Working on your boundaries is tough. It can be easy to avoid doing it out of fear of repercussions or feeling guilty for letting people down.

It takes courage and a lot of focus and commitment to successfully show up to your life in a new way. Whatever you are currently tolerating has become your comfort zone, and even if it's not feeling "comfortable", your brain will fight you as you try to do something new. Our brains do not like change...it only wants to keep you safe and changing things up makes that difficult.

It’s funny how the things we heard growing up can really stick with us.

Maybe you were told that it’s always better to give than to receive.

Or that in order to be a good person, you should always be “nice” and “helpful” to others, no matter what. Even if the person you are helping and being nice to isn’t always helpful or nice to you!

Does it ever feel like somewhere along the way, you lost a part of yourself that you just haven’t been able to get back?

Between all the responsibilities of your work, your relationships and family, and general adulting, it can feel like there isn’t much time for YOU on your schedule.

There used to be things that you did that made you feel alive; things that contributed to a feeling of thriving in your life, not just merely surviving.

It all begins with an idea.

When you start to notice how your body feels in response to things happening in your life, you can start to see where things are not feeling aligned and what needs to shift.

You are a WHOLE, RESOURCEFUL, and CAPABLE BEING who is full of innate wisdom.

You don’t need someone to tell you what to do.

(That is SO annoying anyways isn’t it?)

I’m so curious if my last email got you thinking about your values.

Do you have a good idea of what your values are? Is this something you have thought about before or not so much?

It’s hard because it seems really obvious but at the same time if you haven’t given it much thought, your values may not be making regular appearances in your daily life.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how sometimes our work can really light us up and it feels like we are doing something important with our lives, and other times, our work can cause SO MUCH STRESS!!

It made me think of a time where I felt overwhelmed and stressed out at a time where it seemed like I “should” feel proud and accomplished.

It always used to make me laugh when a new client was filling out my massage intake form and they would get to the checkbox for stress. Most of the time, there would be a little incredulous laugh, like “uh yeah I have stress…doesn’t everyone?”

Stress can feel like a given…a common bond of sorts. And there can be a lot of different reasons to feel stressed. But there is one biggie that isn’t super obvious. It’s sneaky, but it’s also within our control (unlike some sources of stress).

We do need some muscular tension to function. To move and do what we need to do, and remain upright when we want to be. But we are also meant to fully relax AND only use as much tension as necessary to get the job done.

But it seems that a lot of people don’t even know that it is possible to FULLY relax on a regular basis. They think they have to just live with the feeling of non-stop tension.

After spending the time embodying our breath, we felt physically lighter, less tense and mentally calmer.

And this really gets to the heart of why I love sharing this work and combining it with coaching.

I use the Franklin method experience to help you understand how your body works and create a new and improved physical sensation.

But also, connecting with your body in this way helps you get in touch with yourself and learn more about YOU.

After teaching Breathing for Life last weekend (which was soooo much fun btw) I realized that there is a hidden benefit in taking time to focus on your breath.

There’s obviously all the physiological benefits like lower blood pressure, improved energy, and mitigating the effects of stress in the body.

BUT the surprise bonus is that it also serves to reconnect YOU with YOU.

It gives you the chance to slow down enough to really see how you are doing.

To quiet the noise and get crystal clear on what you want, and how you might get there.