Hello dear ones. I’m so grateful to be with you today. It’s a lovely spring day here in Georgia, and I’ve been sitting on my deck today, relaxing, reading, learning, and working. The sun is out, the birds are singing, and the temperature is just right. This is all part of my week to focus on tending to myself, in deeply nourishing ways. After a rough start to the week with going through the Jury selection process which was challenging for my sensitive soul, I decided to take some time and really nourish myself. I’ve been spending time in the woods, meeting with friends, listening to the trees and my guides, and listening to my soul.
I knew I needed time for myself because my old anxiety and stress patterns were arising and I just could seem to get settled in my body. It’s a sure sign for me to hit pause (again). My brain wants to tell me that there is something wrong. That there is something wrong with me- but the truth is that my brain likes to tell me lies! And the more I connect with nature, presence, and my soul, the more I can laugh at all of those lies with deep compassion and understanding.
This is tending to the soul. It’s deep work that I love to do for myself, and for my clients. There is so much magic in slowing down, listening, being present, and nourishing the body. My ways of nourishing the soul may not be your ways. My husband loves to do adventure races. It feeds his soul so deeply, and just the thought if it leaves me in a panic attack! We all have souls with individual differences and needs. Sometimes the work is in determining WHAT those needs are, and then, actually doing them.
I’ll give you the example I always give my students at the university- I will scroll social media for HOURS as a way to avoid soul tending. Why? Because it’s way easier than cooking a nourishing meal, tending to my nutrients, and looking deeply at uncomfortable beliefs and emotions in my life. So why would anyone do this soul-tending work if it is hard? Because the other side is SO REWARDING.
It’s like changing the type of food you eat. It isn’t always easy. There is meal prep and planning, and actually eating the food that probably doesn’t sound as appealing as the take out you usually get. ANd here’s the thing- the physical, emotional, mental, energetic rewards from making the food changes are HUGE. And not in like years, but in like 2-3 weeks.
What I’ve noticed is that eating nourishing food is incredibly healing to souls. It’s why I’m so passionate about eating nourishing, healthy, and whole foods. It influences our bodies and souls, our minds and our hearts. It’s deeply healing on a cellular and an emotional level.
The very interesting thing is that the same can be true for tending to your soul- tending to the soul is incredibly healing to the physical body. All of the aches, pains, disorders, and autoimmune syndromes can change when you take care of and tend to the soul. When you are in alignment with your purpose, when you take time to really feel your emotions, and navigate all the old beliefs that have been layered on us over time (societal and familial), our physical body starts to heal in ways we never thought possible.
This “tending to the soul” is something that can feel challenging because (as I’ve talked about previously on the podcast) it’s not something we are taught to do in this society. The focus has been on productivity as measured by money, degrees, and “progress.” So often I’ve asked my coaches or teachers, how am I supposed to do this? It can feel so uncomfortable because it is so obviously different from how I was raised.
You can start with one thing each day- something that takes less than five minutes. Ask yourself, what feels nourishing (or delicious, or amazing) today? It could be sitting outside in the beautiful weather, reading a good book, having a delicious healthy meal, walking or doing yoga for 5 minutes, or dancing in the living room. It doesn’t have to be big- it just has to feel nourishing.
This is where finding someone to support you is key. I am a soul tender. I help my clients tend to their souls and I do this through a variety of avenues. It may look like finding anti-inflammatory food to help reduce the pain from arthritis, or it might be going to the energetic repair and clearing that is a component of soul healing. Sometimes it’s just sitting on the deck in the spring sun. Our brains are wired (literally) to look for the negative- it’s a survival strategy that served us well for many years. This is why it’s so helpful to have someone to lead you step by step through soul tending. It just makes it so much easier to get to that other side of whatever you want to accomplish.
Soul tending is deeply compassionate and beautiful art, and it happens to be one of my callings. Years ago my guides called me outside as the snow and wind whipped around me at a shamanic training at Kripalu yoga center, saying that this was my work. So I’m inviting you to step into the possibility of feeling guided, supported, you wake up feeling alive with energy and purpose, that you have time to schedule in for healthy cooking, working out, and soul nourishment. You wake up one day and realize that you’ve gotten to the other side, and you feel settled and calm.
That’s what I want for you.
Ok my friends. Don’t wait to tend to your soul. It’s waiting for your time and your attention. If you don’t know where to start, I’d love to invite you to my free destuckification call. It’s short yet powerful! 20 min and we’ll get you started. Simple and easy. Okay dear ones, please take good care of yourselves. I’ll talk to you next time.
If you’d like to learn more about working with me, you can visit me on Facebook or Instagram.
