some deep emotional stuff, those dang hip openers! Be sure to have emotionally supportive oils nearby; you can always message me for suggestions.
Saying affirmations is another beneficial practice to incorporate on a moon day or any day. After working with an incredible mindset & life coach this past year, I have a top tip about creating a practice that brings results. Between thoughts that may be way too accessible or extraordinary, try to find an affirmation that feels more true to you. For example, if you are healing from recent grief, instead of saying "I am handling whatever life brings my way," accessible or "I am vibrant, whole, and fully alive," extraordinary; you could try "I am here, I am breathing, and I am in the process of healing."
What is your affirmation? I'd love to hear in the comments below.
If you like this kind of content, join my Self Care Commune on Facebook. I curate this kind space for people to discuss seasonal self-care with asana & essential oils.
P.S. I genuinely share what I love; you can always count on that. I do earn a commission through the affiliate links I share unless stated otherwise. Thank you for trusting me.
MIND, BODY & ABODEWe are three months into 2022; how's it going? It's gone by way too fast for me, just like every other year in my adult life.
Remember as a kid when it seemed to take foreverrrrrr to get to Christmas or your birthday, and now you can't get them to stop coming so fast. I can not be the only one!
If you've been following me over the last few months, you know I've been enjoying my Peloton bike and all the classes the app has to offer. Aditi & Cody's 5-minute meditations are just what my mornings need. If you want to try the app for free, here's a 60-day pass - make sure to follow me @superyogapalace I've loved every ride and workout with that app, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I've missed sharing energy with other humans as the client or student and not the instructor. There is something about a trainer or teacher telling you what to do, holding space for you, with you. and pushing you to do more than you might do on your own.
Some of my gal pals hire a personal trainer to workout with weekly in a garage gym, so I'm going to try it for a month and see how I feel energetically, relationally, and look physically. It's a yin yang situation!
The one thing I've learned over the last five years is to lean in and listen to what lights you up, what gives you a glow, and get curious about it. Springtime is another beautiful time to begin again. Keep trying things until something pings for you.
Exercise and nourishment is one part of what impacts how I feel; the other part is the environment's energy. Both aspects can impair or elevate my physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. I thrive in a home and workspace that is aesthetically pleasing, organized, and clean; Spring is always punctuated by going deep into my dwelling place and sifting through the things I need and the things I don't. A deep clean follows after the clutter is clear, creating a clean slate for potential.
TIP ONE
TIP TWO
I always do better by taking a big task like deep cleaning my home and breaking it into smaller action items, so I created a 7-Day Natural Cleaning Challenge for myself and anyone else who feels like joining in, maybe you? Natural cleaning is simple, but you need to know what you're doing and why you're doing it because there is no sense in cleansing your space if you are bringing harsh chemicals in to do it. Curious as to why?
Here are a few of my notes.
soft surface spray
Ingredients
- 8oz glass spray bottle
- 1 tsp Thieves Household Cleaner
- 10 drops each Lavender, Eucalyptus Radiata, Tea Tree, Lemon essential oils
- Filtered or distilled water
Instructions
Add essential oils and Thieves Household Cleaner to the spray bottle, then gently fill with water, leaving room to add the spray top. Spray as desired!
If you're Spring cleaning your mind, body, and abode this month, you should join the
7 Day Natural Cleaning Challenge I've created this for myself and my crunchy inclined friends. It begins March 14th, on Facebook but you can hop in anytime you're ready to begin by clicking the button below. Once you're in follow the hashtag #7daycleaningchallenge
- Jessica
P.S. I genuinely share what I love; you can always count on that. I do earn a commission through the affiliate links I share unless stated otherwise. Thank you for trusting me.
NEON PINK FOREVER
Would yoga by any other name feel just as sweet?
I think so!
Call it what you will, but that feel-good feeling is all from flow, a movement connected to breathe, and at SYP wrapped in a communal bow offering an energetic experience that leaves you feeling S U P E R
This March, we're working on wrapping ourselves in breath through repetition. This Saturday is a perfect practice to ease your way into Spring. You'll leave with clarity of mind, a rinsed, released, and organized body ready to face what is coming your way. 🖤
MIND BODY ABODESpeaking of rinsed and released, who here is Spring cleaning not only their mind and body but their abode?
That you clean your space is as important as How you clean it because EVERYTHING is connected. After all, the body, mood, and emotions are affected by our surroundings and the energy or toxic energy it emits.
If you'd like to read my notes on Spring Cleaning for Mind Body & Abode, CLICK HERE
I am even hosting an in-person workshop called The Holistic Home if you'd like to connect and DIY some household goods with the self-care commune. To see more, TAP the button below.
Whether it be mind, body, or abode, I hope I'll get to Spring Clean with you sometime, somewhere this March.
See you online or in person, my friend!
- Jessica
P.S. I genuinely share what I love; you can always count on that. I do earn a commission through the affiliate links I share unless stated otherwise. Thank you for trusting me.
ME RIGHT NOW
If I could be anyone right now, I would Samuel Herring of Future Islands on David Letterman in 2016 or at least in the shower.
Maybe it's the warmer weather in Dallas, Texas, the trees, and their budding branches reminding me that everything is a season; and that you'll never get to spring without winter. Maybe these moves are because I'm going to see Nick Cave tonight; perhaps it's the caffeinated inspiration that's kicking in about now; maybe it's all of the above.
One thing I can say for sure is that these moves are definitely induced by the fact that I'll be teaching back at an oasis called Super Yoga Palace this Saturday at 9 am until eternity.
Yeah, we're back, and I'm excited about that! I hope to see you on the mat; good moves, good tunes, high vibes! For your dose of Saturday yoga that makes you feel famous, CLICK THE BUTTON
- Jessica
P.S. I genuinely share what I love; you can always count on that. I do earn a commission through the affiliate links I share unless stated otherwise. Thank you for trusting me.
