Reclaim Your Voice

My deepest wound has become my greatest empowerment. 

When I was 13 years old I shut down my voice. In a moment of deep self-consciousness presenting in front of my class, I couldn’t find my breath, my chest began to constrict and I struggled my way through the rest of my presentation. I made a decision in that moment to stop speaking up, being seen or sharing my voice in a public way. It was just too dangerous. And for 10 years, that is exactly what I did. Being seen, heard or sharing my voice in public became my deepest fear, one that I would go to great lengths to avoid. Even just introducing myself in a small group or class would have my heart pounding and my chest constricting at the thought of it.

Luckily when I was 22, my deep love for yoga and how it transformed my relationship to my body was enough for me to want to overcome this fear. Through pranayama, voice exercises, and allowing my body to become a vessel for the teachings I knew I was here to share, I overcame my fear one step at a time.

I believe the obstacles we are presented with are here to lead us into our greatest empowerment. It’s like our soul chose to know what it is like to feel disempowered because we have a great soul mission to know and reclaim the opposite.

Tantra embraces life as a paradox. There is no shaming the dark. In tantra, “life is not a problem to be fixed, but rather a gift to be embraced.” ~ (Sianna Sherman) All of it.

I now see the difficulties and obstacles we face in our life as a divine opportunity to grow. To transform. To expand. To know what it feels like to be healed, loved and empowered.

If there is anywhere in your life where you are feeling disempowered right now - in your finances… in your relationship… with your voice… Know that your soul came here to experience the exact opposite, and you are on the right path.

The obstacle is here for you to grow. Your soul is creating the grounds for you to deeply know in every cell of your being what it is to be empowered in this.

Last night after teaching yoga and singing with the harmonium, I had a student come up to me to let me know she had always dreamed of finding a class like mine. That something in my teaching, in my presence, and in my voice deeply touched her.

I now know today what it is like to feel this empowerment, and using my voice as a teacher and leader is of the greatest service to the people I am here to serve and has also been the journey of my soul’s highest growth.

In April I will be gathering with a group of women over 5 weeks to reclaim their voice, to know this deep empowerment, and to use their story and message to uplift and awaken others. I will be sharing all the teachings and practices that helped me stand in the role as the teacher and leader I am today. We will create a safe and nurturing environment for each woman to explore her fears and turn them into her own greatest empowerment.

So where are you feeling disempowered? And what soul growth could your soul be leading you to?

If you feel called to learn more about my series, join me for a voice activation women’s circle on April 5th. We’ll uncover unresolved memories, open the voice through song, and create a ritual (with the help of Mary Magdalene) for you to more fully step into your voice as a healer, teacher and leader. 

030 | Open Your Voice with Songs from Singing Alive Kauai

This month I took myself on a trip to Kauai to attend a gathering called Singing Alive Kauai.  I felt the call to go after spending days with my grandmother in the hospital as she was passing. I found song to be such a soothing and sacred way to connect with her during that difficult time and I wanted to immerse myself in an environment of song in the weeks after she passed.

On one afternoon I experienced a surreal moment when the women gathered to all sing together.  After anchoring and opening the space, our facilitator invited any woman to teach a song to us. The first woman to stand up called in a sister in spirit - hundreds of miles away - one of my dearest friends for the past four years, Mackenzie Myers.

She then led us in call and response to sing one of Mackenzies songs, a song I have heard my friend sing many times. In that moment my skin was covered with goosebumps and tears streamed down my face because of what a powerful song it is. I was thinking about my friend, who only a few years ago was holding fear around stepping up to share her voice.

In that moment her song was reaching the ears and voices of fifty or sixty women, and it truly unified us together and opened our hearts. 

It is moments like these that remind me why it is so important for women to face their fears and share their gifts, especially their voice. 

The song that my friend Mackenzie had written was pure medicine for all the women in our circle. I felt so proud of her for facing her fears and sharing her voice so her songs could spread and be experienced by more and more people.

In today's podcast episode I share Mackenzie's song from our women's circle as well as three more powerful songs for you to sing along to.

