Latest / Soul Salon with Ayandastood / Your body is a PORTAL, not a PROJECT | Tamara Josephine
Transcript
- 0:00comparison only if you're this good only if your body looks this way there's all of these
- 0:06boxes and I think completely tear down those boxes it's our responsibility it's just magical how
- 0:12you are channeling your purpose that really just touched me the secondary school was a bit of a
- 0:17challenge for me there were moments where I was bullied if you notice any resistance maybe just
- 0:23why did your soul come to earth do you think dance became a prayer for me I really truly feel
- 0:30that my journey here and purpose is to help people reconnect to their bodies I am divine I'm
- 0:36loved and I'm lovable and I think many of us walk around with the shame that we're not those things
- 0:40remove these layers of limiting beliefs when you are happy when you are connected that is when
- 0:48you're most creative we don't have to be one thing your body is a portal what does the soul
- 0:56mean to you the soul to me is
- 0:59there is so much wisdom and poetry and magic in our bodies and the queen by my side is here to
- 1:17guide us and support us in tapping deeper into dance and movement and spirit and all the wisdom
- 1:23that she can frame far more wisely than I ever could so I am so grateful and blessed and honored
- 1:29to invite tomorrow welcome to the soul salon was so happy to have you thank you so much for having me
- 1:35and thank you so much I'm so grateful to have you your wisdom the way that you speak about
- 1:43dance movement all of the wisdom you bring I'm just so grateful that we get to learn from you
- 1:48and through you have a look the first question I would love to ask you since this is the soul
- 1:54salon is what does the soul mean to you what a beautiful question to start with it's a big one
- 2:03as well the soul to me is the expression of consciousness that is here and existing in this human
- 2:12plane the soul is infinite the soul is it can't be contained really by words or even this vessel and
- 2:22it's an expression of consciousness that informs how we shape and live in this world and also
- 2:30many other worlds to me and other dimensions and so right now in this human expression that's
- 2:37what I would say the soul is this beautiful chaotic messy perfectly imperfect all knowing expression
- 2:47of energy that is us and I feel like when we return back to our soul and we really sit in the
- 2:54seat of who we are in our solvers this there's this home come in and there's this knowing you know
- 3:00because often we're all up here and we're all in here but the soul knows and the soul knows
- 3:07whoo wow there was so much richness and resonance and every word you said an expression of
- 3:14consciousness this vessel this home coming the infinite the ability to not actually capture it in
- 3:20words I just have chills listening to you expressed that because that was actually a poem that
- 3:25was so beautiful and stunning and I love that was them so so much and so for you and your soul
- 3:32what do you feel like you came here to express or embody why did your soul come to earth do you
- 3:37think sometimes I'm like what I don't want to I'm not coming back in the best way like I'm like
- 3:47because you know you know what it's so interesting because this year I feel for many of us
- 3:55it has been that energy of like like why there's been this really deep unearthing and deep wanting
- 4:05for me wanting to really understand like what is the exact mission and not from a place of perfection
- 4:11but from a place of like looking at my gifts looking at my abilities looking at these natural things
- 4:16that I have that I've always possessed that we all possess we all have our own divine beautiful gifts
- 4:23being able to look at them and be like how can I be a service while I'm here how can I be of love
- 4:28and a join abundance soul for me it's interesting because I although I you know advocate and
- 4:38promote dance so much and I've always loved dance there was a resistance to teaching it
- 4:44and there's always resistance in in the path right so for me I really truly feel that my
- 4:52reason for being and my journey here and purpose is to help people reconnect to their bodies reconnect
- 4:58to the truth of whatever that is for them and allow themselves to express not only in their minds and
- 5:04through their voice but also in their body and remove these layers of limiting beliefs or
- 5:13of confinement or of structure that they've given themselves because I've been on that journey
- 5:18myself so allowing people to lead from their bodies with love and acceptance I feel is my purpose
- 5:26reconnecting people back to their vitality because when you are happy when you are connected
- 5:32that is when you're most creative you're you're in your best point of receiving experience in the
- 5:39world you know and we we're missing that in I mean we're missing we've been missing that for a while
- 5:46I think as a collective like that joy and knowing also that joy can exist alongside there can be
- 5:52multiple truths that exist at once joy can exist amongst confusion and sadness you know as we know
- 6:00like we don't have to be one thing so helping people to realise that you don't have to be one thing
- 6:05and you can express and meet different parts of yourself and explore and be messy with it and be
- 6:11expressive and it hasn't got a look a certain way so in in the long shot and about why I feel
- 6:18that is my purpose to help people with that with that joy I feel like you know when there's a
- 6:24table and there's just a feast and you don't know where to start like you are like this is more food
- 6:30than I could ever actually eat that was scrumptious I'm jealous of everyone watching because I'm
- 6:35like I want to take notes you said reconnecting people you're just dropping gems so casually reconnecting
- 6:40people to their vitality who the collective reading of this why that we're all returning to
- 6:47and this joy and holding that duality and holding the the paradox that we can be witnessing
- 6:55and experiencing deep trauma as a collective and also we can make room for joy we can make room for
- 7:01dance and I love what you said that the resistance is always in the part that we are here to
- 7:06follow and embody that just like like there's so much I honestly I'm like I want to write down
- 7:11everyone you just said this is such a gift wow there was just so much magic and juiciness there
- 7:18thank you so much for your generosity I'd love to go deeper into that you know this
- 7:24part that you have been on as a dance teacher a celebrant who are you in your own words if you could
- 7:31give us more of an insight into your world into your work how you bring this wisdom into the
- 7:36collective and we are so grateful to be learning from you so my you know what's so interesting
- 7:44with dance it's always been there and it's like you know that thing of hidden in plain sight
- 7:50and with dance from I think like I genuinely think I came dancing out the room like I
- 7:56say my my like my mom's like you were always dancing from when you're little and even now like
- 8:02I don't live with my mom so when I go and visit her I'm always prancing around like her home and
- 8:08she's like you haven't changed like you were doing that when you were like this big and she's
- 8:14always like oh yeah what what a joy is to see that and my mom's a big influence in my work as
- 8:19well so to backtrack and always dancing when I was in secondary school I really enjoyed primary
- 8:30school secondary school was a bit of a challenge for me and like many of us you know we all have
- 8:35our baggage we all have our traumas and things that we've experienced but I didn't really
- 8:41settle that well into secondary school when I look back on it and there were moments where I was
- 8:48bullied and so blessed in a child me like little me but that was my resilience that was my healing
- 8:57so I remember I'd like have a bit of an uncomfortable time at school and then I'd come home and I'd
- 9:03dance and I'd wake up before school and I'd dance in the morning so I'd like have the this this
- 9:09ritual that I didn't even know I was doing at such a young age at like 1314 where I just put on
- 9:16as a bachelorette girl I'll school dance hall hip-hop and I just put it on and I just dance my
- 9:22little heart away and it gave me the energy that I needed to sustain myself while I was at school
- 9:29and then from there I just was like let me continue so I studied from secondary to six formal
- 9:37college as some would call it and then I went on to do a degree in dance so dance was this like
- 9:46centre of gravity like it was like a point of gravity for me that really grounded me and I was
- 9:51like you know what why not do what I love why not continue that so when I finished university I
- 9:58explored different paths you know different jobs were in education and all of these things and
- 10:05I was training on the side but I just kept returning to dance and then I'd like to take it to
- 10:12the park and I started to dance outside and I started to dance in the earth and then in 2017 I
- 10:2026 under 2016 17 I embarked on my wellness journey and let's find my spiritual awakening you know
- 10:27and I was I was noticing the link of how dance became a prayer for me yeah like I would meditate but
- 10:39then I would also be in this meditative meditative state while I was dancing and I was like there's
- 10:44something here that is more than just fun there's something here that is fueling the spirit there's
- 10:52something here that is connecting and grounding the spirit and then I started to think about how I
- 10:57could fuse well being and movement together and although that obviously it's like a byproducts
