feminine power

075 | Owning Your Personal Power with Alexandra Roxo

 
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*Note* This episode has some explicit language so be mindful if you have little ones around!

I’ve been loving Alexandra Roxo’s raw, real & personal stories on instagram and am so excited to have her on the podcast to share with you today!

I was curious to hear about Alexandra’s journey finding the spiritual path, what tantra means to her, how she supports women through her work, what fears she’s been facing and especially her advice on being the most REAL and authentic version of YOU, despite the fear of what others may think of it.

Get ready to step into and OWN your personal power in 2019…

In this episode we discussed:

  • What Alexandra’s “wake up” moment was and how she found herself on a spiritual path

  • Alexandra’s reflections on her recent trip to India

  • The different forms of Tantra and what it was like to study with the Dalai Lama

  • The fears Alexandra has faced in the last year

  • How to navigate being your whole (sensual, flirty, fun, out-there) self - even when you know your family is reading your newsletters!

  • Friend detoxing - and how to compassionately create more space to find your soul family

  • Stepping into and owning your personal power

  • Alexandra’s upcoming book being published with Sounds True

  • Alexandra’s collaboration with Ruby Warrington, Moon Club

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Alexandra Roxo is a transformational mentor, healer, writer, and artist who is extremely passionate about empowering women.  Her writing on personal growth and female empowerment, the divine feminine resurgence, moon ritual, and modern spirituality can be read on Girl Boss.com. Teen Vogue, Mind Body Green, and Playboy. She has been featured in many publications for her deep, sensual, and raw approach to healing and transformation, and has also been named a "modern spiritual leader" by Well + Good.  

She was called to find a way to share her spiritual work with women in places in the world where there is less access to workshops and classes and retreats so together with Ruby Warrington she created the online community Moon Club, which consists of hundreds of women worldwide who attend monthly online rituals, empowerment talks, and are guided by in journey and breathwork practices.

Alexandra has been called to help women find their voices, release limiting beliefs imposed by society, and come home to their true nature for as long as she can remember.  She currently works with clients one on one and in groups, empowering and guiding them on their spiritual paths, leading events and retreats across the world, and writing daily empowering messages online. She has helped and inspired thousands of women to radically claim themselves and lead more passionate and conscious lives and it brings her great joy!

Prior to that she directed documentaries, a web show, and a feature film, wrote plays and created art along the same topics of what it means to be modern woman and what spiritual awakening feels like,  which have been viewed by millions of people and featured in international press.

Her first spiritual mentorship began when she met her first teacher at age 12 whom she studied with annually until his passing in 2015.  She began studying yoga and meditation at age 19 when she lived and studied with monastics abroad.  Through her studies at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where she earned a BFA she learned how to use theatre, embodiment work, breathwork, movement, and storytelling for healing and personal transformation. She went on to study shamanic journey practice, sacred intimacy work, Earth based spiritual practice, Reiki, and plant medicine ceremonial traditions with many teachers around the world. Her 15 years of meditation practice and moon ritual is what inspired her to create Moon Club as a place to gather for deep sharing and deep practice relating to the internal spiritual journey.

She is working on her first book with the publisher Sounds True, out in early 2020 and will be leading retreats in 2019 at 1440 Multiversity, Kripalu Center, and Maha Rose Mexico and enjoying life between NYC and LA!

 

Mary Magdalene & The Courage to Be Seen

 
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Have your palms ever broke a sweat at the thought of being the center of attention? Have you ever felt timid to share your voice? Or afraid of what would happen if you really let your true self be seen?

For much of my life I experienced intense anxiety around being seen, especially when it came to public speaking. It felt like my body would shut down in these situations, my chest would constrict and I would have trouble breathing, so as any young girl probably would, I stopped putting myself in the situations where I would have to speak or share in public.

