A Letter From The Heart favorite_border
Hello, my dear!
I am so excited to sit here writing these words. This letter that you are reading right now is the first of many to follow - a note from me to you arriving straight to your inbox every month. Autumn is here and as I watch the forest burst with color on my daily walks I just can’t help myself...I get absolutely weepy with gratitude! What a blessing it is to experience the seasons, and to have nature in such abundance right outside my doorstep.
Of course, putting on sweaters and scarves as I head out the door with the dogs in the mornings feels a long ways away from what our old lives in Aruba used to be like. This past year brought so much change. We traded the Caribbean for Scandinavia, beaches for forests, palm trees for spruce and pine, and everyday sunshine for cold and changing seasons. Although the move to Sweden has had both ups and downs, every bone in my body resonates with the same truth: I am home.
October is here and I am just coming out of a week-long birthday celebration (isn’t it so lovely that my birthday and our anniversary of yogagirl.com falls in the same week?), which included our first live session together in a long time! I was a little bit nervous to be back in front of the camera, but it was just a joy to be back on the mat teaching again. I’m so excited about all the practices we have planned for the rest of the year! Every live session will include both a yoga practice and a ritual component steeped in nature. This weekend we made a fall wreath, infused with our intentions for autumn, to anchor us into our hearts every time we walk through the front door of our home. The next live will include some witchy herbal medicine making...I can’t wait!
In addition to a revived live class schedule, we have tons of new exciting things happening here on the platform, much of them the result of a company retreat together with the Yoga Girl team that we hosted here in Sweden last month. We spent a lot of time brainstorming ways to hold our community closer (ie; you!) as we navigate the ever-changing landscape of the world. We have changed so much in the past year, both as a company and as a team, and the need I feel in my heart right now to gather us all up and sit in circle just to ground for a moment is immense.
The truth is that just like you and me, as a company and a team…we’re different now. Not just from moving through a global pandemic and the absolute chaos that brought, but from the deep healing and challenges that came for all of us in the aftermath. None of us are the same versions of ourselves as we were in the beginning of 2020, so it makes sense that our company and platform is changing as well. Honestly, I have changed so much I can hardly recognize myself in last year's version of me! When I think about where I was a year ago (uprooted, in between homes, living with a near-constant anxiety about what the future would hold) I feel a tender ache in my heart. I wish I could hold that version of myself close and tell her not to worry; everything is going to be okay. But I also know I never would have arrived here without that long dark night of the soul and the uncertainty that the past years brought. Isn’t it funny how the hardest times often bring about the most beauty in the end?
This moment is a ritual. Sitting at my desk, a cup of tea by my side, dogs sleeping at my feet, typing these words…a ritual. Writing you this letter will be the ritual of my hands reaching out for yours. Here I will share what’s on my mind and heart, write about the joys and struggles I’m sitting with today, and share the self-care tips and tools for wellbeing that I’m working with this very moment. Right here below these words you will find some truly amazing gifts and they will continue each week! Free classes, astrology forecasts, self-care tips, nature rituals, journaling prompts, and as always: a call to action to make a change in the world. Consider this letter in your inbox a mini snapshot of my healing journey to intertwine with your own, if you will. Because that’s what healing is. It’s a journey, made up of many, many steps along the way. And we don’t heal alone. We heal together.
One step at a time.
x
Rachel
Join us in this week's intention setting practice.
Every week on the Yoga Girl Daily podcast, we set an intention to carry us and guide our actions as we move throughout the week. This week, we are setting the intention to say "thank you" every day. We could all use an entire week dedicated to gratitude. If you’re going through a rough patch, gratitude has the power to pull you out. And if you have it fairly easy right now, anchoring into this practice now will help you build a life raft to stay afloat when challenging times come along later on. This week, we will say thank you every single day and see how it changes our lives.
Want to listen to this week's full intention setting practice? Tune into the 5-minute Yoga Girl Daily podcast episode here.
Inquire within using this week's journaling prompt:
Tend to the Earth: Take a barefoot walk
Across cultures around the world, since the beginning of human existence, humans have been enjoying the supportive benefits of planting feet straight to the earth. It has and continues to be one of the easiest ways to come home to nature, to connect with the earth, and restore physical, mental, and energetic balance within.