- 11:05right movement helps your well being but I hadn't really seen it being done in the sense of
- 11:10let's intentionally use this you know back it back in back in the day and so yeah then I started
- 11:19to create spaces alongside being a well being lead for an educational institute and I started
- 11:26doing my retreats with women and vitamin retreats on the side and infusing I remember that it's so
- 11:33interesting because I remember the day I was like I want to do this and I sat down at the
- 11:38under the edge of my bed and it was literally like the stream like this download I didn't I didn't
- 11:44even have to oh well shut up it just came and it was like do this I like to use blindfolds a
- 11:50light in like my work when I work with people with movement it was like use blindfolds it was like
- 11:56the instruction was so clear so and this was before I you know so there was no
- 12:02there was no like kind of like let me try and get a stimuli it was just like it came through and I was
- 12:06like when it comes to you so clearly it's that obedience as well and then eventually I moved on
- 12:15from my work within education and then I decided to just go all in and continue to help people and
- 12:23now I'm looking at helping more especially coming from a lot of different corporate spaces helping
- 12:30people in corporate as well because we need that vitality when we're working you know we need
- 12:36that connection when we're working and so now I do my own my own workshops my own retreats along
- 12:44with helping corporate people corporate companies forward thinking organizations that want to
- 12:51create more for their well-being initiatives that want to keep people engaged and enjoying themselves
- 12:58and yeah like that's where I am now and then the celebrancy the celebrancy was such a
- 13:05such a kind of segue I was at I was at a friend's wedding and I was like something just was like I
- 13:11can do this and I would love to do this because I love not only like it's cliche I love love
- 13:18but really being able to embody love being in walking embodiment of love as you move through
- 13:24the world and extend it to everything not just human beings not just animals like even the plant
- 13:29that is in her own she is shining behind you like being able to see that and and feel that and
- 13:36then bring it into a space where it's so important so that's a new journey that I'm embarking on
- 13:43and seeing how I can get creative with that and bring more vitality to people's
- 13:47special beautiful one of the most beautiful days of their life you know it's supposed to be memorable
- 13:52yeah oh my word I am just in awe of oh like it's oozing there's so much that you have to that you
- 14:01are sharing with us and right from trace thank you for tracing that line from childhood and how
- 14:07dance was your sanctuary your safe place amidst the trauma of childhood like of bullying and childhood
- 14:14wounding and little you just I'm sending so much love to her and to all our inner children
- 14:22I just want to hold so much love for that part of you
- 14:27and the love you created in your body to hold her and to refuse to dim her magic and her movement
- 14:35and the way that you started off by saying that your mom said that you think or you think you came
- 14:41out of the wood dancing that you just have these incredible lines that really stick with me that's
- 14:48such a magic and I know a lot of dancers listening to this will resonate with that and that fact
- 14:53that you've kept that because I know a lot of the dance community can be so exclusive especially
- 14:58for black women so anti black I have one of my dearest soul sisters friends she has experienced
- 15:05that reclamation of coming home to dance and returning to that space but the the trauma of all of
- 15:11that as well of exclusion and anti blackness and colonialism and all these things and with that I
- 15:16feel like you're what you said about dance being meditative and we were always you know we had we
- 15:22lived spirituality we had spirituality and there has been such there was in that colonial process
- 15:30like such a robbing of that understanding of the body as there's home for spirit to move through
- 15:35and in so that really just touched me and then what you said about sitting on the edge of your bed
- 15:40and just channeling in the guidance of like the clarity you said of this is what you're going to do
- 15:46the blindfolds and I'm sure that unlocks so much for your students and also just the multifaceted
- 15:52way that you're sharing your light like the different aspects of your work and then being a
- 15:57celebrant and being such a love devotee it's just magical how you are channeling your purpose and
- 16:04answering that question of why you know why why is my soul here and leading with so much creativity
- 16:10I'm so curious there's so many places that we could we could go but with this journey of
- 16:18expressing the consciousness through your soul what do you think you've tapped into as like one
- 16:24of the biggest you mentioned limiting beliefs that we are we are holding in our bodies that when
- 16:29you work with people how what do you see as one of the biggest sort of myths or limiting beliefs
- 16:36holding them back beautiful question a huge one comparison comparison and
- 16:50they're exactly what you said like with your friend the touch points dance is such a gift
- 16:57but from an industry perspective and also I think the expectation that society has undounced
- 17:04it's like only if you're this good only if your body looks this way only if you move this way
- 17:11there's all of these boxes and I think within every industry there are boxes right and
- 17:17it's our responsibility in duty to completely tear down those boxes
- 17:22absolutely because for me it was the same growing up I didn't really see anyone that looked like
- 17:27me that was really successful in the dance industry and that did have an effect on my own like again
- 17:35comparison and my own self-esteem when I work with people it is the comparison I can't do that it's
- 17:42always looking at what you can't do over what you can do like it's like yeah but I'm committed to
- 17:48this because I can't do this and it's like but I'm not asking you to do what I'm doing I'm asking
- 17:54you to find the expression within yourself and understand what that looks like for you because I
- 18:02really do believe that we all have different energetic signatures that come out in our movement
- 18:08and so the more that you explore you know it's kind of like that saying of like you have to fail
- 18:14first the more that you explore you're like okay that that's not quite me that's not me like my
- 18:20thing and it's it's quite ironic because I'm also prices but I my movement is very fluid it's
- 18:27a very watery I get that a lot of people are like your your movement is so fluid and that that's
- 18:32my energetic signature but I try to get people to really hone in like what's yours what does that
- 18:38feel like is it is it more strong is it more firm is it is it very clean is it lines like what does
- 18:45your expression look like and how does it feel do you like to move between every facet and form of
- 18:50movement like how do you like to express yourself and then using the move like the music as the
- 18:56stimuli so that you have this kind of like the bodies like the base and like the altar you know
- 19:04and then you've got the music conducting it and it like comes together as this like beautiful
- 19:09prayer so it's like comparison um what else do I notice um a lack a lack of trust trust in the body
- 19:21trust in what it can do um and also this like wanting to shrink and especially when it's around
- 19:29different movements and I collaborate with um amazing beautiful small business owners
- 19:34big business owners but um I collaborate with an amazing friend on an event called net twerkin
- 19:40so clever love an incredible name you know love it she's an absolute gem and we do network
- 19:48in business events but or should I say and we make it fun and we dance so I lead a twerke workshop
- 19:56within the business networking event and also just pointing to the the wisdom our body has
- 20:05because everyone's up here but no one's here and then what happens when we're not here is that
- 20:10this is shouting we're not listening and then by the time we are listening it's too late
- 20:16because we're sick or run down or we're burnt out and I've been a product of that myself so
- 20:21it's a lived experience for me too and this is this is the thing so how can we learn to trust our
- 20:27body more instead of trying to control it and also know that in certain movements they are it's
- 20:33going to support us in different ways you know so I always say to people my forces curiosity
- 20:42be curious about your movement be curious about yourself like get curious or what would happen if I
- 20:48sometimes I I mean I love masses that I live with and we're so on the same wavelength I'm walking
- 20:53and I'll just do a little and she's like oh where did where did I come from I'm like I don't know
- 20:58and she's like I love that do you know what I mean like allowing yourself to just express so be
- 21:02curious be compassionate you know like have that compassion for yourself and others and really
- 21:08have patience and grace with yourself be creative do you know what I mean like get creative with
- 21:15how you move and then also do it in community you know coming into unity RSI communities
- 21:22community unity and yeah I just because we are we're like we're all aligned when we're in community
- 21:28we have the shared vision and goal so it doesn't matter where it is it could be in a business
