by carlashakti | Nov 9, 2019 | Uncategorized
Home, finally! I arrived back in Canada late last night – jet lagged, travel weary and very happy to fall back into my bed once again. My month away was so nourishing – being by the ocean and jungle for 21 days with an incredible group of women connecting to the earth and our Shakti bodies and then a visit for a final few days with my brother and his beautiful family in Manila.
There are so many insights I gained during my time away, but the clearest call I received was to return home and create more spaciousness in my days. I have this deep sense in my gut that if I can do this, so many other things will effortlessly fall into place.
I always feel some anxiety about returning home from a long trip – the mountain of emails to get through, waiting projects and to do lists. The easy and relaxed flow from being away seems to dissipate so quickly, and before I know it, I’m right back into overachieving mode.
Part of this comes from a long held belief that only hard work yields results. And I like being busy, it feels comfortable and familiar. But I also know that continual hard work and perpetual busy-ness leaves me feeling depleted, overwhelmed, cranky and on the fast path to burn out.
And you know that saying, ‘repeating the same thing over and over again expecting different results is the definition of insanity‘? I’ve been thinking about that saying a lot and know that it is time to do things a little differently.
So here is what I am committing to do starting today:
- Body before business each and every day – at home I start my day meditating with my sweetie and love this ritual we have together. But I recognize that I also need to get energy flowing inside of me through movement, so I will be adding this to my early morning routine.
- Connecting with nature – I LOVE being in nature, but also know that once I get in the work groove, the whole day can pass by and I haven’t gone outside. I’m planning to get outdoors once the kids leave for school in the morning and commune with the natural word in a purposeful way before engaging in work.
- Listen to my body and cycles – as women, our energy waxes and wanes with our cycle. In Bali we had a moon lodge where women could lie down on cushions and rest if they needed to during the training. So instead of powering through my days, especially if I am tired, I’m now choosing to give myself permission to rest instead of work. And to trust that the rest creates the space for increased creativity and capacity in the coming days.
- Intentional eating – over the past month I have been taking at least 5 deep breaths before starting to eat. I would pause and reflect on all the hands that made the food I am eating possible and to thank the Earth for her abundance. I’ve noticed that everything tastes more alive and delicious and it helps me be present with nourishing my body.
- Meaningful is the priority in my schedule – in my daily and weekly planning really ensuring that the majority of my time is invested in what matters to me the most: family, service to my students & community, my body and my relationship with the Earth
There are many other things I could implement to have more spaciousness in my days, but I’m starting small because I know that small steps are more likely to lead to success. And that sustainable wins will inspire me to add even more changes. I’ll keep you posted on what I try next.
So over to you my friend, what do you days look like? Are you ready to join me in making some small daily shifts to experience more ease in your life? How do you find ways to make your days more spacious?
by carlashakti | Nov 9, 2019 | embracing shakti, yoga of the heart
We just completed the second week of our 3 week Earth Priestess Training in Northern Bali and each of us has had the opportunity to create a women’s circle with a theme. One of the things that has felt so alive for me during my time here is the level of embodiment that I am experiencing throughout the day. And so this was the theme I shared with my sisters, and today I’ll give you a glimpse of what I spoke about.
Your body, the vehicle you have been gifted with in this lifetime, is your access point to your life and the world around you. And so, how you inhabit that body literally influences everything.
When we are present in our bodies, we feel connected and integrated. We feel safe to experience the multitude of physical and emotional sensations that are available to us (all of them, not just the ones that we usually prefer). We have more clarity about our lives and we are better able to align with choices that feel deeply connected to the the lives we want to create.
Embodiment for me means feeling at home in my body – that I am able to connect with, notice, listen to, sense into, accept and feel everything just as it is.
Sometimes this is difficult, very difficult. There are hundreds of daily reasons to turn down the volume, to check out, to disconnect, to numb out and to disassociate. It can be very vulnerable to be fully engaged in a our world.
I am certainly not embodied every moment of every day, and having moments of tuning out is part of the human experience. But after many years in my earlier life of being disconnected, I have made a conscious commitment to show up more fully in life, to experience the rich mosaic that this experience offers. And I put in the intention and awareness to expand my threshold to be more connected each and every day.
When I’m challenged, the first thing I do is breathe. Deeply, right into my belly. I squeeze my arms and legs with my hands. I speak some words of appreciation to my body as if she is a separate and immensely valued being that deserves all my respect, love, care and acceptance. And if I can, I dance to some of my favourite music and delight in the amplification of connection and appreciation that somehow magically begins to appear with movement.
And in just a few moments, everything changes.
