There is something about the energy of May 1.
Maybe you feel it too?
Yes, its a new month.
But there is something about it.
The days are warmer. And my feet are noticing that my Ugg slippers might be too warm for the first morning outing with the pups.
On the East Coast it means that it is time to start planting things outside (though technically I was taught that you really shouldn’t plant things outside until after Mother’s day.)
We are that much closer to longer days of sunshine.
Life just feels…in bloom.
(Except for the parts of life that feel murky, in limbo, or a bit discombobulated.)
With this bloom came a realization as I sat on my terrace with my journal.
Because one of the things that I’ve been feeling all the feels about it my relationship with my body. With feeling less than strong. And honestly a bit frustrated.
But instead of tending to my body in ways that nourish and nurture me, I’ve engaged in what I consider to be self-sabotaging behaviors.
Ignoring what my body craves (movement).
Numbing my body with food (hello matzoh and Nutella).
Judging, judging, and more judging…and then wanting to fix, fix, fix.
And so, attempting to integrate the feeling of unconditional love as my “antidote” …I set an intention last month to “nurture and nourish my body” as one of the things that “mattered most.”
And look…there is a place for setting a course. For goals. For accountability.
But last month…it didn’t work for me.
I can’t tell you how many days I wrote “nurture and nourish my strength” in my journal as something that mattered MOST for the day.
And how many days I did the OPPOSITE. And then judged myself (harshly) for all the things.
But something else started to happen in the last week. As I sat with my journal on my terrace at sunrise, I could feel my body whispering to me.
Asking me to pay attention.
And so I unrolled my yoga mat on the terrace and moved. Gently. Slowly. In a way that felt intuitive instead of expectant.
Loving instead of of forceful.
My body was telling me what it wanted. And it was reminding me of what it feels like to be IN my body.
A few days later, I found myself again…journal in hand, noticing the sunrise.
And I paused.
My “plan” was to roll my yoga mat out “later.”
But my heart whispered something else to me instead.
Show up for the practice now, not because it is something that you “do” but because it is who you “ARE.”
So I did.
And at the end of my 30-minute practice I checked in as I often do, with what my heart wanted me to know.
The message was simple.
What if nurturing my body with movement wasn’t a “to-do” and was simply what I DO as a part of BEING me.
The truth of this message is that it applies to more than just moving my body.
It applies of course to all the ways that we can tend to ourselves…to allow them to be less about checking off our to-do list, and truly embodying what feels true.
And so on this May 1st, I invite you to consider:
What is something that you could allow yourself to DO as a part of being YOU this month?
Not because you should.
But because it feels true?
And P.S…if you are looking for a tool to help you expand your capacity to turn towards what feels TRUE as way to THRIVE…pre-orders for the Thrive Journal are now open. Pre-order your copy HERE.