- 21:33network in space if you're all doing the same movement you're you're actually having a lived
- 21:37experience in that moment it's a sign with any any any kind of space if your goal is to be
- 21:44connected to your body or to figure out something using your body it's like the shared goal and
- 21:48vision that you have and you're going towards the same place so use that creativity or get into
- 21:53communities where you're like I really like this type of music oh what style of dance or I might go
- 21:58to an event where I can see people dance and move that might encourage me to move more you know
- 22:03or it can start in your room it can start in your room like starting your room starting your kitchen
- 22:10start where feel safe and then start to expand you are a choreographer of language oh I love
- 22:18language of movement like your form of expression it just really does something to me I'm obsessed
- 22:24wow the coming into unity was that what it was wow community that's incredible so curiosity I
- 22:31love that I love what you said what would happen if I yeah let me try let me try and then there
- 22:41was compassion I love that because we can be so hard in ourselves that takes us to the comparison
- 22:47so we can optimize comparison into self-compassion into honoring our own what I love what you said
- 22:54being present to what is here what can I do what what do I want to express and then
- 23:01instead of what can I not do what she can do I'll never be able to do that and the the comparison
- 23:06that can live in the body I think that in this culture that we have and I think that's so
- 23:12incredible the creativity we love that in the salsa line I love that so much there is so much even
- 23:17like what does it mean to dance what does it mean to there's so much to the moments we get to dance
- 23:24being more creative about that and then the community and kinship that we are here to come together
- 23:30move together I think that's so juicy and magical and what you said earlier about how we all express
- 23:37a unique energetic signature I said incredible it's amazing I'm learning so much I love your wisdom
- 23:46I'm I'm like wow this is I can I just you know some people I feel like consciousness is like a
- 23:51home and when you walk into some places you're like oh yeah I love it yeah I love the books on
- 24:00the wall I love the paint I like I love it this I'm I feel so like nourished and enriched by everything
- 24:05you're sharing and how you're sharing it so thank you so so much I'm like you pinging thank you
- 24:10this is magical I love that so much okay beautiful so there was those those oh and then you
- 24:16talked about shrinking let's go there because that is so real and you can see it on an embodied
- 24:20level yeah can you like tell us more about how we can take up more space literally and not you
- 24:29know feel this this shrinking even the way we use our phones we're always trying to like it's
- 24:33yeah it's very yeah what's it called I think it's called phone neck or something oh yeah I think
- 24:38that's yeah like what it is it's the shrinking and okay I'll give you a few really beautiful
- 24:44exercises but I I like to I see my interaction with the world as like play when you see things more
- 24:52as play it takes the pressure off and it takes the expectation of the outcome off because you're
- 24:59just playing yes so it's fine like it's right unless you're very very um what's the word I'm
- 25:05looking for competitive but um one thing that I really love to do and it sounds so it sounds so
- 25:15small but yet it's so powerful the art of allowing like allowing yourself so for me I'm a music
- 25:25babe obviously but like if I hear a song and I'm out in public and I'm listening to my music I
- 25:33allow myself to move instead of keeping it like okay like this is the most I can do because I'm
- 25:40in public and it's not acceptable for me to be expressive in public when I see people and they're
- 25:46singing to the top of their I'm like freedom yes freedom because you are using your free will
- 25:53to the max right now and you're just expressing yourself and being at peace with people maybe
- 25:58perceiving you in a certain way so that is the first thing when you're listening to a song if you
- 26:03feel like you want to get a foot involved and tap your foot if you feel like you want to kind of
- 26:06I'm a bit of a hand girl sometimes I'm like I'm like you know the little music County I'm like you
- 26:11know I'm giving a little showdown people and I'm like you know or sometimes I'll like sing and I'm
- 26:18like like a little mind yes so that's like a great one for allowing yourself to be seen and
- 26:23taking up more space yes and another one and now this is a big controversial take us there
- 26:30but I noticed I don't know with in British culture I'm gonna say British culture because I feel
- 26:37like it is or etiquette let's say we apologize a lot I don't know whether you like South African
- 26:42two but yeah and so especially as as a black woman I found I apologize a lot when it's not me
- 26:50so even if you're in public and you're in and you're walking and maybe like you slightly
- 26:55getting in someone's path or there in your path I was noticing that I was like oh sorry sorry
- 27:00and I was like but why am I saying sorry there's no need for me to say sorry there's no need
- 27:10so not from a place of I'm gonna stand in you but just from a place of okay we're just two
- 27:16humans walking and we've just you know ended up in each other's path instead of if someone
- 27:22bumps into me me being like oh I'm so sorry I just I just hold the line and like you know give
- 27:27someone a smile but I don't need to be so apologetic for something that I'm not doing you know
- 27:34so that's a really beautiful one for just allowing yourself to be like I don't need to apologize
- 27:38for being in this space I'm just here and I have a right to be here like everyone else you know
- 27:43and one more I would say with your movement and now I always say start at home because it feels like
- 27:54the safest place but if you start at home and there's a move that you like to do that you notice
- 28:01that you keep returning back to kind of call that like your motif taking it from your home
- 28:08into like a public space whether that's at a party or something like that and and actually
- 28:14intentionally leaning into the movement that made that that you were using at home that made
- 28:20you feel comfortable but taking it into a space where it's completely new and different
- 28:25that just allows you to take up space a little bit more because even when I see I can not I know
- 28:30it's I can normally tell by the way that someone holds their body and themselves potentially how
- 28:36they move before I even start working with them because a lot of the time people and I love obviously
- 28:44I love I love my dancers you know but you you like got it unlocked like you like you like you know
- 28:49a cool you're open to expressing and exploring but I really love working with people that are
- 28:54building this new and juicy relationship with themselves and so a lot of people that I work with
- 29:01it's like you're rigid but not as in oh you're just as in you're rigid in different areas of
- 29:08your life and it's translating to your movement do you know what I mean so it's like oh or again
- 29:16you're shrinking where are you shrinking in other areas of your life because dance is like a mirror
- 29:25that's why I love it so much because it shows us you know and often because people think it has
- 29:33to be so performative they they're getting the again intentionality why are you dancing
- 29:43why are you dancing if you're dancing because you want to be professional dancer and you need to
- 29:47train that's completely different but there are there are all traumas within the dancing
- 29:51industry as well because again how you look you're not good enough thisworthiness but if you're
- 29:56simply dancing for recreation recreationally and for self-connection and community you don't need
- 30:02to be carrying all these expectations of like oh it has to look like it doesn't have to look like
- 30:07anything it gets to look the way you want it to and that's where people get confused because they're
- 30:14like oh you know or if I'm teaching a piece of choreography oh I couldn't get it it's not divided
- 30:20and conquer it's okay it's okay if you didn't get it because the the aim of the session is joy
- 30:27if the aim of the session was slay the movement and get unstage and give me a five six seven eight it
- 30:32would be a different story yeah but it's not and so I think with anyone introducing themselves to
- 30:39movement there's not the worst but I don't think it's very supportive to look at people who
- 30:44have been dancing for years and just find a nice piece of music put it on start to explore and start
- 30:52there instead of being like I want to learn this move and that move and that move because again
- 30:56within the dancing industry what happens is when also when you're training you are obviously
- 31:01taught specific movements and choreography but then a lot of dancers can't freestyle they really
- 31:08struggle I'm not going to say can't they challenge they struggle because I can but again it's a
- 31:13mental and so it's like I remember one woman that I worked with blindfold she had to take it off
- 31:22because the element of control she was like I need to see I need to see and it's like there's
- 31:27you need to trust not see you know yeah it's so interesting wow there was so much magic there
- 31:39I think this idea of releasing control and the dancer's a mirror let's start there that was such
