Category: #lifelessons

#lessonsthroughjoy, #lifelessons, Political

Making the Ask

emyminzel

Lessons Through Joy –

by Emy Minzel

The intention of this book called “Lessons Through Joy!” is to share how adventuring out into the wild wilderness of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area has transformed The Adventure Sisters profoundly. The Adventure Sisters consist of two middle aged women. My dear friend Stacy Crep and I.

Together we created BWCAdventureSisters/Facebook page. We created our blogs and began writing this book Lessons Through Joy! then proceeded to craft two other books immediately following. We are posting chapters from Lessons Through Joy! to inspire other women to expand out of the comfort zone into personal growth and joyful living.

The time we spent in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has contributed to the expansion of all the important areas in life. In my confidence, my career, my relationships, spiritual growth, personal development, even my Dharma/life purpose. It is my hope that sharing our escapades in “Lessons through Joy!”  and how they have transformed us, will motivate others to connect to the environment. And hopefully grow National support in the campaign to #SavetheBoundaryWaters.org

My name is Emy Minzel. I am a 47-year-old woman that feels much younger at heart. I have one daughter who is 30. Yep, go ahead and do the math… we are good with it! I would not change a thing. She is my best friend and an amazing human who I am very proud to know. Jason and I have been married for 16 years. We have one dog Hank and two cats, Beatrix Basi, and Sage.

I am an only child. Raised as a free range, latch key kid on the Iron Range of northern Minnesota by a single mother. My mother worked a lot to make sure we had what we needed. She let me follow my instincts and try different extracurricular activities. Now I realize how growing up with so much freedom made me who I am and gave me many skills I still rely on today. I am committed to practicing my best aptitudes in service to the greater good. While bravely allowing myself freedom and vulnerability to gain personal growth and wisdom through diverse experiences.  

I am in love with nature. This may sound weird to you. But I believe love is just a word unless you use it as a verb. Love is an act. Love means you apply action towards expressing that feeling. I consider myself an environmentalist; therefor I am very interested in politics. In 2018 I ran as a Candidate for the Minnesota State Representative. Then in 2022 I ran for Minnesota State Senate seat in my district.

My political effort was spurred on by the proposed permits to allow dangerous copper/sulfide mining. I simply can’t fathom how MN Legislators would even consider allowing mining practice known to cause disastrous pollution in the sacred Boundary Waters Canoe Area. 

These mines exist all over the world and have a 100% failure record of devastating contamination of the regions where they exist. Polluting water with forever chemicals, that are impossible to clean up and last for over 500 years. Thus, causing taxpayers billions of dollars as they will be left with the Super Fund Site cleanup bill after the mining company inevitably declares bankruptcy.

It is my love of water and wilderness of northern Minnesota that inspired me to alter my life path. I am determined to do what I can to protect what I love. What’s left of Minnesota’s clean water, and the undervalued beautiful gem of my home state, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Before my political runs, I was blessed to work from home as a Massage Therapist. Stacy, my Adventure Sister and I, were writing manuscripts together doing our best to manifest publishing a Best-Selling book series. We have written three books together like the one you are reading now. It’s unconventional, with two authors sharing two perspectives.

We think it is appropriate to share how being different from each other is a blessing. The journeys we’ve shared inspired the desire to encourage others to find the resolution to pursue their own adventures. These quests have allowed us both to level up greatly in our lives and we want that for you too.

Of course, I have several other interests that make me who I am. am the kind of girl who nurtures my family, pets and plants, likes to cook, garden and care for my community, and run chainsaw. I love to work with my hands, hiking with my dog, and doing anything in or on the water. The kind of girl who sings gratitude to the water while floating in it or on it, intentionally meditating to send love to the world. Filling my cup with soul food by Volunteering as a Board Member of the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge in my community. Which gives me the gift of being inspired by good hearted, talented folks, while spending time with outstanding people I admire.

Stacy once told me I am intimidating and that I have big energy. I figure I am only 4’11 ½ “how intimidating can I be?! I would prefer to say I am passionate. Unafraid to give you my opinion in a respectful manner. This is who I am now. Not who I was a decade ago. I was not a joiner, and I was a homebody.

