Are you giving to this yourself first?

Jan 24, 2023

Many years ago, I did most things in my life to impress other people. 

I wanted to inspire. 

I wanted to prove that I was amazing.

I wanted to matter.

Those were the days of overdoing pretty much everything. 

  • Over-giving
  • Over-trying
  • Over-committing
  • Over-efforting

It there was a way of ‘overing’ something, I did it.

I was very concerned about my image and I spent a great deal of effort and time trying to live up to this gargantuan version of myself that I’d created. Not only live up to it, really, but to exceed it. 

As you can imagine, it was exhausting. And really not sustainable.

I was very externally oriented. I would do anything for acknowledgement and recognition. When I hosted workshops and retreats in those days, I wouldn’t let myself feel successful at the end until I had read the feedback forms. If the comments were positive then - yay! - it must have been a good workshop. 

If there was even one hint of criticism (such as...

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Here’s what happens when you choose a theme

Jan 17, 2023

One of the most important things to do in January is to choose a theme for the year.

Why?

>It sets the tone for your whole year.

>It gives you clarity.

>It helps bring in more of what you want without having to work so hard for it.

Last year, for me, was The Year of Delight and let me tell you, I got to know delight on so many levels. It showed up every single day multiple times in ways I never would have expected.

One such way resulted in me making this video about an advent calendar I purchased. It was the weirdest advent calendar I’ve ever experienced. Have you ever wondered how weird products come to be? My little video is my imagined brainstorming meeting to create the advent calendar. 

It brought me so much joy and delight to make this vignette partly because I got to play dress up (with wigs!), partly because I got to be on camera (even though I was filming myself) and partly because it was something out of the ordinary. I hope you enjoy it too. (It made...

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A Miraculous Healing from a Christmas Injury

Jan 10, 2023

You might be wondering: how does one get a Christmas injury? I’m still wondering that myself. In a nutshell, I mysteriously hurt my back whilst decorating our tree. I dropped an ornament (which broke), then twisted my spine to pick it up (not in a particularly unusual way) and all of a sudden, a sharp pain shot through my lower back.

Within a few minutes, I couldn’t really walk. I tried to stretch it out, but the pain didn’t pass, so for the rest of the day, I hobbled around. This was 2 days before Christmas, so it’s not like I had nothing to do. 

I did a few things (that I’ll share later) which made it feel significantly better the next day - less hobbling, more walking. However, the second night I woke up to go to the bathroom and tweaked it again so intensely that I couldn’t stand. I sat on the edge of the bed in a full sweat because of the pain (definitely level 10 at this point). 

I crawled to the bathroom at a...

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To Fresh Starts

Jan 03, 2023

Happy New Year!

I just love a fresh start, don’t you?

I have so many things I’m excited to share with you AND, I’m taking a little holiday with my family in the gorgeous mountains of Canmore. 

I certainly want to practice what I preach, so in honour of that, this week’s message is brief. 

Whether we’ve met in person or not, I want to let you know that I deeply appreciate you and I truly wish for you the very best year yet. 

2023! May it be miraculous and filled with smiles, laugh-out-loud moments, profound connection, deepening self-love and all sorts of easeful growth and expansion (except of your waistline, I’m not wishing that for you or for me, unless that’s one of your wishes, in which case go for it!)

Oh - and I’m going to do a little experiment. Often I have resources or books or other things that have made a big difference in my life, so I’m going to include a recommendation section in the next few...

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Are you using your mind in the wrong way?

Dec 27, 2022

One of the many aspects of the holy days that we’re experiencing right now is gifts and so I wanted to take a little time today to ask you about the gift of your mind. Are you using it in the best way possible or is it more like an unopened or unused gift that’s just waiting to be discovered?

Consider a candle. Do you have any candles around your house that remain unused? My daughter said the other day that she wouldn't be burning a beautiful beeswax candle she has because it’s too pretty. That got me pondering…

The whole point of a candle is to bring light. It also contains the potential power of transformation (because fire transforms things from one state to another). However, if a candle just sits there collecting dust, its gifts remain untapped, no matter how pretty it might be. 

If you burn a beautiful candle, there will no doubt be another candle out there. No shortage of candles. (Obviously, that’s not a 100% guarantee, but since candles...