- 31:45an incredible insight and window into like how we can all deepen our understanding of what dance
- 31:52is I think that really resonates where if you feel like you're an embarrassing person yeah that's
- 31:58going to manifest in oh and I'm but I'm an embarrassing dancer or if you're like it's not safe
- 32:03to be embarrassing or to cringe at myself that's going to manifest is I have I'm going to shrink
- 32:09myself because I'm afraid of showing up in that way that makes me feel ashamed because of
- 32:15conditioning shame oh big way yeah conditioning trauma childhood and expectations and all of
- 32:21these all of these things so I love that everything that you're sharing so so much because I feel
- 32:26like also earlier you said that dance is a prayer and I think that possibility none not all of us
- 32:33experience as like accessible to us and that it is accessible because we all have bodies yes yes
- 32:40and so what you're inviting us into with more playfulness more allowing you said oh that's
- 32:45such an incredible word you know if I am judged can I allow that if I want to be more playful can
- 32:52I allow that can I be a space of allowance for myself and I think in dance many of us come up with
- 32:57the fact that we're not spaces of allowance yeah I think also something I'll say is I feel like
- 33:03such an incredible aspect of various black cultures across the world is dance yeah and then and I
- 33:10think that's amazing and it's such a ancestral practice tradition gift which is so beautiful and
- 33:18needs to be continued to be celebrated and more spaces I think you know all across the world are
- 33:24so important for movements and for black communities to move and we've always done that
- 33:28but then I also want to say for the for the awkward black girls that if you struggle with feeling
- 33:34confident in your movement they can also be that additional shame of like oh I should be able to
- 33:40dance exactly I feel that way often where I'm like I'm coming home to the joy of dance rather than
- 33:47the excellence or the being able to embody certain things you know what I mean and
- 33:53trying to become a space of allowing myself to to play and to try and like I'm South African
- 33:58South Africans are incredible that I'm a piano is incredible kiss me like oh my god like amazing
- 34:06and also like I have a lot of shame that I cannot move the same in that way yes let's say or
- 34:12and then I'm like oh I don't get to dance to the song because I don't know exactly how to
- 34:17embody that in I mean it's truly divine expression it's spiritual it's it's cosmic it's
- 34:24beautiful and bold and brilliant and also an energetic signature of a culture because it also
- 34:29happens both at an individual and a cultural level and of just wow I'm I'm in awe but then
- 34:35sometimes I think we we let feeling on the outside of something looking into it stop us from
- 34:41even stepping a toe because we're like if I can't dive in gracefully and be it yeah become one
- 34:47with it I'm just don't get to do it at all so you're really speaking to me to to many of us and so
- 34:52I'm just wow and then oh I'm so grateful I want to give you something it is inherent to you
- 34:59when you are speaking makes it a bit of national actually because it is inherent to you
- 35:04you're already embodied because it's you're of the people like it's your blood doesn't have to look
- 35:13and that's the thing like the looking exactly what you said the looking you can do the movement
- 35:20cool you can do our movement but embody any it's not even about the movement you know like
- 35:27sometimes and I'll give an example you can have two dancers that are both amazing in their own
- 35:34right one is giving you backflips tricks this and they're amazing one is not doing any tricks but you
- 35:42can feel it here and when you feel it here that's what the souls resonate with that's the resonance
- 35:51that's the relating and you'll automatically be drawn to that but because you can feel their heart
- 35:57and so to you and any other person that doesn't feel like they're good enough it if it is in
- 36:02your heart that's all that matters like as long as you feel it in your heart and in your body
- 36:09that is all that matters you are more than enough and worthy and inherent to being every space
- 36:17especially that embodies and is the movement of your people in your culture you don't have to
- 36:24you know in a child older child of us received that that was so juicy and generous thank you I
- 36:34really received that and that resonates that's so stunning and I've I have felt that you know
- 36:40you and what you said where it's about them you also are one with the music and you feel it you
- 36:44feel that resonance you feel that connection and I really do feel that with Amapiano and with
- 36:50other you know my own cultures and countries music and so it's beautiful I love that you say
- 36:57it's inherent there's something that you shared earlier which I think was so magical that I want
- 37:01to go tap into as you spoke about joy and public and like dancing and taking up space and as Black
- 37:07women in British culture you mentioned I've also experienced the sorry the apologizing aspect and
- 37:13then when you're in white spaces shrinking even more and being told you know that you need to be
- 37:2110 times better whatever it is you know the the and that's another form of shrinking because you're
- 37:25shrinking your human worthiness to make mistakes you deserve to make mistakes as a human but as a
- 37:31Black woman in these spaces you often don't feel like you do have that same grace how have you found
- 37:38within yourself and the freedom you know to a freedom is such a powerful word to not care about
- 37:45you know if someone sees you popping a shoulder you're just you're you're you allow it yeah how have
- 37:50you found that it has been such a journey and but such a beautiful gift as well because
- 37:56as I said it's like the resistance and it's also often the work that we do as humans having
- 38:03souls having these humans experience is the work that we have needed or the medicine that we
- 38:09hoped would be there when we when we needed that guidance and support so again I have been through
- 38:15the shrinking the feelings of unworthiness and it's not to say that those feelings still don't arise
- 38:21but now I have tools that ground me back in and especially with joy people always say to me
- 38:28and it's beautiful they're like oh you are such a light like your energy your energy energy
- 38:35also comes with when you have a very big like an energetic aura and like presence it comes with
- 38:41a lot of responsibility because people unconsciously have an expectation of what you must do for them
- 38:47sometimes sometimes people sometimes are gravitating towards you for what they can get instead of
- 38:52being able to just witness something as it is enjoy it and move forward and so when it comes
- 38:59to my joy and really allow myself to embody that that's been hard like around maybe four weeks ago
- 39:07I was I went full throttle I can't lie I was walking I was singing I was doing a back step
- 39:13it wasn't I was doing a lot but this this gentleman walks like we were kind of walking towards
- 39:19each other and he was like it was like he was confused but borderline disgusted and didn't know
- 39:25what to do like that the expression I could see him move through these different expressions and I
- 39:30was like oh this is interesting and remembering and expressing your joy is about being able to
- 39:37witness someone where they are and meet them where they are and not internalise what's coming up
- 39:43for them and allowing your expression to continue to move through and even if it might feel a bit
- 39:48uncomfortable it's like okay but I know that has nothing to actually do with me it's when
- 39:52you internalise other people's expectations or projections that's when you get in a very sticky
- 39:57place and especially with me I have alchemised and worked through shame especially when it comes to
- 40:06whining and twerking you know cultural dances for a long time because even when I was young as
- 40:12I said like being bullied and dancing at home I was from very young like I didn't know what I was
- 40:19listening to I just knew that it felt good on a cellular level you know and I think when it comes
- 40:25to expressing my my joy and my wellness does not look like my joy joy and wellness looks
- 40:37loud it looks like a bellowing laugh it looks like a little twerking my satin skirt like that's
- 40:42what it looks like for me and really thinking about what does joy actually look like and feel like
- 40:48on me you know and then when you can establish what that is then you can embody that more because
- 40:55you're like actually I feel I feel really good when I am maybe you know you're more introvert I
- 41:04actually feel really good when I'm like drawing and I that's then then that is your joy how can
- 41:10I express that a bit more you know it doesn't have to look like someone else but you just have to
- 41:14know like what does my joy look like is it very outfacing is it actually more internal but as long
- 41:20as it is true to your being that's what matters you know that is a stunning invitation for all of
- 41:27us to journal on what is my highest expression of joy yeah what does that look like and then
- 41:34where you took us earlier if you don't yet feel comfortable bringing that to the world can you
- 41:38start that expression in your room in your safe space and then can you create more
- 41:43invitations to embody that in public and then what you said about recognizing and meeting
- 41:50people where they are but not internalizing their reactions knowing that is just how they treat
