Embodied Practices With Marlo

  It's been awhile since I've posted anything on this blog.  Since end of December 2020, there have been a lot of changes in my life. For one thing, I lost my job that I had for 3 years. Luckily, I was offered an auxiliary position working for the school district in my community. And of course, with all the changes in my life, my own personal mindfulness + meditation practice has taken a noise dive.  I no longer sit for 20 minute practices. My mind can't seem to handle it + for those who are new to meditation, I can honestly say that this is absolutely normal . My practice as of late takes me 6 minutes  + some days I don't even make a point to practice.  I've decided that expecting myself to sit longer is just not feasible at this time. And each day I sit for  however long is enough for me. For the past several weeks, I've been practicing Chris Germer's Self-Compassion Break meditation. It's been useful when I feel stressed, overwhelmed or just feeling u...

It has been difficult + challenging the last few weeks. There's been so much unveiling of all the systemic racism that occurs in the US as well as other parts of the world + it has been incredibly hard to process. My emotions range from rage, anger to sadness + hopelessness. And the last few days I have been racked with self-doubt. The interesting thing, at least to me , is that having a mindfulness meditation practice allows me to watch my thoughts + feelings as they rise up. And fuck have they risen up a lot the last few weeks.  I've been doubting every move + thought + decision I make. What do I post? What do I share? Do I share only because others are sharing the same thing? Is it genuine to me? Does it feel right in my bones to share + post on Instagram. Am I doing enough? Am I enough?? And today I decided to lean in + write in my journal about what I've been feeling because in a way I've been avoiding my self-doubt thoughts/feelings. I may have been objectiv...

Yesterday, I was doing a bit of my own personal reflection while working on "The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook" by Kristin Neff, PhD & Chris Germer, PhD.  I was on Chapter 10 - 'Loving-Kindness for Ourselves' - taking a moment to reflect on what I needed to hear in terms of phrases for myself and it hit home for me that most times, I just want to be validated that I'm OK, that I will be OK. I came up with three phases that hit home for me which all included the word 'OK": "May I be OK as I am."  "May I begin to feel OK about myself." And a super simple one that I like that feels super validating is, "It's OK, I'm OK."  I thought about it + then meditated to one of Jeff Warren's meditation on YouTube. If you haven't heard of this awesome Canadian author & bonafide MacGyver meditation teacher, go check him out at the link below. https://jeffwarren.org/ After that practice of sitting + doin...