Challenge Friday

Do things that challenge you just for practice.

Forgive.
Say, "Yes."
Say, "No."
Give away money, even if you tell yourself you don't have it to give.
Pay for someone's meal.
Invite someone to your house.
Journal.
Call someone you haven't spoken to in months or years.
Ask for help.
Eat a salad.
Eat a donut.
Leave your phone at home.
Do a head stand.
Do a supported forearm stand.


Any more?

Step by Step

Almost five years ago, a group of women was birthed from a cry of desperation on my part. Our youngest child was born on Mother's Day 2009, so each passing of this time of year brings up memories of our birth story. The weeks and months that followed this transitory birth were more challenging than I ever could have imagined. I have a distinct memory of our, then, three year old coming into the bathroom to me bawling on the floor, crying out for release. She said, "What's wrong, mommy?" That was when I knew that something had to change.

I am not sure if it was that very day or a few days later, but I sat down and formulated an email, of which its contents I do not remember. I enrolled our eldest in preschool and invited women from my Hypnobabies class to meet to hike. 

That day, something in me changed. I moved away from judgement of the "terrors" of my life to seeking a solutions. Every time we choose to shift our judgement of ourselves/ others/ our circumstances to connecting outside our thinking, we heal ourselves and we heal the world. My healing began that day. 

The mama numbers were small to begin. There were a few of us that consistently showed up in those sweltering months of August in 2009. I still cannot believe some of the hikes we did in that heat with little ones in tow. By October, we had a brigade and thus the name, Bambino Brigade.

This story has many characters and many more stories. The point of me bringing it up today is this: each moment in life is about taking one step at a time. I was not instantaneously better the moment I decided to write that email. I didn't immediately have some of the best friends I could ever pray for. I did, however, make a decision to do something different. I chose to reach out and ask for help.

Years later, someone asked me how we did this. The answer is so simple: we showed up.

We celebrate five years in August since our first hike. The women and children that have been effected by this group are numerous. Honestly, I do not even know half of the women hiking these days... and the legacy lives on. One moment at a time, women keep showing up to change their perspective, their bodies, their lives. We inspire, encourage, support and love one another on and off the trails.  Each of us continue to show up for our lives.

Thank you, women - each of you that have contributed in mind, body or spirit to the birth of this community that still thrives! I am forever grateful.

Blessings!

Restorative Faith

A phrase of my youth was, "Pray in faith and you will never live in doubt." I'm not sure where this slogan resided in my repertoire - whether it was on a book mark, I heard it in church or some influential person resounded it from their lips. The point is, this phrase came back into my mind a few days ago as I prayed for guidance. You see, some of the challenges of life have been weighing heavy on my Spirit and I have often struggled to even think about prayer. I have practiced relying on a Higher Power, no doubt, but to ask for help and then receive it has often baffled me. Support is something I have often attempted to convince myself I do not need.

I am a doer. What this means is, I ask for help then expect there to be an action I am intended to take. Sitting still, trusting the support of anyone or anything is not inherent for me. Give me a job, I am on it. Grant me a task, I will achieve. Give me an intense yoga class, I will push myself. Give me a challenge, I will find a solution.

Ask me to do nothing, I am scrambling. My mind begins to whirl and I become "stark, raving mad," as our eight year old would say (thanks Alice's Adventures in Wonderland).

Today I did a restorative yoga practice. For those of you unaware of this type versus other types, it is pretty much how it sounds. These types of classes are typically with props for support, in a dimmed room, and less intense, with a slow pace. I cannot typically reside in such environment, and, yet, in recent months, I have come to value calm, peace, and the inner space that I personally never thought was enticing. As I lay in supported Supta Baddha Konasana, I let go fully.  This supported, reclined pose, held for more than ten minutes (it seemed) took me to a place of calm. I was fully supported, breathing deeply, and open to release.

This morning I read about the choices we have before going into obsessive thinking. The encouragement of the reading was to build a support before rationalizing. I need to muster the support from my higher Power and my community before I even begin to reason anything out. The support allows for the release. The faith that I will have all that I need to encounter any struggle, any challenge rests in the restorative space of embracing support and love from God and those around me. This is where I find the strength to carry on, even when life seems to throw challenge and dis-ease beyond what I believe I can handle.

Blessings on the Journey!