Over a decade ago, before we took our first adventure into the BWCA. I would have just finished Massage Therapy certification program, rented a space in town. Focused on getting clients and aiming for success. Yet, I began to feel there was something missing in my life. Something I couldn’t put my finger on. Feeling restless I had decided to seek spiritual meaning in life.

This is where our story of transformation begins. As divine intervention and divine timing will do. I met my Adventure Sister Stacy at a Stepping into the Metaphysical Energy class. It was taught by Bobby Sullivan in St. Cloud MN, at a store called Mind, Body, Spirit.  Her contributions to the class were insightful, and we came to learn that we both had just completed a Reiki Energy Healing course at the time. We exchanged phone numbers to “trade” energy work and practice. I took her card, left, then promptly forgot her name. To be honest, at that point in my life I was so introverted that I would not have called her to exchange Reiki.

Thank goodness she called me! Stacy was very pleasant in the class which felt safe for me to agree that we meet at my office. When she arrived for our trades, we didn’t really talk too much, just your niceties of acquaintances meeting for the second time, and we got straight to work. There were no words spoken during our first Reiki Energy Healing exchange. Yet, I felt a big energy shifting inside me.

By the end of this session, we both felt as if we were connected in a past life. As if we were sisters in a different lifetime.  We had just met… I was not “woke” by any means. Yet there was no denying we both felt a soul family connection to a woman we just met.

Thankfully Stacy only lived a town away from me at the time. We started trading Reiki often; we both looked forward to seeing each other. Learning little bits and pieces about our lives, and we started looking for more metaphysical classes to take together. Stacy felt like the safe, slightly older sister I never had. It was a bonus that she always picked me up and drove me around! At that time in life, it was very hard to get me out of the house.

We found great classes and events like a book study for the Bhagavad Gita class with Jaja Myra. Whom hosted Homa Fire Ceremonies honoring Ganesha the Indian Elephant headed God known for removing obstacles and Lakshmi the Indian Goddess of Beauty and Success. These ceremonies were powerful movers of energy that helped me expand my mind and spirit.

We would go to Shamanic drumming circles, learning more about shamanism. Attending several events where there were all sorts of new age spiritual modalities to try. It was clear these metaphysical practices were helping me become more aware. Aware of who I really was inside and asking myself. “Why was I hiding from the world?”

About a year later, I was still a homebody surfing the web when Groupon came across my email. It was 3-night, 4-day canoe adventure through Voyager North Outfitters in Ely, MN. I am originally from northern Minnesota. My great-great grandfather immigrated from Germany just before Hitler’s reign and settled in the densely forested land near the Vermillion River. The old farmhouse he built with his hands is still standing. We call it “the farm” and serves as a shared sanctuary and getaway for our family today. Since I am familiar with the beauty of the Boreal Forest in Northern Minnesota. This Groupon adventure called to me.

I thought of Stacy immediately. Probably because she was one of the only friends who would even consider doing something so outdoorsy. On a hunch, I forwarded her the email. Curious and hopeful of her response. I knew I couldn’t afford to go at the time, I believe it was just after Christmas and we were not financially able. It was just after the 2008 recession, and I was struggling with the demands of a new business.

Before I knew it, she emailed me and said, “I hope you are ok with it, I just purchased two of these for us!” She offered to “trade” with me for the purchase price. I felt it was a very fair trade so YES… I was okay with it! We were both excited. We didn’t know it then, but this is the adventure that would change our lives.

This Lesson Through Joy taught me humility and to ask for what you want. Since this lesson 14 years ago. I have lived this philosophy not just preached it. If I want something, I say so. No more hiding in my house or waiting for permission. This one vulnerable ‘ask’ literally changed my life. It helped me grow confidence to self-promote while building a business.

“Making the ask” is a skill I didn’t possess before then. Being brave enough to be vulnerable humbled me then brought me connections to many exceptional people since. It eventually grew to the ability to knock on doors and ask my community for donations and volunteers while campaigning for a position in congress and so much more.

