These are the phases that kept ringing in my ear until I was sick of not really understanding what it means to fully embrace these statements.
If you come to learn that being tough, strong, independent are some of the qualities of your success from a young age, then why would you want to take on the ‘perceived’ weaker role?
Well, burn out as the result of complete depletion tends to be a key motivator!
So what does the divine feminine even mean?
In modern years we have come to learn that masculine trait such as taking action, force, drive, logical thinking are qualities we all need to embody to have success, especially in the field of work. However, we all have both qualities of masculine & feminine and the feminine qualities of receiving, nurturing, feeling, playfulness, healing, flexibility, and intuition are ones that truly compliment a balanced life.
When I started to coach women that were suffering to create a balanced healthy life, I fully knew that I had to teach them where to apply ‘being strong’. We should embrace who we are and what we bring to the table in a different way than men. We do not want to become men but rather embrace our differences and understand how they can complement each other. This is a way in which we could be strong.
In order to fully feel this I took the following actions;
I took up dance – I wanted to remind myself of an element in my life that made me feel sexy (yes.. it’s ok to feel this way and any trigger of this work equally shows some deeper shadows to work on). Dance provides movement of the body, allows play and confidence of the feminine form.
I ensured I had at least 1 day a week, typically Sundays where I would sit in nature and connect with the freedom of expression that you experience from the pure form of mother nature.
I allowed myself to receive, firstly it came from help at work to allow more men to do things for me, even if I thought I could do it better. This was not easy at first when you’ve trained yourself in a competitive way to show you are stronger.
I saw the beauty in being vulnerable. It’s important to be open to those you can trust in your inner circle. Equally, I felt by telling my team I’m not perfect, sharing where I needed support, allowing them to see my mistakes enriched those relationships in my life as I became more human.
Being in tune with my emotions, I started to create an awareness of how I was feeling in the morning by having space in my morning meditation practice to ‘check-in’ with myself. I then gave myself permission to feel however I did. If I felt tired then I was ok to go slow, say yoga instead of weights. If I felt sad, then it was ok to have a bit more chocolate that day (ahem over 80% cacao & mindful eating). If I felt energized then I allow myself to take actions that day that lead to high productivity.
Self-care practices became non-negotiable, from daily floss to monthly massage. The words “my body is my temple” became a mantra and not a joke.
As women, if we want to live a fully healthy, balanced life we need to embrace the parts of ourselves that naturally want to receive, if we are always ‘doing’ then we will be depleted as our body reminds us that we are not in balance.
Do share this article with anyone you believe would like the support to reach their health goals. You can watch my short video on my facebook page vlog and be sure to sign up for my newsletter at elikafit.com
