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35 Ways to Self-Sooth During this Holiday Season

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Hello EOS Community,

I hope that you had an amazing Thanksgiving despite our collective challenges with the current climate. For most of us this holiday was incredibly different. Embracing change can feel extra challenging when it’s thrust upon us. However, if we accept the moment for being exactly as it is for a very good reason, then we can not only find the lesson, but also find the treasure.

I spent last year’s Thanksgiving in the deserts of California with my daughter and some good friends, which was a first. It was incredible! Years ago when I was living in Costa Rica, I spent Thanksgiving eating rice and beans. Also, amazing. This year I got to spend Thanksgiving with my close family. What a gift. I have also lost a close friend and family member around this holiday, spending Thanksgiving Day grieving and tending to the heart. I can only imagine what your holiday memories have been like over a lifetime. Life is ever changing… People, places, and things come and go.

I have been very blessed to to be able to know that Divine grace is within me and all around me (And my loved ones) during all moments along this path. I have especially been aware of it over the last decade or so because of mindfulness practices being integrated into my daily lifestyle. I went from needing to know every single detail of my future (Which is impossible) to letting go more and more because I knew that God had a better and bigger plan for me. My faith has felt imperfect at times. I’m human. I get caught up in fear and patterns from time to time, but what I have noticed is that because of my unrelenting commitment to fulfilling my divine purpose on this planet for God has made all of my life a work of art leading to a miraculous destination that is right…now…. and right now we are connected to Divine, the only thing that is unchanging, which is the essential Truth of who and what we truly ARE and always have been. So, in that way, it’s ALL been perfect.

Right now you’re walking your path and you are held by God right where you are. If you feel that this year has been one big derail for you, let’s help ourselves by witnessing Divine grace within it. How can we find gratitude, forgiveness, and joy for this year? How can we accept people, places, and things for being exactly as they are while allowing ourselves to be transformed by our willingness to let go. How are we becoming stronger, stiller, confident, kinder, more faithful, more giving, appreciative, forgiving, compassionate, loving,  free-flowing, less ego-ic, less defined by our surroundings, more defined by our inner character that is forever blossoming and changing when prompted by something being stripped away? Pay attention to those things, because that is what keeps you going and GROWING.

So, my friends, where ever you are personally on your path right now, stay humble, stay excited, stay curious, and stay faithful. The best is yet to come.

If you find yourself feeling a little low during this holiday season, take some time to self-sooth. You’ve been through a lot this year. Give yourself a pat on the back. Know that you are loved and that everything will be ok.

Here are some ways to self-sooth during this Holiday Season:

  1. Listen to some of your favorite music.

  2. Hug a loved one and if that’s not possible, call a loved one.

  3. Write a poem.

  4. Journal.

  5. Take a silly picture.

  6. Go for a walk in nature.

  7. Take a bath.

  8. Watch a funny movie.

  9. Meditate.

  10. Do yoga.

  11. Do tai chi or Qi-Gong.

  12. Do your hair and make-up.

  13. Take a nap.

  14. Go to bed early.

  15. Learn how to play an instrument.

  16. Learn how to read music.

  17. Watch an inspiring or funny movie.

  18. Listen to an inspirational or funny podcast.

  19. Paint your nails.

  20. Don’t do anything (Favorite).

  21. Paint, draw, scribble.

  22. Start that project you’ve been putting off.

  23. Read a book.

  24. Dance.

  25. Sign up for a self-development workshop.

  26. Start a cleanse.

  27. Check in with your life coach.

  28. Sage.

  29. Aromatherapy.

  30. Massage.

  31. Acupressure.

  32. Positive affirmations.

  33. Clean your space. Seriously, toss whatever doesn’t make you feel JOY.

  34. Get an intuitive energy reading and healing.

  35. Tell yourself 10 things you are grateful for in this moment.

Please email me at explorationsofself@Gmail.com and let me know how you are doing. Catch me up on you. Let me know who I can pray for in your circle. How can I support you?
I love you all so much and I value your unfolding journey into the deep seas of spirituality, joy, and holistic healing always, always, always.
With much gratitude
Big time blessings,

Email me at info@explorationsofself.com if you are interested in booking with me for one or more of the following:

🌸Virtual Shamanic, Reiki, Oracle Card Readings, and Intuitive Energy Healing  

🌸Fertility, Prenatal, and Postpartum support as your Virtual Holistic Coach and Doula.

