Reflection of Your Inner Self

Everything we are experiencing showing up in our physical world is a reflection of what is going on within ourselves. 

I have had 2 profound examples of this in my world over this last week.  The extent that this is true is mind-blowing and how it has shown up in my world, both examples I'm using are very different and both were directly connected to what I had going on in my mental and emotional bodies.

First, I had a situation with a man where I was very much cutting myself off from him and trying to just separate (which was, in actuality, very much my own self-sabotage) and I was completely spinning in my own stuff.  His reaction to me reflected it, I was so caught up in my stuff that I was being hidden.  When I (what felt like physically and) consciously went into myself and shifted what I was feeling and what I was putting out and AT him, his entire demeanor, energetic and actions towards me changed...it was PROFOUND how fast it happened and just how quickly the entire situation changed.  "Oh, there she is, cool."  PROFOUND concrete confirmation for me of just how energy creates and effects energy and how we really and truly create and effect the world around us.

Second, I found myself SEVERELY tucking my pelvis under and what felt like clenching my lower abdominals and transverse abdominus and I could not stop it, no matter how much I told my body to stop it-which I am very adept at doing!  While talking with my gf about it, I started talking to her about this situation with a man that I had been in where I felt very betrayed, attacked and let down, not to mention disappointed in his actions and complete lack of awareness about what he was actually doing.  After talking with her about it, I noticed I had more movement in my pelvis!  Woohoo!  After finally deciding how to handle and what I would do about the situation then informing him of my decision, my hips released even more and the pain that had come up in my sacrum lessened considerably.  Whew!  What a direct confirmation of the mind-emotion-body connection!

Do you have any examples of how you have seen things connect for you?  What have you seen manifest for you that you were focusing on?  How have you noticed the what your think and feel connection in the physical world?  Please share, I'm really curious how this shows up for you!

The Goddess Attracts, Never Pursues

What does this mean to you? 

You know the "Theory of Attraction", yes?  You attract into your life what you want by your intention and your giving space and allowance for it to show up.  It is the opposite of the energy of force and action.  In essence, these are the dynamic interplay of the Feminine and Masculine Energies of life. 

Feminine Power is coming from a space of Love:  receiving, holding space for, allowing, softening,  loving and appreciating all of you, receiving, holding space for, allowing, softening, setting/honoring boundaries from the space of Love and being Centered and Embodied from this true place of Power. 

Masculine Power is coming from a place of Being on a Train Track: complete focus, action, force, not taking no for an answer, setting boundaries from a place of "don't mess with me, I am doing what I want and nothing is going to stop me, so don't even try."

How good is your balance with these two energies in your life?  Do you do everything from force and action?  Do you allow yourSelf to create and to let Life happen and bring the amazingness that you desire/deserve with patience, trust and knowing that God/the Universe/Life (whatever your word for the Divine is) has your back and that the greatest and highest good (notice the similarity to GOD) will always show up, no matter what it looks like at the time, or even when it shows up?  Do you do BOTH, whatever is actually called for from you in each situation? 

There is no right or wrong answer.  You can't screw this up.  Everything happens as it is supposed to happen, no matter what...

SO...staying in your Inner Goddess Self is simply staying with yourSelf.  With your Intuition.  With your Innate Knowing.  One lets it come to her instead of feeling like she has to go out and make it happen.  One stays in...grounded, centered, soft and feminine.  Moving Your Inner Goddess is simply moving with this energetic and connecting it within yourself and your body.  The Goddess attracts, not pursues...

part 3: transverse abdominis

This is the third and last installment of my 3 part series talking about the muscles I focus on teaching people to engage when they first begin working with me and what their physical, energetic and emotional connection is within the body.  Today we talk about the Tranverse Abdominis and it's role.
  