But when I think back on this fear that I carried through high school and college, it always felt so much deeper than just the normal nerves of public speaking or being the center of attention. It was a deep visceral feeling that something terrible would happen if I really let myself step up to share in the way I was feeling called. 

For the last seven years of my life have been focused on understanding and releasing this deep rooted fear. I began with beginning to teach yoga back in 2010 and then took bigger steps by joining toastmasters to give speeches in 2014.  But even though I did well and even excelled in these areas, underneath I still felt a palpable fear of “I might just die if I do this."

Now, I want to write about this today because in the past few months I have noticed something big shifting for myself and others. I have continued to take steps to face my fear, showing up to interviews to talk about my book, teaching more yoga and leading events where I share my story, but it has been completely different. That visceral feeling of “something terrible is going to happen to me if I do this” hasn't been there.

At first I told myself, "Well it's because I've been spending years practicing this..." but to be totally honest, I think the real reason this deep rooted fear is lifting is because of Mary Magdalene.

I first began to learn about the truth of Mary’s life after meeting Kaia Ra at one of her book readings for The Sophia Code last year.

All I knew about Mary Magdalene growing up was that she was close to Jesus during his life, and that she was often portrayed by the Catholic church as a prostitute. I remember an image I saw of her when I was a child - she was depicted as dirty and haggard, kneeling next to Jesus to wash his feet.

But the truth is, Mary Magdalene was a Priestess. She had a very high role of anointing, and that image of touching Jesus’ feet was actually a moment where she was using sacred oils to anoint him in a highly revered act.

As I have dove into books and channeled teachings about Mary Magdalene, I have learned she was Jesus’ wife and she was a complete equal to him. She would teach beside Jesus during her lifetime. Her image was tainted after her death because the church took out many stories from the Bible that portrayed the divine feminine as a powerful force. For centuries, the feminine was suppressed. 

When Jesus was crucified, there was a prophecy that there would be 2000 years of darkness, and after that time, the divine feminine would rise to restore her place again alongside the divine masculine.

This is the time we are in right now. I've read about many prophecies that after 2012 it would be the beginning of a new golden age. 

Right now, a new paradigm is being midwifed by Mary Magdalene and many other ascended masters to restore the sacred feminine in our collective consciousness. And what I have been noticing in this incredible time is: it is safe for women to be powerful and share their voices.

To affirm this belief, last year our Pope declared Mary Magdalene as “the apostle of the apostles.” She has now finally been recognized by the Catholic Church as one of the highest teachers of her time, right alongside Jesus Christ. 

The energy of Mary Magdalene began coming to me more and more in conversations, books, in imagery, and in my meditations. Every time I thought of her, I felt a sense of peace and ease.

Then I attended a women’s circle to learn more about Mary Magdalene. The leader of the circle told us that Mary Magdalene carried an ancient wound during her lifetime: the fear of being stoned for being visible and sharing her voice. She said this deep rooted fear was passed down through many centuries, and that many women still feel the weight of that wound today. 

Every hair on my body raised when she said this because finally I had an answer to explain my fear - I just knew I was connected to this ancient wound. I imagined myself as a High Priestess in a past life, in the lineage of Isis and Mary Magdalene, and I just knew in my bones that I had been carrying this wound that it just was not safe to be seen.  

I then realized that in stepping up to be seen and share my voice now, I am healing the lineage of women who for centuries carried this same wound.

Mary Magdalene has been coming to many, many men and women in the dawn of this new age to help us birth this new paradigm.  She is letting us know it is safe now. The feminine is safe now. It is safe to share our voice. It is safe to be a powerful feminine leader. 

So what is being asked of us now in this time? We are being asked to restore the feminine within ourselves. To learn how to receive, to rest, and to simply be. We are learning to honor our bodies, our emotions and our sexuality as sacred. We are relearning the ways of the feminine, and by restoring these qualities within ourselves, we are doing our part on behalf of a much greater awakening.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and to reach the bottom of this email. If you are here reading this, I imagine you may have a connection to Mary Magdalene as well, whether you know it consciously or not. I want you to know that you are safe, and she is here for you, guiding us from the higher realms.

