Celebrating the Woman that You Are

Liv Balanced Wellness : Empowering Spaces Happy March Ladies and Happy International Womens Month! I hope that you are still celebrating as I like to encourage us women to celebrate all month through because just 1 day on the calendar is not enough time to celebrate all our awesomeness. We are our biggest critics and our strongest opponents when we don't own who we are. When we don't take the time to celebrate our accomplishments, when we don't pass ourselves a compliment and when we don't vocalize and pursue desires for our future.

Subconsciously, some women feel that owning who they are is unnatural. What actually is unnatural, is this paralyzingly relationship that we have cultivated with ourselves. It’s unnatural to not take time to express gratitude for our accomplishments. It’s unnatural to not express confidence in our abilities. It’s unnatural to not believe wholeheartedly in ourselves and it’s unnatural to not invest time and to not pursue that lifestyle we so desire and so deserve to live.

I too was very much effected by this unnatural relationship I had created with myself. When that feeling was present, I use to feel "a tug and a pull" between my mind and my heart. Today, I am aware of how dysfunctional it can be and if that uncomfortable feeling ever surfaces, I have the power to choose how much influence it has over me.

In this months blog, I have chosen to share my story with you of how I went from Corporate Boss to Wellness Goddess. The reason why I choose to share my story is because I want you to understand how important it is to cultivate a healthy relationship with yourself. How important it is to BE who you are and to celebrate who you ARE. There is no such thing as "its too late" to step into your inner goddess and empower that space that embodies resilience. I want you to take away from this article that in order for you to own who you are, you need to honour who you are first. Enjoy my story. From Corporate Boss to Wellness Goddess Guilt Free my story 17 years I dedicated myself by learning, innovating and helping grow the family business. Truthfully, growing up, my intention was not to become involved in the paper industry but to pave my own career path to help children with disabilities. However, circumstances in my young adult years steered me in that direction and in retrospect, I realize that my position was just a detour in my journey. A detour that blessed me with valuable experiences and lessons that were fundamental stepping stones my personal and professional growth. So much happened and so much was learned in those years that it is impossible to sum it up for you in a paragraph but what I want to share with you today is the message of how my unnatural relationship effected valuable time and how discovering the strength in honouring myself transformed my journey and gave me the courage to follow my passion.

The Unnatural played a impactful role in my mindset for many years as it influenced the relationship I had with myself in and out of the office. It was not easy being the daughter of the companies founder and I was effected by a lot of inner and outer pressures. The tangible pressure I handled very well yet the intangible pressures where what I struggled with the most.

I seldom spoken of or celebrated my efforts or achievements because I was too busy constantly proving my worth.

I belittled my title and role because

I didn't want to appear arrogant and boastful.

I hesitated to openly shared about my visions and aspirations for the future because I was afraid that I would stop myself from creating them.

I was guilty for not owning who I was because I was fearful that I wasn’t going to succeed.

“The relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship that you have” was by far the most powerful truth that helped me overcome the unnatural feeling that was effecting me. These feelings that “tugged and pulled” inside me made me feel awful. I decided that I needed to change and I began to work with a Personal & Professional Developmental Coach. It was with Louise that I was taught about how to honour myself. Yes, you read that right. I was taught because I didn’t know how to honour myself. After insightful sessions that empowered me to step into my space of resilience, I began to honour the woman that I was and what I aspired to be. My personal and professional life shifted, the “tug and pull” became a faint feeling that I was able to control. I began to celebrate my achievements, I took ownership of my title, I began sharing my personal and professional goals and above all, my actions were guilt free.

I didn’t feel bad anymore for pursuing my happiness. On the contrary, I was happy.

When the company was sold, I had a life altering decision to make. I finally was able to answer the question of "Where I wanted to see myself in 10 years?" I decided to embarked on a brand new journey towards BECOMING a Personal & Professional WellBEing Coach. It was much more easy for me to involve myself in the familiar industry however, I knew that was no longer the life for me. I was naturally afraid about my decision. My business network had no ties to the wellness industry but I knew that this was the new career I wanted to create for myself. I believed in myself and I decided to honour my dreams. In my pursuit towards happiness I wanted to help others Become happier too.

A Letter of Gratitude To Yourself

P.S. I honour you

How often do you look at what is good within you?

When we don't give time and space to appreciate who we truly are, it allows criticism to creep in.

This P.S. I Honour You is a Pause Practise takes the form of a letter that you write to yourself and is designed to reconnect you compassionately to the good within you. Play some music and pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy.

Time: 20-30 minutes

Location: Your favourite, inspiring place.

Frequency when you notice you are fortifying the unnatural relationship with yourself Location: your favourite, inspiring place A letter of gratitude to yourself.

Preparation: writing paper, envelope and a pen

Exercise: this letter is going to be one of deep appreciation and gratitude for yourself. Write as though you would be writing to someone you care about, deeply. Use words of love and compassion. Begin the letter with "Dear" and write your name.

What to write about: write about the strengths within you, the qualities that you have that you are most grateful for, write about your efforts and achievements and how they made you feel, about your dreams and aspirations for your future, write about the beauty within you and the support you have around you.

Begin writing and don't stop until you have completed it and there is nothing left to be expressed.

Closing: when you are ready read it back to yourself and then put the letter in the envelope. Place the letter in a safe place and go back to it when you need to remind yourself to own who you are Today, I want to celebrate with you my journey as I want you to celebrate yours with me. I want you to carve out some time every month to celebrate the awesome person that you are. Never forget to nourish your inner goddess and to always step into your power. What we need to do is rise above and thank ourselves everyday for everything that we do, for ourselves and for those we share our lives with. We are all leaders in our own special way and belittling our roles in this life benefits no one, especially us. Let’s commit to parting ways with BEing paralyzed by that notion that it’s unnatural to own who we.

Every morning when we look into the mirror, lets honour that beautiful soul that is staring right back at us, guilt free.

Namaste.