Putting bare feet to the earth (grass, dirt, sand, rock) has influenced fascinating research and studies globally for centuries. For years, Chinese medicine has prescribed walking or performing activities barefoot as a way to rebalance Qi (energy contained within), Ayurvedic medicine has recommended regular grounding or connection with the earth for overall well being, Native and Indigenous cultures have celebrated the human connection to the earth for health and vitality, and in the last century, more and more studies have taken place studying the connection between the energetic charge of the earth and its relation to human health.
The earth is made up of energy, just as we humans are. In fact, all matter contains energy! Whether animate or inanimate, inside or outside, an energetic pulse moves through everything. The earth’s ground surface is negatively charged, and since humans are also negatively charged, the effects of direct physical connection to the earth without any type of barrier (aka through the bare feet) have been proven to stabilize the systems in the body through the improvement of sleep, lowered cortisol levels (aka the stress hormone), and reduced pain and inflammation. They’ve also proven to be incredibly helpful in regulating the body’s nervous system (moving it from the sympathetic “fight or flight” state to the parasympathetic “rest and restoration” one) due to the negative ions one receives from the earth.
We know and often feel in real-time how when we connect with nature it can have a healing effect on us, but the research also backs it up! Not to mention that moving about the world barefoot is also incredibly helpful for posture and foot strength, which can serve as a preventative treatment to avoid injury, falls, and more.
Incorporating some barefoot walking is a proven way to increase feelings of happiness and well being and we invite you to give it a try! If you are with your family or pets, harvesting from your garden, or just enjoying some time to yourself, find a safe and comfortable place outside where you can take your shoes and socks off. Pay attention to how you feel and set an intention to stay present and grateful for your connection to the earth. Wiggle your toes, maybe shift side to side, then start walking with your bare feet. Try to mindfully walk for at least 10 minutes, going at whatever pace feels good for you, but feel free to go for longer if you’d like to!
Afterwards, find a spot to stand comfortably and pause for a few moments. Take note of how you feel. Do you feel more connected and grounded? Do you feel refreshed and reset? Did something heavy come up that you were able to process? Try to give yourself some space and time to journal anything that comes up afterward, especially if this practice is new to you.
Tend to your heart: Navigate overwhelm and despair
Being informed with current events and taking action where we need to is important, but if we want to truly be of service to ourselves and others, it's also important we give ourselves space to process what’s happening around us. We do this so we are able to respond to situations at hand from a grounded and mindful place, rather than react from a dysregulated and fearful one.
It's easy to get caught up in everything happening around us and lose connection with what's happening within...there's no shame in that, we are human after all! But if you've been noticing yourself spiraling in despair or reacting more explosively lately, see if you can try one (or more) of these practices this week to pause, find presence, and bring yourself back into a balanced state:
- Take a social media/news break (aim for a full day, or more if you can)
- Spend some time alone and/or in silence
- Go for a walk outside
- Practice emotional release (cry, punch a mattress, shake, dance, etc.)
- Find a nice tree to rest under for a while
- Listen to soothing music (we have great playlists on Spotify!)
- Cook a grounding meal with loving intentions
- Hug someone (or your fur baby)
- Connect with your plant friends
- Brew a cup of tea and drink it with complete presence
- Share what you're feeling with a trusted loved one or therapist
__Have any other practices that help support you that you'd like to share with the community? Share below or connect with others in a safe, judgment-free online space by joining our Yoga Girl® Community group on Facebook.
Your astrology forecast for October
Every week in the Yoga Girl Weekly newsletter, you'll receive a cosmic weather report to help you navigate whatever's happening in the sky. Plus, at the beginning of each month, you'll also receive a full, detailed breakdown of all things astrology so you'll be prepared for whatever comes your way.