Do you feel the shifting in this time? Do you feel called to restore the balance of our culture by honoring the sacred feminine within?

I will be sharing more teachings of Mary Magdalene as part of my upcoming program, The Sovereign Circle. There are still spaces left to join, and we begin with our first live virtual circle with the next full moon on October 4th. Reply to this email if you'd like more details, and I'll send you the program guide.

With love,
Meredith

 

023 | Wellness for What Makes Us Women with Denell Nawrocki

 

When I first met Denell Nawrocki, I learned she held a vision of educating and empowering women on alternative methods of birth control, and about gynecological and women's health.

Only months later I saw a string of workshops pop up around our town that Denell put together on Cervical wellness.

I attended her workshop to hear her healing journey - how she cleared her system of HPV and cervical dysplasia, completely naturally. In the workshop she also offered tools for other women who may have received an abnormal pap test at their last women's health exam.

Millions of women in the US alone receive results of an abnormal pap test at least once in their life, yet they are given little information about what they can shift in their lives to alter future test results.

This episode is full with wisdom if you or anyone you know has received an abnormal pap test before, or if you want to learn about preventative health for women's wellness.

I think you'll also be inspired by Denell's story if you feel the call to share your own healing journey and be of service to others as Denell speaks about releasing her fears and vulnerability around using her voice to share her message.

In this episode you'll learn:

  • How our deepest callings are often what scare us most 
  • Denell's personal story of healing naturally from HPV and cervical dysplasia
  • What you can do to take your health into your own hands if you ever receive an abnormal pap test 
  • A 5-step protocol for optimal cervical wellness and health
  • Herbs and self-care routines that are beneficial for women's health
  • How to move from healing yourself to sharing your story and addressing the fears and doubts that come up along the way

Denell Nawrocki is a facilitator, shadow guide, and coach specializing in Women's health and nature connection, an ethnohistorian, and devout follower of Earth's magic and guidance. 

Earning her Masters's degree in Integrative Health Studies from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, Denell is passionate about guiding, and empowering women to nurture and honor their unique body experiences. She looks to historical records to learn how Women supported themselves and one-another in the past, and applies these methods to modern times.  

Her organization Generative Health is about becoming informed, aware, and empowered in the magic of being a Woman. Her current work focuses on holding space for women in their gynecological experiences and hosts Cervical Wellness classes and workshops. You can find her and Generative Health on facebook and instagram, on the upcoming Painless Period Summit, or on her website www.generativehealth.org.

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In this video call we will take the space to reflect on what you want to cultivate for the new year, how you want to show up to take care of yourself, your spiritual practice, and your service and contribution to the world.

Meredith will also answer any questions you have about starting or growing your business, branding, leading workshops, podcasting, finding your voice, or crafting and sharing your story.

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The winner will be announced on the podcast just after February 11! Thank you for participating, Good luck!!

 

What an Elephant Taught me About my Fear

 

In the weeks before I left for my trip to India I met a man in San Francisco named Josh. 

We immediately connected over our passion for music, tea, yoga, and astrology.  We spent long mornings chatting together in the three days I had in the city, and in the weeks that followed, we continued our conversation through letters and emails. 

I knew I could have had a promising romance in the States if I stayed, but I chose to follow my dreams, bought my ticket to India and left for Amma’s ashram in Kerala.

To my surprise, two weeks after my arrival, I found a message waiting from Josh in my inbox:

“I bought a flight to visit you!!  I’ll be arriving in just a few weeks.”

I was flattered, but also shocked — “You’re traveling halfway around the world to see me??” 

I had enjoyed our romantic emails in the weeks before I left, but I knew in my heart I was making the trip to India for myself and no one else.  I had so much to discover there and part of me knew I needed to do it on my own.