- 41:54themselves how they have been treated and how infectious your joy is like you're it's such a gift
- 42:00it's like an energetic gift to the collective like as you're moving it's giving us all delight and
- 42:05like it's making it's giving us the invitation to move and to think about oh yes like we have these
- 42:11rigid lines of this is for movement this is for being quite still and rigid and I think that's
- 42:16so wonderful and there's something you said in your last response that I also something is
- 42:21thinking for me that I wanted to share when you spoke about the two dancers and the one who
- 42:25you know has all the technique but not the soul of it and the essence and the other who has it in
- 42:30their heart I think that is so beautiful and such a like anti-colonial look framing of it because
- 42:36I do think in the more like colonial understanding it's about like studying and structure and lines
- 42:42and doing something that like from this from the mind yeah and then coming home to like the heart
- 42:48of it the essence of it the body of like the body of it as in like the soul of something the essence
- 42:54of it is what I mean and I think that like is even the idea of being intelligent you know like
- 43:01there's people who just have a deep wisdom they know the earth they know whatever it is they know
- 43:07love but then someone who studied love has a PhD in in psychology you know it's like it's quite a
- 43:14we're really inheriting this this as we all know these like deeply traumatic ways of viewing
- 43:19ourselves in reality so so that came up for me I'm just in awe of this wisdom I keep saying that
- 43:25because it's so beautiful and you're inviting us to very specific ways we can begin to find
- 43:31creativity compassion curiosity community what do you think for the person listening to this
- 43:38especially someone who relates to your experience of bullying and childhood and especially maybe
- 43:43around their their movement their body the expression what would you say to them and what would you
- 43:48say to their in a child you are love you know our highest and most purest form of expression
- 44:03we are love and the world you know creeps in and it can sometimes get to us
- 44:15well actually remembering like that you are that you already are and I think that when you realize
- 44:23that you always have been there's something very powerful about that because it takes away all the
- 44:30external and physical restraints you know you can do all the outer work you can change your body
- 44:42you can change your house you can move country but if you don't go in and like realize
- 44:51that it's actually us like we're the ones like you're the one that's actually
- 44:56creating a more hostile environment for your own your own soul to live in you know what I mean
- 45:04you already are love we always have been and that's what I've had to and I still tell myself
- 45:12because it's like if I'm if if you're measuring yourself by conditions you will always have a
- 45:17standard to uphold why not the standard be love you know like why not the standard be love and
- 45:25this falls into every crevice of my life and how I lead my life because it's like I used to think
- 45:32that professionalism again that lends that that programming was like you're optically like your
- 45:39title your status within a company you know how yes these are extensions of expression like
- 45:46how specifically how you dress and all of these was professionalism but for me now even when I
- 45:52look at professionalism that is love because your professionalism is your capacity to meet someone
- 45:58where they are and give them the support that they need from a place of compassion and integrity
- 46:04period and serve them in the best way that is professionalism and being honest and heart-led
- 46:12that is love that is also expression of who we are so to anyone who is feeling like they're not
- 46:19enough or like they're still really hooked on what happened to them in childhood or they can't
- 46:24quite work through it or move past it remember that you are love and even if you received conditional
- 46:33love in other places you now get to choose to give yourself unconditional love
- 46:40you now get to choose and sometimes it is I think as humans we might think so
- 46:46complicated you know it's like we need to do xyz bcefg and it's like sometimes actually
- 46:53now strip it all away and return to that return to that and I have sometimes I have to tell myself
- 47:02this as well like you're getting in your head again look how many thoughts we have today thousands
- 47:08so if we measured our self worth by the thoughts a lot of them that are not ours a lot of them are
- 47:16you know what we're doing every day scrolling we see advertisements on buses on what like billboards
- 47:25again constantly being programmed so tend to your soil know that you are love and now nourish
- 47:33your soil with that love you know the little things every day and if you are if you if you
- 47:41okay it's one thing to want to be in it how can I explain this it's one thing to want to be in a different
- 47:49place and actually starting to just embody that from now and I know that it sounds like a big gap
- 47:57but often when we're trying to reach for something we're we're looking at the gap I listen to this
- 48:03book called the gap in the game yes yes so it's like how can we look at all the beautiful things how
- 48:13can we like just even if it's just the smallest thing how can we slightly just turn our focus a little
- 48:18bit you know and return to the love that you've always been return to the love you've always been
- 48:28I love how you put love at the center of everything and your work as a celebrant like all that you
- 48:35that you bring that was so generous to the listener and to each of us to return to that knowing that
- 48:41we have the homecoming you mentioned at the beginning around the soul that the soul already knows
- 48:47and then we have all these systems and layers and conditioning that make that knowing
- 48:52at times feel as accessible but we've all tasted moments where it really does feel like wow
- 48:58you know I am divine I'm love I'm loved and I'm lovable and I think many of us walk around with
- 49:04the shame that we're not those things and it's deeply painful and it's deeply by by design
- 49:10there's something that I wanted to ask you about which is a lot of the people who listen to the
- 49:15soul salon are deeply they deeply care about creativity and creating with soul and love and
- 49:22liberation and all these topics you're talking about anti-colonialism and I'm really fascinated by
- 49:26the idea that we have this practice you know that many people do from the artist's way called
- 49:30morning pages I'm not sure if you like morning journaling and I started to think as I was thinking
- 49:35about interviewing you like is there an invitation to have that in the body like to have a morning
- 49:41pages but of the body so how would you invite us to connect with our bodies daily to dance daily
- 49:47like should we not should should is coming from conditioning but is there an invitation to have
- 49:52a morning ritual with dance and what would that what could that look like I I I I coined this
- 50:01I coined this my saying when I when I wake up I'm like there's innocence to your innocence oh yeah
- 50:07there is innocence to your innocence and so as you said that the the should implies like what if
- 50:14we're not doing it call it kind of like body mapping so when I first wake up if I'm not welcome
- 50:23up by my screeching cat who I love so much lovey vibes um but when I first wake up I normally
- 50:32take a big inhale and an exhale and say thank you because the thoughts start flooding in but
- 50:38I always start in my bed like you can start in your bed you don't have to stand up and I just feel
- 50:44into the sensations just my chest feel tight as I'm breathing no okay cool what about my lower back
- 50:51like how am I feeling then I roll onto my stomach give myself like a little stretch and intuitively
- 50:59because often when it's like step by step by step different people need different things
- 51:04so moving the ways that your body can support and serve you so I'd say just start in your bed even if
- 51:09it's just even if it's just a head tilt you know I mean even if I I I love a good rotation kind
- 51:16of like a cat cow and then I rotate in the bed I love that in the morning and then in terms of
- 51:22journaling with the body beautiful I love I tend to start with just simply rolling starting from
- 51:30my head and rolling down and touching the floor or letting my hands dangle and kind of just like
- 51:37swaying and seeing how I'm feeling and then rolling back up and then rolling back down and flowing
- 51:45with a song that I want to inform my energy for the day so music is medicine and so we've
- 51:53is movement but what if we used it more intentionally so I always say like pick a theme tune for your
- 51:58life so that when you're feeling a bit find the theme theme tune when you're feeling like you're
- 52:05going off track what but what's my theme tune how do I connect back to that so you can start with
- 52:10your theme tune or a song that you just love in and just again meet yourself where you're at if
- 52:15you feel more comfortable depending as well on ability like starting in a chair maybe a sway side
- 52:21to side tapping in I was touching with my heart and with my room space you know and just really
- 52:28breathing deeply and then repetition really helps and a lot of the time people like to do things
- 52:34once but it's in the repetition that then it kind of becomes like a mantra so whatever the movement
