Looking For Valentine's Date Ideas for Quarantine?

Today I am filled with love and gratitude. For YOU. Seriously. It washed over me unexpectedly this morning while I was thinking about what Valentine's gift to send to you. I was feeling a little run down, a little deflated and unsure about what to write and what to send you. A little unsure of myself. I got soft and gooey and loving of myself and my body and my feelings. And then...WHOOSH...love and gratitude. For you. You are the inspiration. So THANK YOU. And please know that my heart is open and sending so much love to you. 

This Shower Yourself with Love Meditation is perfect for Valentine's Day (or any day!). Get comfy either seated or lying down, and get soft and gooey with yourself. Recognizing that YOU are perfect right here. Right now. If you'd like a loving, therapeutic Svaroopa Style classto support yourself along with this meditation, you can try one here

Looking for Valentine's Day date ideas? It's a little...different this year, isn't it? Going out to dinner might not be a possibility. So...here you go! I'm teaching an Online Partner Yoga Classthis Sunday with Be Yoga. Yup, that's Valentine's Day! A dear friend of mine usually teaches it in person with her hubbie and I'm teaching it for her this year with my honey! We've gone every year and we have a blast! And he's not super bendy. Complete beginners are welcome. We always laugh and have a great time. It's a fun way to celebrate Valentine's Day and to connect with your partner. Or you can do the class with a quarantine friend! 2pm eastern US. Sign up HERE

Write "I AM LOVE" in the YouTube comments to let me know you've done this beautiful meditation with us and that you're a part of our community. 

Know that you are loved. You ARE love. 

Big love 💕

Lorrie

PS Don’t forget to try Shower Yourself with Love Meditation and write “I Am Love” in the comments below the video on Youtube so I know you’ve read this email.

PPS 🥰 Join us for a fun Partner Yoga class on Sunday, it's the perfect Valentine's Day Date! 😍

Six Simple Steps To Find Calm In The Midst of Chaos (with audio meditation!)

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Sooooo…things are pretty funky out there right now, right?  Not the yummy, groovy kind of funky.  More the “what the heck is happening??”, incredulous, dramatic, sometimes polarizing, anxiety-inducing kind of funky.  You can feel it in the air, see it in people’s faces, it’s almost palpable.  

I’m a fairly centered, drama-free gal, and I too, am finding that the current events and Covid (I call it “the C-word”) can take me from my typical warm and fluffy center into some anxiety.  Now, to a certain degree, this is a good thing!  We are all human.  We are connected.  We have emotions.  And we want to honor our humanity and our feelings.  Of COURSE we’re feeling wonky with everything that’s happening, especially so if we have loved ones who are in higher risk groups regarding the C-word.  

Where does that anxiety come from?  There’s a TON of uncertainty around just about every aspect of this thing.  How long will it last?  How much will it continue to spread in the US and beyond?  How can I help my loved ones who may be at risk?  How do I cancel my flights in a way so that I might get reimbursed?  Will the economy recover?  How do I get out of this public bathroom without touching the doorknob?  And so on and so forth.  

Now I have a question for you…how did reading that last paragraph make you feel?  It made me feel horrible!  Anxious and confused and scrambly.  I have another question for you…how many aspects of those questions do you have immediate control overthis second, right now?  None of them (alright, maybe the bathroom doorknob one…)!  Sure, you can reach out to airlines and you can take action to help loved ones (and I certainly recommend it!), but I’m talking right now, in this moment, what do you have control over?  The only answer is yourself.  You have control over your own actions, responses, and how you respond to any feelings that come up for you.  You have control over your perspective and how you focus your thoughts.  

ACTION:  Right now, *close your eyes and take that in.   Breathe with it.  You only have control over yourself.  

It’s a relief, right?  We can often feel like we need to be the General Manager of the Universe.  See if you can let go of that right now.  

On a more practical level, there are some actions you can take to find calm within all of this.  I’d like to share them with you in the hopes that they may assist you in coming back to that warm and fluffy place within yourself.  You’ll most likely find that you slip in and out of center, that’s always going to happen.  But when you continually practice these habits, your “hang time” in peace and center is longer and longer and longer.  AND you get to the place where being out of center isn’t as painful.  You can observe it, as opposed to getting caught up in it.  

