There are extra pillows, a stray hat, an emotional support knitted chicken (it’s a thing – look it up later), my daughter’s stuffed animals along with all the inner parts of myself that have been previously left out in the cold (more on that in a minute).
My nightstand is overflowing with books, journals, remedies and tinctures, my knitting and headphones to drop more deeply into music and meditation.
It’s January, as you know, and according to the calendar Tuesday was the day to go back to school and back to work.
According to my inbox and social media feeds, it’s time to Set! Your! Intent! For the Year! and commit to 21-day challenges.
According to my soft human body, it’s time to go inward and rest.
This soft human body wants hot tea, hot baths, more sleep, bone broth and the space to reflect and feel – in between showing up for clients and family and what needs to be done.
Awareness of old ingrained patterns of pushing and accommodating others and ignoring my body’s signals have been loud.
We live in a head-based society and in mind-driven bodies which seduce us to ignore the messages that are transmitted from our feelings and sensations in our hearts and shoulders and gut and womb.
We’ve been trained to ignore and dismiss (myself included!)…
The stress knot in your shoulder that never really goes away…
The first signs of getting sick…
The years of disappointed looks directed at your partner who used to be your lover…
The authentic “no” that gets overridden by an obligated “yes” to your children, partner, aging parent, client or co-worker…
The desire to sit down on the couch instead of getting that “one more thing” done…
The scrolling when you’re tired…
The automatic eating of what your mouth or mind wants instead of what truly feels nourishing to your body.
I recently had an experience where a fierce undeniable “no, I can’t do that anymore” ripped through my body.
It wasn’t pretty or convenient or logical.
I felt – rather than intellectually understood – what it meant to create a boundary in hallowed protection and stewardship of my inner-most sacred self.
So I’ve been inviting all the parts and voices who protest against not being productive, who fear slowing down under the covers.
I never ask my clients to do anything that I am not willing to live into myself – or doesn’t resonate with what they truly want or need.
So what is your anger, your sadness, your tiredness, your stress inviting you to hear? To know? To do?
What is your sweet soft body asking for right now?
Might you also be issuing the invitation to give yourself permission?
Permission to feel.
Permission to rest.
Permission to listen.
Allowing our soft human bodies to speak to us in sync with the season feels like a major act of rebellion.
It’s okay to do less. To say no. To hibernate. To resist the pressure to do any “New Year” activities on any timeline but your own.
At the end of last year, I worked with the incredible brand essence coach Rachel Browne to explore what my life’s work is and how to get that visible on my website, into my emails and offerings.
It’s coming after this hibernation. I can’t wait to share that with you this year in right timing. It was alchemical work.
For now, I’m taking my own medicine, here under the covers, sharing this in response to a spark of inspiration.
It’s a privilege to have this time and it’s the deep work in this era of reclaiming the feminine.
Won’t you join me in listening to your sweet soft body too?
What might you say “no” to in order to say “yes” to fitting in some quiet, some candlelight, some extra rest – or whatever your sweet body craves – into this season?
I know my body, my life, my marriage, my money, my work, my children, this world will all benefit when I’m ready to emerge.
May the same be true for you.
Comments