- 52:40is staying in that movement for an extended period of time so like it could be like a chest like
- 52:48isolation but staying in that and then trying to explore where that goes but for five minutes for
- 52:5410 minutes and then you're you're kind of like learning about your body you're like oh I didn't
- 52:59I didn't know a lot of a lot of people a lot of dancers they'll be like oh I liked that where did
- 53:05right I'm keeping that you know and this is the exploration so like the journaling can be
- 53:10this like repetitive of like one movement and then you might move to another movement but start
- 53:15off slow and then build the energy so that you can take more momentum into other types of movement
- 53:22because if you go straight into something it's like the body's not warm tapping first you know
- 53:27so yeah I would say just yeah give yourself a little and maybe even write it down
- 53:32add it to the jet add it to the journaling so have your page yes yes have your page yes
- 53:41yes have the page and just let it flow right how you're feeling maybe certain points because also
- 53:48again like shoulders oh what have you been carrying lately what do you need to let go of you know
- 53:54so again still being playful with it and I've been like oh I'm going to diagnose my do you
- 53:59not mean getting into that for yeah yes oh I love this oh my gosh I'm gonna I'm excited to do this
- 54:05I also I love morning pages so that I love the harmony of of both I think this is so
- 54:11juicy because it starts slow and I love the checking in the checking in the body mapping
- 54:17the journaling with the body the head rolls and like the sensuality I would love to
- 54:23tap into your wisdom on that because it's like living centrally this living you know in this
- 54:29alive vital also like sensual way um what does that mean to you like what is the word sensuality
- 54:35mean to you presence like deep presence and when I say that automatically people think
- 54:44sensuality although that's very sexual and no that the deep presence even when you're in the shower
- 54:53like for me I'm like instead of you know let me just slow down like let me actually feel my skin
- 55:02you know let me actually feel the presence of the water trickling down my back like let me when
- 55:10I'm actually breathing when I'm taking that deep inhale let me actually feel it like no like
- 55:22it's the presence that is what to me it is to live from this
- 55:30sensual point of how I move through the world even the way that you walk like let me extend
- 55:35just straighten my back a little bit more then my energy a bit more let me add a little balance in
- 55:42my step like you know these tiny tiny like the micro like the tiny details that make all the
- 55:48difference to how we thrive you know um that is sensuality deep presence and deep patience
- 55:57you know patience everything is so quick and so instant and then you know quickly touch
- 56:07you know that that sensual sexual side but when you think it's patience it's present yeah it
- 56:14just in a different way with a different intention you know um even when you're connecting with
- 56:20the stranger like really looking at them like really seem them that's something that we don't do
- 56:26often really totally a voting eye yeah onto the next yes that is gorgeous the water on your skin
- 56:36the trickling you know sometimes the wind is like kissing you it's so alive and it's almost the
- 56:44image that comes in my mind is like if someone gives you a compliment hopefully you know
- 56:49many of us will be like oh I will minimize it and receiving it and the the universe is giving
- 56:55you compliments here's this water is this wind on your skin here's this delicious avocado you know
- 57:01that you love so much it reminds you of your childhood or your mother or whatever it is like
- 57:06it's giving to you giving giving and that receptivity of like wow thank you I see you I'm present
- 57:13with this I can really open myself up to the magic of this experience of life yeah it's so
- 57:20wonderful and I think that one of the responses that maybe a listener may have is either like I don't
- 57:27have time to do that or you know that these systems are designed in a way that makes that so such
- 57:34a privilege to be able to do so I'm curious like how you might respond to that and it is a
- 57:38privilege it really is you know but also we get to be the priority and also we get to be the
- 57:47priority yeah you know so I think we I feel with everything can now people again it's like
- 58:00this perfection around it I need to have my two hour morning routine like no you can literally
- 58:10just take three deep breaths before you get out the bed and you're good you can just look at
- 58:16yourself in the mirror for a extra 10 seconds and say I love you you've got this today and that's
- 58:22it you know again like small so if you know it can feel so far away for a lot of people so I'd say
- 58:32start with the smallest thing and then also notice as well because some things may not feel
- 58:37comfortable I've worked with the clients where the the eye gaze in the mirror scene one seeing the
- 58:42self is too much don't start there start with a deep breath start with oh okay I'm I'm just going
- 58:48to play around with the music for one minute just one minute you have one minute totally
- 58:54or create that time you know we can't add on time we have the same 24 hours but create a space even
- 59:03is it it just flooded back memory there'll be times when I used to work and I will go to the
- 59:09toilet and I'd have a little dance in the toilet you know when you see the space that you have
- 59:20and you're like there's a moment here there's a moment here instead of doom scrolling on my phone
- 59:25while I'm getting from A to B I could listen presently to a piece of music and kind of just
- 59:30getting my body a bit I could like real off in my mind all the things that I'm grateful for
- 59:37just nice things that have happened small things oh I really I really like the cardigan I've
- 59:41got on today you know I really like how this feels against my skin yeah I really like that person's
- 59:45hair like you know shifting your point of attention to to to make it something that makes you a
- 59:51day a little bit lighter you know yes completely those are such such beautiful invitations and what
- 59:59you said about the doom scrolling because a lot of you know they're like I don't know yeah it's
- 1:00:03such a real aspect of life and I feel like that is you know where there's so much aliveness that's
- 1:00:10trying to interact with us and our phones are sort of like to me they're like kind of dead like
- 1:00:15there's a lot of aliveness in them there's laughter there's community in this kitchen but I think
- 1:00:19it's also creating new standards for how you want your life to feel of like I want I want to feel
- 1:00:25good after I do this I want to feel like you know this presence with life so I think that's gorgeous
- 1:00:30and stunning another question I wanted to ask you was you mentioned that dawns can feel like
- 1:00:35meditative and I think that was so magical you mentioned that repetition can create that do you
- 1:00:40have any other advice for those of us who do want to tap into the more meditative aspects of dawns
- 1:00:47how would you set that ritual up or that space up for us to to to adventure into beautiful question now
- 1:00:56this is why I also love movements so much because it's so subjective and so maybe start with the
- 1:01:08details of what is important to you like for example I'm the I call myself like I'm very I'm
- 1:01:14going to say like environment is very important to me so like I will always first find a space where
- 1:01:21I feel it feels comfortable it feels open it feels it it feels like I don't always have that
- 1:01:28but like when I have the choice to I flow there it might sound a little controversial I would say
- 1:01:38try firstly music that doesn't have words I say that because sometimes we can get caught up in the
- 1:01:47lyrics and the lyrics are beautiful they're a gift as well but when we are sinking to that beat
- 1:01:54and that momentum and it helps us if we don't have that extra I'm going to say beauty because it is
- 1:02:06beauty you know and but sometimes it can distract us because we're like whoa exactly and it's like
- 1:02:13but listen to the melody you know and especially we all hear music differently so especially
- 1:02:21I hear music in so many different layers and ways some people really focus on the lyrics you know
- 1:02:28some people focus on like the Mac like the Macro beat like the dupe depends so find a song
- 1:02:36or maybe instrumental that will help you with like really sitting into the rhythm because
- 1:02:41again with music it helps us to listen dance and music helps us to listen it helps us with our
- 1:02:47listening skills understanding what's happening between the layers what are you really saying what
- 1:02:52is the music really saying you know I've done a lot of people hear music they don't listen to it
- 1:02:58they don't really listen to it it's like yeah okay cool what's being said you know and so I would say
- 1:03:05a beautiful way of expanding that is finding a song just listening to the melody and the beat
- 1:03:11and and get creative maybe use the wall you know maybe use your hand maybe use two hands maybe
- 1:03:20you know I mean or maybe link it to a movement that you know well but in a different place so
- 1:03:26let's say if you're things yoga or you're things stretch you know you're like all your things
- 1:03:31basketball or my mum used to be some professional netball player or if it's netball like
- 1:03:36things that movement that you know day to day movement that you use day to day that's still familiar
