Embodied Practices With Marlo

  Yes, it is a pretty long title but it got me thinking. Today, I actually managed to do a short body scan meditation using Sharon Salzberg's audio on YouTube. Here is the link if you are interested in trying out her meditation Wake Up Meditation ft. Sharon Salzberg Then I got into some morning painting + I was following an artist I've never followed before + I was just genuinely struggling with the whole process. I labeled the whole morning painting experience as a total bust because I didn't get the result I was looking for. Which made me wonder, was the experience really that bad or was my expectation of what I wanted to paint unrealistic? What does this have to do with mindfulness meditation? A lot! Here's the thing, some days you sit + meditate + even after the sesh is done, you are still feeling overwhelmed or stressed. And you know what, that's normal.  Sometimes, I think that we need a friendly, compassionate reminder that if we have a meditation practice th...

  I decided to take up watercolor painting as part of my mindful self-care practice. With Covid-19 continuing to shape + influence my daily routine, I decided I needed a self-care practice that allowed me to get lost in the moment + simply take the edge of my daily stresses. While having a formal mindfulness meditation practice will always be part of my daily routine, I desperately needed something else to add to the mix. A couple of weeks ago, I came across this video (see below) from a woman named Cynthia's YouTube channel called Mindful Creative Muse.  This practice really helped me to connect to my breath in a way I didn't know I could! I highly recommend you this a try! Cynthia's channel on Youtube called Mindful Creative Muse                                                             I e...

I just did a Solidarity + Compassion meditation practice from Jeff Warren's YouTube Channel. Here's the link if you are interested in this practice.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12DFvZ71h-s   Fair warning, this is not a comfortable practice but that's the thing. Seeing systemic racism + violence play out isn't comfortable. It's fucking hard to watch. It makes me angry, upset, sad, ashamed, doubtful of what I can + cannot do. To just name a few of the complex emotions I've been feeling. And you know what I learned during this practice? I need to welcome all of that in. What I'm feeling is normal + human because deep down I know from being a visible minority what it feels like to experience systemic racism. I also know that I don't know what it feels like to be a black person in America or Canada or world-wide but I can imagine how fucking scary it is. When I chose to do this practice, it wasn't a way out of discomfort. It was a w...