Dance. It Makes You Better.

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This awesome stencil that I found somewhere on facebook really says it all. I don’t know where it came from (if it’s yours or you know who I can attribute it to, please let me know). But it’s so succinct, I had to share.

‘Every time I dance, I turn into a better version of me’.

Here’s an example:

A couple years ago, two days before my wedding, I was getting a little stressed out about the details. I was snappy, defensive and felt like everything was a looming disaster.  My husband and sister couldn’t talk me down, so they just handed me a hoop and said “Dance! We’ll be back in an hour or so. Just dance it out.”

Of course after 15 minutes of moving to music everything seemed right in the world again. An hour later, I couldn’t even remember what I had been upset about.  (BTW, I wasn’t a bridezilla at all. That was one of only two times I kind of freaked out. I was a chill bride, I swear!)

Anyway. Some people run to blow off steam, some people knit. I love to dance, with or without my hoops because it makes me better in every way, every time I do it.

It’s great exercise obviously, and it gets all your endorphins going, so you feel good doing it (and afterwards), but unlike just running or doing yoga, I get to be creative. It’s easy to drop into that beautiful flow state  that sends my conscious mind to the back burner while my body and spirit take the wheel. I feel a sense of peace and oneness that transcends the personal experience I’m having and puts me in touch with the greater picture.

Dancing makes me happy. It feels celebratory. Or, it can feel incredibly emotional in other ways; sad, angry, lonely, scared… But dancing out those emotions is so cathartic that it swings back to happy. Or at least peaceful.

For years, whenever I’ve asked for guidance (from above, from my inner self, from the universe, which ever), the message I almost invariably receive is ‘Dance!’.

Not only does it make me better, it makes the world better. Every time you dance, you make the world a better place. Even if it’s a dance of sadness, of pain, of anger or frustration, it makes the world better.

Dancing is the expression of your essence. As you move, you let yourself be known.

“Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made.”

Ted Shawn

This art, this essence expression makes you a better version of yourself. Every time you move authentically, you level up at life. You are here to be you. Every time you dance, you let your soul qualities shine through. Through dance, you  allow your most radiant self to shine through.

“As we let our light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence actually liberates others.”- Marianne Williamson

 

Imagine a world where everyone allowed their most radiant inner light shine through.

What would that look like?

What would that feel like?

Imagining it gives me  warm fuzzies and chills all at the same time.

Our joyful movement raises the collective vibration and illuminates the world.

Our dance is revolutionary.

“Just Dance.”

-Lady Gaga

I’ll leave you with a great hoop dance jam I had the other day.

I found some music that moved me, almost to tears and I had to hoop it out.

A Day of Radical, Spontaneous Forgiveness (Big, Small, Nothing At All)

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Today I’ve been guided to spend time releasing old irritations I’ve had with everyone in my life, including myself. I’ve never really been one to hold a grudge, and I’ve forgiven all the major grievances I’ve ever had with anyone, but I hadn’t given much thought to those minor grievances and annoyances.

I have been rereading Doreen Virtue’s book “The Lightworker’s Way“, and I came across a section that I must have just skipped over last time. I seem to recall reading it and thinking I would come back to do the exercise, but never did. The basic premise is that holding any unforgiveness creates blocks in your energy field which will interfere with your intuition and your health. To begin clearing this energy, write down the name of everyone who has every irritated you. The list will probably be pages and pages long. You can include yourself, people you haven’t thought of in years and years, even pets! Then, in a distraction free environment, go through the names on your list one by one, holding the mental image of the person as you say (aloud or in your head) “I forgive and release you. I hold no unforgiveness back. My forgiveness is total. I am free and you are free.”

It might take a half hour to go through the list. I started by speaking aloud, but eventually switched to speaking in my head. As well as individuals, I started picturing whole buildings (like former places of employment), and cities (all the cities in which I’ve lived). After this process, I felt incredibly light and definitely free. Like I cleared out so much gunk in my soul and being, which feels awesome. I feel like I made more room for all the awesome stuff like love and joy as I released resentment and irritation which had been with me for years!

Doreen also recommends doing a quick version of this every night, before going to sleep to clear the energy field. I imagine I’ll sleep better after doing this  and I can’t wait to try it.

Shortly after doing this exercise, a video came up in my facebook newsfeed from one of my favorite spiritual teachers, Matt Khan from True Divine Nature. It’s called The Ultimate Surrender: 

I highly, highly recommend watching this, to have forgiveness re-framed for you entirely. In fact, watch everything he has on Youtube. He transmits a beautiful, relaxing divine energy when he speaks, and the energy reminds me that there is nothing to forgive, as everything, including you,  is perfect as is.