- 1:03:42but then you make it mean something else because it's always what are you making it mean you know
- 1:03:48for example this table it is beautiful but equally it could be used to inflict harm upon someone
- 1:03:55but at the moment it's holding these beautiful records you know so what are you making it mean
- 1:04:00what is the intention so I would say yeah instrumental maybe get creative get a prop involved if you
- 1:04:08want to or if you completely don't know where to start with your movement in terms of this
- 1:04:13meditative meditative aspect a movement that you do every day and then exploit it could be
- 1:04:20something like this save it just this but then maybe if you take the same thing into a different
- 1:04:27part of your body and then you take it into your hips you know and but just using the same
- 1:04:33thing instead of thinking I've got to think of another movement and another movement and oh I
- 1:04:36don't know what to do now it could just be a circle you start with a circle and then how does the
- 1:04:43circle go into the hips how does the circle go into the chest using different shapes to explore
- 1:04:50your movement that is something that I really like to do and I have a more time and space I'm
- 1:04:55like okay I've done this practice for a while I'm going to switch it up a little bit but again
- 1:04:59always flow because you're going to need different things every day and that's why I say you know
- 1:05:04instead of a routine a practice is something that you return to yes and that you can
- 1:05:10change and evolve with what's going on in your life at the time like with the chapter of your life
- 1:05:14that you're in with the energy that you're in whereas when you it becomes routine that's been
- 1:05:19again it kind of gets style you know because it's like okay I'm doing the same thing again
- 1:05:25whereas you're not actually having a dialogue with your body my word a dialogue with your body
- 1:05:31that's so resonates with me so deeply what you're sharing about the circle and also the wall like
- 1:05:37I never even thought of there's all these objects that are trying to support you or maybe
- 1:05:43interacting with the landscape with the landscape I love that and we've done that for centuries
- 1:05:48you know exactly the earth with like embodying the trees like all these different things with each
- 1:05:53other with the fire like the elements the elements exactly taking that into your movement yes yes
- 1:05:59oh my word that's just powerful tomorrow I'm going to be working with the circle
- 1:06:04based on listen to no lyrics and when I have done that it is very powerful so you're inviting me
- 1:06:10I've never created a practice around it where it turned to it and I think it could be very very
- 1:06:15nourishing to me and my experience and I'm so just excited and delighted I think before we go
- 1:06:24to our closing ritual something that is staying with me from earlier there's so much you said
- 1:06:29that I just I know when I re-listen to somebody back I didn't ask her about this and this
- 1:06:34you just dropped so many of your own gems and seeds yes we accept allow this to be more than enough
- 1:06:41this to be generous focusing you really talking that as well like focus on what's present
- 1:06:46you mentioned that you went through a spiritual awakening and I think many of our listeners also
- 1:06:50very either have gone through that or going through that and are very interested in matters of the
- 1:06:56soul and spirit and also love liberation so I'd love to hear just what that looked like for you I
- 1:07:01know that could be a whole episode but hey I know but your spiritual awakening what does that
- 1:07:07meant for you in the best way despair you know how it is right you know the dark nights of the soul
- 1:07:22confusion and the reason why I say this is such a gift as well is because you know we're always
- 1:07:30taught that it's like we're building we're building sometimes you are building when everything
- 1:07:34is torn down and you can't see it and that's how the awakening felt it was like well this doesn't
- 1:07:40make sense to me anymore this doesn't feel right and then it was questioning again like questioning
- 1:07:47the narratives questioning society questioning like systems questioning my beliefs and so
- 1:07:55it was as much as it was like disarray and you know I love crying and a lot of like why what is
- 1:08:05happening and confusion there's so much clarity came from that and that also helped me to I mean
- 1:08:14it's informed the work that I do now but like when I was really young you can have a conversation
- 1:08:21with my mom I remember we had this huge back garden and I was like mom can you put pavement I
- 1:08:27mean I don't want any grass I was so disconnected you know and you see everything so much
- 1:08:35differently once you begin to awaken to yourself the truth of who you are and you know
- 1:08:44it's not just like oh everything's hunky-dory but like you know everything's fine now because I'm
- 1:08:49awake no you know this is where the work begins you know it's like the point of a beginning
- 1:08:56but for me it looked like a lot of time in solitude it looked like healing myself through the
- 1:09:02connection to nature like this call that I wasn't sure but I knew I needed to answer but I was
- 1:09:08like this is different to what I've known before but I'm gonna lean into it but having the ability
- 1:09:14to lean into it and nourishing myself in ways that I never would have normally because I never
- 1:09:20knew how to quiet my mind I never knew how to objectively step outside of myself and look at
- 1:09:26you know my behaviors and my patterns or how to you know yeah you can have compassion for someone
- 1:09:32but when you have that self awareness and you can see yourself in other people and in other
- 1:09:37interactions you have more clarity as to why the things maybe happening in your life and how
- 1:09:44you can also reclaim your sovereignty and your self-governance and your power and you know
- 1:09:55we live in a world that wants us to feel powerless and we are not we are not you know
- 1:10:04and I think it speaks to everything that has been and that it is currently gone it speaks to the
- 1:10:12power and that which we hold as human beings and it doesn't have to look external your
- 1:10:20power is in how you treat the person that you don't know your power is in your ability to hold
- 1:10:26so much compassion and love and all these other different emotions at the same time you know
- 1:10:31you're it in those small things so yeah the soul awakening for me was conflicting confusing
- 1:10:40but such a gift and such a reawakening to like more of who I am and allowing more of me to come
- 1:10:49online and there's always so much that we can continuously do as human beings to evolve
- 1:10:54to progress to become better and so it's never this journey of I'm done now oh I'm a
- 1:10:59weight now so that no but also it's the balance of not feeling like I can't certainly need to heal
- 1:11:07I can't like you get to be human too and just enjoy your humanity because you can go one end of
- 1:11:13this like either end of the spectrum where it's like the scale I should say where it's like oh I
- 1:11:18have to continue and I have and I have these all these responsibilities and I have to
- 1:11:23alchemise all of these traumas and generationally and it's all on my show and where does that get you
- 1:11:30take a moment to breathe because going back to the vitality when you have your happiness when
- 1:11:35you have your vitality when you have your self-connection when you have community when you have
- 1:11:40creativity you also find ways to navigate things better as well so like making sure that you have
- 1:11:46that balance of like allowing your humanity to really like this is your human experience honey
- 1:11:52you better have that you better have that enjoy that you know be kind to yourself give yourself
- 1:11:59grace as my friend with a grace and compassion yes yes yes well I think on behalf of myself and
- 1:12:07everyone listening or watching to this we are so grateful that you held the soul awakening and
- 1:12:13that you allowed it into your experience because it has allowed you to embody and express and
- 1:12:20share this wisdom from such an embodied place such a grounded place and what you said about
- 1:12:25the dark nights of the soul and the despair that you've held we just thank you for your for doing
- 1:12:30this work because you shine so bright like you have so much to share it's just like this
- 1:12:37magical garden of so many flowers I just want to like stay with each of them I know I just
- 1:12:43want to be present to all of all of it and you clearly have just channeled your wisdom into
- 1:12:49magical experiences and offerings for people who get to work with you and I think it's just so
- 1:12:55magical to witness so I've said that word multiple times but so brilliant and beautiful and grounded
- 1:13:02and inspiring to to experience you and your gift like your gift of expressing your gift clearly
- 1:13:09of teaching and holding space for people of dancing and just how fluid and alive your and and
- 1:13:16embodied you are is just it gives me absolute chills and this was always I'm just having such an
- 1:13:21incredible moment within myself and holding the human experience of it all because like to be
- 1:13:28learning from like black woman teachers you know thinkers healers who are speaking about the metaphysical
- 1:13:36the body that it really makes it that was my always my vision or part a huge part of my vision and
- 1:13:40so it's just like thank you for for making my dream come true in this session and I often say
