Listen to me read this post:
Dear friends,
Our practice this month follows up on last week's post, Flipping Healing On Its Head.
How do we embody and truly know we are enough when we're continually breathing in the toxicity of systems that equate our worth with external markers?
It's hard not to feel that pit in our stomach when the work is not coming in, a relationship painfully fails, our exhaustion overcomes our to-do list, etc.
Some part of us knows that these events are not indicative of our value, but another part, often quite cold and authoritative, insists that if we were simply better, we wouldn't be where we are.
Try as we might, willpowering our way through these self-defeating thoughts doesn’t work. We need an embodied practice to help us feel the truth. Finding a place of refuge within our physicality reminds us that we are not fundamentally flawed or deficient. We are human. We are alive.
Cultivating a relationship with this place is how we do the work of decolonizing not from a place of “fixing” ourselves but rather in recognition of our inherent wholeness. This place reminds us that our life is not meant to be a race towards success and achievement. We’re here to be more of who we already are.
Here’s what I discuss in the above video:
The cloud of shoulds we all live under
My history of “good-girl” conditioning
Why recognizing enoughness is essential for any healing journey
Shifting from “fixing” to reclaiming
The guided practice starts at 4:30.
You can also find the step-by-step instructions for this practice at the bottom of this post.
Thank you for being here.
With deep breath and a blueberry splash,
Kelsey
P.S.
If you are on Substack, please consider recommending the Drinking Gourd to inspire your readers to contribute to creating a more just world by listening from a deeper place. We get free together.
To do so (I know this is a little clunky) go to:
Your dashboard>Settings>Publication details
>Recommend other publications on Substack
>Manage>Scroll down to ‘Add recommendation’
If you are not on Substack, forwarding this email to a friend who may enjoy The Drinking Gourd is also much appreciated.
What’s Coming Up
Root & Unfurl
We’re less than a month away from what I know will be a restorative and inspiring retreat!
If you are a woman color looking for a kind space to rest and restore in nature exploring somatic and ritual practices alongside a like-minded collective, we’d love to have you with us.
Hear more about Chaiti and I’s vision in creating this space, below.
Movement Meditation for Women of Color
Thursday, June 13 at 11 a.m. PT: This is a free somatic and ritual space for women of color offered on the second Thursday of every month.
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