Your Monthly Inspiration to Shine Bright
Welcome to your April love note where I’ll be sharing resources, reflections and practices around JOY.
In less than 6 weeks I'll be back under the Spanish sun for our ‘Pure Joy’ Luxury Soulshine Retreat (we still have spaces from €1,250 per person - message here for details).
At the end of last year it felt like joy reservoirs were running low as tough times persisted and I felt called to lead a retreat focussed on remembering, reconnecting and reactivating our Joy.
When we have a massage, we're addressing tension, resistance or restriction in our bodies that have evolved under a certain set of conditions.
Oftentimes, even when these conditions have passed, the body doesn’t realise and persists with these patterns of discomfort.
It needs to be shown that there is another way and reminded of how to return to its true state of ease.
So many of us need to REMEMBER how it feels to embody our joy, hope and freedom.
I like to think of our 'Pure Joy' Retreat as the liberating massage to release the past and remind your body, mind and spirit of its true nature.
Remembering...
- Who you are.
- What matters to you.
- What lights you up.
- Pleasure, fun, play, lightness and joy.
- And the experience of freedom.
In every cell of your being.
I mean, how delicious does that sound?!
(if it's an almighty YES, message me now!)
If you’re ready to remember, reconnect and return to your joy, then simply get in touch now to find out more.
I promise that your future JOY-FILLED being will not regret it!
Are you ready to turn up your light and shine bright?
Tell me your heart doesn't fill with joy just LOOKING at this pool!
You could be here in less than 6 weeks!
And now, read on for some fave tools, practices and resources to support you in accessing your own reservoirs of joy.
In service of supporting you to shine your brightest as ever my love.
MONTHLY REFLEXIONS ON…
To understand joy, it can also be helpful to understand some of the obstacles to experiencing it.
In the words of Rick Hanson 'the brain is like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positives ones'. Basically we remember the bad over the good to optimise our chances of survival. Think 'once burned, twice shy'. This is known as our 'Negativity Bias'.
When we have been through sustained challenging times and our nervous system has had to adapt more towards survival, this negativity bias can become amplified and our tendency to see more clearly that which is negative over that which is working in our lives can be turned up.
This of course can be a great blocker to Joy in our lives (along with peace, freedom and ease!). There are so many ways to support the balance of this negativity bias (many of which we explore through our Soulshine Retreats and offerings).
I've shared a tiny handful of some of the most simple and accessible ones below.
First up, the power of Gratitude
One of the greatest antidote's to our negativity bias is to practice Gratitude.
As the saying goes, where the attention goes, energy flows. So this incredibly simple practice is actually supportive of cultivating 'Neuroplasticity' and the development of more robustly positive neural pathways. Yep, you can change your brain through a Gratitude practice. How cool is that?
To be clear, gratitude isn't about being grateful for everything in every moment, rather it's about always seeking what there is to be grateful for in every moment - even with everything else challenging that might be unfolding in our world.
It's the power of adding an 'AND' to whatever we are experiencing. For example, 'I'm having a really crappy day, everything is falling apart, nothing is going right AND I have a roof over my head, I can move my body, I have loved ones around me'.
A regular gratitude practice is such a heart-opening, positive neural pathway boosting practice. And it's so simple!
I recommend at the end or start of each day simply reflecting on 3 things for which you are grateful for in the last 24 hours. Even better if you can write them down. I love a good Gratitude Journal (check out this one here).
And in the moments when things feel GAH, remember that magical 'AND' - what else is there?
This is a small but MIGHTY practice. Why not try it and see?
To get you inspired I'm also sharing one of my favourite, favourite, favourite TED Talks for gratitude. If you want to jump straight to the magic and not listen to the whole talk, then head to 3 minutes, 43 seconds and prepare for your heart to soar open.
Positive Recall Meditation
I love this practice from Dr Rick Hanson and often share it with my Clients.
In this practice, similar to the Gratitude practice we are reminding ourselves of our experiences of Joy and Happiness.
Imagine your brain as a garden. With this practice we are nurturing and shining a bright light on the plants that are already growing there but which perhaps we have stopped taking notice of as we're too busy trying to look after the plants that are struggling.
It's very simple.
1. Close your eyes
2. Take some settling breaths
3. Bring to mind a memory of great joy, love, freedom,
4. Once you've picked the memory, you can really enliven it. Go into the details as if allowing a movie to play:
What was the weather like that day, what were you wearing, who was there, how did you feel?
Invite in as much detail as you can bring to really activate this memory. Then allow yourself to experience that moment as if reliving it in as much detail as possible.
And then once you have fully experienced that imagine your body absorbing that memory like a sponge soaking up all the goodness. Really visualise that act of absorption.
As you are doing this, know that you are literally activating neural pathways of joy in your brain. When you finish, your brain will be shining a little brighter. Hurray!
Living your Purpose
Having a purpose in our life is such a fundamental facet of our capacity to access Joy.
To live with purpose is to live with clarity, focus, intentionality. It boosts our self-esteem, it supports our physical and mental health. It brings meaning to our existence.
When exploring purpose, I love the art of seeking your Ikigai.
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means 'your reason for being'.
'Iki' in Japanese means 'life,' and 'gai' describes value or worth. So your Ikigai is your life purpose or your bliss.
Mmmmm BLISS! Who doesn't want to live in bliss?
If you're curious about your purpose, I really recommend exploring your Ikigai. It is a light, fun and highly satisfying process! Check out this book at the link below...
Abounding Joy Meditation
And finally, a little meditation from the endlessly wonderful Insight Meditation App all about accessing Joy. This meditation really supports the 'Positive Recall Practice'.
Grab 20 minutes and enjoy a moment of self-care...
Join me here in less than 6 weeks...
And I guarantee that you'll leave full to the brim with joy!