 

It’s Time To Shine, Radiant Ones!

 

Astrologically speaking, we spent the last month diving deep into the emotional realms with the archetype of Cancer, a sign ruled by the moon. This was a time to be focused on nurturing, comfort and personal growth. It was the perfect time to do that healing work, and I just so  happened to be in Atlanta with Lisa Michaels, certifying as a Natural Rhythms conscious dance facilitator. It was an amazingly supportive environment for personal growth and I was able to really dig down into the messy stuff and dance it out while I was there. But as a really fiery, earthy person myself, the watery emotional stuff always makes me a bit uncomfortable and although I’m grateful for all the lessons that the realm of feelings impart, I’m also SUPER grateful to be back in my comfort zone!

Today is the start of the Leo new moon, and the sun is also in Leo. Double Leos! What does it mean? Well, Leo is fiery action sign all about self-love, so it’s time to ramp up your radiant inner light! Shining your own light is a gift to the world as it inspires others and gives them permission to do the same! It’s time to celebrate the gorgeous awesome radiant light being who YOU are!

We are constantly receiving messages that we need to contain our fire and our radiance. Humility is a virtue and we don’t want to appear conceited or like we’re showing off. It’s a fine line, for sure and as in all things, we need to strike a balance. But Leo teaches us how to strike that perfect balance by allowing us to use our radiant self love to illuminate the world and make it a better place. It isn’t about showing off, it’s about allowing the light within us to shine as brightly as it can.

This makes this month a spectacular time to focus on illuminating your true self. Let your true essence be seen. The Real You is more inspiring than any image or idea you have about who you “should” be. The Real You is brilliant, and beautiful beyond all imagination. We are, at our core, beings of pure light who have chosen to come into these physical forms to have an experience! We should enjoy our physical bodies as well as our souls! Have fun adorning yours! This is a perfect time to take really good care of this body you’ve decided to inhabit!  There is nothing conceited about making yourself look and feel fantastic!

I’m planning on using this mega double down Leo energy to it’s full potential. I’m wearing more sparkles than usual, and I’m getting a hair cut tomorrow!  I’m also in the process of packing up all my greatest costumes for Shambhala Music Festival, (my happy place) where I’ll be dancing and celebrating my joyful radiant self all weekend, with ten thousand other beautiful, shiny, happy, radiant beings of light, dressed up and having some of their finest human experiences!

 

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Adventures With Superfoods!!!

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On my way back from Astral Harvest Music Festival I wound up eating nothing but chocolate for lunch. A lot of chocolate, like… 3 bars of chocolate. It was my consolation prize after  waiting an hour for my  meal at the Boston Pizza in Slave Lake, and then sending it back because it was so nasty. It was supposed to be a simple burger, hold the bun, with a side salad. Nothing complicated, but for some reason said burger tasted like a microwaved breakfast sausage patty.  As I didn’t have time to replace the meal, I thought we’d just stop at 7-11 to grab something on the way, leading me to a big Cadbury’s Milk Chocolate bar (the other 2 came later on the drive).

As you can imagine, I didn’t feel that proud of my chocolate for dinner choice after the fact, but my body handled it like a champ. As a thank you for not rebelling against the sugar and dairy, I decided to treat it to a week of superfoods!  Although it’s been awhile since I’ve challenged myself in the nutrition department, my daily choices have been consistently healthier than they were at the start of the project. I’ve been making green smoothies, eating 95% whole foods and feeling pretty good about it, but there’s always room to kick it up a notch!

used under creative commons license
used under creative commons license

For the challenge, I decided to see if I could go a whole week only eating “superfoods”. My definition of superfood is basically just any food that is nutrient dense. The more vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals, the better!
Over the course of the week, I’ve discovered that I already eat tons of amazing superfoods. I usually just also added in some junk so really my strategy was just to replace that 5-10% of my diet that was sub optimal with something SUPER!

I’ve been eating crap tons of things like walnuts, almonds, berries, veggies of all kinds, spinach, wild salmon, avocado, coconut oil, hummus, etc. I have expanded the definition of superfood to include Bacon.

cookbookman17 cc by 2.0
cookbookman17 cc by 2.0

 

Why? Because it’s super too. It’s a soul food

I’m pretty sure it has magical powers and I’m not just saying that because it’s cool to fetishize bacon right now.

Speaking of magic superfoods, I’ve also found a new breakfast powerhouse of awesome that I should share with you as well!

Overnight Oats! These have changed my life. I’m so happy to dig in that I’ve been rushing through yoga in the morning just to shove these in my face! Here are a few more examples from Kathy Eats Real Food and The Oatmeal Artist.