It is the deepest of the abdominal muscles.  That means it is the one closest to your internal organs. It is sometimes referred to as the "corset" muscle.  Its primary role is to provide support to the spine and increase pressure on the abdominal cavity (where the internal organs are) and thoracic cavity (where the lungs are).  The fibers run transversely across the body (hence the muscle's name).  When the transverse abdominis contracts, the linea alba (the center of the abdomen) moves in towards the center of the body as it is pulled towards all of the origins of the muscle.  So when I tell you to pull your belly button into the spine or pull your belly down, it is to encourage activation of the transverse abdominis.  The transverse abdominis is usually the weakest of the four abdominal muscles for many reasons, including back and hip pain, back and hip trauma, pregnancy, stress in one's life, etc.  It is shut down and not firing in MOST people.  However, Activation of your transverse abdominis is what flattens your belly, as well as supports the back and it is key in supporting your back and hips and working with any pain in those areas.

Being the deepest muscle in the center of the body and physically supporting the entire body, (particularly the lower back and hips) as well as being the connection between the lower part of the heart energetic center and the solar plexus (the center for personal power), it is very much a part of self-love, security/self-identity and belief in onesself.  The lower back holds a lot of security issues, stress and tension of all kinds.  The hips hold a lot of rigidity/flexibility issues as well as stress and tension.  The transverse supports both of these and when properly functioning, helps them both stabilize, thus balancing a lot of the: rigidity, flow, adaptability to life and movement, belief in onesself, security in who one is in this world and feeling secure within this world.  All stress comes from one trying to control the world around them instead of accepting what is, being with what is and moving with what is.  Stress comes from trying to make something, very often times everything, into something it is not.

Learning to engage the tranverse take a lot of practice and focus, and many people want to just gloss over it and let the psoas, arms and legs take over in movements instead of truly learning how to use it as it is designed to be.  There is true value in learning how to slow down and allow the body to be, allow yourself to be, and let something happen as it is supposed to happen instead of the forcing and making something work that we are all accustomed to and have come to believe is the only way to make changes...in fact, it very often stops true change from happening.  In order to bring the new, the fluidity and flexibility within one's body and life, one has to accept that learning how to do something different and allow that there might be another way to do something, anything, rather than what one has always done.  Learning how to truly use the transverse abdominis will translate into being more supportive and engaged in all of our movement, all of ourselves and all of our life.

I hope you have enjoyed the exploration of these different sections of the body!  As always, Please let me know all questions, comments and feedback.  Love to u...

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part 2: Upper back

This is the second in my 3 part Blog Series focusing on the 3 things I start every client learning how to engage and move correctly when they begin with me, no matter how long they have been working out (or NOT working out!) so we begin to build a strong foundation to truly changing their bodies in whatever way they desire.

The first installment was on the Glutes.  This one is on the Upper Back, which I work with through Shoulder Blade Squeezes and teaching people to mobilize the lower part of the upper back, which is generally very shut down due to many reasons.  The muscles in the Upper back are intricately intertwined with the neck, shoulders and mid-back as well, so I have included all of these and their emotional connections:

Neck
The neck is a two-way communicator: You take in life-sustaining food, water, and air through the neck, and at the same time, emotions, feelings, and thoughts are expressed outwardly through your voice. Stiffness here can indicate resistance, usually to other ways of thinking.

Shoulders
This is where you carry the weight of your responsibilities, whether it’s work, family, or mortgage payments. Creative energy flows from here, moving into your arms and hands, where it emerges in what you do in the world. Tense shoulders can also indicate resistance, perhaps to the responsibilities you feel you must maintain, or pressure that’s put on you to perform.

Upper back
This area, the reverse side from the heart, is where you can store repressed anger, resentment, guilt, or shame.

Mid back
Your core allows you to bend and move, representing your ability to be psychologically and emotionally flexible. Stiffness in the mid back can reflect an inner stiffness, holding on to a fear, or inability to go with the flow.

So you see, there are many things that are sitting in our upper backs and everything connected.  I work with all of these areas individually and collectively to help people get Pain Relief, Improve their Posture, Improve their Confidence and Ability to Connect with Others, Change the Way a Person Looks to Other People, Etc.  

