Cultivate a daily gratitude practice for a meaningful life

Research is pretty clear in that the practice of gratitude is a tool that *needs* to be in your toolbox if you want to live a more meaningful and joyous life.
Taking a moment each day (let’s say 5 mins), can be the difference between a life that feels hard and a life that feels happier.
As a wellness coach, I encourage my clients to keep a journal at the start of our coaching relationship, as writing down what you are feeling and experiencing in the day can help ease stress and overwhelm.
Let me ask you this – have you ever known someone not to benefit from a period of journalling and reflection?

As I write this, I think about some of the greatest writers in history, such as Henry David Thoreau, who spent a period of time in the wilderness with nothing but a journal for company and the wind in the trees. He ended up writing some pretty epic words and has influenced the hearts and minds of people worldwide for over a century now.

You might be struggling with a decision to make, or maybe you are living with a chronic illness. Perhaps you are feeling bored in your current life?
Journalling could help you to make sense of your life, your thoughts, feelings and emotions that encompass your current experience.

Here’s how to get started:

get your gratitude journal here

Dedicate the same time frame each day for writing. I suggest 5mins-10mins at first. Set a timer and start writing about your day. Who did you see? What did you do? What frustrated you? What made you sad?

Make a promise to yourself to stick to this every day for seven days. After that time, you will know if this kind of self-care is right for you. You might even learn a few things about yourself along the way that you want to journal about. (For example – you might want to write poetry or songs. You might want to write a letter of apology to someone. Or you might want to write a forgiveness letter to yourself?)

Each day, as you write, you might get stuck on what to fill your time limit with. So if you still have time left over after covering the basics, maybe you could write down a goal you had when you were young. What did you hope to do one day? Who did you hope to become?

Still stuck? Try writing a message to your 18yr old younger self. What advice about life would you give them? (This will be illuminating, so take your time with this one!)

Take a step into the unknown:

I have created a beautiful Gratitude journal with some goal-setting and prompts that will help you set the tone for your journalling journey. If you’ve never journalling before, this is a perfect place to start. I have even included some mandalas to colour which can help ease writer’s block and get your creative juices flowing.
Many women fall into the trap of being scared of going deep, because you’re afraid of what you will find. I can assure you that all there is to discover within you is beautiful, magickal, extraordinary and valuable. I have never known a woman to regret working into the shadows, or stepping into her power.

And you can do this too!

Wise women know how to become their own coach and go after what they want. They also know when they need a little guidance along the way.

This journal preps your mind and your spirit for the journey of going bravely forth in the direction of your soul by offering daily reminders to notice what brings you joy.

By finding gratitude in daily life, you begin to re-program your mind to search for more things to be grateful for. And then the laws of the universe conspire to bring you more – more than you ever thought possible.

But before you embark on this journey be sure to get clear on what you are wanting. What goals do you have for yourself?
Create 3 s.m.a.r.t goals and then embark on your sixty day AM and PM gratitude journey. Then at the end of your sixty days take some time to reflect on how far you have come.

This journal makes a thoughtful gift for the person in your life who deserves the best! (and that also means you too!)

Purchase this beautiful journal here:

References:

  1. https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier
  2. https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-health-benefits-of-journaling

Scrub your Socials- take your power back

Starting off the new year and taking your power back with a digital clean up clean up can be the most important thing you do at the start of the new year! Take your power back by removing negativity in your Socials, and removing the dead weight in your Inbox!
The collective energy for us at this time, is to restore, to connect and to enjoy. Why not use this time to restore your own energy, connect to those things that matter to you, and to embrace the idea that our life is for us to enjoy.

Here are my top tips when it comes to socials and digital life, so that you can clean up the energy in this space. Remember – we get energy strands of connection in the online world, just like we would in peson.
EVERY person you see on social media you will create an energy strand with.
EVERY person who scrolls your feed will create an energy strand with you.

Do you want that? Regularly clearing out your online space is a healthy part of your energetic hygiene practices. Just like if you went to a pub, you would come home and have a shower…consider this the same routine.
Cleanse
Release
Renew your boundaries!