Just last month, I learned of an artist work week retreat opportunity through the Oberholtzer Foundation. In northern Minnesota on the protected Mallard Island. The applications for this retreat were due last November. Since I had just learned about it two months prior to the retreat date. My intuition said. “Just try!” So, I did.

Two weeks later, I got an email saying that a spot had opened. They said I was welcome to go if I was available. The joy I felt while reading that acceptance email was enough to make me cry happy tears. As it happens, I just returned from that trip, July 21st, 2024. It ended up being one of the best experiences of my life!

These simple exercises of going out of my comfort zones. Being vulnerable and humble enough to ask for what I want. Really has opened more doors than I ever could have imagined. My advice is to voice your desires into the Universe and anyone who will listen.

It has become one of my favorite pieces of advice to share with others. “The answer is always no, if you don’t ask!”

With much love,

Emy Minzel

Heart Centered, Nature Lover, Writer, Advocate, Adventurer, Yogi, and so much more…

EmyMinzel.com

StacyCrep.com

BWCAdventureSisters/Facebook.com

#lifelessons, #spiritual, #yoga

How Kundalini Yoga and Mantra Meditation benefit mental health

emyminzel

Most of us understand that mental health is hugely important and it’s finally getting the recognition it deserves. Because it seems to have taken so long for mainstream doctors to accept this fact it seems the general population is taking time to catch up as well. My goal is to bring an easy-to-understand explanation of how taking responsibility for the mind, body, spirit connection with purposeful action can help mental health and their whole being.

It’s already proven that moving the body increases endorphins, serotonin, oxytocin and all the feel-good hormones! I understand those with depression often find it hard to exercise or do yoga. Even the words can be triggering. Many people convince themselves they can’t do yoga. “I’m not flexible enough to do yoga.” To me that’s like saying. “I’m just too dirty to take a bath.” It doesn’t make any sense! You do yoga to increase flexibility, mobility, and balance.

I believe that everybody has a yoga body. The type of yoga I love the most is Kundalini yoga because it is accessible to most everyone. It focuses on spinal health and flexibility in the spine. If you think about it, all the most important functions we need to live run through the spinal column. Vital nerves, arteries and spinal fluid need to flow freely to have the brain and body function at their best.

This type of yoga also does a great job incorporating mindfulness into each practice. This will help clients be more in their body and less in the headspace. I love to add mindful guided meditation directed towards bringing awareness to the energy and feelings of the body. When you are aware of how you feel you take your power back to transform lower emotions into better feeling ones.

My teaching style explains why we are doing what we are doing so that the students understand the benefits of each movement. I often speak about the science of chakra system which are the energy centers in the body connected to organs, functions, meridians, feelings, and emotions. The Kundalini Kriyas are often designed to open the energetic flow of the chakras.

For example, a client with depression may have a difficult time with the lower chakra system.  The root chakra is connected to feelings of safety and security. It is where the fight or flight instincts for survival are stored. Right above that is the sacral Chakra where we hold our willpower, ambition, creativity, sexuality, and ability to persist. The next chakra is the solar plexus in the area above the belly button and that is where self-esteem and personality live.

If these chakras are out of balance a person can become lethargic and sometimes even connected to overeating because they are trying to ground themselves with the feeling of being full. A Kundalini set for depression will focus on a gentle practice that is able to bring mindfulness into their bodies while increasing energy flow. I teach folks how to activate the energy in the body by stimulating the chakras and the systems connected to them with movement most everyone can do.

Even if you have limited mobility, closing your eyes and visualizing yourself doing the posture/practice will give your brain some of the same benefits as if you were doing them physically! The mind, body, spirit connection is quite magical!

We will address the whole body and use pranayama breathing to increase the heart rate and energy flow. One of the best ways to get out of the head and into the body is to focus on the breath. Another way to address the intimidation of ‘meditation’ is to offer mantra meditation songs with hand mudras designed for specific topic we are working on. In these mantra meditations we use a variety of specific instructions for the body and the mind to keep focused.