Here's a brief overview of what October has in store for you:
- Mercury stationed direct - there will now be more clarity and forward motion for all things communication
- Libra season - flirty, fun, cute; a time for creating balance and harmony in relationships and life
- Venus season - a time for adornment, pleasure, romance, and deeper intimacy
- Scorpio season - shadow work time to practice embracing all parts of yourself; deep transformational healing
- Scorpio eclipse - a period of radical change which can result in the uncovering of hidden truths; lean into self-care practices to stay grounded
- Mars retrograde - focus on the revision and actions needed for your passions, work-ethic, and projects.
- Halloween - the veil is thin; connect and honor your ancestors and/or guides.
A whirlwind of change
The month of October will truly be a whirlwind of change with some of the biggest astrological shifts of the year! Mercury stationed direct at the beginning of the month (phew!), we just celebrated the Full Moon in Aries, and we are now in the heart of Libra season, with the lovely planet Venus in Libra as well!
Towards the end of the month, we will continue with some interesting events as the cosmic energy shifts from flirty Libra to the season of seductive Scorpio. We’ll have the Scorpio new moon (and solar eclipse), Venus will move into Scorpio, and Mars will retrograde just before Halloween.
As we entered into Libra season with six planets in retrograde, it wasn’t the typical social butterfly energy that we’re used to. We were in reflection mode from Mercury Rx (retrograde) and the forward momentum didn’t start picking up until October 10th, when Mercury began clearing its shadow and its opposition to Neptune was complete. Now, we can move forward with our communications and projects, make informed decisions, and work on any revisions that came up during Mercury retrograde.
Create more harmony in your relationships
Now that we are out of Mercury retrograde, we are also finally free to indulge in the charms of Libra season! With Venus, the planet of love, beauty, and finances in Libra, it’s a supportive time to focus on your relationships and see where you can create more harmony. Did anything affect your relationships with others during Mercury retrograde last month? How can you use those experiences to find more balance with those close to you? Are there any changes you can implement to make your relationships stronger? Is there a boundary you need to set with someone who constantly makes you feel drained and depleted? Do you need to fully cut ties and move on from someone? This is a great time to reflect and take action in this area.
Let yourself shine
Creating more harmony within your relationships is important, of course, but don’t forget to also take this month to look at what relationships bring you joy, happiness, peace, and fulfillment. Who lifts you up? Makes you feel seen, heard, and especially loved? With the Sun and planet Venus in Libra, this is the time to focus on those relationships as they can bring out the best sides of you. Enjoy the simple pleasures in life with them, and let your social butterfly soar in ways that feel good and free. Libra is an air sign after all, and after these murky retrograde periods we all deserve to have a little FUN in our lives! Both Libra and Venus also love adornment, style, and grace, so while you’re at it, go ahead, get dressed up in your favorite outfits, and express yourself in what feels good and authentic to YOU!
Moving into Scorpio eclipse season
Later in the month, on October 23rd, the Sun will move into Scorpio and eclipse season will begin with a new moon solar eclipse in Scorpio on October 25th. Eclipses are unpredictable, chaotic, and tend to bring radical change (whether we like it or not), so the best thing to do during this time is to lean into the practices that help you feel grounded and centered - things like journaling, joyful movement, connection with nature, and meditation.
With Scorpio being the detective of the Zodiac, its investigative energy will be heightened during this eclipse. This powerful cosmic energy will empower you towards unearthing any hidden truths and embracing your shadow side. It’s the perfect opportunity to take a curious look at the parts of yourself that you’d rather keep hidden from the world, and contemplate the different ways in which you can begin to forgive, accept, and embrace them. It may be uncomfortable to take a look at what you typically keep in the dark depths of yourself, but Scorpio isn’t afraid of darkness, and this season can be a particularly potent time to go within and shine the light needed for healing to finally occur. Remember, we all have a shadow side and it’s nothing to be scared of - your hidden, shadow self is the part of you from which your power and wisdom grows from, one exposed layer at a time.
Mars retrograde and the thinning of the veil
On October 30th, Mars, the planet of action and passion, will station retrograde until January. Throughout Scorpio season, this Mars retrograde will help you deepen any transformative process. It will be a time to reflect and revise how you work, what you are passionate about, and how you take action on those passions.
