How’s your fire-power?

The Solar Plexus stores life-force energy, and family relationships teach us how to use it.

My grandfather's wake and funeral this past weekend was a beautiful time to reunite with family members. My grandfather comes from a family of 17 children - there are many relatives I don't know very well, and many cousins I see only occasionally. It really warmed my heart to rekindle family love as we shared memories and stories.

Being with family can be wholesome and nurturing. We grew up with this network of souls. We learned our identity and our place in society through family relationships and conversations. We received conditioning about who we are and how much we should be seen or heard, and along the way we made choices about accepting or rejecting this conditioning. Family is full of love, AND contrasts and life lessons. We form our personality through these relationships - and we also form our ego.

The Solar Plexus chakra is the seat of our willpower. In many spiritual traditions, the area of the Solar Plexus is where we store our vital life energy. Many cultures have referred to this as an inner sun or fire. When we assert ourselves lovingly, we glow from the inside out. It’s easy to recognize someone who is self-confident: their energy is peaceful, strong, and loving. They seem to radiate that “certain je-ne-sais-quoi”. When ego dominates this power centre, however, the fire-power of a person can be explosive with anger, arrogance and tyranny. Instead of being filled with quiet love, we feel fear, shame or unworthiness in the energy of this person. And still, when ego makes us believe that our personal definition resides in shame and unworthiness, one’s inner fire, will to live, and sense of passion just dies out. We can feel dried up and empty. A lack of vital life-force energy can bring on depression and anxiety.

“Energetically, physically, emotionally and mentally, we are all powerful, radiant beings. However, we may not always be living from a place where we accept and radiate our own power. Sometimes we may feel like it would be easier not to have to interact and bargain and state our worth to people at all. Sometimes we may give in and accept less than we’re worth. (…) When we bring balance to this chakra, we can begin to experience a true inner strength and authentic power while moving away from the unhealthy desire to gain power over others. This creates a more relaxed and spontaneous life, powerful but free. When we balance the solar plexus chakra, we accept who we truly are – and accept others for their true selves too.” Natalie Southgate, Founder of Chakradance (R)

It is through the experience of relationships - within the immediate family and the work- or social- family units that we learn valuable lessons in asserting our will centre. In your family and social gatherings this holiday season, be aware of how you feel in the presence of others. Do you need to assert yourself and overpower others? Do you need to “be right” no matter what? Do you allow others to belittle you? Are you blaming family members, the society or your upbringing for your lot in life? Would you rather stay in pj’s under the blankets instead of facing family and friends in social gatherings? How do you perceive others feel in your presence - are they fearful of you, do they share openly, are they smiling and peaceful?

Take regular time-outs just to breathe and reflect. Bring a hand to your stomach as you take a deep breath and become conscious of your own inner fire. Are you radiating your Light, shining with Love, or are you hiding and smouldering? Are you shining so bright that others are getting burned by your fire? It’s not about judging, just notice. And then if you don’t like what you feel choose to change something in your behaviour and attitude.

It all starts with you. You have the power to change how you feel in your family, how you interact with everyone, and how you allow others to treat you.

Establishing and respecting clear boundaries go a long way in creating loving and mutually satisfying relationships. Allow family to be your greatest teacher and instead of becoming angry over the same old wound, be grateful for a lesson in love and personal boundary. With healthy boundaries and the acceptance of who we truly are, it becomes so much easier to foster inner peace and to be a beacon of Light for others.

With this in mind, family gatherings can be rich, insightful and much less stressful.

Surrounding you in Love & Light.

What are chakras anyway?

When exploring energy work, and even just walking around crystal shops, we eventually come upon the concept of chakras. We have the firm impression that chakras are important, and many a crystal sale has been based on someone telling us that this or that crystal would balance a chakra… But what are chakras anyway?

“Chakra” is a sanskrit word for “spinning wheel”. Although the New Age wave works mostly with the wisdom coming from India, other ancient cultures have been working with energy centres in the human body for thousands of years. The number and placement of these energy centres are somewhat different in each ancient tradition, but there are many similarities. There is a general agreement that there are points in the body where energy enters the physical body, where energy is stored, and where energy exits the body.

