light

The Inner Beauty of Living From the Heart

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

The Inner Beauty of Living From the Heart

There is a beauty that cannot be seen in a mirror. It doesn’t come from flawless skin, a polished life, or achievements stacked neatly in a row. This beauty is quieter, deeper, and infinitely more radiant.

It is the beauty that lives in the heart.

When we live from the heart, we discover that true beauty is not about how the world perceives us, but about how we choose to show up in the world. It shines in the love we give freely, in the courage we summon when life is heavy, and in the audacity to believe in light even when surrounded by darkness.

Inner beauty is a flame that refuses to go out. It may flicker at times, but it never disappears. It’s the strength that says, “I will love anyway. I will keep going anyway. I will believe in light anyway.”

The world tells us beauty is found in appearance or in accomplishments, but the truth is, beauty radiates from within — from the way we love, the way we forgive, the way we keep choosing hope.

When light runs wild within us, it touches everything we do. It’s in the smile we offer a stranger, the patience we extend to a loved one, the quiet resilience we cultivate when life is hard. This light is what makes us come alive, and it shows up everywhere — not in perfection, but in presence.

May we all dare to live from the heart. May we keep believing, keep shining, and keep letting our light run wild. ?

Mindful Practice: Living From the Heart

1. Sit in Stillness
Find a quiet space. Close your eyes and rest your hands over your heart. Take a few deep breaths, feeling the warmth and rhythm of your own heartbeat.

2. Invite the Light
Visualize a soft golden light glowing in your heart center. With each breath, imagine it expanding, filling your chest, then flowing outward into every part of your body.

3. Whisper Your Affirmation
Repeat silently: “The light within me is strong. My beauty shines through my love, courage, and belief in hope.”

4. Carry It Into Your Day
Before stepping into your next task or conversation, pause for a moment to recall that golden light. Let it remind you that your presence itself is radiant, and your inner beauty touches everything.

Affirmation for Today:
“No matter the darkness around me, light runs wild within me, and it shows up in everything I do.”

If you love my content and want more tools for mindfulness & movement, check out my digital products on Buy Me a Coffee! Your support helps me continue creating. 

Looking for the tools and products I swear by? Visit my Amazon storefront for a handpicked collection of my favorite finds—from kitchen gadgets to wellness essentials. Click here to explore and shop my must-haves.

Interested in being part of my essential oil community and are ready to start using pure essential oils, shop here or email me for a free 1:1 consultation.

Like I Matter

/ embracingspirit / 2 Comments

Can you say that your actions give light to the darkness that others experience?

Alone somewhere in an assisted living group home sits a woman who like many I get to see had a life changing event where everything that she knew was instantly gone. She lost her family, her job, her home, and possibly her purpose.

Everyday is the same existence; eat, sleep, eat, maybe occasionally go into the community, eat, sleep, repeat. There is never a visitor and never anything that provides meaning to her day. I show up once per month to attempt some group yoga classes, however, most of the women living in this house decline to attend, except this lovely lady I will call Patricia.

On my last visit I had the opportunity to work 1:1 with her and address some of her challenges. I knew she had a painful shoulder from her accident and subsequent surgeries so I wanted to see if I could get some pain relief and mobility into her shoulder. Like all my sessions, there is a lot of dialogue and attempts to find connection. I know from my nearly two decades of teaching yoga to unique populations, the one thing that they want more than any physical practice is to feel part of something and to feel seen.

Isn’t that a universal desire? I believe our greatest human need it to simply be seen.

For the hour that we spent together, I learned about her accident and what her life was life before the event. I learned about her dreams, her mistakes, her shame and her hopes for her life. I learned what it means to her to be a mom and a grandmother. I learned that we are the same age, minus a few months difference. I learned about her hard upbringing and getting lost in her youth. I learned the details of her accident that was nearly thirty years ago.

For thirty years, Patricia has lived in this same existence. Thirty years is more than half her life. Half of her life has been lived alone, isolated, without meaning and incredibly lonely.

Towards the end of our session, I wanted to have a closer look at her shoulder and see if I would be able to get some movement and comfort into her body. I whipped out my trusted essential oil blend for pain and began to apply it slowly and gently to her arm and shoulder area. Human touch has a powerful effect and is so under implemented in our sterile world. No words were exchanged as I gently moved her arm in circles and into extension and flexion. I was careful to not do much as I did not know for sure the extent of her surgery and rehab.