My personal recipe so far has been:

1/3 cup of rolled oats

2/3 cup of nut milk (I’ve used soy, almond and coconut so far)

1/2 serving of Vega chocolate all in one nutrition powder

2 tsp coconut flakes

handful of chopped walnuts

1 Tbs raw cacao powder

Mix together in tupperware , and let sit covered overnight in fridge.

In the morning, if I’m feeling fancy I’ll occasionally add some chopped banana or blueberries, but I usually don’t bother.
This high protein superfood packed breakfast bomb is making me so happy! It’s great for the mornings when a green smoothie just isn’t enough!

So the moral of the story is: You never know where a chocolate binge might lead you so go ahead and have that second bar. Without it, superfood week wouldn’t exist and you might not know about life-changing overnight oats!

 

 

Food for Thought: What legacy do you want to leave behind?

Circles of Love, Life and Beauty From artbyglorianna
Circles of Love, Life and Beauty From artbyglorianna

Today in the Creation Coach training, we were doing a wholeness integration which focused on the complete cycle of life, including death. We were asked to spend some time contemplating what we want to leave behind when we pass.

As I tuned into to my soul’s desires, I found that I want to leave a legacy of love, peace and playfulness.

I want, more than anything, to leave an energetic imprint on this earth that is so full of love and hope that it will be felt for generations. I want to leave behind a community of souls who live with intention, with joy and in balance with their inner and outer worlds.

I’m not sure exactly what shape this will take, but thinking of it brought me a sense of peace. It’s been awhile since I’ve done an exercise like this, but I always love how much perspective it gives to your priorities. If you know what you want to leave behind, you can focus your energy on projects that build that legacy.

I have so many things I would like to do, in business and in life. More things that I could accomplish in this life, so I might as well narrow down my projects to whatever will help me leave behind that legacy of love, health and happiness.

This was especially poignant to do at a time when Southern Alberta has flooded, and 175,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, including many of my friends and family.  So much property has been destroyed, but the atmosphere that I can see has been so hopeful, with so much love and solidarity expressed throughout the province and the world. Most people are offering up their homes and resources freely, with so much compassion for their neighbors! This is the energetic legacy that will be left behind from this flood. People banding together to help each other.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jordan Verlage
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jordan Verlage

Please, take a few minutes today to send love and light to those affected by the flooding. If you’re feeling called to do so, you could donate your time to help if you’re close by, or money to the Red Cross to assist the rescue and clean up efforts. Then take a few minutes to consider what kind of legacy you’d want to leave behind after your passing. I’ll bet you’re not thinking of things and stuff. I know everyone reading this is more concerned about the difference they want to make on this beautiful, wild planet of ours.

Creation Coach Training

Just as most classes are winding down, I’m throwing myself into school!

I’m training to be a Natural Rhythms Creation Coach!I realize it kind of sounds related to family planning, and the Fertility Awareness Method   but it’s not (at least not directly).  It’s a way of life coaching using the archetypes of nature to help understand and structure creation and manifestation in your life. I’m learning how to work with the wheel of the year, moon cycles, astrological archetypes and elements and I’m loving every moment of the course so far.

I’ve longed for several years to connect more deeply to nature. I was so divorced from the natural world, even when I spent time in it growing up as I resided almost entirely in my head and the world of ideas. I spend most of my childhood reading and I found nature to be a distraction from what I really wanted to be doing, which was escaping my body.

Over the past 5 years or so, I’ve been learning that I really, really love working with the natural realm. The more I connect to nature, the more whole I feel. I’ve also found within myself a deep reverence for the earth. I now know that I’m here on this planet, in this body by choice. I wanted this experience in it’s entirety, for it’s immersion into form and feeling!

I used to reject my own body, and I tried to rise above it’s human failings like emotional reactions. I wanted logic and reason to rule and when that didn’t work, I tried to use spiritual detachment to avoid feeling. I’m so lucky to have had the good fortune to have some of the most important people in my life insist that it was ok to be human, and it was ok to feel and that it was a good thing!

I’ve come full circle these days. My life is infinitely better and I am infinitely happier now that I work with my body, with my feelings and acknowledge my own place in the natural realm.

It feels like divine magic, but  it’s really just common sense to understand that when we understand and honor the natural rhythms and cycles of life instead of fighting them that things begin to flow, easily and joyfully in our lives! I’m so excited that this is something I’ll be able to share, in service to the world and everything in it!

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Turning Up The Awesome!

 

by Scott Spooner
by Scott Spooner

 

I’m always looking for ways of increasing the awesome quotient in my life!