I find it very interesting that modern western medicine is now “discovering” energy centres in the body. Technology is truly fascinating! The use of electroencephalograms, MRIs, CTscans, etc. have helped establish the fact that humans have an electrical system. The nerves send electrical signals through the body and to the brain; the heart needs electrical input to pump; hormones are produced with electrical signals from the brain; muscle tension can be produced or relieved with electrical impulses… The body is 90% water, and water is an excellent conductor of electricity. Here’s an other interesting fact: each of the 7 major chakras line up with organs or glands in the body that regulate a physical or emotional aspect, and the hormones they produce correlate with the characteristics of the chakras, as observed by sages over thousands of years. For instance, the sacral chakra deals with creativity and emotional sensitivity. The associated gland? Gonads - testes and ovaries. I think we all know how the function of these glands can affect our emotional state…

Here is what Natalie Southgate, founder of Chakradance, writes about the importance of working with our chakras:

“When we make a commitment to create a balanced and healthy chakra system, we are making a commitment to holistic and ultimate health. Your chakra system holds within it your ancestral records, your relationship history, your beliefs about yourself and your power, and your connection to the Divine. The health of your chakras is therefore directly connected to your physical, mental and spiritual well-being. When we consciously work with our chakras, and choose to balance their energy and optimise their programming, we can literally change our own energy. When we are energetically healthy, we vibrate at a different frequency. This new frequency, or vibration, can attract to us wonderful new situations, opportunities and people.”

The chakras are storehouses of the symptoms of our day-to-day problems but they also hold the solutions. By working with each one, we activate those solutions. I’ve decided that over the next few months we will be exploring this wonderful world of energy centres together. I will share my knowledge and experience of the popular chakra system, and will share with you tips and techniques to feel and understand your energy centres. I will also share information on specific crystals, archetypes and essential oils that can help you on an energetic level. My intention is to empower you to make changes in the way you care for your body, mind and spirit so that you may experience increased wellness.

When we find the true rhythm and harmony that comes with balancing our chakras, life takes on its true colours! I am looking forward to exploring the world of chakras with you. If you have specific questions on the health of your chakras, or if you would like a chakra-specific Oracle Card Reading, click here to make an appointment!

Sending you blessings of Love!

There's a Lull in My Heart...

I feel it every time, and I wonder if the intensity will ever lessen or if it’s just part of how I manage and share my energy…

I truly love this work that I do. I love teaching and coaching people how to reconnect with their spiritual nature. I know that it’s a journey, and that I get to walk with my students for a short time only. But even if my head knows the nature and the brevity of our time together, my heart goes “all in” every time. I draw my students in a sacred energy before the Program starts and I pray for Spirit to surround us with blessings to support our journey together. Each student makes an imprint in my heart and mind. There’s more that goes on in one of my Programs than the actual classes… And then, when comes graduation time, I release the energy and the bonds that brought us together. And I feel a bit empty.

This past Saturday was such a graduation day. Four new Lightworkers have completed their Level 1 training, and I am so proud of the journey we have shared these past 6 months. I love how we have all grown. I admire their new confidence in their healing and psychic abilities. I find joy in noticing the extra light in their eyes and feeling the inner peace they have found.

Tuesday evening, it is the closing of a 9-week Chakradance cycle. These students have found messages and guidance, journeying deep in their chakras. They have met spirit guides. They have explored their inner psyche. They have come to an understanding of a few patterns in their lives. They are noticing synchronicities, coincidences and messages from Spirit. We’ll be celebrating their journey Tuesday night.

You could say I’m a proud momma.

I am happy and joyful, and yet with two Programs finishing the same week, my soul is singing Ella Fitzgerald’s version of “There’s a Lull In My Life” … As I release the energy that united me with my students, it feels like there’s a bit of a void. There’s an absence. It’s almost like a small grieving process.

The card I pulled this morning to help me focus on this article reminded to honour all the cycles in my life. Life is made of endings and new beginnings. Life is full of seasons. It’s time to release the old and start again. I’m thinking also of Calypso with whom I have danced a few weeks ago, and indeed I feel the strength of her ocean. I feel like the wave ebbed out only to gather more strength to flow once more.

One thing I learned in this life and especially through the miscarriages and infertility experiences, is to allow myself to truly feel the losses. It’s only when I truly feel the emptiness, without clinging to what was or what could have been that I can make space for new projects, new love, new classes, new ideas… new students. It can take a few hours, a few days, a few months… but it’s only when I go deep in the emptiness that I gain strength to move forward again. The same holds true for my clients; those who have the most pain and difficulty finding joy are still holding on to old hurts and grief. It's important to learn how to let go.

My meditations these next few days will focus on thanksgiving and releasing to make energetic space for the next season – and my inner knowing tells me this coming season will be full of powerful transitions and experiences! My energy will be ready soon to work with new clients – for private coaching sessions and through classes and Programs. I’m already looking forward to it all!

Sending you blessings of Love!

Dancing the Heart Chakra

“Moving toward inner peace and understanding”

Since I started my journey with Chakradance TM nearly one year ago, the dance of the Heart Chakra remains one of my favourite. The dances of the Root, Sacral and Solar Plexus chakras are physical, at times choppy, and often uncomfortable as we connect to the body’s energies – and that’s no small task for spirit-workers and overthinkers! The dances of the Throat, Forehead and Crown are a connection to a higher wisdom, beyond the veil and they are absolutely fascinating. The dance of the Heart, the dance of Love… it’s centre. It’s the path to inner peace. It moves us to more self-love and self-understanding.