My Top 5 Tips take your power back with a digital clean up:


1. Scrub your socials:
Go thru all your socials and remove any account that doesn’t give you good feels when you see it.
This includes people as well as biz accounts (but we will get to that in Step 3).
If it isn’t an account that LIGHTS YOU UP …its gone!
Remove it ASAP and get that lower vibration out of your field. Otherwise, it will continue to drag you down.
It happens gradually over time, without you even realising, and one day you declare to the world “I’m going off FB / IG for a while in order to rest and recharge”.
Um really? Why not just stop using it before announcing to the world you are over it? (It’s a bit of a bugbear of mine!)

You see, this kind of behaviour comes from a lack of boundaries in this department, and you honestly only have yourself to blame. However – we don’t do “blame” in my world, we simply LEARN and don’t look back. (I think perhaps a trigger releasing session would help in this case though!)

So here is your new mantra:

I get to decide what is in my feed

What I click on, the algorithm decides I like

I must be diligent about what I click on

I get to control my experience

If I don’t like what someone is posting I SCROLL on, OR I delete / mute / unfollow / block etc

My socials. My choice!

Never again will you feel whiny and in your victim mode about how “bad” social media is for you!

Personally, I love IG as I can follow hashtags I’m truly interested in, and that inspire me and teach me.

Everything else is a no-go for me and my mental health. This includes “friends”, or family who I am afraid I will offend if I unfollow. (And honestly, how often do you see these so-called ‘friends’ anyway? Would you share a meal with them? That’s what I ask myself. If I wouldn’t then I wont allow them into my energetic online field either. Another Q to ask yourself – if you wouldn’t share a meal with them, are they really a friend? Does it matter in the grand scheme of things if you removed them from your digital life?)

2. unsubscribe.
We get hundreds of emails every day – so be discerning about what you will accept in your inbox. If you’re anything like me you have signed up for a discount on a shopping platform and keep receiving their newsletters. I also have well-meaning sign-ups where I wholeheartedly decide I will be interested in a particular website and its offerings and then promptly never read another email from that site ever again. And yet they keep sending me emails!
My brain likes to pursue many a rabbit hole, and I get really interested in topics for short periods of time. Then I am over it. The dopamine hit wears off. Are you like that too? Well, the time is now for you to start cleaning out your emails and only keeping those that actually add value to your life – like mine.

OR not.

The choice always remains yours – so embrace your power to choose and decide what you want bombarding your inbox. It does take a fair bit of time, so I suggest putting on some music, or a podcast or watching Netflix and doing it simultaneously. That way you can just keep powering through the ‘unsubcribes’ and GET IT DONE.

3. unfollow/unfriend.
This is a tough one, as it pulls on the heart strings doesn’t it? I can’t tell you how many times a client has said they simply must stay “friends” with a family member out of fear they will offend them if they don’t.

STOP

DOING

THIS

This is the very definition of giving your power away. I didn’t know until a short time ago that we can actually mute a Facebook ‘friend’ and we won’t see their posts anymore. I love this as it means that you don’t have to completely say ‘goodbye’, just ‘let’s have a break for now’.

I know that it feels uncomfortable when you make these small decisions about a friendship or family connection, but it is really about being kind to both yourself and them. Your negativity – even in private – still affects the energy strands that connect you both. So what you are doing is removing your trigger so you can take back control of your own energy. That’s got to be a good thing – right?
A few years ago my cousin’s wife unfriended me, and I didn’t realise for a while. It definitely made our relationship non-existant as I haven’t heard from her or my cousin ever since. I have never tried to contact her again as I feel awkward and uncomfortable knowing I’m not her ‘cup of tea’ – which is okay. We never had anything in common, except she married my favourite and much loved cousin. It’s a shame, because her one small act caused me some heartache, and means that my kids don’t know hers. Remember – be kind. To yourself and others.

Be ruthless with ‘friends’ that you don’t even know. If they post things one time that are questionable, or directly opposite to your values then consider whether this is the content you want to consume. Some people vent and it triggers your own stuff. (Maybe it’s time to do an Emotion Code session though?) That’s ok. Cut them some slack and start looking at why it affected you so much. If they do it again, and it really annoys you, offends you, or crosses a line – it’s time to unfriend. No one wants to leave their front door open to angry, bigoted, racist, keyboard warriors, conspiracy theorists etc…so think of your account as your front door to your own energy field.
You need to put a line of defense between you both.