A few years ago I discovered that I could bring far more awesome into my life by not being too specific when I was calling in energy, wishing, hoping, praying or manifesting. Instead of asking for a certain outcome like increasing my income, I just started asking the universe for more awesome, in whatever form it takes.

As creative as I am, I feel like the universe has a much better perspective on things and I don’t want to limit myself to whatever happens to be in my imagination.

I’ve recently stumbled upon a fantastic new magical visualization for turning up the awesome in my life. It’s from the book Divine Magic by Doreen Virtue which is her translation of The Kybalion  which was written in 1908, purported to be the essence of the teachings of the Egyptian sage named Hermes.  Sounds a little obscure, I know, but it’s a life changing book.

The visualization is based on the principle of polarity, which states: Any two things which seem to be opposites are in fact the same thing, just on different ends of a spectrum. As an example light and darkness are two extremes of the pole called ‘illumination’. Hot and cold are two extremes on the pole of temperature.

The Kybalion says “The difference between things diametrically opposed to each other is merely a matter of degree”. To shift something up or down the pole simply requires changing it’s vibration. To heat something up, you are literally agitating the molecules so they move more quickly.

You can work with this principle of divine magic energetically by visualizing a pole with a lever on it. Virtue uses the prosperity pole as an example, with poverty at the bottom and prosperity at the top. As you visualize sliding the lever up as high as you can, you will be raising your own energetic vibration surrounding money and prosperity.

You can imagine a whole soundboard with poles for every aspect of you life. Finances, relationships, health, happiness, success, anything at all!

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Now, raise the levers on all them, up as high as you can!  Max it out if possible.

I find that some levers slide easily and some take a bit more metal pressure. Once I’ve raised them up, I like to imagine an beam of white light locking them in place.

Then I turn my attention to the master control.

I see it in my minds eyes as a pole on it’s own board with a sparkly lever. The whole thing is pretty glittery and disco. It’s labeled ‘Awesome’.

I then mentally raise the awesome lever, taking my time, feeling the resistance and friction. It doesn’t always slide up easily, but once it’s at the top, I notice that I do in fact, feel more awesome.

I can literally feel my energy vibrating at a higher level. I usually feel kind of tingly and super excited about life!

Try it and let me know what you think!

It’s been so effective I’ve incorporated it into my morning routine, and I’ve definitely notice an increase in all things awesome in my days.

Culinary Gratitude

Food and I are on good terms nowadays.

These last few months of really listening to my body has (inevitably) lead me to healthier choices and I’ve stopped eating foods that disagree with me. It’s really nice to sit down to a meal without feeling conflicted about eating it, and it’s even nicer to not feel guilty after eating.  After years of fighting with my body and my conscience about food, it feels really good to feel good about what I’m putting inside me. I’ve always been a comfort and stress eater, and I’ve always loved food of all kinds, but not all of them loved me back (specifically wheat, dairy and refined sugar).

I’m not gonna lie. It  was hard to imagine giving up certain foods… I knew for years that my body wasn’t as OK with dairy as I pretended it was, but it didn’t make me feel as bad as wheat did, so I ignored that fact. I also didn’t want to live without ice cream but once I really started to pay attention to what foods made me feel good and nourished, it got easier. Once I cleaned up my eating, every time I chose to eat something my body didn’t like, I felt awful! I mean, physically just awful. My stomach protested and I felt gross. I won’t go into the details, but suffice to say, it was stinky.  Since I really hate feeling gross, the negative reinforcement has been super effective!

It’s taken 30 years, but I finally (for the most part) I pretty much only crave foods that make me feel good instead of terrible! I’m okay switching out dairy for coconut milk ice cream and sorbets, and to just go with goat cheese instead of cow’s milk cheeses. I’ve developed a taste for raw chocolate and fruit is sweet enough to satisfy me as dessert. I do need a certain amount of fat in a meal though, or I feel completely unsatisfied.

I’ve also started expressing my gratitude to my food. It’s come naturally as I’ve started to really appreciate how nourishing the right foods are to me, but I was inspired when I ate with a women in Bali who took a few seconds to bless her food before eating it. I know it’s a time honored tradition to bless food before eating it, but it’s one that I thought was kind of stupid when I was younger. Probably because it delayed the meal and I was usually eager to dive right in! I didn’t like to contemplate what I was about to eat and I’m sure part of that was because I was ignoring messages about how food was making me feel. I used to sneak food as a kid, especially chocolate and biscuits. I knew what I was doing was wrong on several levels, but sneaking it made me feel like I was getting away with something.