SIX THINGS YOU CAN DO

1.  Practice an uplifting morning ritual.  And do it.  Every morning.  Before you do anything else!

You’ve probably heard of inertia, right?  An object at rest stays at rest, an object in motion stays in motion.  Well, our thoughts and emotions are the same way.  Once we start our thoughts on one trajectory, they tend to continue in that same direction.  First thing in the morning is a powerful time to set the tone for the rest of your day.  My morning ritual looks something like this:

-  put on some soothing, uplifting music

-  write down my intentions for the day:  ex: to have fun, to love and adore myself unconditionally, to love and adore every single person I encounter unconditionally…etc.  

-  write down 10-20 things I adore and appreciate:  ex: hearing the little bird singing outside (so active!!!), the unusual tint of the morning light I see right now, flowers!!!…etc.

-  sometimes read or listen to uplifting messages

-  take a hot bath with candles 

-  High Intensity Training and Yoga

-  meditate (5-15 minutes)

I don’t do all of them every single day, but most days I do.  This is BEFORE looking at any news, BEFORE reading any emails, and the first few things usually BEFORE interacting with anyone else.  Find a few things you enjoy and that feel good to you to start your day with.  I DO highly recommend writing your intentions, things you appreciate, and meditating first thing.  You can do all those in 10-20 minutes.  The others are bonuses first thing in the morning.  

2.  Practice yoga or dance.  Move your body in a mindful way.  Connect with it.  Allow yourself to be present with your body.  This is beneficial for your immune system AND beneficial in allowing you to more easily handle any stress that presents.  If you don’t have time to do a full class some days, just get on your mat for 5 minutes.  Do a down dog, a Sun Salutation.  Shake your booty to some tunes for 3 minutes.  

3.  Practice Nadi Shodhana - Alternate Nostril Breathing.  This is a simple, yet powerful technique that calms the nervous system, balances the two hemispheres of the brain, and settles the mind.  You can follow along with this video.  When I’m super busy and find myself feeling anxious, I set a reminder to go off every two hours and I sit my butt down and do Nadi Shodhana for 3 minutes.  It. Makes. A HUGE. Difference.  

4.  Limit your news time.  Try to keep your news time to 30 minutes or less a day.  That should be plenty to keep you up to date with the important happenings and at the same time, allow you to have plenty of breathing space and unplug from any mounting anxieties in the general public.  I would generally say keep it to 5 minutes or less a day, but given where we are right now with the C-word, you may find it needs to be more than usual.  

5.  Be the Witness.  This is something you can cultivate over time with things like meditation and mindful moment to moment presence, but even if you are new to the concept, you can start to employ it.  Allow yourself to approach everything as if you are a scientist observing.  Observe yourself.  Observe others.  Observe the media.  Observe the situations around you.  Even observe your emotions and thoughts.  Let go of opinions or conclusions for periods of time.  A good scientist doesn’t come to any conclusions until he’s observed objectively.  Being able to watch, rather than getting drawn into all the drama, is invaluable and gives you the ability to be objective and to take Skillful Action rather than being reactionary and acting from a place of fear and doubt.  See if you can come back to just watching again and again and again.  

6.  Allow your emotions.  Get to be friends with them.  Don’t try to push any anxiety away or reject it.  Welcome it with open arms…”hello old friend…I am here…I hear you.”  You don’t need to DO anything about the emotion or try to make it go away.  See, emotions are just energy, and energy wants to move.  Energy is always moving towards higher vibrations (like love, joy, peace, calm, etc).  It’s when we resist feelings that they get stuck in lower registers.  And, btw, having lower register feelings is not bad!!!  So feeeeel your feelings!  When you can combine #5, Be The Witness, with #6, Allowing Your Emotions, you're golden!  Because you don’t get bogged down in those feelings, you experience them for what they are…energy!  

and I’ll give you a bonus one…

7.  Laugh.  Find a way to lighten the mood.  Watch puppies doing cute things.  Remember something silly you did recently.  Make a funny face in the mirror.  

