Befriend your body. Rewrite the story of your life.

For the Great Mama in all of us

by | May 7, 2020 | Journal | 0 comments

I want to invite you to a different kind of Mother’s Day this year. It’s fitting, since many people can’t see their mothers due to the quarantine, but also because the quarantine is the result — in my humble opinion — of the fact that we haven’t seen enough of our mamas in recent years. At least not in the big sense.

So let’s go back home (since we’re there already) and offer Her something more than flowers and a Zoom call this year. In fact, She’s been dropping some pretty big hints about what She really wants. It is this: She wants us to shine like diamonds in the reflection of her light.

It pains Her, as it pains all the mamas, to see Her children fall into the quicksand of misuse and disrespect of our bodies. These beautiful vessels we steer are of Her, from Her, yet we forget at times how truly divine are our origins.

If we were to fall in love with our bodies as the beautiful gifts they are, we would give Her the greatest Mother’s Day gift She has ever known. If we were to give all our parts soft and tender attention, to nourish ourselves well, to honor our limits and — simultaneously — possibilities for expansion, we would awaken the power of the Great Mama within. Then we could use Her hands as our own to comfort us when we are hurting. We could kiss our own tears away with lips that we know are sacred. And as we fall deeper in love with ourselves, we would also fall in love with Her other children (including the one who raised us).

If you’re looking for a way to honor Her, start by honoring yourself as Her direct reflection. Here are three embodiment rituals for you to consider this Sunday.

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Mother’s Day Embodiment Rituals

  1. Host a private dance party. Pick three songs that make you feel joyous. Dress up in your finest or come as you are. Then move your body as if you had never judged yourself for being too much or not enough. After your three songs are over, write a note that sums up how you feel when you are connected this way. Tuck this away somewhere safe. Then, when you need a reminder of your worth, pull it out and read it three times.

  2. Nourish yourself. Make a beautiful meal for yourself (or your family). As you cook, engage one sense fully at a time. Notice the rhythm of your knife chopping, the texture of your favorite foods, the smell of the spices, the vibrant color of the vegetables, and, finally, the taste of your creation. You’ll need to slow down to do this, but that is the point.

  3. Connect with nature. Grab a journal and find a pocket of the natural world, whether it is a quiet forest or a patch of weeds in the crack of the sidewalk. Sit down humbly in front of whatever it is you’ve found and write for 15 minutes about the tenacity of life that exists here and your own will to live.

If there is one thing any mama truly wants it is that her children thrive in tremendous gratitude of the gifts she offered them. I hope you experience a deeper sense of yourself from these rituals on this Mother’s Day, and all the days.

Send me an email or tag me on IG to tell me which embodiment ritual you chose (or if you made up your own). And — don’t forget to call your mother.

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“On this path effort never goes to waste, and there is no failure.”

The Bhagavad Gita 2:40