4. mute. I’ve mentioned it before but it needs its whole paragraph and time in the sun. Instagram has a mute button, and it is totally fine to use it. Just see how when you use it, that your life doesn’t end!
But you can use your own mute button on many things – like not replying to a message as soon as you receive one. You can choose to mute yourself during a conversation, and just hang up and plead “it dropped out” if queried.
Muting yourself means you get to decide what comes out of your mouth. It also means you retain your own power. There is no rule book that says you “must” respond. So choose when you do.

5. rest. I know you think that sitting on the couch and mindlessly scrolling for 3 hours is resting. It is not.

It is scrolling, and it is not mindless.

It is very mindful – and not in the best way.

When you are scrolling away you often lose track of time, and you ignore your kids and animals, and probably forget to do the chores around the house. Bbe intentional about your scrolling. But don’t call it rest. Cos it ain’t.
Resting is when your body AND mind get a break. (This is also not called sleep).

Resting involves an intention to slow down, and to just be in the present moment. My favourite way to rest is in my hammock with a blanket (if it is cooler) and a pillow under my head and knees. I love the feeling of swaying gently. I often don’t read in the hammock, I just look at the trees and the sky.
Some people say that resting can be reading a book – but the mind is still active.
Others say resting can be swimming – but the body is still active.

Many people find it hard to just sit and do nothing for a period of time, except breathe and be. So i invite you to set a timer for 3mins and just allow yourself to be in the present moment. Lay down. Watch the clouds. Listen to the birds. Just rest. And when the timer goes off, set it again for another 3mins. You’ll be amazed how quickly time flies doing nothing.
Resting is the biggest gift you can give yourself in this busy life we live. So choose to consciously do it for a few minutes per day – and watch how your entire perception will shift.

Start today

Scrubbing your digital energy field is an act of self love. Start today and notice how less-stressed and anxious you become. Removing the negativity, the draining, the anger, the complaining, the comparison and the sense of missing out can help restore your balance and your enjoyment of life. When you become ruthless at guarding your own energy, you will find the rest becomes easier and life becomes happier.

Good luck xx

Accountability Coaching

Do you feel like you lack motivation?
You’re not alone.
Many people attend a coaching or energy healing session and feel inspired to commit to new healthier life habits – only to get sick, overwhelmed, tired or disappointed by something in their life again.
At that moment, their bad habits creep back in, AND they slowly forget what they were trying to focus upon!
That’s when frustration, irritation, anger and also binge eating or drinking kicks in.
And that can make you feel even worse.Let’s not even mention when you go 0-100 in 10 secs and let rip at your kids or partner.

The struggle is real – but you don’t have to stay there.


Accountability Coaching is a supportive service offered by Belle that will help you to stay on track and reach that milestone of 90 days – this is SO important when you are wanting to create REAL and EFFECTIVE change in your life.

The research is clear: 21 days to create a new habit
21 days to reinforce that habit
another 21 days to make sure it sticks and
another 21 days to make it seem so easy.

What could you become in 90 days?
What dreams do you have for health or well-being or career?
What can you imagine your life would be like if you could build momentum and have someone supporting you (and kicking your butt) along the way?

How does Accountability Coaching work?

You will do an initial 2hr session with Belle (in-person or zoom) in order to get clarity and set priorities; clear limiting beliefs, blocks and self sabotage to reaching your goals.
Then every week you will do a 30min coaching call via phone to check in, release triggers, and keep you focused and on track.
–> 3 months <–
12 sessions
self work
workbooks

Each week you will focus on smart, measurable and achievable goals. You will have tasks to complete that are easily added to your current schedule. This will help you to avoid overwhelm and burnout.

Could you do this yourself?
Of course you could!
HAVE you done this for yourself yet?
NO!
And THIS is why you NEED an accountability coach!

You already KNOW what needs to happen.
You have the SKILLS required to reach your goals.
What you NEED is someone to believe in you, to keep you focused, and to hold you accountable each week while you tick off your list of goals.

This is for you if:
– you want to achieve your goals in the next 3 months
– you are sick and tired of making excuses
– you want to plan, execute and smash your goals!
– you are a spiritually focused person who wants to combine their masculine and feminine energies to get into flow and ease.