I asked her, “how does that feel?”

She looked at me, and with tears in her eyes, she said, “like I matter”.

I rarely show my emotions, especially with my students. I am incredibly careful and cognizant of not coming across as a person who pities them or feels “bad” for them. That is not what they want, but her words struck my heart and tears filled my eyes instantly.

Can you imagine feeling so lonely and forgotten that simply having one person pay attention to you for thirty minutes gives you the feedback that you truly do matter?

Her answer had nothing to do with her shoulder pain and everything to do with her heart pain. I knew that in that instant, I was exactly where I was supposed to be, and she gave me such a gift that day.

I continue to think about how my actions remind people that they do matter. I get to be the giver of goodness. I get the privilege of sharing my day with them and learning how to make a difference in the lives of others.

When was the last time you felt like you matter? When was the last time you helped someone see that they matter? You just never know how your actions are influencing others. Can you say that your actions give light to the darkness that others experience?

Follow me for more goodness!

Mindset

/ embracingspirit / Leave a comment

Oh my gosh, YES!

Mindset is everything!

I mean face it, the last couple of years have been hard. The word pandemic was not everyday lingo and I don’t know about you, but I never thought about the impact a virus could make on the day to day. Before this pandemic, I had a basic understanding of political differences but the depth at which the country has gone the last few years is startling. The division is palpable in our cities and even in our homes.

Along with the collective challenges that we have all endured we each have our own unique challenges layered upon the big challenges. How we face them determines the quality of our lives. This isn’t to say that putting on a smiling face everyday will be the answer, but our ability to shift our mindset and not hold onto the things we have no control over can certainly help our happiness factor.

Mindset matters

Truth is for me personally, I am a self-employed yoga teacher who has had to navigate how to continue to earn an income during these hard times; going from full-time teaching in long term care facilities, my own studio and a large health club to virtual only was a huge hit financially and had a big impact on my ability to feel fulfilled teaching. It is doable, but hard to connect through a screen, especially with individuals with special needs. I am also a full time caregiver for my special needs daughter; so her programming went all virtual which meant not only was I her primary caregiver, I also became her primary friend/peer/teacher/support/transportation/provider, which was hard on both of us. My last major daily hurdle is I have three health conditions that cause me to experience tremendous pain and fatigue. Managing my pain and being able to show up for my students and my family takes grit some days.

Most of the time, my MINDSET allows me to handle it (somewhat) gracefully and I choose to make the best of this precious life. I have a few must-do practices to keep my mindset in the right place:

I am committed to my health and fitness.

I begin and end my day with a walk. I also walk on my lunch hour and anytime during the day I have sat too much or the burdens of life feels heavy. Some days I get over 25,000 steps and that is okay. It works for me. I find walking manages my pain better than anything else. I also practice yoga and do strength training 3-4 times per week.

I am committed to constantly changing my business model for the changing times and am open to always working hard.

I have learned to be flexible (haha, no yoga teacher joke intended). I navigate the demands of the audience and am constantly learning how to best utilize my skills in a virtual world. I also invite small groups into my studio and while the income may not be what a large group is, I feel connected and inspired and that fulfills me. I work nearly 7 days a week either teaching, marketing, following up, promoting, etc. I am committed to this gift.

I am committed to seeing the best in every situations.

Some people have told me that my rosy lenses aren’t accurate for the world, but I love them. I choose to look at both sides of the situation and try to find the small nuggets of wisdom that may be there to learn. I avoid situations that are filled with hatred, division, anger and judgment which means my circle of friends is small, I spend a lot of time by myself and I avoid the news.

I am committed to saying YES!

I have found that when we live in a state of pessimism (I spent decades there), we attract the very things we dislike. When we learn to say yes to the best possible outcomes, we attract that. If you don’t believe me, try it for a month. Say yes to new opportunities, to new experiences, to new friends, to abundance and then sit back and enjoy the ride.

I am committed to a daily Gratitude practice.

It is so easy to get sucked into the unfortunately popular culture that much of the world sees as not enough (time, money, resources, love). When we shift our attention to what we actually have plenty of, we get more (time, money, resources, love). Look around and notice the abundance of color, texture, living things, and feelings. There really is plenty to be thankful for.

It is a choice and although some days it can be harder to stay in a positive mindset given the status of the world, it is possible with a little changes to our thoughts. My mindset has served me incredibly well.

That’s my mindset, what is yours?