🌸Virtual Yoga Private Sessions for Women

🌸Virtual Corporate Yoga, Meditation, and/or Mindfulness Events 

🌸Virtual Integrative Nutrition Coaching

🌸Life & Business Coaching for Women

🌸 Virtual Public Speaking Opportunities & Press

 

 

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Super New Moon in Scorpio Guided Meditation

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During this guided meditation with Alana you will shield, ground, re-calibrate with positive love light frequencies, release old/blocked energies/patterns, re-birth, and allow the Divine energies to cascade into your being as you prepare to rise like the phoenix into your new life’s chapter! If you like this meditation and want more free mindfulness content from me every month, please like, comment, subscribe and share my Youtube channel!

Super New Moon Oracle Card Reading: 1, 2, or 3?

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1, 2, or 3? 11/11 Ascension Portal & Super New Moon oracle card message to help you navigate these powerful, globally awakening energies. These energies are heightened right now for your highest good now through Thanksgiving!!! Seize this incredible opportunity and step INTO your purpose!✨

Oct 31st 2020’s Blue Full Moon Meditation

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We have had two Full Moons this month which creates what is known as a Blue Moon for the second one. This Full Blue Moon in Taurus marks the beginning of Samhain, the beginning of our darker, more introspective, yin energy Winter season. Samhain is where Halloween gets it’s roots historically, and it is said that today through tomorrow is when the “veil” between our earthly dimensions and other dimensions is the thinnest. 

Taurus is the bull, the sign known for it’s strength, passion, patience, endurance, and grounding energy. This makes our Blue Full Moon a powerful one for calling in what is necessary from our inner pool of Divine endurance and grace to propel us forward to fully realizing our purpose, which is ever evolving while we are in this human form!!

This is also a powerful time of release. During this time, we are all releasing deep wounding so that we can finally let it go and MOVE ON to new life lessons. It’s important to recognize that the past is the past and that you are no longer that person that you keep recalling. You are here. You are present. You are new in this moment and each moment to follow. This Blue Full Moon Taurus calls us to balance our root chakras and ground while connecting to the New Earth Grid Consciousness. Best selling author, speaker, luminary, and visionary, Lori Spagna, relates to this New Earth Grid as, “Humanity has now moved into an entirely NEW reality which IS entirely based on energy, vibration, consciousness and free will.” Meaning, we are collectively awakening and ascending when we choose to do so.

So, take the time to connect to the Amrita (Nectar of the Moon) of this Blue Full Moon at some point throughout today or tomorrow to amplify your energies. You are always worth the self awareness and the self-care.

Here is a Guided Meditation for today’s Blue Full Moon to get you in alignment to release, regenerate, envision, and charge forward towards your Divine life purpose.

 

In love and deep respect for your Divine path,

 

 

 

Works Cited:

History.com Editors. “Samhain.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 6 Apr. 2018, www.history.com/topics/holidays/samhain.

10 Self-Care Tips for World Mental Health Day

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My inner state of being and life was transformed ever since I started a regular mindfulness practice in 2009. One of the reasons I started teaching yoga and meditation in 2011 is because it helped me so much with my own anxiety. I remember feeling wound up prior to entering the studio and then basically floating out of my first heated vinyasa class at 23, knowing that I had found something important, not just for me, but for anyone who was willing to allow me to share it with them. It was a practice I folded into my life on regular basis and in conjunction with my prayer & meditation practice it began to open doors for me in my own personal mental health and wellness journey that I didn’t even fathom was possible until then.

The thing is, it opened the door to more self-love, self-care, and a deep desire to explore the deep connection to Divine that I was experiencing through these mindfulness practices, or what some mystics call the higher Self. This is how Explorations of Self was born. It was birthed from my own journey healing and reclaiming my Self. The journey to mental health and wellness has expanded to include many holistic practices and rituals over the years and I use them as self healing medicine when I start to feel anxiety or fear of the unknown creep back in. It also happens to be a lot of what I’ve become educated in to provide for you aside from acupuncture and massage.