Are you a HELL YES?
Get started here:3 Month Accountability Coaching.

Are you a MAYBE but need more info?
Book your Clarity call here:Accountability Coaching Clarity Call

How to use your emotions to feel incredibly good

How would you rate your Emotional Wellness on a scale of 1-10?

 

8-10 – my emotions are fairly balanced and even. Sure I am like most women and will feel irritated at times, but I am reliable and stable and think clearly and reasonably most of the time.
5-7 – I tend to go up and down,mostly even, but I can usually bring myself back to normal after a while (food / wine helps). I am more happy than sad, hardly get angry (although sometimes the kids push me to the verge of being a T-Rex), but I think I’m not as bad as others I hear about. I would say I am pretty much middle of the road, and whilst life is okay, I have everything I want, there are still times when I get sad for no reason or get snippy at people. 
3-4 – I am quite up and down most of the time and I get anxious / moody / depressed at periods of time for sure. I drink probably more than I should. I don’t exercise much and I really feel like life is difficult. I definitely eat more than I would like, and it is probably “emotional eating”. I feel sad a lot. And I sometimes wonder why life is so hard. 
1-2 – I can’t handle my emotions going up and down all the time – actually I wish they would go up so I can feel good and confident and excited about life! I have been on anti-depressants for a really long time, I don’t trust myself off them. I have a lot of anxiety and have a psych that I see a lot – this is my saving grace. 

 

It’s true, you may feel overwhelmed by the strength of your emotions at times, but the fact is this society we live in is trying to make you fit a mold of being “even and level”…however a vibrant woman is like a flowing river. Sometimes meandering, sometimes rushing, sometimes there are rapids, and sometimes quiet pools of reflection. Learning to listen to your energy body – both physical and emotional – will help you to break the cycle of the ups and down, and give you a way forward when you are feeling hopeless. 

Learning to listen to and respond to your Physical & Emotional Body

Are you getting a sore neck and shoulders more often than not? Do you have questionable tummy issues? Do you get tension headaches and feel stressed and on edge a lot? Heart Palpitations that are not a “heart problem”?

These are all signs of emotional imbalance…and if left unchecked, will only get worse.

Emotional Wellness & Intelligence means you are aware of your emotions, know what they mean, know what physical symptoms are related to, know why they are there, and how to use them – and you NEVER try to squash them down.
Instead, you tame them and make them work for you.

Your body is a biofeedback system that tells you when something isn’t quite right – so physical symptoms are the window to your emotional body. Learning how to use your physical sensations to gauge your emotional health and achieve mastery over them is a practice, and is an unfolding. It doesn’t happen overnight, and usually it comes after a period of feeling flat, uninspired and lacking zest for life.
When you are in this season it can feel frightening and like you will never return to a life of balance and pleasure and excitement…but be assured, you are standing at the precipice of blossoming, if only you will have the courage to keep moving through…..

Emotions can be affected by:

