012 | Mantra, Sound & Motherhood with Noelani Love

When I imagine a woman fully empowered in her voice, I think of Noelani Love.  

I first met Noelani in Hawaii when dear friend Erica Jago and I led a workshop at her studio.  Since then I've watched Noelani come more and more into her voice as a mantra singer, teacher and retreat leader. 

I've seen Noelani go for her dreams, speak up for her needs and stand for her beliefs.  When we reunited in Bali, Indonesia last May for the Rising Women Leaders Bali Retreat, I wasn't even surprised when she took the floor at Ecstatic Dance at the Yoga Barn to sing the closing song with her ukulele.  I watched in amazement as she gathered over a hundred of us to sing along with her that day.

On today's episode of the Rising Women Leaders Podcast, I asked Noelani if she would share about her experiences of finding her voice and how her unique experiences of motherhood and childbirth have shaped her into the woman she is today.

In this episode you'll discover:

• Noelani's empowering experience of having a home birth 
• How she found her voice as a singer
• The vision she holds for new mamas and their babies
• Practices for tapping into more pleasure through sound
• Details about Noelani's upcoming album, Lakshmi Lullabies

Links in this episode:

• Noelani's Indiegogo Campaign for her album, "Lakshmi Lullabies"
• Noelani's Shakti Sisterhood Bali Retreat
• Noelani's Jewelry Designs

What did you take away from today's show?  and How will you add more pleasure to your life with sound?  I'd love to hear in the comments below.

With love, 
Meredith

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A note from Noelani:

As a mother, designer and yogini, I create to inspire.  I believe in the healing power of our intentions along with the gifts of this earth. As a daughter of the Mother Earth, I realize that we all have the potential to teach, to heal and empower others through our offerings, as we navigate our way to fulfill our true purpose: LOVE.

Living in Hawaii, with a love for traditional Hawaiian 'oli (chanting) as well as Sanskrit mantra, I began my musical adventure by sharing my original ukulele compositions of mantras in my yoga classes.  I have many passions that allow me to share my light with others and empower them along the way:  jewelry design, teaching yoga, birth education, tantra, and inspiring self love.  I love surfing, singing, writing and spending time with my 'ohana on the North Shore of Oahu. 

We are all human beings that deserve to give and receive love. Share your medicine.

Learn more about my latest mantra album project on my Indiegogo campaign. 

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Calling in the Light~ Summer Solstice Retreat Invitation

It's finally here!  In a few hours I will be high in the sky on my way to Bali, Indonesia to live out a dream I have been holding for a long time...

I've been planning this adventure for the last eight months and cannot wait to find myself meditating in sacred temples, exploring the streets of Ubud and joining together with twelve women in the first Rising Women Leaders  Bali Retreat.

Many of you expressed interest in coming to this retreat in Bali, but ultimately decided it was too far for you to travel at this time, and I totally understand (I am currently on a twenty-something hour flight!)  

So for those of you seeking retreat and nourishment closer to home, I have great news for you today...

I will be teaming up with Karen Prosen and the Great Kosmic Kitchen for VESSEL: A 4-day rustic yoga retreat highlighting meditation, devotional art and herbalism as we call in the Summer Solstice.  

We will be gathering June 16 - 20 on the Mendocino Coast at Oz Farm, located only 3 hours North of San Francisco.  

You are invited to treat your body as a temple with yoga, hiking and herbal infused traditional foods as we join together to welcome the LIGHT.  Embrace the timeless wisdom of the self with meditation, art, ritual, and end the journey with a day of reverent silence.

Our highest intention is that you fall in love with your one body VESSEL and leave with the fortitude, knowledge and practices to walk on the pilgrimage of life more embodied, connected and lighter than ever. 

Some of the highlights include:

• Devotional Art:  How to Create Yantra Paintings with Karen
• Song Circles around the Fire with Mackenzie Myers
• Shamanic Journeying and Past Life Regressions with Karen
• Restorative, Vinyasa and Kundalini Yoga with Me 
• Delicious Herbal Meals and Rituals with The Great Kosmic Kitchen
• Yoga Nidra and Breathwork with Karen
• Relaxation on 240 acres of earth, river, meadow, forest and sky at Oz Farm
• Candlelit Dinners served with Ceremony
• Space to Unplug, Journal and Reconnect to Yourself
• A New Community to Welcome the Sun of the Summer Solstice With

I invite you to learn more and apply here.

I hope to see you at VESSEL, and in the meantime, stay tuned for more updates from my travels.