We are all on this journey together. We are all here to be human and to evolve in joy, light, and love.

Here are 10 ways I personally use to holistically self-care to help on those off days:

  1. Yoga: Yoga connects us to our bodies and our breath. This amazing practice helps us radically shift the energy within our body, mind, and spirit. You can do yoga at home and I encourage you to if you are not going to gyms or studios right now. Even doing a few poses a day can be life changing.
  2. Meditation: Meditation can come in many forms whether it’s through seated practice or movement. Finding what works for you is key. I love my daily seated practice and then find it helps me create a meditation practice out of anything I do when I am present to it. 
  3. Prayer, Intention Setting, Surrendering: Whatever your beliefs, where intention goes, energy flows. I enjoy praying throughout the day and have a longer practice in the morning and evening. I enjoy setting the intention for the day by continually coming back to the feeling of love, which I often cultivate by thinking about someone or something that brings me a lot of love, easily (For me that’s always my daughter.) I enjoy surrendering the negative feelings or worries to Divine as they arise and returning the feeling of love.
  4. Qigong and other forms of martial arts: I have been practicing Qigong more regularly lately and I have been doing various forms of martial arts for years. Qigong is an ancient practice that has been just incredible to begin the day with lately. 
  5. Nutrition: Eating food like it’s medicine for my optimal well-being is key. I eat and drink foods and beverages intuitively in this way. For me, eating a majority vegetarian diet is what makes ME feel good and I know it’s different for everyone. Even if I am having one of those cheat meals, I bless up my food. I give thanks and energy to everything I ingest. In the documentary Superhuman they demonstrate how the energy that we send into water molecules can change them!! We can absolutely enliven our food, and make it sacred.
  6. Have uplifting conversations with your community: I talk to positive people every DAY. Everyday. It’s important to surround yourself with people who inspire you to be your best self and love you unconditionally for who you are.
  7. Acupressure: Here are few I enjoy for anxiety: https://www.healthline.com/health/pressure-points-for-anxiety#heavenly-gate
  8. Reiki, Shamanic, and Energy Healing: I am a conduit for energy work with my clients and I receive energy work from trusted practitioners on a regular basis. 
  9. Salt bath: Epsom salt baths with lavender essential oils are something I love doing at least once a week. In energy medicine it’s said that it can help to move old energy or qi out of your system.
  10. Nature: No matter where I am in the world, being in nature on a daily basis is 100% one of the most important things I do for my sense of well being. If you know me well, you know that I love being in the water, surfing or paddle boarding. If I can’t make it to the water, I am in a forest with my daughter hiking.

What do you do for self-care to support and balance your mental health? Share in the comments below.

Email me at ExplorationsofSelf@gmail.com if you are interested in booking with me for one or more of the following:

🌸Virtual Shamanic, Reiki, and Intuitive Energy Healing  

🌸Fertility, Prenatal, and Postpartum support as your Virtual Holistic Coach and Doula.

🌸Virtual Yoga Private Sessions for Women

🌸Virtual Corporate Yoga, Meditation, and/or Mindfulness Events 

🌸Virtual Integrative Nutrition Coaching

🌸Life & Business Coaching for Mom Bosses

🌸 Virtual Public Speaking Opportunities & Press

 

There is Only One You!

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There is only one you.

You were created with purpose and precision to deliver a message that only you can deliver. Too often you question yourself, and too often you stop before you begin. It’s easy to fall into habit because it becomes comfortable, but your soul yearns for Divinity in all moments, and that Divinity is a creative force. All loving, all pervasive, and it moves with the stars, the sea, and it moves in YOU.

“Our entire biological system, the brain and the Earth itself, work on the same frequencies.” ~Nikola Tesla

We can also, often forget that we are connected beings. We see barriers because you see someone who is not you, and yet, on a quantum level, they are one with you. The same goes for what you see in nature. You are one with the Earth and the galaxies. This is why it is fascinating to see how connected we can be to the moon cycles and astrological alignments, like this evening’s Full Moon, and 8/8’s Lion’s Gate Portal.