**

It is more important than EVER for each of us to take responsibility for our own well-being, physically and emotionally/energetically.  Start with these simple steps above and experience how much better YOU feel and in turn, what a calming and positive effect you have on those around you.  Be a leader of love, of calm within the chaos and I promise you, in this way you will contribute the most to your loved ones and in fact, to the world.  

Here is the Calming 5 minute Meditation for you to use. Let me know how it all goes for you!

Biiiiiig love,

Lorrie 

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Audio Meditation to Open Your Beautiful Heart and to Calm

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We had crrrraaaaaazy weather here in Charlotte (and the whole Southeast) last week, especially on Thursday. Tornados, high winds, flooding, lightening, mudslides, hail…I half expected to look out the window and see the four horsemen of the apocalypse galloping amidst the clouds and waving trees! With my Healing Codes coaching and Touchstone coaching I work with clients all over the world over Zoom or the phone and I had several of my awesome clients on this particular insane weather day. When I work with clients I need to be super tuned in and and have an open heart to assist them in the best way possible. On this day, we were under a Tornado Warning (which means “take cover, a tornado is pretty likely!”) for a good part of the day. So as I’m working with my lovely clients I’m having to keep an eye on the weather because at any moment I may need to duck into the closet under the stairs so that I’m safe from a tornado. Staying present with my clients in the midst of this chaos took some doing! So occasionally we had to take a break for a few moments while I check the weather and make sure I’m not about to be swept away to The Land of Oz (though THAT would be a fun adventure!). And then take a few moments to close my eyes, breathe, recenter and ground myself so we can move forward again in a meaningful way.

We fared the weather just fine (we always do…I’ll post on that phenomenon another time!) and the whole experience got me thinking about how important it is to be centered and “grounded” in order to be able to fully open our hearts. I love walking around with a completely open heart in my life and everyday interactions when I can, but I also know that if I do that without being rooted and centered that it can feel a little raw. A little TOO open. So there’s this wonderful balance we can find of calmness, connection to the earth, and at the same time, this heart that is completely open and giving and receiving love.

You can use the yummy meditation below to find this space. I suggest doing it whenever you feel you need grounding, if you find you’re having trouble in one of your relationships, if you don’t know what to do, or…if you just want to feel good;. The seed mantra for the heart is “Yam,” pronounced “yum.” You can experience “YUM” in your life by opening your heart. Give it a shot and let me know how you feel afterwards!

The Power of Imperfect Meditation

A lot of people think that when you meditate you’re not supposed to have any sounds happening around you or any distractions or any thoughts. And that if you do, you’re not doing it “right.” Well…we live in the world, so we’re gonna have distractions and we are HUMAN, so we’re gonna have thoughts. It doesn’t mean you’re not meditating “right.” There is no “right” way to meditate. Personally, I have days where my brain is so nice and quiet and *sighhhhhh*, oh, so serene. And then there are days where my mind is jumping and skipping and diving allllll over the place! Funny enough, on those days, I welcome what would most people would probably call “distractions” because they actually remind me to refocus and just witness the bouncing, running thoughts, rather than chase after them.

Read on for a funny case and point AND a little anecdote to help you remember the point of all meditation AND another fun video.

First, you gotta watch this video, it’s the frickin funniest thing in the world! They are trying SO HARD. The one on the right in front cracks me up about half way through the video. Oh, and the girl on the left who’s dancing the whole time. Well, all of them crack me up!

K-sweet-man and I meditate for 10-15 minutes every morning. This particular morning a few weeks ago was very very very cold (well, at least for down here in SC…in the 30’s) and our heater was running running running. I’d woken up and done my yummy morning routine and was feeling bubbly with laughter. So we sat down to meditate and I was already feeling that bubbling and then the heater turned off and let out a big ole *siiiiiiiiiigghhhhhhh*. If you’ve ever seen the movie Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Universe, it was exactly like the sigh the doors in the spaceship make when they open and close…it’s a human sound, I swear! I wish I had a recording of it so you could hear it!

Like I said, I was already feeling giggly and bubbly and I just BURST out LAUGHING in the middle of the meditation. And you know what? That meditation is a perfect meditation to me. I’ve promised myself never to hold in laughter. It’s so so SO very good for us and it feels so good. I allowed myself to flow with it. Well, I really couldn’t help it, it just came out, so there’s that too;)

The whole point of meditating is to raise our vibration, to witness ourselves, to gain perspective, etc. I can’t think of a better way to do all of those and more than being tickled to bubbly laughter!