My hope is they create a safe and nurturing space for YOU to open up and share your voice.

With love, 
Meredith

P.S. Check out the full song "Remember" by Faye Adinda (the I love and accept myself song in this episode) right here.

A Day Inside the Rising Women Leaders Bali Retreat

For the last few weeks I have been busy reviewing applications and having phone calls with women excited about the retreat I will be leading in Bali next May.

I wanted to share with you a taste of what will be happening in the 7 days and 6 nights we will join together, so I wrote "A Day in Bali" an insider's look at the Rising Women Leaders Bali Retreat.

 Applications for early pricing ($200 off) are available until December 1.  If you're at all interested in joining us, I encourage you to apply now to be eligible for the discount.

A Day in Bali...

Imagine arriving at the airport with your new girlfriend (I'm helping women in the group connect in advance to make travel plans) and being met by a kind, Balinese driver.

The air is warm and you immediately notice ritual and spirituality are everywhere - people praying in temples, altars on the street, and there are even deities on your driver's dashboard.

You arrive at our retreat center Desa Seni,  (watch a video of the landscape here) and are immediately blown away by the kindness of the people who greet you.  I see you arriving, run up and give you a big hug, so excited to meet you in person after connecting on facebook and in our sisterhood coaching call before the retreat.

I introduce you to your roommates, and even though you were a little nervous about meeting new people, you immediately feel at home.  These women are kind, sweet and sensitive, just like you, and share how they were just as nervous as you were to be with a whole group of new people.

When you see your room, your jaw drops - it's the canopy bed you have always dreamed of.  Traditional antique furniture, and finely hand carved adornments.

For the next few hours you take time to rest (everyday includes several hours of free time to just be - visit the beach, read your book, lounge by the salt water pool).

We meet for our first dinner - the food is organic, grown on the property and you get to try delicious, traditional Balinesian dishes.  You find you have so much in common with the other women through your conversations, and you find yourself immediately stepping into your voice, sharing stories and enjoying the company of the other women.

You go to bed early and wake up with the sunrise.  You fill your mug with warm lemon water and begin the day with meditation in the garden.

We then meet for restorative yin yoga in the pavilion to ground to the Earth.  Michael Zeligs is there to play guitar and sing for us.  His angelic voice provides the perfect space to just be and melt away any stiffness from your flight.

After breakfast, we meet for one of our morning workshops, this morning we begin with a satya circle.  Satya means truth - and it is a space to authentically share your truth.  It's also a space to improve your active listening and authentic communication skills.

Tears come up from several of the women in the group as they share from their heart, what led them to this retreat and any challenges they had been going through.  Your heart opens as you relate to the women who share, and feel more comfortable sharing from your heart.  After you share, you feel a weight lift from you and already feel intimately connected to the other women in this circle.

We move on to writing and partner sharing to identify limiting beliefs we have been carrying and I share my process of how to reframe them.

After lunch, the afternoon is yours to swim in the ocean, get a smoothie or lounge by the pool.

In the evening, we meet for an hour of opening the voice with kirtan before a luxurious dinner and bedtime.

Throughout the week we step more and more into our authentic self-expression, courage and self-love through the workshops.  Some highlights include:

• Morning Yin, Vinyasa and Restorative Yoga
• Healing through Emotional Freedom Technique with Michael
• Sacred Cacao Ceremony
• Vision + Voice Workshop
• Design Your Dream Life Workshop
• Q + A on Courage + Self-love
• Visit to the Sacred Tanah Lot Temple
• New Moon Manifestation Ritual
• Q + A on Love + Relationships
• Self-expression through Dance with Michael
• Closing Ceremony to Step into Your Authentic Voice

If this sounds like a dream you'd like to manifest for 2016, I invite you to apply now. 

With love, Meredith

P.S.  I've been sharing more details about the retreat on instagram and in a private facebook group I created for the women interested to connect with each other and hear more about the retreat.  If you're interested in joining the facebook group, request to join here.