This takes the pressure off just lying there and not thinking! I don’t know about you but lying there trying not to think has the opposite effect for me. That’s perfect conditions for a whole lot of monkey mind to get going!

Which is why the instructions for mantra meditation help me get in the zone and out of my head. It also has health benefits such as applying Root lock/Muladhara Bonda which means we squeeze the perineum, sex organs and pelvic bowl muscles pulling them up and in holding the root lock! This is very healthy to do with both women and men as we age.

Next, we do hand mudras designed to stimulate meridians connected to the body’s internal systems. We then close the eyes and bring our gaze to the third eye, the space where the intuition lives. Not only does the third eye gaze connect to intuition, but it also puts pressure on the optic nerve connected to the pituitary gland.

The pituitary is the master gland that stimulates the feel-good hormones! We do all these things at the same time we chant and sing mantra songs. Singing stimulates the vagus nerve, one of the biggest nerves in the body and the only one that connects the gut to the brain.  We all know by now how gut health greatly affects brain function. Singing, chanting, humming are all wonderful ways to stimulate the vagus nerve!

Most of the practices will focus on bringing the chakras into alignment and increasing energy inside the body in different ways. It is designed to increase flow and flexibility in the spinal column where all the nerves and spinal fluid need to flow freely for optimal brain health. The more flow you have going to the brain the better the brain is going to function and the better you feel. My yoga teacher Jeanie O’Neill often reiterated that you are only as young as your spine is supple. Makes a lot of sense if you think about it!

The practice for anxiety may be a little more physical and pull in the breath of fire to burn off some of the excess energy in the chakras causing anxiousness. The practice of guided meditation or Yoga Nidra will help bring the consciousness of the mind inside the body. This practice truly helps a person feel their energy inside the body and teaches them how to check in with what’s going on inside. Allowing each yogi to better understand how to help themselves feel better in their body. Yoga Nidra is proven to calm the nervous system while affecting the theta and beta waves of the brain.

Pulling this all together means when the body feels good, the brain feels better, and that can bring you to a peaceful state of being. Mind, body, spirit connection is not just a popular phrase. It is a real and true part of living your best life. If one of these areas is out of balance so are the rest of them. It is why I love Kundalini Yoga and Kriya meditations so much. It truly addresses all the areas we need to feel good about ourselves.

Yoga is not a religion. It is personal mind, body, and spirit practice. When I speak of connecting to spirit. I mean we are connecting to our own higher energy. If you choose to bring your preferred religion into your practice that is okay too. However, when I teach, we usually talk about connecting to our own higher self. Which is basically the part of you that knows better. The part of your spirit that is the inner voice of love, the pure soul inside of you.

Talking with a trained mental health practitioner can help guide you in the direction of where you need to heal. It can shine a light on the area you most need to focus on to feel better. Yet deep down we know that nobody can heal you but you.

Getting to know yourself better means quieting the mind, checking in with the spirit to see what it is you truly need. Then trust yourself to be able to make those changes by taking action towards healing.

The daily practice of Kundalini yoga helps facilitate self-awareness, physical movement, and connection to yourself that truly benefits mental health. It has been a life changing experience for me, and I had to share with you!

Much love and many blessings,

Emy Minzel

CMT – 500RYT

Spirit River Yoga and Massage LLC

SpiritRiverYoga.com

On-Line Classes available!

https://www.schedulicity.com/scheduling/SRYJTY7/classes

Emyminzel.com

#lifelessons, #spiritual, Uncategorized

Self-Love

emyminzel

How Kundalini Yoga taught me what it really means to love myself.

I used to think that self-love was taking time for long baths, getting a massage, going the spa, or some kind of timeout from the world to focus on myself. Yes! These are all wonderful and necessary things to do for yourself. However, if you really think about it. These things are just bodily upkeep, not self-love.

It occurred to me the thought of routine maintenance was sort of radical to me and so it felt like it was self-love. And in some ways, it was, because it showed me that taking time for myself was just not something I put on my list of high priorities.