Every time I teach the Chakradance TM Awakenings 9-week cycle, I am amazed at the transformation I see in my students. Their eyes glow a little more. The muscles in their jaws, neck and shoulders show less tension. Their breathing becomes slower and deeper instead of the shallow anxious breathing they’re used to. They linger after class, wanting to sit in this energy just a bit longer. They want to talk just a bit more. There’s a change happening within that they can’t quite put their finger on yet; it’s just at the cusp of manifestation and they want to slow down, wait and watch for it to happen. They know they’re just about to find something they have been looking for, and they’ve been searching a long time…

What is waiting for them? Their authentic self. It’s been there all along, but was buried under that mound of “shoulds” and “ifs” and “whens”. It’s been buried under social and personal expectations. It’s been set aside due to a drive to “do” and perform instead of living the enchantment of “being”. With the dance of Love, this hidden part of the self is lifting that corner of the cozy blanket it’s been hiding under, looking at you with a mischievous but happy smile, saying, “Here I am! You’ve been looking for me? I was here all along!”

When I first danced the Heart Chakra, I saw myself as a ballerina – that was my happy place when I was 7 years old up until my teen years. I was on stage doing pliés, ronds de jambe, pas de chats… nothing complicated but I was thoroughly enjoying being fully present in my dance and remembering how to smile from the inside out. I love how I have been able to reconnect with that part of me, and I am thrilled to see how this connection, this remembrance has opened up doors for me which I didn’t even know existed – or which I had forgotten.

It is so easy to forget who we are at our core. It is so easy to get swept away under the weight of family needs, work, and community responsibilities. This is your invitation to reconnect with that part of you that has been dormant for a while. The creative, sensitive and very wise part of you. The one who loves you unconditionally. The one that makes your soul sing. The one who sees the miracles and magic of everyday life.

Are you ready to lift the corner of that blanket and see what’s been hiding under your nose all these years? Are you ready to love yourself more and move toward inner peace?

Join me in Brossard this weekend for a full weekend dedicated to the Heart Chakra.  My colleagues and I are here to facilitate and ease your journey.  There's no where else where you can find this combination of yoga, meditation, Reiki and Chakradance.  This will be an uplifting and transformative journey, and we are looking forward to it!

Sending you blessings of Love!

An invitation to heal your heart - August 23-24 2014

What if you could spend time with like-minded folks?  What if you had a rejuvenating weekend away from all your obligations and you could walk away feeling refreshed, invigorated and having a strategy and tools in place to help you manage your stress when you return to your daily grind?  What if you gave yourself the care, time and attention you normally give others -- just for a weekend? I am thrilled to have partnered with two amazing ladies - a yoga instructor and a relaxation promoter - to offer you a wonder-full weekend.  You'll journey into your heart space to find healing and inner peace.  Read more here. We are looking forward to welcoming you on August 23-24! In this wonder-full 2-day workshop you will: boost your self-love and self-healing learn Vinyasa yoga sequences to open the heart chakra experience healing meditations receive Reiki energy explore your heart chakra space receive messages from spiritual guides experience Chakradance ...and of course meet like-minded women, and possibly new friends! It's the perfect time for this workshop and to take a pause to nurture yourself between the busy-ness of summer and the return to the school routine. We have so much to offer between Yoga, Reiki, Chakradance, Meditation and spiritual coaching...   And we're ready to give you even more! RSVP today and receive these gifts -- a $600 value for only $197! Your ticket to this wonder-full weekend journey (value $197) A 30-minute clarity session (value $75) A 15-minute Angel or Oracle Card Reading (value $25) One ticket to the 4-weeks Mentored Reiki Online Training Program (value $297) A small crystal (value $6) Our mission is to provide you with the tools, experience and knowledge on your journey to wholeness and self-love. Let's journey together! Thank you for purchasing your tickets in advance.  Register with friends and save even more - and everyone who registers receives the gifts listed above! Number of tickets

1 Person $197.00 CAD  You + 1 friend = save $300.00 CAD  You + 2 friends = save more! $360.00 CAD

 

Dancing With Calypso

“Women are as changing as the seas”  (Old complaint...)

Celebrating divine feminine independence and empowerment

She has been flying – or perhaps swimming – low on my awareness radar for a few years, with water parks, dances, and a Jacques Cousteau vessel named after her. She entered the realm of my imagination with increased impact after the Pirates of the Caribbean movies under her bayou voodoo priestess guise. But it is only while dancing the Sacral Chakra, the connection with the inner divine feminine, that Calypso made herself insistent with a message that I need to share.