With Love, 

Meredith

P.S. If you missed my podcast interview with Karen, you can  listen 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. 

Have you ever dreamed of going to Bali?

I have some exciting news for you today!

Behind the scenes of my business I've been busy dreaming up 2016.  It's been a patient process, requiring time to vision and reflect as well as gain clear focus and take consistent action.

Now, those dreams are manifesting.

I knew it was time create an in-person experience for women to come together in sisterhood, face their fears, tune into their intuition and manifest their wildest dreams for 2016.

As the idea for a retreat took shape, it became clear the focus would be yoga, ritual and self-expression.

It also became clear we would meet in one of the most beautiful places in the world:  Bali.  

Announcing:  The Rising Women Leaders Bali Retreat

May 5 - 11, 2016

We will be exploring expression through yoga, writing, ritual, singing, speaking and dance as a way to step into courage, self-love and leadership.

Do you want to be one of 13 women joining me in Bali?

Get ready for the magic...

Learn more and apply here.

With love,

Meredith

P.S.  If you missed the free online class to Live Your Vision, you can now sign up for it and  download my free guide on the Bali page!

The Power of Ritual

Last September I sat in a yurt near Yosemite sitting at an altar in each of the four directions with the question, "How do I fully express myself? I was at Erica Jago's EARTH retreat where Erica had just taught us a powerful exercise from the Native American tradition about how to use the 4 directions to gain more clarity in our lives.

Through the exercise, I answered questions like, "What was I like as a child?"  "What am I grateful for?" "What wisdom have I gained?" "What brings me joy?" and "What are the new possibilities for my life?"  I drew a card from the tarot for each direction, sat, wrote, and meditated on these questions.

The whole process took about an hour, and afterwards I left with a map of exactly what I needed to do over the next year to fully express myself.

I knew I needed to sing, dance, write, and speak in front of large groups.  However, I had so much fear even just thinking about it.  Erica then placed an empty glass jar in the center of the room and said, "Now, write your fears on a piece of paper and place them in the jar.  On the Full moon we are going to burn them."

Through the exercise, I discovered I needed to meet monthly with other women on the full or new moons as a space to be vulnerable so that I could gather strength and courage.  I knew I needed to join the public speaking group I was avoiding because it would give me the space to practice, and I knew I needed to start singing, dancing and playing kirtan in front of others.

On the Full moon, Erica held a powerful ritual.  Each person shared the art they had created over the week, the insights they had gained and released their fears, and their art in the fire.

One by one, we shared the insights we had gained over the weekend - what we were releasing and what we were stepping into.

I had my harmonium with me, and I knew it was time to play it in front of the group.  I openly shared my fears and blocks I have had around self-expression.  As I did, tears streamed down my face as I imagined the little girl inside myself who had been closed down for so long.

Then, I sang the mantra, Aad Guray Nameh, The Mangala Charan, a mantra to help us all overcome self-doubt and create a protective field of light.

Everyone sang with me.

In that moment I was witnessed in releasing a deep rooted fear, and for the first time, was fully witnessed in sharing my singing voice.  That moment carried so much power and healing.

A ritual is a space to be witnessed in your truth and supported by your sisters.  It is a space to honor the rites of passage in your life.

Rituals infuse magic, intention and sacredness into our daily lives.  A ritual can turn a mundane act done without awareness into a sacred act with clarity and purpose.  Slowing down to say a blessing before a meal changes the experience.  Meditation, singing, or lighting a candle imbues a moment of peace and serenity into a busy day.

Ritual can also be this healing space where women come together to honor a specific purpose.   These rituals may honor transitions, letting go, grieving, the lunar cycle or the change of seasons. 

Participating in ritual has been one of the most healing ways to mark a big transition in my life.  Ritual has provided a space for me to be fully seen, acknowledged and supported.  After participating in ritual, I feel more confident and courageous to share myself with the world.

I had no idea the kind of transformation that would take place over the next year.  I went home, with a map in my hands, knowing exactly what I needed to do to fully express myself.

Without that ritual, I don't know if I would have had the courage to go on my first teaching and singing tour, to join a public speaking group, deliver toasts and speeches, dance without self-consciousness, and devote myself to writing and art.

Ritual helped me release my fears and feel supported in taking action towards my dreams.  It was a way to mark a new beginning and enter into a new way of living.

Now I'd love to hear:

What rites of passage have you gone through that you would like to honor?  

What fears are you ready to release and what new beginning are you stepping into?  Share with us in the comments.

I encourage you to create your own ritual, or join us in our Way of the Priestess program to create one with us there.

With love, Meredith