Now I try to remember to bless everything I eat. It’s a practice that really has been helping me with mindfulness.  I hold my hands close to the food, sending love and gratitude into it. Sometimes I use Reiki energy, and sometimes I silently say a prayer of thanks. Taking a few seconds to really pay attention to my food before I shove it into my face forces me to slow down and appreciate it. I’m pretty sure it makes it taste better too. Or maybe that’s just a function of slowing down long enough to really taste it. Either way, I’m grateful.

Adventures at Hoop Convergence!

How was Hoop Convergence you ask?

Epic.

Here in a shiny example of it’s epic nature is our cabin’s awkward family photo:

photo by Carla Snow
photo by Carla Snow

We were given two sets of instructions for this:

One was ‘Stare off into the distance, with dreamy, pondering eyes’. Then someone else said ‘Now pretend you see a Pterodactyl!’ Only a few of us listened to that last instruction, and I think that makes it better!

I wish I had more time to get to know these wonderful, talented ladies, but they were great cabin mates. For some reason they put all the folks from Canada, Wisconsin and Massachusetts together. Perhaps they thought we’d bond over snow and prairies… Turns out we bonded over hula hoops and acro bunk bed yoga. My travel companion Carla Snow from http://www.flowlab.ca

Speaking of Carla, I couldn’t have asked for a better travel companion. We always have so much fun together, and she’s been my biggest support on my hoop journey. She gave an incredible Hoop Talk on Thursday night (recovering from Laryngitis in the nick of time!) She spoke passionately about feeding the community through intentional business practices and my heart swelled with pride as she had the whole audience nodding and agreeing with her the whole time.

We had the chance to take in loads of workshops from some of the world’s greatest hoopers. My favorite hoop classes were taught by Beth Lavinder, Nick Guzzardo and Kenna Hoops, but they were all amazing. I think the most memorable class for me was a dance/movement class with Khan that involved dancing for 10 minutes for your partner, who was a silent witness, with no music. Then taking 5 minutes each to talk about the experience.  It was a really powerful hour for everyone in the room, and it brought up a lot of interesting feelings to work through. I needed a good cry afterwards, and another  class participant said she wouldn’t need therapy for a year! Healing, transformative movement!

It was really incredible how open and accessible the teachers were, and so many of them were right there in the thick of things, taking workshops with us. Carla captured a moment where Emma, Brecken and I were being a little disruptive during Spiral’s class, after I realized you could do some rebounding crotch thrusting inside a mini hoop (which was definitely off topic). It was ok though, cause we turned it into  a combo working in the class material. Here is our crotch rebound into  a corkscrew!

Photo by Carla Snow
Photo by Carla Snow

As much fun as the classes were, the jams and showcases were the real highlights for me. There was a real showcase (flowcase) where our incredibly, jaw dropping-ly talented instructors performed ridiculous routines. Here’s Nick Guzzardo’s piece, which was second only to his topless fire hooping the night before:

Hoop Convergence also had a renegade showcase the next night, which is a tradition from juggling conventions. This was probably my favorite activity all weekend, and not just because SaFire, Carla and I taught a renegade Finger Flow workshop wearing onsies. Most of the acts were dirty and hilarious and the few that weren’t were downright beautiful, like Caroleena’s piece with her gorgeous cockateil Mulder. There was everything from uni-cycling while hooping, butt jumping with  skipping rope, hooping, dooping, vooping (don’t ask) and a ukelele sing along.

I’m already counting down the days till next year.

Hoop Convergence and North Carolina have stolen my heart.

Photo by Carla Snow
Photo by Carla Snow

On The Road Again

by BRS man cc by 2.0
by BRS man cc by 2.0

I feel like I’m just getting back into the groove here at home but it’s already time to hit the road again. This time, I’m only traveling through a couple time zones, so I think I can handle it.

I’m headed to Hoop Convergence in North Carolina, the original hoop dance retreat just outside Hooper’s Mecca, Carrboro (Where Baxter, Ann, Spiral, Jewels and many more crazy masters hail from). I’m so excited to be heading back into the retreat environment. There is nothing like being around a group of hoop dancers, yogis, circus artists and all around prop enthusiasts. It’s a guaranteed good time since we’re all there to play!

I had a few moments of depression at work last week when I felt really alone. I realized it was because I missed the amazing sense of community that’s found at events like this, where everyone greets you with smiles and it’s so easy to make new friends. Actually, Hoop Convergence will be a bit of a reunion for quite a few people from Bali, yay!  Not to mention this time, I have a travel companion who is also a guaranteed good time, so I’m getting super stocked for everything!

I won’t be blogging throughout (I’m treating this retreat as an actual vacation), but I’ll be sure to give the highlights when I get back!