* food (some foods really affect you in the brain first, and the body later – so you may not even realise what you are eating is directly responsible for your mood.)
* dehydration (most people are chronically dehydrated, increasing your water intake to 2L-3L per day will have an immediate impact – try it!) 
* lack of exercise / or too much (hard core exercise in a stressed-out person is counter productive, and can make your stress levels much worse. If you are a couch potato, then you already know this is no good. Get up. Gently walk around the block…and listen to Tony Robbins – you need to move your ass!)
* hormonal imbalance (which can be thrown out by stress, its a vicious cycle, so get your food and water and exercise on track and watch your cycles…if you aren’t regular with a 4-5 day bleed each month, then see a naturopath, or try doTERRA’s Phytoestrogen supplement. It is a god-send for me.)
* too much stress (and not enough tools to help eradicate it.) Self-help is everywhere. Try a yoga class (yin, not Vinyasa/Power) attend a meditation class, use calming essential oils like doTERRA’s Lavender Peace/Serenity or Peace blends.)
* your environment (empaths know what this means!) The people around you can greatly impact your emotions. Spend time with people who make you feel happy and balanced. Stay away from the drainers, and the ones who are bitchy or who bitch about other people to you.
* physical connection (sensual / non sexual touch works wonders for mood.) Holding hands, cuddling with partner or kids, or having a cuddle with your dog/cat is a great way to increase feel good hormones in your brain/body.Ask your partner for a sensual breast massage using doTERRA’s Whisper blend. And tell him “no sex, just touching” – he will be beside himself! 
* chemicals (drugs, perfumes, skin care, cleaning products). Ever had a cleaning headache from the bathroom cleaners you use? Have you noticed it can instantly it affect your mood, giving you a crappy headache and making you sleepy. The same is true for many perfumes – these are a chemical cocktail of toxins that are just waiting to get into your airways and flood your body thru the blood. They have a HUGE impact on the body. Steer clear and using a Pure-Fume like doTerra’s Whisper blend, or Patchouli or Wild Orange.
* Music (radio, news, podcasts, training vids on You Tube) Listening to people whinging about love-lost is not going to inspire a happy mood. So crank up Bon Jovi and rock that mood out. Or maybe Beyonce is more your thing. And get rid of those talk-back radio stations that are filthy or low-brow and encourage stupidity! Also cut back on the violent and salacious tv shows you insist on binge watching. The same goes for reality “fight-fest” tv. What you watch and listen to will affect your mood, and affect your energy field, and you may not even notice it until it is too late.
* memory – I dare you to open a photo album and walk down memory lane and look at your history. See where you came from, re-live the good times. Do this with your kids. Or play the game “remember when ….?” Kids love to be reminded about fun times together, so do this often. 

The key is to listen with attention to your body and to learn how to nourish and care for her.

Emotions as Guideposts:

Knowing how to use your emotions as guideposts is the sign you are turning into your Wise Woman. She is that part of you that is patient, kind, loving and caring to Self. She isn’t afraid to feel, or express, but she knows why she feels the way she does, and can manage her moods and her ups and down with grace and care. 

Allowing the Wise Woman to come forth:

How long has it been since you sat in stillness and listened to your inner wisdom? Your Wise Woman is that part of yourself. She is gentle, so her wisdom isn’t like a punch in the gut – it is that instinctive “knowing”. Like when you have a newborn bub and she is crying her heart out, and you just know how to soothe her and what she likes.
Or when you have a major life decision to make, and your head wants to keep telling you which way to go, but your “gut” says something else….and you go with the head, knowing full well you should have gone with your gut. That is her. She is your Wise Woman.

The best way to re-introduce yourself to her is to begin a daily ritual of saying “thank you for being here” and acknowledging her in your life. When you ignore your gut instinct, you are essentially ignoring a part of yourself.

Take notice of when you suddenly get a sore tummy out of no-where – what is it trying to tell you?
Notice when you finish a massive day at work and your body is aching everywhere – what is it trying to tell you?
Notice when you feel frustration rising up inside of you – what is it trying to tell you?
Notice when you totally lose your shit at the kids/dog/partner – what is it trying to tell you?

You already know the answer, but you still don’t do anything to change your circumstance. The Wise Woman starts to arise when you begin to “know” and she is in full force when you start to make changes due to the knowing.

Your emotional guidance system was created FOR YOU, not to be AGAINST YOU. So allow the feelings and sensations to rise up – take notice, and ask the question “what do I need?”
And let your Wise Woman guide you. 

 

 

Mindset- everything you need to know to get out of crisis

Mindset is the starting point of making any kind of life changes.

In this blog Belle shares her 5 tips for finding a balanced and focused mindset to help up-level your life, and make it one that is extraordinary. You’ll be surprised to learn it isn’t complicated or fancy – just consistent. 

 

Mindset is everything – you can push yourself for a time, but consistent, focused moving towards your goals comes from a very different place than sheer will. A shift in Mindset needs to come from first making a decision that things need to change – an actual conscious decision to live life a certain way – otherwise everything will be haphazard and not have a purpose or meaning attached to it.

You wouldn’t start a business and drop $1M into it without having a plan for the business – right? So why do we tend to approach life with no plan attached?

Call it a goal? A dream? A vision? Call it whatever you want, but if you want to start living life on your terms and begin living the life You want, then you need to have the right mindset to get you there.

Now you could be the kind of woman who loves affirmations. That’s a positive mindset.

