Can You Turn Down the Noise?

I received some words of wisdom from Dr Wayne Dyer on Facebook. He has been an inspiration for me for many years now. I have been getting messages lately from different sources to find silence and I have noticed my meditation has been more difficult in the last 2 months. I have been more focused on task and functioning in my left brain. The racket in my mind is back, although not as chaotic as it used to be, it is there. As I find stillness, I close my eyes and look over to the right side of my brain to awaken my ability to be still, be present, be creative, just BE!

Here are some words of inspiration and wisdom from Wayne Dyer.
Click here to read.

New Study - Reduce Stress, Increase Fertility

This is exciting! I wanted to share this with you. I found a new study showing the link between stress reduction and increased fertility.

"The study, funded by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc., and conducted in conjunction with The Domar Center at Boston IVF revealed a pregnancy rate of 52 percent among women who participated in a stress management program as compared to a 20 percent pregnancy rate for women who were not exposed to the stress management program. The program was designed to educate women on the utilization of cognitive, relaxation and lifestyle techniques to manage stress.

Stress management had an even greater impact on pregnancy rates for women who showed higher baselines symptoms of depression. Pregnancy rates jumped to 67 percent for women with signs of depression at the start of the study who engaged in the stress management program versus no pregnancies for those that did not."

Click here to read the study.

My take home message is that stress can affect your ability to conceive but you have the ability to do something about it. Fertility Yoga classes and my Couples Yoga Mind Body Program can help reduce anxiety by teaching you effective stress reduction tools & techniques. Not only will these tools help improve your chances of conceiving they will help transform your experience of your fertility journey and have a positive impact in all areas of your life.

Imagine if your life was no longer "on hold"! Imagine living your life fully! Imagine feeling happiness and joy again! You CAN continue to live your life without feeling overwhelmed and consumed by your fertility challenges. I know because I am doing it and I have seen it over and over again with my clients in the last 5 years.

What are you waiting for? Let me help you get started today! It is time to live! Life is occurring NOW!

Are you breathing?

I have a sense of uneasiness deep within. I am on the verge of breaking through a major self imposed barrier. I keep finding myself breathing very shallow and often holding my breath for moments of time. There is part of me that is ready to let go and there is another part of me that is so afraid.

Anytime you have a negative sensation in your physical body it is an indication that you are having a negative thought or emotion. Remember 95% of our thoughts each day are subconscious/habitual thoughts that we don't hear in our physical ears. It is a tape playing in the background and over time we have tuned it out. What you need to know is that most of our decisions are made from our subconscious mind.

Here is the path:
1) you have a thought about something or someone (conscious or subconscious)
2) you have an emotion that follows the thought (negative thought = negative emotion)
3) the body responds to the emotion (eg. negative emotion = tension in the shoulders or clenching teeth)

Many of us aren't aware of the first 2 steps and even more people are disconnected from their body so they don't notice the signals. The best thing you can do is BREATH! Your breath is your link to the present moment. The breath is real! It is happening in each moment and it is your link to the present moment.

According to Dr. Fritz Perls, psychiatrist and founder of Gestalt therapy, "Fear is excitement without the breath". Think about it. When you are afraid you hold your breath or turn to a shallow breath. The only difference between fear and excitement is that you are holding your breath when you are afraid. Remember fear can be disguised as worry, anxiety, confusion, frustration, anger etc. The good news is all you need to do is BREATH!

It sounds so simple but it is so effective. I have been using this for many years in my own life through meditation and yoga but only recently discovered Dr Perls wisdom and it has changed my experience of fear in the last few weeks. I can separate myself from the fear when I remember that it is only the breath that makes it different than excitement.

FEAR is not real! Many believe it stands for FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL. If fear is not real and the only difference between fear and excitement is your breath, then what will you choose to do? How about taking 10 long deep breaths and see what happens. Imagine yourself giving the fear over to the Universe for healing and breathing yourself back into a sense of calm or even excitement. Excitement for life! Excitement for all the possibilities that you can create in your life when you let go of fear!

Energy & Spirit of Fertility

I wanted to speak about an upcoming workshop with babyspirit coach Elisabeth Manning. The Energy & Spirit of Fertility will change the way you look at your fertility journey. It is inspiring and powerfully transforming. There is so much more to our lives than we realize. There are levels of awareness we haven't even began to touch.

When I was first introduced to the idea of Spirit Babies I was fascinated. I loved the idea that babies choose their parents before they arrive in their physical bodies. I felt empowered when I thought that I chose my parents. It was my choice. I was never a victim of circumstance. I choose those circumstances because it was for my highest good.

Understanding your relationship to your baby to be and finding ways to connect with them can help you shift from thoughts of "lack" or "worry" to a renewed sense of HOPE and FAITH. Learning to identifying energetic blocks can help you come into full alignment with your desire of becoming a Mother or Father. Remember the Law of Attraction, what you focus on you will attract (whether you want to or not). If you focus on lack, your energy will vibrate at a level of lack and you will attract more lack. If you focus on your desire, you can raise your energy so that it is in line with your desire and what you desire will come. It sounds simple but it works! It is more than just changing your thoughts, you need to change how you feel about your thoughts. Raising your energy to align with your thoughts and opening your heart to receive will allow all that you desire and more into your life.