What do you do to feel more embodied? There are so many easy yet powerful ways to call yourself back home into your body. And I’d love to know what works for you. Just hit reply and send me a note – just this action is embodiment in action!
Holding you and your body in so much reverence.
by carlashakti | Nov 9, 2019 | Uncategorized, yoga of the heart
Greetings from gorgeous Northern Bali. I am here participating in a 3 week Earth Priestess Immersion and Training with 15 other incredible women from around the globe. We just completed our first week and our days here have been nothing short of magical.
One of my observations is that I am experiencing time in a radically different way. Most of us are well accustomed to the linear time/space reality. We experience time as hour by hour, day by day. And likely massively scheduled and full with little space to breathe.
While part of me knows logically that I have been here for 7 days, I have moments where it feels like 3 months, moments where it feels like 1 day and everything in between. While we have a container for our days with scheduled practice and meal times, we are so deeply in our bodies, particularly our hearts and wombs, that my usual perceptions of time have completely dissolved.
You may have also had this experience – where you are engaged in something that speaks to your inner depths so profoundly that you become completely unaware of time passing in its usual way.
What this is, my loves, is the Feminine at play. Shape shifting and time bending your experience.
And it is incredible and so, so needed as a counterbalance in our hectic, overfilled lives.
And while a retreat is beautiful, luxurious and deeply powerful way to drop into relative time (thank you Einstein!) – that isn’t always possible. But you can experience this phenomenon right in your own home.
Interested? Here is my suggestion:
- Book some time off for you – make a promise with yourself to honour your commitment. I’d say a minimum of 3 hours if possible.
- Be sure to tell anyone in your life who may normally have access to you (partner, kids, etc) that you will not be available during that time and to not be disturbed.
- Gather materials for your time bending experience – books, art project, whatever you have been longing to find time for.
- Turn off your phone, or better yet – put it outside your space so you won’t be tempted.
- Create sacred space by lighting a candle, burning incense, playing your favourite music. Take a few moments to meditate and call in your intention to experience time as relative, expansive and open.
- Be curious about what is possible and enjoy!
The more you surrender to relative time, the easier it becomes and the more powerful the shifts in your life will be. One of the commitments I am personally making when I return back to Canada is to make a radical shift in my habits to consciously choose to experience time in this Divinely Feminine way.
So over to you! How do you feel you can change your experience of time?
by carlashakti | Nov 9, 2019 | goddess
This month in the Embracing Shakti Temple our featured embodiment of the Divine Feminine is Freyja, the Norse Goddess of the passion and sex. Considered to be the “it girl” of the Aesir Gods, she knew how to party! Loki the trickster god accused her of sleeping with all of the gods and elves and while this was probably true (she was all about pleasure seeking) she has a lot of other powerful credentials.
Freyja is a woman who owns her own sexuality, and loves as SHE chooses, not as others would tell her she must.
Freyja is the patron goddess of Norse magic, chief of the Valkyries and carer of the heroic and noble dead. A lover of travel, she would sometimes take a ride in her chariot pulled by two cats. The pagan festival Beltane is held in her honour, along with “Winter Nights” October 14-15th for what is known as Freyja’s Feast, which marks the end of the harvest, and brings focus to the bounty by honouring her.
If you would like to evoke the energy of Freyja to connect to her magic and power, here are a few suggestions:
Cultivating a peaceful and loving relationship with yourself, helps your abundance flow. Every day for a week, take a post-it note and write one thing you love about yourself on it. Put it in random places throughout your house, like a mirror, fridge, etc., so you continue to see these messages of self love.
Erotic poetry and art in the form of an offering to Freyja has been said to assist many with finding acceptance within ourselves and others for whatever form of sexuality we identify with. Pull out your pens, paper, paints and create whatever comes to mind!
30 day masturbation challenge!! Before you cringe, realize that regularly masturbating can vastly improve your relationship to your body, increase your orgasmic potential, help you develop better confidence, decrease stress, support healthier societal attitudes about female pleasure … and it just feels so good! No shame allowed here! Can you do it for 30 days in a row?
Is Freyja a goddess that you feel a special association with? Do you have a practice that connects you to her mysteries? Please head over to my Facebook page and post away!
by carlashakti | Nov 9, 2019 | breath
Breathe deeply. I’m sure you have heard these words spoken many times before – whether it is during a yoga class, on a walk in nature or even to yourself in a forced moment of pause so you don’t lose it on your kids.
The breath is THE tool that can instantly transform any moment.
