Posted on by Lauren Polly

Getting Back Your Mojo

I had one of those weeks…
You know the kind I’m talking about.  Where you feel deflated, confused and like you can’t tell where to put your feet next.  No matter the possibilities that showed up for me it was followed by this immediate angst of: not enough money, not enough time, not enough fun, not enough, not enough, not enough…
Where did I go with all of this yuck?  To my tool kit!
After asking myself what I was aware of and sitting with that question for a while (not looking for an answer, just being with what came up) I came to the awareness that I haven’t been choosing for happy.
Happiness is one of the primary platforms that my life is created on.  When I’m happy things just work.  I have more energy, zest for adventures and a myriad of resources are available to me.
What is a platform?  It is a key energy from which you create your life.  It is the spring board you use to catapult yourself into more possibilities.  It is what sustains your life so that the fits and starts, roadblocks and angst don’t impact you.
A platform is not a thing or place or a person.  It is an energy.  A quality of being that is so true to you that you may not even notice it.  Which I get is one of the ways I ‘lost it’ briefly this week.
When I had this awareness, as I was sitting on the beach staring gravely out to see (drama anyone?), light bulbs went off in my brain, the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders and a giggle from deep inside my belly traveled up my spine and broke through my lips.
YES!
Next step?  I asked “If I was choosing for happy what would I chose?”
Awareness came hard and swift: more fun, more play, more flirting, more money, more lightness…
That day I was invited on and enjoyed a fun date, 2 new clients appeared, I found a place to hold body work sessions within steps from my new apartment and a lightness of possibilities began to sparkle around me.
Ask and you shall receive…  And when you ask with your platform as a primary way to choose and create – MAGIC!
So…  What is your platform?  The energy and way of being that is innate, easy and truly you?  The thing that lights up even your darkest day?  Happiness, joy, play, spontaneity, unpredictability, peace, fun, ease…  And if you were choosing for, with and through that quality what would your life be?  What’s next to ask for and receive?
Have fun playing with this!  Let me know how it goes…

Posted on by Lauren Polly

Creating Mental Ease Through Body Care; Part 2 of Mental Health and Bodies

Can caring for your body be a way to create more mental ease? We have all experienced being over worked or going through a difficult life transition where we let our caring for our body slide. Why is that? So much of the stress, anxiety and problems we are looking to solve eat up our energy like a hamster spinning on a wheel. Our minds get so busy trying to solve the situation that our bodies get ignored. Being aware of or taking care of your body just doesn’t make it high on the to-solve-list in these circumstances.
For me personally my appetite goes away when I’m very stressed. During my younger years, when I was without tools to allow my body to contribute to my mental health, it was common for me to forget to eat. On the flip side another common ‘stress’ behavior is to overeat in an attempt to drown out your emotions with food. These are examples of how we don’t listen to our body and almost punish it during stressful times.
Hearing our body signs for what it needs to be functioning optimally gets drowned out by turmoil. Poor diet, sedentary behaviors and restless nights become status quoe. We start a negative cycle of not being able to tune into our bodies and as a result our mind/body connection gets weaker as our stress continues to build.
What if instead of ignoring your body during these times you engaged with it more? What could your body contribute to your mental health? What if we could utilize body care as a way to calm mental dis-ease?
Our bodies are amazing gifts that can be utilized as a gateway for stress relief, consciousness expansion and improving our self-esteem. By taking care of your body, you take care of you. The result? More mental ease, more body ease and ultimately more ease in your life.
Next time you find yourself in a stressful, anxious or depressed cycle start playing with these tools:
• Ask your BODY – What would create more ease right now?
• Keep a running list of the things you can do for your body that create a sense of peace in your world: exercise, hot bath, walk in nature, massage, 5 minutes of deep breathing…
• When you ask the question above which of these things pop of the list? Follow that body awareness and do it.
• Allow the relaxation and pleasure of the body to bring you back to the present moment, ground in yourself and know that right now – you are okay.
• Move forward with your day allowing your body to contribute to you in any way it can.

Posted on by Lauren Polly

Body Judgments and Self-Esteem; Part 1 of Mental Health and Bodies

Body Judgments and Self-Esteem; Part 1 of Mental Health and Bodies
Could the dis-easy relationship with your body be contributing to sub-optimal mental health? The connection between our body and mind is a hot topic these days. Experts from different perspectives are linking stuck emotions, limited thought patterns and stress to poor body health. But what if it worked the other way as well?
We hear frequently how the mind can affect the body but how does the body – or more importantly our relationship to our body – effect our mental health? After all it is difficult to be happy or feel satisfied with your life when your body isn’t feeling well or when you are uncomfortable in your own skin.
How are these toxic relationships created? Have you ever notice how many of your interactions with your body are riddled with judgments? How often do you look in the mirror and judge the size, shape, health and age of your body? Do you find yourself comparing your body to others and judge it when it doesn’t stack up? Do you force your body into strenuous exercise regimes, extreme diets or clothes it doesn’t like as a way to try to fix it?
All of these actions are based on the judgement that your body isn’t good enough. What affect does that have on your body? What affect does it have on your mental health and overall happiness? It is easy to see how that judgmental point of view towards your body could start to affect your mental health. It isn’t a big leap from; ‘hey body you aren’t good enough’ to ‘I’m not good enough.’ Stress, lack of self-worth, poor self-confidence and overall dissatisfaction with life can be born this way.
The good news is it is never too late to change this dynamic. Our bodies are forgiving and bounce back as soon as the door is opened (by you!) to engage with them in a conscious and healthy way. Once you open up to this possibility you will begin to see how a more positive relationship between you and your body can create more for both of you. Imagine living day to day where the health of your body could assist in your mental health and vice versa. A happy body can lead to a happy you; all you have to do is take the first step.
How do you stop judging your body? Be mindful during the day as the judgment we have of our bodies are insidious and many times unconscious. Set a target that you will be aware of your own body judgments. When you find yourself judging your body stop and instead find something you are grateful for about it. Gratitude and judgement are opposing energies – they cannot co-exist. By introducing gratitude into your relationship and interaction with your body you will immediately dispel the judgement. Flip the judgments to gratitude and see what affect that has on your body/mind health!