New podcast episode  dropped: Hold more without losing yourself

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There I was, freshly divorced and trying to find myself and create a new life when I found myself registered for a master's program in educational leadership. It was the fall of 2008. 

I was terrified of pretty much everything, but I knew that nothing would change if nothing changed, so I just - signed up. 

Then I got the email that said we were going to start the school year off with a retreat in McCall, Idaho that would include us diving to the readings (over 1000 pages - gulp) and bonding at a ropes course. 

I wondered WTF I'd gotten myself into. First, what single mom of a 5-year-old working full time has time to read 1000 pages in two week? Second, what's a ropes course? 

I reached out to the program director with my heart in my throat and told her I wasn't sure I could do this. 

She taught me about "graduate-level reading". This means when you have an immense amount of reading to do you read the first and last sentence of each paragraph, knowing that the first sentence is the premise, and the last paragraph is the summary and the middle sentences build understanding. So as long as you understand the first and last sentence of graduate-level text paragraphs, you're good. Ummmm.... where was THAT information in my botany class in college? 

And then the second thing she said was, I'm not going to describe the ropes course. Just trust that we've got you. 

Ok. Well, at least I could take a deep breath again. Right up until I got to the ropes course two weeks later. 

There I learned what "on belay" means.... It means you're ready for someone to loosen the rope when you are up in a 50-foot tree wearing what's essentially a nylon webbing diaper attached to a rope. I'll share more about the time I fell off a 50 foot tree stump another time... but suffice to say... I got to feel what free-falling is like and I also got to feel what being caught on belay feels like. What a relief THAT was.

And I got to hold the rope where one of my classmates (there was one other woman, the rest were men and mostly football coach types) climbed up that tree. I got to see the power of leverage and understand that's what makes lifting things so much easier - LEVERAGE. 

Anywhoooooo...

Both of these experiences expanded my capacity because they gave me LEVERAGE. Tools to make things simpler and easier. 

That's what this episode can help you do - give you leverage to make things easier so you can hold more without carrying more AND without losing yourself. 

You’ll learn:

• Why capacity is about embodiment—not doing more (this is YOUR leverage)

• How to feel your emotions without collapsing under them

• A gentle reframe for managing your inner critic

• A 3-minute breathwork reset you can use daily

• A story of transformation from a client who reclaimed her power, redefined her career, and used energy work to lead in a new way

Plus, I will talk about the Self-Healing Certification, a 6-week experience that brings together Reiki I, breathwork for self, and meditation for busy minds—to help you hold more of what matters without abandoning yourself.

 You don’t need to do less to feel better. You just need to stop holding what was never yours to carry.

 Go have a listen! 

XOXO,

Brenda