We are Absolutely complex beings in any way and ALL of it shows up in our bodies.  Whatever your Body goals are...I can help you...call me!  (303) 525-7058.  Love you! 

The 3 things I focus on teaching people when they start with me

The main 3 things I focus on teaching people to strengthen and engage in their bodies when I start working with them: their glutes, the muscles in the lower part of the upper back and their transverse abdominus. I am writing a 3 part blog series to focus on each of these areas and their role in our bodies and lives. We, as humans, are as far from simple beings as there is. Our bodies, how they function and how everything is interconnected reflects this to an infinite and PROFOUND degree!

Everything in our bodies relates to everything else in our bodies as well as in our energetic bodies! We develop compensations physically due to other things that begin to not connect physically, but in truth, those things happen because of something going on within us emotionally as well. This week I am focusing on the glutes. Next week, it will be the upper back, then the transverse abdominus.

The glutes are the largest and most powerful muscles in our bodies. They hinge and support the entire body in most movements we do. We also hold much of our primal, sexual and creative energy in our hips, which are largely supported by the gross motor movement in the glutes. In most people, REGARDLESS of if you already "workout", the glutes don't fire. They don't support the body from this place of absolute and internal strength. This misfire and disengagement happens for many reasons: sitting much of the time, lower back issues, hip alignment issues (structural or otherwise), trauma to the back and pelvis, inactivity, improper body mechanics due to stress, etc.

So you see, we are complicated in many ways! The movements I do with people are simple, simple, simple, and easy to learn but also take focus and a desire to learn, change and do something differently, which translates to everything in every area of our lives. When we teach you to engage your glutes, we connect you to this huge power source within you, physically and energetically, that you have cut off...for whatever reason and the reason doesn't matter...what you do moving forward does. When you reconnect them, it shifts so much for you! In your body, as in your life, all it takes is a desire to shift, learn, become more powerful and stronger. Have you chosen this for yourself? Have you chosen this in your life? Have you chosen this in your body? I will help you chose it...all you have to do is ask. It's not always easy (what's the old saying, nothing worth having ever is?) and it is so worth it.

Call (303) 525-7058 or email me now, tracy@bodymindalignedfitness.com, to do a consultation with me and chose it for yourself!

Confidence.

Confidence is like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it gets!

Confidence. It is a beautiful thing. Many women who come to see me want more of it. I teach them how to get it. Through movement, through encouragement, through them seeing it themselves when they've done something they couldn't do before.  Through them seeing themselves through my eyes and coming to believe.

1.  full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing: We have every confidence in their ability to succeed.

2.  belief in oneself and one's powers or abilities; self-confidence; self-reliance; assurance

3.  certitude; assurance

 

Vulnerability: being honest with how we feel, who we really are, letting another person and other people completely see us with our fears, what we need and asking for what we need. Ouch. Scary. Completely absolutely terrifying.  

Living wholeheartedly: with the knowledge that we are enough and deserve the best in how we treat ourselves and how others treat us in all ways: body, mind, personal relationships, spiritual life etc. EMBODIED CONFIDENCE. Know that you are enough and YOU are always worth it.  

Confidence. It is Having and Being ALL of this for yourSelf.

Accept and love your biggest Gifts and your biggest Challenges. They make us who we are...BODY, MIND AND SOUL! Embodied Confidence.
 Own it.

 

This is something I have worked on cultivating in myself very diligently for the last few years.  It comes and goes for all of us, it is simply a practice of practicing it, believing it and in many cases, practicing FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT!  

There is definitely something to be said for believing beyond rational believing.  There is definitely something to be said for intention and just going for it, no matter what.  There is definitely something to doing your best and accepting nothing less that the best showing up.  

I have also found that a CRUCIAL piece for me in finding and anchoring my confidence and absolute total belief in myself is having other amazing beings saying, "I see you!  You are absolutely amazing!  Be it!" and being there for and with me.

Let me be this for and with you!  You deserve ALL of this for yourself!