Like many women I was conditioned to give, give, give until I crashed. I would get to the point where I literally got sick because my body was revolting from the lack of care. Does this sound familiar? The self-love I speak of is the kind that nurtures and heals the mind, body, and spirit in a healthy way.

Maybe some people even think of self-love as selfish or something that comes from the ego. “Oh, I’m so great! I’m the best! I am much better than you!” (Inserting sarcasm here.) There are people like this yes, but this is not the kind of self-love I am referring to. Also, I advise you to keep your distance from those folks for many reasons we can discuss another day.

Over the years my thoughts on self-love have swayed from one extreme to the other. None of them were sustainable. As a massage therapist, yoga studio owner and teacher, wife, mother, volunteer, advocate and so much more… I have finally come to realize from experience and witnessing how others do life, what it really means to love yourself.

Trust me, it took many years of learning what self-love NOT was, to see what it truly was. One of my favorite quotes says. “To be old and wise, you must first be young and stupid.” This is just a funny way to say how we can and do learn from mistakes. It is important to laugh at yourself and show just as much compassion in the way you speak to yourself as you would to a dear friend.

My journey to actualizing self-love is continuous, as I keep learning more about myself and what I truly need to be balanced. What I have come to see is that self-love is more about parenting yourself with kind discipline. Listen… If you know me at all. The word discipline makes my skin crawl.

My body and mind even react to the word discipline with disgust. I am now able to see that I’ve stored previous traumas from experiencing abuse of power in the name of discipline that makes me react this way. Probably this is the reason I rebelled against ‘self-discipline’ for so darn long!

Once I became a young adult, I had allowed myself way too much freedom frequently rocking it till the wheels fell off. The only regular bodily maintenance I did was, so I stayed clean and didn’t die! Sadly, but not uncommon for lots of folks. This was my only self-care back then. Mind, and spirit health were not even on my radar.

Which put me on the path to heal trauma caused by others and now trauma I had inadvertently caused to myself. I know I am not alone here. So, I have done myself a favor and reframed the word discipline in my mind by changing it to self-love. This means doing the things you don’t want to do just because you know it’s good for you.

Like when a parent teaches you brushing your teeth twice a day is important maintenance. I needed to reframe my thoughts on parenting myself to do the same with my lifestyle choices, my time, and my focus.

I have learned self-love looks like getting up early or eating dinner a little later to get some exercise in because it’s great for my entire being. It is proven exercise has a profound positive effect on your entire being. I’ve learned exercising the body makes the internal systems flow better, it produces endorphins and hormones that boost my mental health, which in turn naturally lifts my spirit. Exercise is truly mind, body, spirit self-love.

When I was able to see exercise that I enjoyed like yoga was not a duty or a bad word. It is truly a gift I can give myself when I make self-love a priority. In yoga we use asana/physical exercise to stress the body then we have savasana which is the rest at the end of our practice. Just like children and puppies… It’s much easier as an adult to rest the body and mind after we have exercised!

Some of us have very physical jobs, like me. Occasionally just to get up when the house is quiet and have meditative time to myself with my coffee feels like self-love. Peace, stillness, and rest are just as important as exercise for the mind, body, spirit.

Meditation is really useful if you have an over active mind that likes to chatter. We call that the monkey mind in yoga. Mantra Meditations, Guided meditation or Yoga Nidra are excellent tools to get into the practice of quieting the mind. Being mindful of your inner dialog is also important. Your body hears what you say about it and so does your spirit. Practicing Ahimsa/non-violence and maintaining a kind inner voice can help stabilize your emotional state.

After several 40-day continuous practices of Kundalini yoga kriyas. This discipline showed me that putting my needs and goals first is self-love! Sometimes self-love/discipline looks like saying no to social functions that sound fun but will throw off my schedule or bump into the priorities that are important. If saying yes, makes me feel guilty about letting myself down by not getting what I desire done. It’s not worth it. My needs are important.

Reframing discipline in this way has really changed my outlook on what self-love truly is.