On October 31st, we will celebrate the spirit world with All Hallow’s Eve, otherwise known as Halloween. The veils will be thin so it'll be a great time to connect with your guides and/or ancestors through any special ritual that resonates with you. Your ritual could be creating a special altar with photos of your passed loved ones, lighting candles or incense and asking the spirit world for protection and guidance, taking a moment of silence to truly tune into the energy around you, or anything else that helps you to honor and connect with those who have passed on to other realms.
October brings with it the winds of change, so after working with the harmonious charms of Libra season, allow yourself to shift by getting to know your shadow on a deeper level during Scorpio season and the new moon solar eclipse. Lean into that courageous and loving heart of yours as you explore the darkness, ask your guides/Spirit for clarity, honor your ancestors, stay grounded in your healing practices, and move through this month’s astrological twists and turns.
Your class of the week: Courageous Flow
Coming out of the full moon in Aries and beginning a new chapter for yourself, use this grounding practice with Rachel Brathen to connect with the courage you hold within. Tap into your fiery energy, activate your power, turn off the noise, and get into your body as you explore your fierceness and inner strength through creative transitions, flow, and empowering core work.
This class is free for everyone - even non-subscribers! Log into (or create) your YogaGirl.com account to practice this class for free all week long from the Practice page. Click here to practice now!
Community spotlight
Do you know someone from the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities or someone from any other underserved community (refugees, victims from social injustice or abuse, discrimination) that inspires you in some way and you'd like them to be recognized? Or someone with a small business that you'd like more people to know about? Or maybe someone making an impact that needs their voice heard and supported by a larger community?
In our society, amazing and inspiring people from the BIPOC and underserved communities often go unnoticed and unheard of despite their incredible stories and work. Unspoken patriarchal doctrines also try to convince us that rather than supporting one another, we need to compete...well, we'd like to change that! As part of our initiative in amplifying and uplifting the voices and experiences of these communities, every month in our Yoga Girl Weekly newsletter we will be selecting someone nominated by YOU to feature.
Each person selected to be featured will be introduced to our loving Yoga Girl® community and will have an opportunity to take up space on our platform by sharing their story, businesses, projects, and/or charitable organizations they'd wish for donations to so our community can come together with collective love and support.
Each person featured will also receive our HOME: A Self-Guided Journey course PLUS a 12-month membership scholarship - completely FREE - to practice on our YogaGirl.com platform and take time to rest, heal, and care for their body, mind, heart, and spirit.
Click here if you have someone in mind that you'd like to nominate.
Meet the team: This month Gerry shares a loving piece of advice
“A great piece of advice I once received, that I return to continuously, is the 'Brag List'. It's as simple as it sounds - write up a Brag List for anything and everything that you're really proud of in your life. It could be your achievements, or failures you overcame, it could be things you're grateful for, or anything at all that makes you reflect and smile. Take a moment and read back over everything you listed, and soak up the feelings of being proud of yourself, feeling confident in yourself and feeling a deep sense of self-love. The greatest part about this ritual - you can come back & read through the list any time you need a pick-me-up, and you can keep adding to it so that your sense of self worth, and self love continues to deepen." - Gerry
Gerry is our Content Operations Manager, and Projects & Production Manager, and while her name is short for "Geraldine", within the Yoga Girl team she's referred to as "Mama Gerry" (when we need her loving shoulder to lean on) and "Producer Gerry" (when we need her management and incredible organizational skills to keep us focused).
Gerry grew up and lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, is a certified yoga teacher and a proud dog-mom to Zoe, her 3 year old rescue pup. When she's not snuggling Zoe, she loves to dance, create amazing playlists to flow to, and tend her 21 indoor plants and garden which brings her immense joy.
As our intention this week is to "say thank you," we hope you join us in sending her some gratitude for her presence and contributions on Team Yoga Girl.
Thank you for reading our newsletter! We hope you've enjoyed these offerings and will return to them whenever you're in need of an anchor back to your heart.
We'll be back next week with more, so until then, soak up some fresh air and be sure to rest well.
With love,
Rachel and Team Yoga Girl