A quick update & can blogging be meditative?

Hello everyone!

Remember me? After a period of rest on the blog, I decided that I do want to continue blogging/writing in some fashion, just not sure the frequency or form yet. Thanks to those who are still with me 🙂 Unfortunately my time away from here was not equal to me working on my personal story writing offline…like I hoped for. However, I did start a business venture, so my need to create took another shape!

Moon River Wellness is up and running (sort of – I am still without a website, business cards, logo, good-working internet, etc.) BUT hey, it’s a work in progress, and it makes me feel proud and slightly insane depending on the day. My biggest challenge at this time is the whole self-promotion deal/putting myself out there. As much as I don’t mind tooting my own horn on occasion, being your biggest cheerleader gets tiring! I admit, I love PR, and I love selling stuff I believe in, but let’s just say doing it for yourself gets old and seems odd – it’s a tough balance but its something all business owners face. In any case, it’s a good learning practice to say and think good things about yourself to others. Hopefully as I gain momentum and clients, they can do the talking for me. But until then, it’s my voice that will have to ring through the valley!

Lucky for me I was at least born an entrepreneur so I’m not totally going against nature.  In middle school I sold beaded lanyards to the teachers at the schools where my parents worked. In high school and college I graduated from lanyards and started selling my jewelry on consignment in 3 shops in 2 different states – KJBEADS, anyone? (This was after my parents told me I had to find a place to sell my stuff because my beading was getting out of control). And by out of control,  what I mean is I was developing early signs of carpal tunnel syndrome from all the beading – doctors told me so, which led me to take a break from the jewelry-making adventures of KJBEADS. Fast-forward to now.

Similar to when I sold jewelry, the way my business of today took shape is simple. I am just turning what I already do on a daily basis into a business. While of course there is new creation happening and the red tape in between, really I am doing the work I already do – which makes it easier.  The difference between the days of KJBEADS versus Moon River Wellness is how I spend and value my time. When you get old(er), suddenly responsibilities happen and choices have to be made. How do you do it keep your head above water, reach your goals AND thrive?

Gardening as a meditative practice

One thing that has helped me through it all is yoga and meditation. What people don’t always realize is that yoga and meditation can occur in many ways. I’m taking an 8 week meditation class series this summer, and I find the most beneficial mindfulness practice for me lately is working in the garden. Another meditative practice I enjoy is writing. That is what I’m missing lately from not being here. That is why I love blogging. It is my way to meditate, organize my thoughts and then let them go…

Do you meditate? What does your practice look like? Interested in meditation or yoga? Please I’m all ears, send your questions/comments to kali[dot]j[dot]higgins[at]gmail.[dot]com. Also stay tuned for a mindfulness & movement series coming to the Valley hosted by yours truly. There will be a workshop on meditation and then subsequent mindfulness & movement classes this winter! Location to be announced. Meditation, tea & community, folks. Stay tuned. It will be fun, I promise!

In peace, love & well-being,

Kali

Self-care for coaching & for life

As work life picks up and since talk about starting a personal business began, (in addition to summer’s arrival?) self-care has been more important now, than ever.

We all know that we must take care of ourselves in order to take care of others/our business. I think to the flight attendant example, as they step kindly to the middle of the aisle  to remind us to put on our own oxygen mask before we help our children or neighbor.

We don’t need to be in a plane crash to learn and live this simple idea. We can take care of ourselves now, and we don’t have to feel guilty about it. It’s part of our responsibility to ourselves, our communities, and the world.

I feel blessed because not only does my work improve when I take care of myself, it is a requirement and demand of my job. Recently I have come to embrace that fact and take it to heart, because I have to. If I want to excel at my job and support my clients, I need to take care of myself. Period.

“Coaching is not a service profession, it is a modeling profession.“ – Jay Perry

As the above quote mentions- my work is not about a service it is about modeling. Self-care means to be a master of my well-being. My clients grow and feed off my energy when I am well-cared for, and they experience greater and more meaningful transformation, when I take care of myself. With my coaching and yoga clients, I know that it is not the mastery of my technique that matters, but it is my presence – a way of being with people – that makes the difference. The quality of our connection plays a bigger role in the transformation process, than does the handouts/tools/information sharing that occurs. 

This realization gives me a lot of freedom because it makes me realize that it is less about my certifications/degrees/articles that I accumulate, and it is more about me just being who I am and making a genuine connection with someone. Yet at the same time, it adds the challenge of practicing presence and self-care in real life. It’s easy to conceptualize the idea – in fact it’s almost so easy its boring. But to live it is awholenother adventure…

This all came up by the way, as I toy with the idea of teaching yoga at a studio. As I find myself considering the option more seriously I realize that in order to do that I will have to take my self-care game to the next level.

Am I ready for that?

You betcha 🙂

—

Self-care for life – Some exercises to try:

1. Take a little assessment. On a scale of 0-10 (0 being “not so hot” and 10 being “totally rad”), how would you rate the health of your finances? Environment? Work-life? Self-care practices? Relationships? Thoughts? Energy? How can you give more attention to the areas in need? Think about it, and then do something about it (or seek support in finding the answers you need to help you do something about it).

2. Make a list of activities/ways of being that bring you pleasure and serenity. How often are you engaging in said activities? If possible find 10 things on this list that you can do to practice “self-care”. Block off time in your calendar to actually do/be them for one week. Notice how you feel after a week of taking care of yourself.

3. When you are feeling out of balance, come back to your list of self-care items and ask yourself what you really need. If possible, give yourself what you are needing – it may be on the list, it may not be. That’s okay. If you listen, you will know what to do. Sometimes we think we need a candle light bubble bath to relax, but in reality we may really just need an extra hour of sleep. Be honest.

101 things to do on a park bench

So, the second you give something up…the more appealing it becomes. Am I right? I should give up doing laundry…oh wait, I guess it doesn’t work for everything!

To add an addendum to my previous post about taking a break, I will say you may see me drop a note or two on and off this summer as I’m inspired. I am not going to make any predictions there but go with the flow.

With that said I wanted to share with you this RAD video I found, it is too good to not share. All I have to say is start prepping for Green Gym Day – June 9! If you are interested in finding a park bench with me somewhere, let’s meetup and do it! (In real life – I’ll let you know the details) 🙂

What I especially enjoy about this video is that it includes a lot of yoga postures 🙂

I hope you enjoy and are inspired!