Join us on Sat Oct 24th from 10-5pm and experience an incredible workshop that will change your experience of fertility! Come with an open mind and curious heart! I look forward to seeing you all there!

You can find out more information and register at www.familypassages.ca

Peaceful confusion

I have searched for more information about adoption in Africa from Canada and it turns out there is almost a "hold on visas" from the African government specifically in Ghana and Liberia. I am not questioning why or anything, just simply curious. I am not sure what path I will take or whether I will even walk down the road to adoption. I feel like I am at another fork in the road. Which path do I choose? I don't need to decide today but I do feel there is a deeper part of me that is letting go of the outcome. Another level of healing.

Every morning after I finish my yoga and meditation I go to my computer and visit www.cherlyrichardson.com and choose an online grace card for guidance. For those of you who take classes with me they are similar to the self care cards we choose after each class. This morning I asked for guidance on my vision of family and this is the card I received.

GROWTH
"When things don't go our way, something more important to the growth of our soul is in the works."

I felt at peace when I read those words. I had a deep sense that everything is ok. The Mother within me has been patient but it has been challenging to deal with the idea that I have a child somewhere in the world that I am meant to adopt. Although there was a deep calling to Africa, I need to keep an open mind and heart. If I am attached to the path I will take, then it will limit my ability to follow my guidance. To listen deeply to that loving voice (love) so that I can find peace on my path no matter where my path takes me. Another level of surrender and acceptance. "I am where I am and it's ok" "I don't know if I will take the path of adoption and it's ok".

In my Fertility Yoga Instructor Training course in Kelowna one of the participants mentioned that I had created such an incredible family. A family of women, couples, instructors, colleagues, friends, spirit babies, soul sisters...a family that extends so much further than our limited idea of family. A family that extends beyond this physical world. As I embrace the family I have created it warms my heart and I am deeply grateful!

I don't know where my path will take me, and it's ok. I am at peace and I feel whole and complete. Nothing outside of myself will create this feeling I found. It is a place I have found within ME and I am the only one that can hold ME in that space.

Affirmation today: "I choose PEACE because I AM PEACE!"

Namaste,
Sue

I am confused

It has been at least 5 months since I went online to look up the adoption for Ghana. I have been focusing my energy on changing our financial situation so we can begin the adoption process. Well my heart sunk when I went to Imagine Adoption's website to find out they declared bankruptcy.

I am confused! I am sad! My EGO (FEAR) mind could have a hay day with this information. I have a choice to do something to break the cycle of EGO FEAR based thoughts. I will write a letter to the Universe for guidance.

Dear Universe,
I don't understand! Please help me find peace because my heart is breaking. I feel there is a child calling me from Ghana, Africa and some days it is difficult to be patient. Please help me find peace! Please help me look at this situation in a different light so I can return to peace.
Thank you, Sue

Dear Sue,
Nothing is ever as it seems. When one door closes, many more open! Follow your guidance and listen for that loving voice within. It will lead you on your path and we will surround you with love and support along the way.
Love, The Universe

Dear Universe,
Thank you for your guidance. I feel better. I will continue to choose LOVE! I know in my heart everything is ok so I choose to stay with that feeling. Goodnight!

I can't find my uterus!

About 3 weeks ago I felt my right hip start to get tight and sore. For me that is usually an indication that my uterus has shifted to the left. Normally the uterus would spoon the bladder in the middle. When my uterus shifts to the left it creates a fascial pull (fascia is connective tissue - kind of like skin around the muscles and organs) that causes a chain reaction in my right hip which leads to pain and discomfort. When I went to palpate for the base of my uterus on the left I couldn't find it. It was no where to be found. At first I was confused until I realized it had actually fallen or flipped back toward my spine.

I tried hanging upside down on my yoga wall, self belly massage and different yoga poses. Nothing was working and my body was getting more and more uncomfortable. I started to feel pain in the front of my neck muscles, compression of my wrist and ankles. It was like everything was being squished causing compression and pain in all my joints.

I finally decided to book a massage appointment. I was so grateful to hear that my massage therapist just completed a visceral course. He learned how to move the organs and release fascial tension in the abdomen. Immediately after he moved my uterus back to the center I felt relief in my entire body. It was like I could breath again. I walked out feeling like myself again without any pain or discomfort.

I am sharing this to help you understand that there is so much more to our bodies than we realize. I am very body aware. I can sense when things aren't quite right but I wasn't always that way. I have learned so much through my yoga practice and mindfulness meditations that I hear, sense, feel and know things about my body that I never would have noticed before.

Our bodies are constantly talking to us and if we stop and listen it can direct us on how to heal. Whether we do something ourselves or seek the help of another it is more about listening to our body's need versus desperately looking for help. When we act out of desperation we tend to find temporary relief almost like putting bandage on our wounds when what we really need is a splint.

I encourage you find stillness and look within. What is your pain really telling you? Close your eyes and bring your awareness to your breath. Gentle scan your body for areas of discomfort. Be curious and resist the tendency to judge. Be willing to look at the layers of discomfort. Follow your inner guidance for your path to heal. Our body is constantly moving toward balance and health and if you listen deeply to your body you will get there sooner.