It looks like boundaries on my time, energy, emotional state in my relationships or work life. It looks like putting off chores to fulfill the needs of my body, mind and spirit. Chores are always going to be there. So what if the house is a bit cluttered! People live here gosh darn it! I learned I was able to tackle it better when I was in a balanced state anyway.

Sometimes we think caring for our spirit only happens on Sunday at church. That is not true at all. Caring for your spirit means you feel peaceful, and content. If the other parts of your life are out of tune, there is no way our soul is serene. You can have feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, or exhaustion just from a neglected spirit!  

Maybe self-love means you must take time to heal relationships with your body, people, work, money, time, rest, play or even your creativity. Maybe you need to get your veggies in or subtract something from your diet. The list is endless. Only you know where you are off balance. Your heart and spirit always know.

Taking the time to get quiet and tune into your mind, body and spirit can really scare some people. It doesn’t have to be scary if you reframe the intention behind it into an act of self-love. Going within to ask yourself the introspective questions that matter most is a good place to start when you are feeling uncomfortable inside.

Just ask yourself why am I uncomfortable today? What do I need most to get back into balance? Where can I start? Practicing listening to your intuition connects you to your higher self. The higher self is another way to speak of the inner voice inside of you that knows better. Yet is often overridden by the ego or outside expectations.

When life gets busy or there is just so much going on I must prioritize. I have a few mantras I have given myself that help me give myself permission to take time I need to care for my mind, body, and spirit.

These ones are my favorite.

“I keep the promises I make to myself, because I am worthy of the life I desire.”

“I give myself permission to make time, to create and heal.”

“I get to make the rules for my life!”

“My body is loved, my mind meditated, and life is balanced. I help my soul to smile.”

“I am important. My needs are important. I matter too.”

I have a great friend and kundalini warrior partner. We do the 40-day kriyas together and check in daily with each other to keep track. Even when those kriya challenges are done we often check in almost daily and ask each other. “What have you done today to make yourself feel loved? What are you proud of today?”

It can look like a walk on a nature path with my dog. A long Epsom salt bath and dry brushing to stimulate lymph flow. It can look like taking a nap if that is what I feel I need most that day. It can even look like getting my annoying taxes done so I can move forward and get that off the to-do list! Maybe you need to go out and play with friends, have some tea and connect. It doesn’t have to be complicated.

The point is we make sure to do something for ourselves daily because our health matters to our mental state, and the mental state matters to our spiritual contentment. These habits and rituals did not come naturally to me until I started practicing yoga. Asana yoga was great for my body but finding kundalini yoga changed my life. Encouraging consistency, discipline/self-love, and dedication to my spiritual practice.

It was the yoga that I felt most encompassed a practice that I could do and enjoy doing daily. Kriyas can be extremely challenging or very gentle depending on which kriya you practice. There is so much variety I am never bored. The way it encompassed the mind, body, and spirit part is what got me hooked. If you are interested in finding out more, I welcome you to try it! I offer classes in the studio and online at spiritriveryoga.com.

It felt important to me to share with you how yoga changed my life. It was not all at once, not in one day, or a week. I look forward to seeing how it will continue to transform me from the inside out as I continue down the yoga path. I hope that this article inspires you in some way to see self-love in a different way. May it help propel a positive change of any kind for you.

Much love and many blessings,

Emy Minzel

CMT – 500RYT

Spirit River Yoga and Massage LLC

Spiritriveryogaandmassage.com

Emyminzel.com

#lifelessons, #spiritual, #yoga, Uncategorized

What you should know about Energetic Emotional Release

emyminzel

Did you know yoga moves more than just your body?!

As a yogi teacher and massage therapist I have come to see and believe that we hold and store emotions in our physical body. Stress shows in headaches just at the base of the scull, sometimes we lose hair or have digestive issues. Tension, worry and anxiety are often stored in the gut which is part of the solar plexus chakra and moves up to the heart chakra and upper shoulders.

If we are being stubborn and inflexible in life, we sometimes have neck and shoulder pain. This manifests into having low range of motion in the neck from not being able to see another point of view. We hold fear in our psoas and low back, guilt in the middle back and anger in our hearts. The burn of anger radiates from the heart through the upper back and shoulders.