- 1:13:46this thing that you know we're all manifesting each other we're manifesting you know like
- 1:13:54you dreaming of teaching is equally your student's dreaming of being taught by you and I feel like
- 1:13:59all the wisdom you've experienced and gathered and alchemized has turned you into this just
- 1:14:05oh I don't even know Oracle yes and Oracle wisdom and Oracle of expression and I'm just so
- 1:14:13grateful is there anything that you I always want to I care a lot that people feel heard and so
- 1:14:19is there anything you shared that you're like oh I really wanted to you know go deeper into this
- 1:14:22or this didn't feel heard or I would love to have this be more seen you know what there's only one
- 1:14:30thing and I would say when you're connecting to your body and your movement if you notice any
- 1:14:38resistance maybe just journal about it maybe what are you making it mean and because that's
- 1:14:47something that I experienced a lot and especially as women we again like we compartmentalize our
- 1:14:54expression and we don't allow ourselves to you can be everything you can be the nurture you can
- 1:15:02be sexy you can be sassy you can be angry and so I just want to leave people with not just with
- 1:15:08your movement as in your dance your movement of life like you are the movement you know like life is
- 1:15:14the dance and you are the movement really allow yourself any desire that is on your heart that is
- 1:15:21placed there it's your duty and responsibility to explore it and if there's resistance you're
- 1:15:27probably in the right direction and if it's something to do with your vessel remember that your
- 1:15:33body is a portal it's not a project and it's something that I you know again like I've
- 1:15:39experienced and worked through and again like it's the humanity of we're doing this together
- 1:15:45but you're worthy and I love you I love you you know um so yeah explore and find out what that
- 1:15:53means don't just shy away from it if you if you come up against resistance because you you have
- 1:15:58the tools and you have the power and if you don't you will find them because as you start to
- 1:16:03desire more things will start to come into your reality that will meet you there where you need to
- 1:16:07be even listen to this podcast you are here for a reason you know so trust trust trust trust yourself
- 1:16:14trust your body trust your wisdom trust your portal oh trust your portal your body is a portal
- 1:16:21not a project that reclamation from toxic beauty standards from capitalism from you know
- 1:16:28viewing your body as a vessel for productivity and pushing your body and sexism patriarchy
- 1:16:33anti-blackness like anti-fatness just ableism just all of them that there is this we I mean
- 1:16:40need huge systemic change and reimagining and also that reclamation is also possible at some
- 1:16:47scale within each of us and so thank you for that that's so juicy like trust grace you really
- 1:16:52invited us into these deeply rich nourishing values of like trusting playing curiosity creativity
- 1:17:00compassion and grace and love so much love oozing from this conversation so thank you so much
- 1:17:07for for your wisdom so we like to close the soul salon or I'm still actually establishing the
- 1:17:13closing rituals but I would love to start with some prompts some sentences a few sentences for
- 1:17:19you to close and then we'd love to just get your social so that we can make sure that we can tap
- 1:17:24in and stay in touch with your divine teaching and hopefully attend your events and such things
- 1:17:28okay wonderful so I feel so your invitation is to complete these sentences so I feel most
- 1:17:36alive when you know I'm gonna say when I'm dancing I feel most connected to the most high to
- 1:17:47the universal energies and yeah I feel most alive when I'm dancing the medicine the world needs is
- 1:17:56love love simple love to see that we all are embodiments of love you know okay I'm
- 1:18:05going to all just to be real because you know we have to acknowledge you all but like
- 1:18:10closely love I believe my soul came here to reconnect people to their joy of vitality into
- 1:18:22their bodies and find their rhythm in life we can heal the planet by
- 1:18:33big question listening listening to Gaia listening to you know listening to each other
- 1:18:43really listening and allowing and not trying to control a little segue because I think
- 1:18:50is so important yesterday I watched Frankie's phone and there was a sentence that says I think
- 1:19:02it was God does not control only monsters control something like that you know and so when we're
- 1:19:09listening don't quote me verbatim but it was something like that and it will come up if anyone
- 1:19:14just watch it read thoroughly enjoyed but that listening like listen and allow because when we
- 1:19:20try to control this is where the friction is coming in there's this control for power you know
- 1:19:26so listen like we can heal the world by listening to one another and see one another you know
- 1:19:33I deeply agree deeply I love that response well and then finally if my inner child walk through
- 1:19:40that door I would say to her I love you girl and I'm so proud and you're doing it and you've been
- 1:19:46doing it and you've always been enough and continue to trust you know oh love me
- 1:19:59we've got it like how can we not and then you know and also I just want to take a moment to
- 1:20:06thank you and your inner child because the thing is if it wasn't for her you wouldn't be here now
- 1:20:15and you wouldn't be creating this beautiful platform and all of your love and all of your wisdom
- 1:20:21from all of your life experiences pouring out and and and beautifully wrapping around
- 1:20:27other people like this podcast is a cell for the soul as well so I just want to yeah take a moment
- 1:20:34like we have to give each other our flowers and receive them but also like thank you and you get
- 1:20:40something I feel so warm and I feel so seen in my inner child she loves praise so she's like
- 1:20:48yes oh thank you so much tomorrow that has that is so loving and and I feel that I feel I'm
- 1:20:57letting it seep into my the soil of my being so it can take root thank you for seeing me and
- 1:21:02for celebrating me I really feel so grateful to be sitting here with you um I know many people
- 1:21:08are feeling like they're like I want some more so how can they stay in touch with you tap into
- 1:21:13your frequency or wisdom your energy yes oh beautiful so you can find me on all social outside all
- 1:21:20socials the ones that I have um but Instagram tomorrow Josephine um and tomorrow Josephine.com
- 1:21:27for my website and yeah I think that's like by the most part tiktok um same thing tomorrow Josephine
- 1:21:35across all platforms you know keep it simple keep it simple tomorrow Joseph tomorrow that
- 1:21:40Josephine underscore amazing and we will have the socials linked in the show notes so you can go
- 1:21:46tap into tomorrow's website and her socials and then yes events are offerings yes events and offerings
- 1:21:54I'm now manifesting that that sounds incredible thank you so much everyone for being with us
- 1:21:59in the soul salon it has been such a magical journey and I feel so grateful and so delighted
- 1:22:06that we all get to re-listen to this again and again because there were so many insights that I
- 1:22:12feel are deeply sitting with me dance as a prayer dance as a mirror reconnecting people with their
- 1:22:17vitality you know expressing ourselves in public and being curious with our bodies is just so much
- 1:22:23here and as a student as someone who loves learning the fact that I don't have a notebook here is
- 1:22:28costing me everything I'm like maybe I need to change the show or maybe I need to be a host who
- 1:22:33takes notes no you listen oh there's a thing he has been doing I actually don't know I'm just
- 1:22:41gonna give this I know this one I don't know this one thank you so much keep tapping into the
- 1:22:48soul salon I'm sending we are both sending you so much love so much grace compassion and kindness
- 1:22:54and may we all be moving let's take maybe five minutes after this episode to really embody
- 1:22:59this wisdom play a song put it on shovel yeah and just play yeah smooth like you mean it yes thank
- 1:23:06you so much everyone will see you on the next all session I love you bye my darling my love my soul
- 1:23:22sibling thank you for stepping into the soul salon if you are still hearing or watching this
- 1:23:27we are soul siblings we are resonating on the same frequency and so something you may struggle
- 1:23:32with that I struggle with is the fear of being seen you know that visibility is involved in you
- 1:23:38living your creative purpose and being in your power serving the collective through your gifts
- 1:23:44through your magic through your medicine in order to do that you know you need to be more seen
- 1:23:50than you are allowing yourself to be right now I have a gift just for you hard made for us on this
- 1:23:57frequency and it is a free ebook called the soulful visibility guide that is soulful visibility like
- 1:24:04we don't just want to be seen we want to be felt we want to be heard we want to move and be moved
- 1:24:10so I do have a free gift for you and all you need to do is go to my website iunderstood.com and
- 1:24:16there you will be able to input your email address and receive this directly to your inbox this
- 1:24:22is such a juicy and delicious guide and I change the free offering every few months so you know
- 1:24:28get it while you can all the links are in the show notes so thank you so much I love you and I will
- 1:24:33see you on the next sole session okay I love you bye