Human beings are unique in that we can breath both automatically and volitionally – meaning we can make a conscious choice of how and when we decide to breathe. And the ability to bypass automatic breathing has some pretty incredible effects:
- improved focus, concentration, calmness and emotional ease
- additional synchrony between brain areas
- access to parts of our brain not normally available under conscious control
And deep conscious breaths can actually change the brain! The performance of the anterior cingulate, premotor, insular and hippocampal cortices are all enhanced – meaning that our self-awareness, perception, decision making, memory and access to empathy and our emotions are all greatly improved.
My practice with the conscious breath has created seismic shifts in my day to day life and opened portals into new levels of awareness and depth in my relationships.
Interested in also experiencing this? Why not start right now. Sit tall. Relax your body. And take a few deep, full, expansive, life affirming breaths. How does it feel? What do you notice?
Can you make this a regular practice in your day? Here is a Pro Breathing Tip – schedule 2-3 one minute meetings in your day with yourself in your phone. Set the Alert at the time of the event and put the repeat to Daily.
And after a couple of days, send me a note and tell me what you’ve experienced. I guarantee it will be incredible.
by carlashakti | Sep 19, 2019 | embracing shakti, goddess
This month in the Embracing Shakti Temple our featured embodiment of the Divine Feminine is Artemis, the Greek Goddess of the wild nature and women’s mysteries. Daughter of Zeus and twin sister to Apollo, Artemis was worshiped as the goddess of the hunt, wilderness, wild animals, the moon and chastity. She is also said to be the protector of young girls and she preferred to remain a maiden and swore to never marry.
She invites us to know that we are independent, autonomous and are to be ruled by no one but ourselves.
Immortal and powerful, Artemis’s special powers included perfect aim with her trusty bow and arrow, the ability to turn herself and others into animals, control nature and both heal and inflict disease. She is also associated with the Moon trinity which includes: Selene who rules in Heaven, Artemis who rules on Earth, and Hecate who rules the Underworld.
If you would like to evoke the energy of Artemis to connect to her magic and power, here are a few suggestions:
- Take a nature walk during the full moon and collect bits of the wilderness that inspire you. It would be flowers, twigs, moss, etc. Then take your items and create yourself a “hunting” crown. Wear this when you want to connect more with nature and the power of the moon.
- Do you have a wildlife sanctuary where you live? Try giving your time to their conservation or make a donation. If you don’t have these facilities around you, there are lots of animal rescues pretty much everywhere. All animals were loved and protected by Artemis.
- Revered by the Amazon women, Artemis was often celebrated through circular dance by the mighty warriors. Gather your girls and head to the woods to pay her homage. Instead of swords and shields, bring instruments such as tambourines, cymbals, triangles. Enjoy a fire and a potluck meal. Call upon the huntress, celebrate her name and listen for her messages.
Is Artemis a goddess that you feel a special association with? Do you have a practice that connects you to her mysteries? Please head over to my Facebook page and post away!
by carlashakti | Sep 19, 2019 | embracing shakti, yoga of the heart
This morning I was reading an article about Lilias Adie, a woman who was accused of witchcraft and fornicating with the devil in 1704 in Torryburn, Scotland. Like thousands of women before her, she was sentenced to burn at the stake but managed to evade this horrible death by committing suicide in her prison cell. It is a tragic and heartbreaking story.
Today women do not need to worry about being burned at the stake, but the reality is that we continue to experience daily the impact of thousands of years of patriarchal rule over our bodies, minds and emotions. For a years I felt ashamed and stuck in guilt around feeling pleasure and in honouring my desires through my sexuality. And I saw women around me everywhere experiencing the same thing.
Maybe you can relate.
But I would like to offer you a different possibility. What if we could feel free and supported by our sexual energy? What would like look like? Can you imagine for a moment what it would feel like in your blood and bones to reclaim your wholeness by connecting with your innate sexual and creative power? The power that fuels your dreams and desires?
On September 10th the
Embracing Shakti Movement – a free 13 day Journey into the Feminine and Freedom begins. Each day of this virtual journey you will receive a short (less than 10 minutes) practice right to your inbox so you can feel more spaciousness, sacredness, peace and pleasure within your body, heart, and soul. You are also supported in a private online community by me, my team and an amazing group of likeminded women just like you.
The
Embracing Shakti Movement was created with you in mind, for the woman who is balancing all of the many aspects of modern life – maybe raising children (or fur babies), building her career, AND desiring more space for inner-rest, reflection, pleasure and self-care.
And best of all, it is 100% FREE – a gift from my heart to yours.