This clip makes me laugh too…

Yummy Love Your Body Meditation

*If you want to get right down to it, scroll to the bottom of the post for the recordings*

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So much of our experience here in this realm is related to our BODIES.  At the same time, so many spiritual teachings neglect the body.  Dating to waaaaay back, there are many teachings that the body, the physical, should be ignored or even rejected.  

And I say...*back up!*  Reassess.  Not only are these bodies assets, they are to be enjoyed (more yumminess on that in other posts).  They are to be...well...emBODY-ed.  That means developing a loving, feeling, symbiotic relationship with your body.  And I can tell you from serious experience that until you really accept and get into your body, you're going limit your expansion.  On all levels.  You and your spirit...essence...soul...higher self...source...god..."Big 'S' Self" (a friend of mine and I made that one up and it makes us laugh every time)...whatever you want to call it...are not separate from your body.  Source is flowing through your body at all times.  Your body IS source.  Which is not only a really beautiful thing, but also a really good thing.  Because that means you don't have to remind your heart to beat.  Or remind yourself to inhale and exhale.  You don't have to prod your liver to work.  You don't have to remind your stomach to digest.  

Now...you may have had some...not-so-good-feeling experiences with your body.  Anyone, anyone?  I say this in jest, cuz, well, yeah...we all have!  I'm happy to share my own experience, many of you are familiar with it (you can take a look at it here).  And I find that lots of times when we experience negative feelings we can disassociate from our bodies.  Whether those feelings are physical or emotional...well, we want OUT.  Which is totally understandable!  We just...disconnect.

We set up this experience perfectly before we came here.  We wanted to have bodies.  We wanted to be deeply connected with them.  Because we wanted to have a way to *know* how we feel about things.  We wanted a way to know when we are on track with our truth, with our desires, with our knowing...and when we're off track.  Other reasons too and we'll get into those at another time;)  

When you can FEEL your body...when you can FEEL your feelings in your body...you are so much more able to shift those feelings (physical and emotional) and to let them move through.  In fact, they will move on their own when you allow yourself to be with them!  If you try to ignore them or change them right away, you're doing yourself a disservice.  Because those feelings are there for a reason.  

Before we get down to it, I'll give you some backstory about this particular Living From Inspiration Meditation.  It's a super duper sweet story and one of my favorites, because it involves my gorgeous nieces.  

A few years ago, I was staying with my brother and his family in Albuquerque, NM.  They have this beauuuutiful big house with a casita in the back.  Every morning, I wake up and do my meditation, workout and then go to the main house and have breakfast with the family and always sit next to, you guessed it, my lovely niece, "A".  She's about 3 or 4 at this point (I'm so bad with ages, but I'm pretty sure).  So sweet, so beautiful.  I sit down on a bar stool/breakfast stool and help her up to the bar stool/breakfast stool next to me.  And she puts her sweet hand on my arm and says...

"Auntie Lala...I love your eyes...and I love your face...and I love your arms...and I love your legs...and I love your shoulders...and I love your hair...and I love your shirt...and I love your nose...and I love your fingers.........."

And she keeps going on.  And on.  And on.  For about 3 minutes straight.  Which is a looooong time for a 3-4 year old.  Just loving, loving, loving everything about me.  And oh!  I try to interrupt!  And say "I love your face...and your arms...and your legs..." She will have none of it.  She just keeps going...and going.  My only choice is to sit...and let it all in.  Which I finally do.  

It was so sweet.  So much love.  And I have never forgotten it.  *That* is how we can feel at all times.  Because Source is always flowing all that love to every single part of us.  

This meditation will help you get connected to your body and establish a loving relationship with it.  The first recording goes through instructions.  The second recording is the actual meditation.

In the instructions, you'll learn that as you're going through the meditation, if when you get to a certain body part you notice any pain, tightness, or resistance of any kind, pause the recording and take some time to just BE with the sensation.  Without trying to figure it out, without judging...just be with it.  Embrace it.  And when you're ready, start the recording again and keep going.  

So get comfortable, close your eyes, and melt into this.