“Would you love me if I were anything but what I am?” asked Calypso to her lover Davy Jones in the “At World's End” Pirates movie. He was accusing her of not being present when he went to see her for their once-in-every-ten-years reunion. On that fateful day, she was dancing with the wind, or working up a storm somewhere else. She was not in her womanly body waiting faithfully for her lover to return from a long journey at sea. She was following her instincts, elsewhere. “It is in my nature to be changing,” she explains. But he did not appreciate that changing nature – especially when he wanted to possess her. And he conspired to imprison her soul in a human form.

I haven’t found many good research documents on Calypso, yet most sources state that she is one of the first feminists “on record”. She speaks up for herself. She told Zeus that he was using double standards when judging the behaviours of gods and goddesses, allowing personal and sexual freedom to the gods and denying the same to the goddesses; allowing gods to have affairs (and rape!) women while goddesses were forbidden to love men. Calypso has suffered for this, banished to a small island and fated to fall in love with men who could not be her consort, or who could not understand and fully appreciate her true nature. She has also been silenced in history, oppressed in the patriarchal society.

Oh yes, the feminist in me is now awake. I can feel Calypso’s seas, her moods, her changing nature. I feel her need for social justice - regardless of sex, race or religion.  I feel her plea to allow humans love who they want. I certainly feel her strong yet loving need for independence and free speech. I feel appalled that our society still condones double-standards. I weep the pressure women are under to always be consistent and joyfully submissive – when they are not, they are systematically “medicated” at best; shunned or brutalized in the worst case scenarios.

In my dancing meditation, Calypso affirmed that it was in our divine nature to be changing like the seas.  We must embrace our independent nature.  We have to stop trying to conform to a regime that oppresses our emotions, and start embracing our true selves: our calm waters AND our raging seas. When we deny ourselves the sacred time and space to be fully and authentically who we are, we are missing a big part of our potential. That is typically when clients come to see me with concerns about feeling empty, lost, and overly emotional about the little things. What we deny within ourselves usually comes out elsewhere, and unfortunately it often manifests out of our Shadow in a self-destructive way.

I am grateful I have learned tools, like Reiki, Chakradance and guided visualizations to help women find their path to wholeness. Just this morning again, a client told me how more calm, centered and connected to Spirit she feels thanks to the journey she has done with me. She notices the small miracles and synchronicities in her life, she is more joyful, and her fears are diminishing. I love receiving such testimonials! I am so grateful that Spirit can do this work through me!

If you take a deep breath now to check within – how do you truly feel? Is there space for more self-love and self-acceptance? Do you feel there’s a big dark door that you are fearful of opening? Are you trying so hard to keep things together when you feel the call of your inner seas? Are you ready to journey toward wholesomeness and authenticity? I’m here to journey with you – and so is Calypso. You need not be alone or lonely in your journey. Please reach out, talk to me. Let’s see if the stars and the seas are favourable to a journey together. I’m ready to set sail – are you?

Sending you blessings of joy!

Top 3 Reasons to Discover Chakradance®

Building a bridge to your Higher Self with CHAKRADANCE®!

Since opening my Healing Space on February 1st, I have been offering Chakradance ® sessions twice a week. First, I noticed the change in myself. Then, I have witnessed changes in my students. This is a powerful healing modality! Here are top 3 reasons to try it yourself:

1. You will get out of your head! I have noticed in most of my clients that one of the main issue blocking them from manifesting the life they desire is that they overthink. They stay in their heads dreaming, strategizing, organizing, validating ideas… They think the change and they know reasons and best practices... but all that beautiful knowing energy doesn’t come down to the heart centre. Without feeling, ideas will not manifest, or at least not with the best possible outcome. Because Chakradance® is a moving meditation to specific music and images pertaining to specific chakras, you will learn to embody your spirit. When your spirit feels at home in your body, it is in a better position to lead your life and manifest miracles! 
2. You will meet spiritual guides! Every session, we invite specific spiritual guides. We ask for insight, wisdom and healing. We ask to be shown how to heal blockages that have been holding us back. We learn to trust our imagination, for our imagination is the doorway and the bridge to a successful relationship with our spiritual guides. 
3. You will feel more empowered! The more you know about yourself and how your energy moves, the more confident you will feel about making life changes – big or small – that nurture you body, mind and soul. What will you do with increased self-confidence? 

This summer, sessions are offered on Tuesday evenings from 7-9PM and Wednesday afternoons from 1-3PM at Way to the Well. Please RSVP.

To find a Chakradance® facilitator near you, visit the Chakradance Official Website.

My very first interview!

What a weekend!  For the past weeks, I have been busy moving into my new healing space and getting ready for yesterday's Grand Opening.  Even with the snow storm, it was a success and such a pleasant, joyful day!  And today, I found out that an article based on my very first interview with a local paper has been published online.  It is absolutely WONDERFUL when dreams become reality!

And now, I have to focus on my next big task... the live Q&A call this Wednesday about being a Lightworker and explaining a few Lightworker names!

Photo by Adam Brazeau, Cornwall Seaway News