Emerge Movement

Let’s start this week honoring the roadmap of our bodies. Knowing that our life stories are encoded here, so honoring all that our bodies do for us, the ways it shows up for us, and that we show up for it is an essential practice. We have survived 100% of our difficult and challenging moments because our bodies got through it. That is a pretty phenomenal thing and worth celebrating. So let’s amplify our body love this evening on the dance floor! All are welcome. 530 pm

So I got my first tattoo (pictured here) a couple of months ago in Costa Rica where I volunteer as a Wellness Guide for (outdoor adventure camps for young adult cancer survivors). This morning as I got out of the shower and gazed in the mirror, I thought about how beautiful my tattoo looked on my breast. This struck me because the place where I got the tattoo used to be a place that I often felt disconnected from on my body post mastectomy. I thought about what a cool thing that I reclaimed this by putting art on my body in this sacred way. Then I thought about how far I’ve come and my mind drifted to getting this tattoo this past November and I remembered that my reconstructive surgery was also in November (8 years ago). I looked in my calendar to remember the date that I got the tattoo and noted that it was November 10. All day I had this curiosity and tiny inkling and wondered what the actual date of my reconstructive surgery was so on my lunch break, I called my surgeon’s office and asked them to look it up. Sure enough, the receptionist replied, “November 10, 2015.” My mouth dropped to the floor and I got the coolest feeling of reassurance and awe at the mystery of it all. Why, I chose (pretty much in the moment) on that exact date eight years later, to adorn my body after it had been rearranged and reconstructed eight years earlier was a real lesson in self trust and deep listening. It felt like a beautiful full circle moment and a reminder that healing is circular and that our growth is often born from our darkest moments. We don’t know where our stories will lead us, but I firmly believe that when we listen deeply and connect the dots and go with the next right thing, the clarity gets illuminated and the path unfolds as it needs to. Oh and that other pic is the evening before my surgery 8 years ago. So here’s to the great mystery and deep knowing all wrapped in one!

My heart bursts when I look at this group of phenomenal women. My biggest joy in the Emerge Retreat is witnessing each woman become more of herself – reconnecting to her core self, quieting those external voices, and trusting her relationship with her body’s wisdom. My intention at each Emerge Retreat is to create space for us to witness each other… to have our experience be witnessed without judgement and held with love and care. This is the very essence of healing. I am so grateful to each of these women for their courage, wisdom, badassery, joy, and playfulness. We are true magic makers!!

Came across this old pic that I love…I love it because it reminds me to surrender, to listen, to feel the earth and ground beneath me. To lay down old s**t. To free myself of worry and trust the process. It won’t last. Nothing does. But when we know how to return, how to come back to center, to our bodies, to the moment…we can reset, pause, take that simple breath and find our free again. If you are feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, confused….touch the earth, lie down and surrender. Know it will pass. Free yourself in this moment. Breathe.

So here I am at milepost marker three - the half way marker of my 6 mile run in Forest Park today! The second shot is of me in child’s pose at my lakeside yoga spot on vacation last week. Since hurting my knee on the mountain in March (OK way cooler to say “on the mountain” but full disclosure I did the middle splits getting off the chair lift and hey, that’s life right), I have not been able to do either of these things….and I didn’t really know if I would get them back. But I worked hard and persevered, and while they may seem simple, for me, they are big victories, and deserve to be celebrated. And as I listened to on “everything is an offering. Everything is a teacher. If you let it be. If you keep your antennas up“, I wholeheartedly agree. If you are in the beginning stages of healing, or in a stagnant stage, or in a stage that feels arduous, know that the light is coming. Know that we don’t ever stay in one place forever. My heart was for sure beaming brighter on my forest run today because of my temporary loss of it. And my (almost) child’s pose was extra exciting because of how hard I have worked to get it back. Celebrating our victories big and small is a really important part of healing. So acknowledge the small things that are working. They will lead to bigger ones.