I don’t follow astrology religiously. I use is as a tool of understanding. Often times I will feel an astrological alignment in my soul before I look it up. It reminds me that I am a small part of a whole. We all are. The collective experiences things together, be the details slightly different, yes. This can definitely be said for the pandemic right now. We realize now more than ever that we are all in this together.

This Full Moon and upcoming Lion’s Gate Portal elevates our energy, and reminds us that what no longer serves us can and will fall away. Thank goodness for our yoga practice because if we are consistently practicing, we are in the practice of letting go and surrendering all of the time. These energies are also asking that we be still and know our own special energy signature, and that we use our energy signature to write our own story of LOVING KINDNESS. Remember, you have a destiny to fulfill.

So,
It’s time to be YOU.

If you need coaching, support, and guidance:

I offer 1:1 and small group work remotely!
This is my life’s work. To remind you of your greatness.

DM me if you’re interested and we can set up a time to connect!

With loving kindness,

 

Plant Based Sweet Potato & Kale Burrito

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This burrito is delicious and super simple to make.  I’ve spent a lot of time traveling Central and South America, exploring their cultures as I host yoga + surf retreats.  I am a foodie.  I love trying new foods in different places and then adapting those recipes to fit my lifestyle and preferences when I come home.

While I LOVE bean burritos, sometimes beans cause inflammation in my gut so while we are going through this Spring season where our bodies are naturally detoxing in our liver and kidneys especially (See Ayurveda Nutrition), I decided to create this masterpiece with some alternatives.

This burrito contains sweet potatoes and kale, which can benefit your gut health and may support healthy vision, immune system, and brain functioning (Plus way more!  I encourage you to read up on these superfoods in your spare time! They are INCREDIBLE!)

Sweet potatoes are naturally rich in:

  • Vitamin A
  • Vitamin C
  • Maganese
  • Potassium
  • Fiber
  • Niacin
  • Copper

While kale is naturally rich in:

  • Vitamin C
  • Vitamin B6
  • Manganese
  • Vitamin A
  • Vitamin K
  • Potassium
  • Copper

I always feel better knowing that I am feeding my body temple with great foods, made by my loving hands, with food I could growing right in my back yard and not harm a single being doing it.

If you are vegan, take off the sheep’s goat cheese, please, and thank you.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do and please feel free to leave you favorite, healthy vegetarian or vegan recipes in the comments below!!  We have a lot of time to cook ourselves delicious and healthy meals right now!  Let’s all inspire each other to use this time wisely and maintain our mind + body connection and health!

This recipe will yield 2-4 burritos depending on their size!

 

Feel free to save this recipe card & enjoy!!

 

 If you have any more nutrition questions, feel free to email me at Explorationsofself@Gmail.com!

You can also book your 15 minute free Lifestyle Consult with me here.

I would love to work 1 on 1 with you remotely to get you feeling amazing mentally, physically, and spiritually!  I combine nutrition coaching with yoga and dharma teaching to suit your lifestyle with an option to add on business coaching for a total lifestyle up-level and shift.

Life your JOY, always.  It’s your birthright.

 

Alana is the founder of Explorations of Self!  She is a mother + certified international yoga, barre, reiki, integration nutrition expert, shamanic energy worker, writer, musician, and artist who enjoys helping her clients live their JOY in mind, body, and spirit.  Alana does logistics plus leads international wellness retreats.  She also specializes in copywriting, design, and social media management for wellness professionals. Alana is a rebirthing breath-worker who also has doula training with a passion for helping mothers and families live, birth, and connect consciously.  In her spare time she enjoys being with her family and friends, meditating, doing yoga, laughing, dancing, creating, painting, singing, writing, traveling, SURFING AND STAND UP PADDLE BOARDING.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/sweet-potato-benefits#section1

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-proven-benefits-of-kale#section1

 

Using Your Menstrual Cycle as a Guide to Success

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Yes.  I’ve said it.  Your menstrual cycle.  A guide to success.  I call it a Moon Cycle and it is your super power. Ever since I  started looking into the moon phases a decade ago, I noticed my periods aligned with New or Full Moons almost always.  I’ve talked to MANY women about their moon cycles and they can concur.  Women are in sync with the moon and this synchronization is a creative force.  