When tragedy happens like losing a loved one or an unexpected loss of a job this affects our security related to the root chakra and often the foundation of our bodies, the feet. When we fear moving forward in life our knees take a hit and when we just can’t figure out how to get enjoyment out of life, we store misery in our hips.

It’s quite intriguing to me how often we dismiss our bodies signals as nothing more than a physical injury. Yet even accidents like falling are a metaphysical symptom of not valuing ourselves or not feeling valued so we are careless and absent minded and that causes accidents.

Louise Hay has a book called Heal Yourself. It has mantras that relate to the reasons behind our physical symptoms. Each time I have a seemingly ‘random’ pain or ailment I check this book to see if it is real… Or is it a physical manifestation of my inner emotion? In yoga we say that Emotions are Energy in motion. If we are stuck on one or more painful emotion, our body will kindly hold it for us!

Sometimes during or after Yoga practice or body work, we have an emotional release. When we move certain parts of the body that have been storing our emotions it can be spontaneous. Often, we have already been feeling pain or tension in those same areas of our neck, back, knees, ect… for years! During regular practice we inadvertently move those emotions up and out! It sounds intensely therapeutic, and truly is!!!

However, it usually comes out in very messy emotional way like a crying break down or eruption of uncharacteristic anger or outburst so you can allow those emotions to break through. There is more room out than in, so it its best to let it all come out where you can see them and heal them.

I feel compelled to write and tell you of this phenomenon because it just recently happened to me again after a wonderful yoga set, I called Heart Openers. It’s funny to me that I really enjoyed creating and teaching this class! And yet, four hours after that practice I was huddled under the covers in my bed bawling my eyeballs out because I had moved those stuck emotions in my heart with a powerful heart opening yoga practice.

I laid there allowing myself to really feel all the icky emotions I was storing and weighing heavy on my heart. I didn’t hold back, I used a hundred Kleenexes and dehydrated myself allowing the abundant tears to fall freely. Finally, I fell asleep and allowed myself to rest after my big emotional purge.

When I woke up, I felt better. The emotions that I kept stuffed had dissipated and I felt lighter. It took me a few hours to realize what had just happened. Since my breakdown seemingly came out of nowhere being pushed over the edge by a small minor inconvenience. It was clear to me it was my body purging in uncontrollable emotional release.

Now this Emotional Release phenomenon does not happen after every yoga practice or massage! LOL So don’t fret. It happens when your body is ready to release what no longer serves it. It is an energetic letting go of all those stuffed down emotions so the body can move into healing.

There are times I’ve had massage clients crying on the table for these same reasons. I felt honored to be able to hold space for them while they allow those messy emotions go. I felt that it was important to remind people that this can and does happen and that it is okay to let it out. It is a step towards allowing healing in the mind, body, and spirit.

This is why, self-care techniques like yoga and massage therapy are so important to incorporate into your life. I’ve come to believe our bodies are quite magical! Our bodies are always communicating and it’s up to us to take the time to listen to its needs and the nagging aches and pains to see what they are trying to tell us. What emotions do we need to heal and release so we can feel better in our own skin?

I hope this article is helpful in some why so that when it happens to you. You are now able to identify it as the healing opportunity it is. Instead of thinking it’s an out of the blue break down, you will now see that is a therapeutic break through! Which is very healthy and healing to the energetic and emotional body.

So now you know the magic of movement! How cool is that?!

Sending you all so much love and wishing you an abundance of blessings,

Namaste,

Emy Minzel

SpiritRiverYogaandMassage.com

#lifelessons, Uncategorized

Cold Feet

emyminzel

Recently while running the tub for a bath I had an epiphany of sorts. I took my time to fill the tub ensuring the water was at the perfect temperature. I added Epsom salt and essential oil to optimize the experience of my respite time. I lit a candle and made sure the house was quiet.