Or you could be the kind of woman who likes a set order and structure to follow. That’s an organised mindset.

You might like to just do what feel right in the moment. Honey, that aint no mindset, that’s a habit of laziness.
Let me explain.

Most people say they want their life to be a certain way. They allow themselves to dream big, they get into the good feeling space, and they ride the good feeling wave of imagining themselves having the things they dream about. But if there are no choices, no decisions, no structure and plan in place about how to get there – then there will probably be nothing coming to fruition, unless you are holding on to luck and crossing fingers and toes.

So how do you come to that place when you are so focused, so determined and so committed to making things happen in your life?

The Answer? When the pain of living “this” way get sooooo incredibly unbearable that you simply MUST take yourself in the direction of your dreams.

Most women I work with  only make the moves when they are in crisis. Including me. My past is full of moments like this. I remember a time in my life when I was literally sensitive to every food you can think of. My body was in total crisis, every food – wheat, dairy, soy, salicilates (that’s a ahcemical in EVERY single fruit and vegetable) – I would react to with hives, asthma, body pain, weakness and severe anxiety. Life was a nightmare, cos I had no idea it was the food I was eating making my life so incredibly hard. A friend said to me “what will it take before you stop eating chocolate if you know it makes you bloated and gives you tummy pain when you eat it?” I responded “It would have to give me diarrhoea before I stopped.”
Guess what happened soon after?

Yup. You guessed it. And it was intense. I had to stop taking the train cos I couldn’t last between stations and I have an aversion to public toilets! (ultimate pain right there!)

My life had to get me to a point of incredible pain discomfort before I would make a healthy – wise – choice for my body. (Don’t get me started on how unhealthy my thinking, my abuse of my own body and my blatant disrespect for myself was – I was 29yrs old at the time, and I really needed a mentor to support me but they really didn’t exist back then.)

 

So why not make a decision to re-focus your mindset on the things you really want in life, before it is either too late, or the pain becomes unbearable?

 

Life is whatever you focus on, and if you are focused on set backs, disappointments and regreat, then that’s probably what is in store for you in the future.

Are you ready to change it NOW?

 

Let’s do it…here is my 5 step guide to getting focused on what you want NOW:

1. Focus on changing your physical state. The way you sit / stand when you are sad, ashamed, depressed, anxious is VERY different to how you sit/stand when you are feeling unstoppable.
So whatever you are doing right now….STAND UP….shake your body out ….feet hip distance apart, feet turned out 45 degrees ….put your hands on your hips..…tits out / shoulders back …chin up…..squeeze your butt muscles and breathe deeply 10 times.
Research has shown that 2mins in the “Wonder Woman Power stance” will increase strong feel good chemicals in your brain which will flow to your whole body. You will then feel clearer and more decisive. This is what you want if you are going to change your life!
Do this every morning for a week….and see how you feel.

  1. Focus on the food you eat….and stop those sugary, processed, fat laden foods entering your body. Just for 5 days. And see how you feel. Don’t give up everything you love. But if it is full of sugar, fake as hell, comes with a label where you cant pronounce any ingredient, just avoid it for 5 days. That’s all. Then see how you feel.
  2. Increase water. No, I didn’t say tea/coffee / soft drink…I said water. Plain ol’ water. Aim for a glass every hour while you are awake. Yep, you’ll probably be friends with the God of the Toilet while your bladder gets used to it, but who cares? You are increasing your hydration! No brain ever worked optimally when it was thirsty and weak. Water will help you think more clearly and with more focus.

Do this for a week and see how you feel.

  1. Get in some movement every day. Not 30mins flat out exercise. Not cross-fit. Not a gym session where you almost vomit. Just move. Take the stairs when you’d normally take a lift. Park further away from the station and walk. Take the dog for an extra walk each day. If you are completely sedentary: Do 10 x squats, push ups, ab crunches and tricep dips every 2hrs. If you have a chronic illness just circle your joints, breathe deeply and get your body moving again.

Do this for a week and see how you feel.

  1. meditate. Sit there. Suck it up. Get comfortable with your discomfort. Meditation is not hard, it just feels excruciating at first. Search on YouTube for a meditation that you like the sound of (for improving your golf game, for anxiety, for stress, for sleep – you name it, and its there.)