Dr Christiane Northup noted:

Studies have shown that peak rates of conception and probably ovulation appear to occur at the full moon or the day before.

During the new moon, ovulation and conception rates are decreased overall, and an increased number of women start their menstrual bleeding. Scientific research has documented that the moon rules the flow of fluids (ocean tides as well as individual body fluids) and affects the unconscious mind and dreams.1

The timing of the menstrual cycle, the fertility cycle, and labor also follows the moon-dominated tides of the ocean. Environmental cues such as light, the moon, and the tides play a documented role in regulating women’s menstrual cycles and fertility.

In one study of nearly two thousand women with irregular menstrual cycles, more than half of the subjects achieved regular menstrual cycles of twenty-nine days’ length by sleeping with a light on near their beds during the three days around ovulation.2

We, as a culture,  often overlook our menstrual cycles as just one of those things that just happen.  I am often surprised about the lack of conversation within communities of women on this topic.  We need to re-claim our bodies as powerful, sovereign, MAGICAL, creative life forces.

I noticed long ago that my cycles were important for cleansing, creating, restoring, and balancing.  Our menstrual cycles are a gift.  They not only give us an opportunity to create an actual life, but also give us a huge opportunity to create life to our dream life.

 

If you do not know your cycle, there are so many great apps to help with that.  I use the Flo App and it’s free!

Follicular phase

The phase that happens right after your period.  During this phase you start to feel more alive and energetic.  This is a great time to start new projects, make new connections, be creative, be in front of the camera, write, and travel for business.   You will enjoy being around people and connecting with others at this time so take advantage of your outgoing nature!  I will often take on a little bit more during this time because I know I have the energy to manage it.

Ovulation

During your ovulation phase you will feel most likely feel magical.  People are attracted to you more than ever.  Schedule business meetings with people who have possibly been on the fence.  Get into receptive mode.  The more you can just allow the abundance to find you, the better.  This is a great time to ask The Universe to bring you people that you can help with ease.

Luteal Phase

During this phase we will want to slow down. Give yourself this time.  Don’t take as many appts.  Do less.  Self care more.  This is a time to allow all of the work that you have done earlier in your cycle to incubate.  There is an incredible intelligence at work here within our mind, body, and spirit.  Trust yourself.

Dr. Christiane Northup also states that:

“Women, too, go through a period of darkness each month, when the life-force may seem to disappear for a while (premenstrual and menstrual phases).4 We need not be afraid or think we are sick if our energies and moods naturally ebb for a few days each month. In many parts of India, it’s perfectly acceptable for women to slow down during their periods and rest more.

I have come to see that all kinds of stress-related disease, ranging from PMS to osteoporosis, could be lessened a great deal if we simply followed our body’s wisdom once per month.”

Menstruation

Our body is cleansing at this time.  In the Ashtanga Yoga tradition, women do not practice yoga for the first 3 days of menstruation.  They honor their bodies and the apana (Downward flowing energies.)  This is a time of transformation.  Energy that we have taken on or emotions that we have possibly shoved down away from the surface are released.  This is a great time to meditate, journal, take baths, get a massage, rest, organize and clean if there’s natural energy for that.  If there’s anything that didn’t quite feel right in your business this month, now is the time to release it and let go.

We should be celebrating our Moon Cycles. There is great MAGIC in it!  We are very blessed.  We are creative forces.  If our cycles can literally create a life,  why wouldn’t our cycles be able to create limitless possibility in every area of our life?

If you are experiencing difficulties with your cycle or would like 1 on 1 life coaching for a particular area in your life, go here to schedule your free 15 minute consult!

With love,

Alana

Sources:

https://www.drnorthrup.com/wisdom-of-menstrual-cycle/

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/menstrual-cycle