 

I offer Confidence and Women's Empowerment/Embodiment coaching with One-on-one fitness and wellness training. I basically work psychosomatically, physically and energetically with each individual person to shift themselves: Body, Mind and Soul!

I specialize in working with people (mainly women) to model, teach and empower them to become and BE more comfortable with their bodies, in their own skin and within their body-mind-spirit from a place that is less than loving themselves to an EPIC place of love & joy at who they are, within themselves & in their bodies.

I do this with 1-on-1 movement work, education about healthy eating choices, Soul Infusion Movement classes, Pilates based core conditioning classes, corrective movement, posture education, playshops, retreats and weekends built around women diving into their core essence & themselves in a very grounded & real, Body-Mind & Spirit integrated way.

Feel free to contact me anytime! tracy@bodymindalignedfitness.com

Vulnerability. Wholeheartedly.

Vulnerability.  I have been told that vulnerability is the key for me to get everything I want...romantically with a man, as well as professionally with the business I am creating.  Ok, Cool, Got it, Simple.  Be vulnerable.  Ummmmmm....what does that mean, anyway?  We bat the term around a lot, but what does vulnerability really mean and how do I be it?

Brene Brown is seen as a foremost authority on vulnerability.

Her take:  "The overwhelming message in our culture today is that an ordinary life is a meaningless life unless you are grabbing a lot of attention and you have lots of Twitter and Facebook fans who know everything you know.  I use the shame-based fear of being ordinary as my definition for narcissism...No matter how happy and fulfilling (a person's) small, quiet life is, they feel it must not mean very much, because it's not the way people are measuring success, which is just terrifying."

"The root of the scarcity issue is fear.  Fear consumes an enormous amount of energy in our lives, and to me it's probably the greatest casualty of the scarcity culture.  We are spending so much time and energy being afraid that we are not fully walking into our power and gifts."  In addition, "Joy is a daring emotion!  We are going to let ourselves stop in a moment that won't last forever, that can be taken away.  We feel almost that you are a schmuck if you let yourself feel too deeply because the bas stuff is going to happen."

She has coined the term "wholeheartedly" for the people who live their life from the feeling of being enough.  How did they arrive at that emotional place?  There are two things they share in common.  The first is a sense of worthiness-they engage in the world, with the world, from a place of worthiness.  Second, they make choices every day in their life, choices that almost feel subversive in our culture.  They are mindful about things like rest and play.  They cultivate creativity, they practice self-compassion.  They have an understanding of the importance of vulnerability and the perception of vulnerability as courage.  They show up in their lives in a very open way that I think scares most of us."

"When I asked people, 'What is vulnerability?', a large percentage of them used the example of "initiating sex with my wife/husband".  Yet, there can be no intimacy-emotional, spiritual, or physical intimacy without vulnerability.  One of the reasons there is such an intimacy deficit today is because we don't know how to be vulnerable.  It's about being honest with how we feel, about our fears,  about what we need, and, asking for what we need.  Vulnerability is a glue that holds intimate relationships together."

To me, that is the gold for me here...being completely honest with how I feel, who I really am and letting another person/other people completely see me, about my fears and what I need, and asking for what I need.  Ouch.  Scary.  Completely absolutely terrifying.

If I do that:  I open myself up to judgement about how I feel (especially if it's not nice, like everyone always wants everyone else to be and feel, real or not), I might have someone I really like and really want to like me NOT like me and that would completely destroy my little heart, I might confess my fears and what I need and be completely judged and rejected and if I ask for what I need and I don't get it, or, even worse, I get told that it's ridiculous, that would be completely devastating!

So, the alternative:  I live my life and do't admit or ask for what I want and what I know is my soul's longing and/or truth because I will be judged by others outside of my life.  Um, yeah.  That doesn't sound like a good idea to me.  I don't admit what I want and express and I don't get what could make me really happy.  Of course, I still might not, but I have NO chance if I'm not vulnerable with it.  I might ask for what I want and not get it, or I just might get it and WAY more than I ever dreamed of or hoped for, in all ways....