Breathe...
Monday Mettā
A new + beautiful way to experience Mondays.
My breath supports me. I am supported by love.
Sit or lie down with a tall spine and relax the belly and the shoulders. Move the chin towards you, just a little. Breathe in and out through the nose.
Conscious breathing. More on that below, but worth starting here. Breathe in and out, low and slow, and repeat.
My breath supports me. I am supported by love.
✨
So glad you’re here.
Intuitive Tarot Card Reading
Use your intuition to guide you to a specific card below. Choose the card with the crystal on it that calls to you. At the end of this newsletter, you’ll see the cards flipped over, with a reading for each one. The card that you choose here will have your reading for the week.
Card 1: Chrysoprase Choose this card if you’re looking to heal your heart.
Card 2: Jade Choose this card if you’re starting something new.
Card 3: Green Tourmaline Choose this card if work drama is getting to you.
Wait to scroll down to the bottom of the newsletter until you’ve chosen your card!
Yoga Classes:
I am on a retreat :) No online yoga this week or next!
Do you very specifically live in Door County, WI? If so, come to my Yoga and Meditative Journaling class on Saturday at 10:00am!
Four Ways to Conscious Breathing:
Breathing. We do it all day, every day, and usually without thinking. Because we don’t have to think, really. Our bodies are designed to breathe for us, without us even noticing. But consciously breathing helps to de-stress the nervous system, which I know we could all use a little of.
You can do these breathing techniques when you’re still waking up from sleep, or before you eat, or when you have a free 5 minutes at work. Each technique is different but they all basically do the same thing: allow you to be present, to pay attention to your breath, which in turn allows you to breathe lower, slower, and longer, which then calms down the parasympathetic nervous system, that thing that is always heightened because you’re mindlessly running from this meeting to the other, from this text message to Twitter, from this thought to the next.
As with any new habit, it takes time to feel like you’re doing it right. But trust me, if you’re consciously breathing at all, you’re doing it right.
360 Breathing
Sit tall, lie down, or come to all fours. Begin to inhale deeply through the nose (this doesn’t mean gasping, it means low and slow into the belly). Imagine you have a flotation device that wraps around your low belly, side ribs, and low back, just above the hips. With each inhale, blow up that device, feeling your breath wrap around you (360 degrees).
Start by doing 5 breaths. As you progress (after a few weeks), move up to 10. That’s all you need.
PS- this one is great as an inner core workout. Really- conscious breathing strengthens your muscles!
Box Breathing
Four, four, four, four. Or, two, two, two, two. Or, any low number, really.
Sit up tall or lie down. Inhale through the nose and count to four (or two). Hold your breath for four (or two). Exhale for four (or two). Hold your breath for four (or two). The idea here is that you are inhaling, holding, exhaling, holding for the exact same amount of time.
This breathing technique is practiced by Navy SEALS during their training. It immediately calms the nervous system down, but only if you’re OK with holding your breath. If you have trauma around breath holding, for whatever reason, this might not be the exercise for you, although you can certainly work up to it if you feel safe!
Start with shorter breaths and breath retentions, and graduate to a four or even a six count. This is a good one to do right before bed.
Nadi Shodhana
I’ve already written about alternate nostril breathing, so check it out here.
It’s great for balancing your yin and yang, for digestion, and for a nervous system reboot.
Circle Breathing
Or, resonant (coherent) breathing.
This is the one widely used by meditation apps and you’ll be familiar with it if you have the Apple Watch.
Sit up tall, or lie down, spine long, belly and shoulders relaxed. Exhale to begin.
Inhale through the nose for 5.5 seconds, expanding the belly and the lungs, breathing low.
Without pausing, exhale for 5.5 seconds, emptying the belly and the lungs.
Without pausing, inhale and repeat.
This is continuous and should feel like you’re breathing a circle in and out.
Repeat at least 10 times.
paraphrased from so many sources, but to name a few:
Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health // Pranayama in Yoga
James Nestor, Breath
*as always, consult your physician before beginning an exercise or breathing routine.
New Moon - January 21
The New Moon this month falls on the Lunar New Year, as it is designed to do. The Lunar New Year always begins on the second new moon after the Winter Solstice.
Many countries and cultures throughout the globe celebrate the Lunar New Year. According to the Chinese Zodiac, this year is the year of the Rabbit, an animal of many talents and affections. They are also thought of as the peacemakers of the Zodiac.
As you celebrate the New Moon and/or the Lunar New Year, light a candle with the intention of the Rabbit: the intention of showing your true self through your talents, gifts, and skills. Broker peace when necessary, and practice mettā by giving yourself, and others, all the affection you’d like.
With Gratitude,
There are three beautiful ways you can support my work writing and teaching!
Make a micro-donation, either through Buy Me a Coffee (or in my case, a love note), or after you’ve listened to one of my meditations on Insight Timer.
Book a personalized yoga class or contact me for a Tarot or Akashic Records reading.
Forward this newsletter on to anyone who might want a little love! Ask them to subscribe! Tell them you love them!
Thank you thank you!
Much love and gratitude,
Rachel xo
PS- I love hearing about the cards you pick and your related experiences. Please email me or comment below to share what came up from your card reading this week🔮
Your Tarot Reading, Revealed!
Card 1: Chrysoprase // Eight of Pentacles
Love cycles in and out just like the cycles of the moon. Our hearts often take those cycles very seriously, feeling all kinds of pain when love seems lost and feeling unbounded joy when love is abundant. These cycles will never stop (the 8 represents an infinity loop), but reflecting on them and acknowledging that they exist may help us to feel less hurt. What may feel, today, like heartbreak, will eventually feel like contentment, which will someday feel like attraction, which will go back to feeling like contentment again.
Card 2: Jade // Three of Cups
Gather your people and celebrate what it took to get you here! The Three of Cups is a celebratory card, and while it may feel like the beginning of something is not cause for celebration, it sure is! When new ideas or journeys aren’t celebrated, they begin to feel unworthy, small, or undeserving. I brag about my accomplishments large and small, and that includes something like “I wrote my first graduate school paper today!” (Don’t worry, I’ll also celebrate when I get the grade back.) The other bit of advice this card has for you is to share your new adventure with others, whether you ask for help in your business, text a friend your good news, or partner with someone on your something new.
Card 3: Green Tourmaline // The World
Nothing like The World card to remind you that your whole life is so much more than your “work life.” Take a step (or many steps) back and look at your world holistically and take stock in what’s going right. You may also get the sense, or feeling, that your work drama doesn’t matter as much as you thought it did, or that you can compartmentalize it so that it doesn’t leak into the rest of your hours. I often remind myself that a lot of what I worry about doesn’t… really… matter. My brain just wants it to to matter, so, so badly. If that resonates, just a reminder might help bring you back to your holistic self.
✨I use House of Intuition’s Crystal Encyclopedia and Judy Hall’s Crystal Bible to interpret the crystal meanings. Intuitive tarot inspired by Sarah Greenman, who was in turn inspired by Chris Corsini, because inspiration is contagious✨