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How to Have More Fun at your Holiday Gatherings

Dec 20, 2022

Happy all the things! (Solstice + Whatever else you’re celebrating at this time of long nights and winter fun.)

Here’s the kind of winter fun I’m having: yesterday my son, Oakley, and I went for a walk in the -39C/-38F but sunny day. It took about six layers including two down jackets, but we totally felt like we had accomplished something significant.

 

Three things for today.

 

Thing 1

Would you like to know how to have more fun at your holiday gatherings (or any gathering for that matter)? Click here to read my latest article for Brainz magazine. You’ll discover 3 super fun activities that will ensure more connection, harmony and love this holiday season.

Picture glowing smiles, bright sparkling eyes, laughter and palpable love. That’s what you’ll get when you uplevel your table conversation using any of these suggestions. My very best wishes are coming your way for your most meaningful holiday ever.

Thing 2

Can you really hope to...

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How are you bringing closure to 2022?

Dec 13, 2022

Thank you for all your kind wishes regarding the book I told you about last week. How lovely to be connected with such exceptional people like you.

In other news, it’s time for the 2 most powerful events of the year in Courageous Self-Care Land and you’re invited. Here’s the scoop.

Event #1- 2022 Courageous Self-Care Year-End Retrospective December 27

Can you really move forward if you haven’t taken some time to consciously look back?

This will be the fourth year that I’ve done a Year End Retrospective. I can’t imagine not doing it anymore because I’ve discovered that by taking the time to sit down and review the year, you learn so much about yourself and how you showed up during the year. 

From there, you set new intentions for the upcoming year, keeping the habits that have clearly worked. Although the last few years have been *interesting, they’ve been the best of my life, and I attribute that to consciously reflecting on the...

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My New Book! (and the 9 year journey to get it published)

Dec 06, 2022

I wrote a children’s book! 9 years ago! And now it’s published!

Here’s what happened. (The story of how the book came to be is longer than the actual book.)

In 2013, my business was called Dance Ugly Dance Awkward. I helped people learn about themselves and release perfectionism through movement, so I thought about dance a lot.

I’m not even entirely sure how it happened, but one day, a poem came through me that I thought would make a great children’s book. Soon thereafter, I set out to find an illustrator. 

After making a few inquiries here and there, and connecting with various artists, I found someone to do the illustrations. All was going well. The woman did all the drawings and I loved them.  And then one day, she just stopped communicating with me. All attempts to connect with her failed. There was simply no way to reach her. 

The project stalled and I let go of it for a while. A few years later, as I noticed my daughter Zoe’s...

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Reflections on Taking the “Right” Path

Nov 29, 2022

Last week, I had the honour of teaching Body Awake Yoga at a national conference for a group of medical academics in Banff (dream come true!) 

Since the yoga was at 6:30am, I had plenty of time to get out into the mountain air. I took two very interesting walks that seemed like a metaphor for life so I wanted to share them with you. Plus I captured this gorgeous sunrise. These are the real colours! No filters! Right out my window!

The hotel was not really in Banff; it was outside of town halfway up a mountain. I set out to explore. The option was up… or up. I clomped through the snow for a while and then found a road. It seemed relatively quiet and so up I went, enjoying the pine trees swaying in the wind on both sides. 

The road alternated with a gradual climb and then steep switchbacks where there was no visibility to determine if cars were coming or not. On each sharp curve, a decision had to be made of where it would be best to place myself so that I would be...

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The Problem with Hustle

Nov 22, 2022

Have you heard anything lately about hustling or having a side hustle?

I’ve noticed it popping up in books, emails and articles and I have to say that I’m not in agreement with hustle-culture.

Here’s why. (I learned this paradigm-shifting-mind-blowing idea from my mentor Dr. Sue Morter.)

If it takes a huge amount of energy to “make something happen”, it’s going to take an equal amount of energy to sustain it. 

In other words, if you’re working super hard to manifest something or bring it to fruition, you’re going to need to put out just as much energy on the other side to maintain it, and that’s just not feasible (in my experience). 

On the other hand, if something comes into your life with ease and grace, it will be much easier to sustain because you’re already at that vibration. 

Basically, if you’re over-trying, over-efforting, striving or forcing, you can expect to keep pushing that boulder...

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