Or use this one: https://vimeo.com/237005316 password: Meditation

 

If you want an extraordinary life, then you need to take extraordinary action. This is your starting point, and you are the only person who can do it!

Comment how this felt for you, and what you noticed was different in your life.

Re-Ignite Your Passion

What is the #1 thing that makes a woman’s vitality fade?

Answer: Not living and enjoying her passion!

 

When you heart is “just not in it” you will experience more aches and pains, more headaches and more colds and flu. 
This is your body’s way of trying to get your attention. When you are sick, or sore, you spend more time laying or sitting – essentially slowing down, and thinking more.We start to re-evaluate our life and we easily prioritise what is important (sleep more + eat nourishing food + ask for help +gentle movement + quiet cuddles with family). When we feel better again we get over loaded and attempt to do too much, and lose the ability to prioritise the important stuff because we feel that we have to “get everything done”.

As women we have MANY different hats to wear – friend / sister / mother / employee or employer / partner / entrepreneur / supporter / counsellor / volunteer / carer….I could go on. 
Issues start to arise for us when we lose time for ourselves and we start to put everyone and everything else first…..and leave yourself very last. 

When you find your passion – in family or career or hobby or recreation or sport – you will begin to come alive. It is a gentle fire that burns brightly within, lighting you up and fueling your energy. Suddenly you can work (or play) all night, and the more you pour into your passion, the more invigorated you feel! However distractions and responsibilities and external demands can start to weigh you down, and sometimes get the better of you – despite having found your passion.

Personally I have felt my vitality fade – even while I am working in my passion business (ie: the clinic!) It was always an ebb and flow, but I identify losing my vitality when having very young kids, struggling with financial issues from divorce, relationship problems and being a single mum (although the first year was amazing as I re-found Me again!) and learning how to navigate my world as a single woman. Even though I was working in my passion, I still had “life” to deal with. 

So how do you navigate those seasons when life feel a bit “blah” or as I like to say “too vanilla”?

SELF CARE – and knowing how to self soothe is a skill, it takes courage, and commitment. It takes humility and grace. 

I believe this is where self care is of utmost importance. Learning how to take some necessary time out just for YOU, will help to revitalise you from the inside out. Things like gentle yoga, meditation, inspiring workshops, craft classes, enjoying gourmet food, a gorgeous bottle of red, girl-time with friends, alone time with a journal and a bar of Lindt chocolate, a reiki massage or reflexology session. Self healing with EFT and energy balancing – these are all the things I did to help bring me back to my centre, and help me to find the inner fire within again. 

What do you choose to help you find your centre again? What are your special go-to’s that make you feel better?

 The following exercise will help to put things in perspective for you. Put your favourite essential oil on, play some soothing music, take a few deep breaths and then take a moment to write down the answers to these questions:

  1. If money wasn’t an issue, what would you do for your career?
  2. If you had unlimited income, and lots of free time what would your hobbies / recreations / sports be?
  3. If you didn’t have housework to do, how would you spend your free time?
  4. If it was your last week on earth, how would you spend your time?
  5. If you were ordering your last meal, what would it be?
  6. If you could spend time with anyone on this earth, who would it be? Why?

    Your immediate answers to these questions (don’t think too hard), will help you to see more clearly where you are excited and where you need to put more focus in life. If you wrote “jump out of a plane” …but your finances don’t allow this, then what you are really saying is “I want to have more thrills in my life!” So begin to add more thrills in daily life…..
    If you wrote “I want to play professional sport”…but you don’t have the skill, or maybe your body won’t do it anymore, then what you are really saying is “I am passionate about this sport and it lights me up”…so maybe think about how you can bring this sport into your weekly or monthly life in a different way?
    Adulting is hard. There is need for compromise. There is need for patience. But the GOLD comes when you learn how to adapt and make the best out of every situation, in order to learn and to grow. 


I created this clinic to be a refuge for women in a busy and demanding world. Little did I know that in my own dark seasons it would be my refuge too. I want to give a very public “thank you” to my team of therapists and practitioners who helped bring me back to life after my recent struggle with glandular fever (an illness with an emotional cause of “extreme overwhelm and exhaustion, of wanting to hide and retreat”.) My “girls” were gentle with my body during massage treatments (my fav was reiki and foot treatments) and I loved having energy healing sessions with Kali Devi – which helped release the underlying issues that I had no idea were wreaking havoc.