Relaxing in the tub was something that I was looking forward to. It had been a busy day. When the tub was full, I stepped in and realized even though the temperature of the water was delightful to my hands and arms, my feet told my brain.

“Retreat! Retreat! Warning!!! Warning!!!! There is hot molten lava in the tub!”

“What?! Come on feet!” I thought to myself reaching down to touch the water with my hand again to be sure of what I already knew.

“Yep. Still perfect. What the heck feet?” I thought a little annoyed at the delay of my relaxation.

It took me a long time to convince the flashing warning lights of my feet to calm down. I had been running around the house with no socks on and my feet were cold before I stuck them in the bath water. The environment my feet had been exposed to all day had negatively affected my relaxation event.

After quite a few minutes I finally acclimatized my sensitive feet to the temperature by giving in and adding some cold water. As I sank into the tub and I wondered to myself.

“How many times in life did I reject a pleasant experience because I was uncomfortable with it? How many opportunities have I missed out on because of my metaphorical cold feet?”

There are moments in my life when the fear of change made me so uncomfortable, I decided against it. But was this the right thing to do? In this instance I knew I wanted to relax in the bathtub, I had looked forward to it all day. Yet the reaction of my cold feet hitting the warm water distorted my experience and not in a pleasant way at all.

“How many times has a cool environment caused warning signs that were unfounded because that is all I had known?” I wondered.

It seems to me I can think of quite a few and that disheartens me a bit. However, I think this hot tub, cold feet experience was exactly as it was supposed to be. It was not meant to dishearten me. Rather it was meant to open my eyes and become aware to a deeper understanding of myself and my patterns of being.

Now I am a thinker, and, in the bathtub, you have lots of time to contemplate. So, I continued.

“How often has the company I keep effected my response to opportunities as well? If I am surrounded by others who often have negative thinking patterns, who offer unsupportive comments or those who are guided by their fears rather than their dreams…. How often does that affect me and the decisions I make?” I wondered to myself.

If I am used to aloof surroundings; warm welcomes, and kindnesses may feel uncomfortable right?! I think you know the answer to that.

The company you keep has a giant affect on your life even if we do not realize it at the time. For me this did not mean I had to run away and move to the forest to live alone and in recluse. It was a gentle reminder from the Universe to SEE patterns I was unconsciously allowing so I could change them.

It was an opportunity to see into the subconscious desire to stay the same temperature. I was allowing lower vibe to run the show. It may feel uncomfortable, scary, or even seem painful at first. But once you tune in to the reality of our experience, a warm change can be quite delightful.

It was an intuitive opportunity to see what I had been missing all along. It is up to me to say.

“Nope. This this is not true cold feet. This is not lava. It is not a true story you are telling me. This is how I see it.” I get to change the skewed narrative that is currently floating around me.

Just because voices of my past are bringing doubts and discouragements or those in my support system are sounding their alarms. It does not mean that it is the correct guidance. They may also be offering and projecting their experiences to you as a warning because they care. Or maybe not… anyway, take that into consideration as well.

Like the sensation of my cold feet submerging into a warm bath felt uncomfortable. So, does going against the ‘norm’ in decision making! It was a nice reminder to take my time, to move at my own pace and allow my cold feet to warm up to the idea of a nice hot bath. Often you must go through a painful or uncomfortable period to get to a beautiful experience.

Next time I find myself with ‘cold feet’ I will ask myself.

“What can I do to transform this experience if I really want it? Is my trepidation, fear or pain a true story or is it perceived because of the situation I was just in? Would moving forward and continuing actually help me to reduce the uncomfortable sensations in the long run???”

In the end, yes. Proceeding towards my desires was exactly what I needed to do. My bath did feel fabulous, and it offered more than relaxation. It cleared the cobwebs of unconscious stagnation by offering insights downloaded by some magical force.

It is a nice reminder of the things that can happen when we give ourselves time to be quite and allow ourselves an opportunity to listen for higher guidance. We do not have to be sitting cross legged in meditation when it happens. We only have to allow quiet time for ourselves and be open to receiving.

Blessings,

Emy Minzel

EmyMinzel.com

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