M

Our World Needs Your

Unique Leadership Expression Story Gifts Voice Medicine Artistry Rhythm

EMBRACE YOUR WHOLENESS
EMBODY YOUR LEADERSHIP

ASK FOR GUIDANCE FROM YOUR

 

Wise Future Self

WITH THIS GUIDED MEDITATIONYES, PLEASE

A few days ago, I (Nisha) was walking down the street in my neighborhood, zipping home from my lunch break to take a client call.  I was walking fairly quickly, closing my eyes every few steps, so I could feel the sun on my eyelids.

After one of my sweet sun-on-eyelids moments, I opened my eyes and saw Sarah!  She was having tea at a sidewalk cafe with a friend.  We beamed with excitement for the chance meeting, and hugged tightly, then I kept going on my way.

As I walked away, I reflected on the tone of the moment — me in a “rush” to see my client and prepare for the retreat I’m leading this week and Sarah right in the middle of her launch of LiveMoreWeighLess.com– yet both of us were taking time for a leisurely lunch and neither of us was weighed down with anxiety.  In fact, we were both happy, smiling…even relaxed.

There was a time when we didn’t look this way.  I remember sipping tea with Sarah years ago, high on caffeine and nerves that our next launches had to be perfect, that our websites weren’t going to be done on time, and what if we ended up missing the boat to motherhood?  To be honest, we were kind of Anxious Annie’s.

But what we learned is that being stressed and worried doesn’t help you produce better results…if anything, you actually make mistakes because you’re not paying attention.

Anxiety is a gas guzzler, not fuel for motivation. {tweet it}

Instead, through learning how to harness our powerful feminine force to be both focused and calm, we’ve learned to be so grounded in ourselves that we feel like powerful creators.  We want that for you, too… because when you’re always running, you miss the beauty all around you.

The reason why Sarah and I can cover so much ground — from body image to conscious weight loss to relationships and sex to growing a sustainable business — is that they all require the same thing: for you to be a calm and alive leader in your life.  And what creates that is a conscious awareness.

Below, we’ve put together our Top 7 Ways to Cultivate Conscious Awareness.  These aren’t fancy photoshoot photos and we’re not millionaires with rich husbands — we’ve created these lives and simply want to share our straightforward secrets.

At our October LIVE FREE Retreat in Sonoma, we’re taking a deep dive into you — the woman behind the business/baby/marriage/microphone. Because conscious awareness makes you a powerful creator, we’re creating this event with beautiful attention to detail — so it’s impossible not to be in awe of the environment around you.  Check out our secrets below, and if you’ve been on the fence about joining the LIVE FREE Retreat, just do it.  There are only 48 hours left to join (and just a handful of spots available) and we’d love to see you in our community!

Sarah & Nisha’s Top 7 Ways to Cultivate Conscious Awareness

1. Dress your body beautifully

1a
I was inspired to share this photo of Sarah, which she took in an airport bathroom. She had put on frumpy travel clothes and in a moment of clarity realized that she felt crappy because she wasn’t dressed beautifully, so she changed.  When you take a few moments to select an outfit and jewelry you feel frickin’ fantastic in…even on a Tuesday…you’re going to have a better day.  Your body is the home of your soul.  She is your temple.  Do you throw any old junk on your temple, or do you adorn her in things that represent your reverence for Her?  Even if you’re feeling far-from-loving towards your body, this is critical, because this is how you cultivate the appreciation that has you and your body feel like true life partners.  Is there something small you can do right now to tend to your temple?

2. Enjoy gorgeous food

2a
Before you sit down to eat, are you aware of how beautiful your plate looks?  In life, beauty causes us to pause in appreciation.  When no attention is put on cultivating beauty, there are fewer opportunities to slow down and enjoy.  By simply adding a sprig of herbs or some edible flowers to your plate, or carefully arranging each dish to appeal to your aesthetic sensibility, you will naturally find yourself in appreciation.  When you’re appreciating your food, you eat slower.  When you eat slower, you taste more.  When you eat slower and taste more, you derive maximum enjoyment from your food and end up eating just the right amount for your beautiful body.  Taking care of your body often has less to do with eating the perfectly-perfect thing at the perfect time, and more to do with crafting a beautiful experience and enjoying.

3. Break the weekend rules

3a
For some reason, much of the world has agreed to adopt the “work your ass off, then you can play” mentality, which means weekends are our only hope for fun and our only opportunity for release.  This is when we break loose and eat whatever we want to eat, drink whatever we want to drink, and finally enjoy life…for 48 hours.  Then, we spend the next 120 hours miserable, dreaming of that precious 48 to come ‘round again.  This sucks!  Who says we have to buy into that crazy crap?!  When you bring some of your favorite weekend activities into your weekdays (lunch with friends, dinner on the patio, cocktail hour, etc), your LIFE feels awesome — not just your weekends.  What can you do this week to infuse more weekend energy into your Monday-Friday?

4. Stop to smell the roses…then bring them to work

4a
Do you ever walk by shops that have flowers outside, or have flowers springing up along the sidewalks in your neighborhood?  How often do you stop to smell those flowers?  This simple act of slowing down for just a minute (yes, even you can spare 1 minute) is enough to hit the reset button on your mental state.  Most women get into a super masculine mode at work — we “buckle down” and “suck it up” in order to “make it happen”.  Phew.  Yes, business requires planning and plenty of action, but do you have to be a stress case while you’re doing it?  Bring some pleasure into your work space and work day, and integrate your feminine flow with your masculine focus.

5. Invest in your aliveness

5a
Most of us find it much easier to justify spending money (and time) on replacing a broken dishwasher, developing a business strategy and buying new shoes for the kids, than we do on investing in ourselves.  It’s not to say that your clean dishes, business success and kids’ footwear aren’t important — they are!  But how about you — the woman holding it all together?  How are you holding up… are you hanging on by a thread or fully-alive and thriving?  This year, Sarah invested her time and money in a gorgeous book writing retreat & a boudoir photoshoot, so she could be more deeply connected with her sexy. I fulfilled my long-time dream of traveling to Peru & also had a boudoir photoshoot — a gift to myself for my 34th bday.  These things don’t give us instant money, but they do give us instant — and lasting — satisfaction.  Invest in your aliveness.

6. Live in the most beautiful place on earth

6a
How do you feel when you walk into your home?  Do you look around and see piles of crap and a bunch of unfinished business…or do you see gorgeous flowers and a clean, inviting space that totally feels like you?  If your home is less than a sanctuary, take an hour to love it up this evening. Arrange a stack of your favorite books on your coffee table, put away stray jackets or shoes, dust the surfaces and light a candle.  Bonus points if you can add a fresh flower arrangement.  Your home is the nest for your precious body and your valuable ideas — shouldn’t it be the best nest it can be?

7. Appreciate other women

7a
You’ve probably noticed (or felt victim of) the social hierarchy amongst women.  We tend to compare ourselves to one another based on our income, weight, relationship status, education, and so on.  Every single time you appreciate the unique beauty (inside and out) of your sisters, you’re doing your part to break down that social hierarchy, to be real friends, confidants and soul sisters. Sarah and I should know — we used to be super jealous of each other, until we focused on the very real admiration we have for each other.If we could only give you one gift with these words, it would be that you meet someone who becomes as dear a friend to you as Sarah and I are to each other — someone you can collaborate with, drink great wine with, celebrate birthdays with, and hold their babies while they take a shower.

Love Always,

Nisha (& Sarah)