My personal yoga practice of vinyasa yoga came to a stand still, but I was able to employ some yogic principles of very relaxing yoga poses such as Waterfall pose (legs up the wall) – propped up with pillows, and listening to healing meditations from Inna Segal on my iphone.

Most importantly I used my doTERRA essential oils to help gently bring life back to my body. I used Oregano, Frankincense, On Guard daily in veggie capsules (to fight the virus in my body), plus Basil and Vetiver on my feet for adrenal support. I took a tablespoon of coconut oil daily to soothe (or attempt to soothe) my very sore throat. I used peppermint oil to help with my fevers. Lavender and Bergamot in epsom salt baths to soothe my intense body pains. And wild orange to uplift my mind, in my diffuser for days when I just couldn’t get off the couch or bed. My oils gently work on a physical and energetic level, giving me the space I needed to fully heal – not just a bandaid approach, but a truly deep and long lasting healing.

If you feel like you need some help with finding your vitality again – igniting your passion – then book in with Me (Belle) for a Clarity Session – these are FREE 20min phone calls to help you get a deeper understanding of what is dulling your inner fire, and how you can make changes to improve your life!

Feeling Stuck? Practice Thankfulness & Gratitude daily

 

Who is feeling stuck??? You know the feeling…it is icky, you feel strangled somehow, like you are in a straight jacket and cant wiggle free.
Feeling stuck is the SIGN you were waiting for!!!
Feeling stuck means that it is becoming too uncomfortable for you to stay where you are…and that means things MUST change!

 

Only problem is, we can wriggle a little, wrestle a little, and then we have a bit more breathing room, and then we think “oh, this is all too hard, i think i will just be happy with what i have got” (or similar).
Problem is, we will run out of room again, and again, and again….until the pain of this cycle becomes too much!

I have totally been there! MANY TIMES. It is the sure sign that things can move in the direction of your dreams…if only you will have the courage to keep going.

So HOW DO YOU MOVE THRU YOUR FEELING OF BEING STUCK?

You start writing in a journal….asking these questions daily:

“what do i need to feel fulfilled?”
“what does being fulfilled FEEL like?”
“what is my biggest, most daring, most audacious desire?”
“what would it FEEL like to achieve this?”
“what would my life LOOK and FEEL like if I achieved this?”
“how can i live my BEST life?”
“how can i GIVE BACK?”
“what kind of money do i need to be making each month in order to fulfill my dreams of blessing others and giving back?”

“Universe / God / Divine – please open the door to opportunity and help me to see opportunities as they come to me. Allow my eyes to be opened to joy, to help me be thankful for all that I have, and to have a heart that is wide open to receive all the love possible in this world.”

Practice writing down 3 things you are thankful for in your life every day! Make them small things, make them BIG things….just do this – EVERY DAY for at least a week, and see how your attitude changes.

BE PREPARED for people or situations to try to drag you down! It is a TRAP, and it a privilege to experience the trap because it means that we get to PRACTICE looking for the positive, or things to be thankful for. Only when you can start to see the positive in everything…most things…(looking for the SILVER lining) can you be assured that your mindset is shifting.

Life can be hard for people when we are trained to look for the crappiness,. It is like we are hard wired, from our parents, grandparents, extended family, teachers and social circle, to expect hardship. So often entrepreneurs are faced with negativity from those closest to them (hint: they aren’t entrepreneurs, and they think differently to you!) and it can drag you down. Be sure to practice your thankfulness and positive mindset daily, to ensure that you can be the shining light in this dark and moody world!

Manage your stuck-ness, BREAK THRU and be a light to others! Don’t expect others to follow you, or copy your mindset at first. Just be thankful they are noticing and realising their own “stuckness” too. You will realise when this happens cos people will say “gee you’re always so positive!” (with a tone that infers they think you are weird!)
BE POSITIVE ANYWAY!

If you REALLY want your life to change and look and feel better, you have to make a daily commitment to practice new skills of THANKFULNESS, REFLECTION, and ASKING in order to get there.