But then I thought of leaving the safety of the ashram premises (where I had been safely meditating). I hadn’t been outside of the ashram yet and I had no idea how I would feel navigating the trains and buses around the country by myself.  “Wouldn’t it be nice to have this man with you for a sense of security?”

I knew it was safer, more secure, and I was scared of the unknown. 

So I replied, “I’m excited you’re coming!”  Over the days that followed we talked about riding an elephant into the sunset together and watching the full moon rise over the beach on his birthday...

A week before Josh arrived, I felt a strong desire to go out exploring on my own.  I took a train to a nearby beach town and every step of the way surprised myself at how at home I felt making all the decisions by myself.

On the beach a huge elephant walked by on a nearby path.  I went closer to admire it when a man leading it asked, “Do you want to go for a ride on Ganesha?”

“A ride? Me, by myself? Up there?” I thought. I remembered my dreams of riding an elephant with Josh tightly holding my hand as we watched the sunset.

Then for a moment I imagined myself up there on the elephant all by myself, with the breeze on my face, looking down at the world around me. It felt liberating. 

Josh probably wouldn’t mind if I did it on my own, I thought. “Yes, please!” 

I ran closer and waited while one of the Indian men moved his hand over the side of Ganesha’s face and whispered a few words in his ear. He patted Ganesha’s front leg and the elephant bent down. The Indian man advised me to step on his hoof so he could hoist me up. 

I followed his directions and found myself belly down on top of the elephant trying to swing my leg over to the other side. The little hairs on his enormous body brushed against my face.

When I successfully swung my leg to the other side, I sat up slowly, finding my balance. The Indian men were laughing and clapping as I looked around, a little shocked by the new perspective.

The ground was a good ten feet away. I ran my hands over his grey, wrinkly skin. As I found my composure, the shakiness I felt at first began to dissipate.

I sat with poise and confidence like an Indian queen greeting the villagers of her kingdom. 

Then I thought, "I don’t actually need Josh to be here with me to feel safe." I realized a big part of the reason I had initially been so happy to have Josh come visit me was because I had been afraid of being on my own.

The prospect of having a man with me while I traveled to a new country felt safer. But now that I had found my own way from the ashram to this town, I felt fine.

I felt more than fine—I felt confident in myself.

I didn’t need Josh to be there with me to feel safe. I didn’t need him there to ride the elephant, and I didn’t necessarily need him there to travel with me around India.

I still felt excited to see him, but an old, limiting belief had been lifted. I no longer felt a need to depend on a man outside of myself. 

The more steps the elephant took, the more I realized I wasn’t carrying any fear at all, just excitement.

I felt awake, present, and invincible.

I realized that doing the things that scared me brought me fully into the present moment. Once I was doing it, there didn’t seem to be any more fear.

Even more than that, I realized in doing the things that scared me, I walked away with more confidence. I reminded myself, The only way to get rid of my fears, is to simply go out and do what I'm afraid of. 

I had spent so much of my life in fear. I was afraid to speak up in class, afraid to travel on my own, I was even afraid of driving on highways. I always wondered, "How do I gain more confidence?"

I was so busy avoiding the things that scared me that I had never learned the pathway to more confidence was simply doing what scared me.

When I did that, the fear became more familiar, and less scary. Each fear I faced gave me more confidence to face another. 

Deep within myself, I knew if I were to travel on my own for the rest of my time in India, I’d be okay. I needed to ride the elephant by myself to discover that. 

I lowered down closer to the elephant’s ear and whispered, “Thank you Ganesha for clearing this path for me. Thank you for this new wisdom.” 

To find out what happened next you’ll have to keep reading in my book.  Stay tuned to find out how you can receive an early copy...

In the meantime, I’m curious, what fears or limiting beliefs have you been holding?  And what action could you take to live more fully beyond your fears? I'd love to hear in the comments below.

With love,
Meredith

 
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