Won’t you make the conscious commitment to feel more strength, spaciousness, connection and passion for life? It’s time to begin the process of positive change by saying YES to yourself! Go right now and sign up for the Embracing Shakti Movement
HERE.
by carlashakti | Sep 19, 2019 | embracing shakti, yoga of the heart
Today I am sharing with you the final portal within the Inner Alchemy of Embracing Shakti – Essence.
Returning to essence is a phrase I often hear, but what does it mean? The essence of who you are is not your thoughts, viewpoints or beliefs – that’s your ego mind … and you’re not your ego mind, no matter what it tells you.
For me, to connect with Essence is being able to consciously return home to our higher Self, the inner Spirit. To experience ourselves a divine incarnation and as an embodiment of Love and unconditional acceptance.
Although this experience can be fleeting, here is how I know when I am connected to Essence:
- I see others as a mirror of myself and see how much more the same I am to every living being than I could ever be different.
- I deeply trust that I am moving through life guided by my internal compass.
- My internal compass knows that my joy, purpose, passion and creativity are the guideposts that help me contribute to the evolution of humanity.
- I recognize instantly when I am not in alignment with my inner truth and can change course immediately
And most importantly – I feel whole, seen and exquisitely alive!
Life is an initiation and every moment in life is an opportunity to connect to Essence. And it is not easy. Not at all.
But it begins with a desire. A desire to experience the self as the embodiment of Love and acceptance, and then to be willing to slow down and listen. The answers are all within you.
by carlashakti | Sep 19, 2019 | embracing shakti, yoga of the heart
Last week I spoke about remembrance, a deep connected, knowing of you really are that exists in both in the past and future and is held in the blood and bones in your body.
Today I would like to share with you the next three portals of the inner alchemy of Embracing Shakti – healing, transformation and awakening.
Once you have heard the call to remember the essence of who you really are, we become ready to welcome healing the wounds that have caused us to feel separate and disconnected. Healing is the capacity to cultivate receptivity and to become both more aware and more resonant with the subtle realms of feeling. We are able to intentionally drop into stillness to feel the finer and finer levels of sensation in the body. We can source the conscious breath. We can be clear about prioritizing pleasure in our lives so that we can feel more.
We trust that the seeds of healing are sprouting within us when we truly feel connected to coherency, flow and ease.
Transformation becomes the next portal that awaits us on this journey. At this stage you open to the heart and womb as the true guide of the feminine. You are able to trust the guidance that whispers from these sacred spaces. You experience the shift away from your head running the entirety of your life and are able to discern the right times to be led by the heart of the inner feminine or the consciousness of the inner masculine.
When we are embodying the stage of transformation, we begin to effortlessly feel resonance with choices that align with our current state of being.
From Transformation we shift to Awakening. Here you discover the capacity to stand in your authentic power and the sovereign alignment with the truth of who you are. You recognize you own inner authority and can communicate your needs and desires truthfully. You not only acknowledge that you refuse to play small, but you live life large. Your dreams and desires are consciously sourced by your unique creative sexual life force.
When we awaken, we feel turned on simply by being alive.
by carlashakti | Aug 14, 2019 | embracing shakti, yoga of the heart
Have you ever had a felt sense of knowing. A deeper sense about something or remembering things that should be unfamiliar but aren’t? Some resonant memory, “I have been here before, I remember this.”
We all have.
This for me is remembrance. Remembrance speaks to a sense of knowing something but not always why we know it. It is often the first step on the path towards connecting with Spirit.
It is so interesting that many languages have 2 words for knowing: French, Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish and Hungarian to name a few. One word describes knowing something factually and the other is to have a deeper understanding and wisdom. In English we have lost this distinction when we gave up the old English word “witan” centuries ago.
But when we ‘know’ something, we really ‘know’ it. It is not something we experience intellectually. We feel it in our blood and bones. You hear the resonant call “I have been here before, I remember this”. And that knowing is at the heart of remembrance.
The term Gnosis means “knowledge” in Greek. It refers to the type of knowledge that one has that is based on one’s own practical experience. The Gnostic path asks you to go within and remember the inner teacher. The inner Guru. The inner divinity that resides within each and every one of us.
It is in this space that we acknowledge the deeper knowledge and wisdom of who we are. It is an invitation to empty the expectation of the mind and remember the essence of you.
So the next time you have that inner feeling of knowing, close your eyes and take a few deep, diaphragmatic breaths. Feel what arises from the depths within you and listen.
Your divine self is speaking directly to you. What is s/he saying?
PS. On September 10th, my FREE 13 day Embracing Shakti Journey for womxn is starting. Thirteen magical days of remembrance, connection and living from the wisdom of the heart. To get on the waitlist and be first on the list to register, click HERE.
