Latest / Rise & Realign: Conversations for the Sensitive Soul / Why Does My Stomach React When I Feel Unsafe? Gut Consciousness and the Scorpio Depths

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Why Does My Stomach React When I Feel Unsafe? Gut Consciousness and the Scorpio Depths · Rise & Realign: Conversations for the Sensitive Soul

0:01
Welcome to Rise and Realign, conversations for
0:05
the sensitive soul. I'm Melissa, and this space
0:09
is for those of us who feel deeply, love fiercely,
0:14
and sense the world in ways that are hard to
0:18
explain, but impossible to ignore. Here, we honor
0:24
your sensitivity as a strength, not something
0:27
to fix. Through reflections, realignment, and
0:33
soul -led stories, we remember how to move through
0:37
life in a way that feels true to who we really
0:42
are. This is your space to rise, to realign,
0:48
and to come home again and again to your own
0:53
wise, sensitive, authentic self. We continue
1:01
this new body sign series, part of The Re-Aligned
1:07
Journey, and we are in the heart of Scorpio season,
1:12
the season of the depths. And episode 51 last
1:19
week started, you know, it introduced this Body-
1:22
Sign Series that I have created for the next
1:28
12 months. Because so many of the women that
1:33
I have the pleasure of meeting and knowing, whether
1:38
that's in my personal life or the clients that
1:42
I'm privileged to support. So many, you know,
1:46
are aware that they're living in their head a
1:50
little bit too much, that it's actually interfering
1:54
in their ability to feel connected to themselves,
1:57
right? That they've lost contact with that free
2:01
spirit within them. And this is something, you
2:05
know, I'm very open and honest with. the women
2:09
that I support that, you know, I've been there.
2:12
I remember. I remember how I used to live. I
2:15
remember how I used to be. And when I had that
2:19
awakening 18 years ago, it was really clear.
2:22
You know, we collectively, you know, need to
2:26
move out of our head and into our hearts and
2:30
reestablish a relationship with our body. our
2:34
own inner guidance, right? And really come into
2:38
right relationship with the mind, the body, the
2:41
soul, right? The universe, the collective, however
2:44
else, you know, you want to look at it. So I'm
2:51
really excited about this new Body-Sign Series.
2:55
And I have been bringing it into The Re-Align
3:01
Circle for Sensitive and Strong Women in Their
3:03
20s. And I'm preparing to do the same with the
3:08
new Re-Align Circle for Sensitive and Strong Women
3:12
in Midlife that begins in January. So if this
3:16
is at all interesting, I invite you to check
3:20
that out and see how it works for your schedule.
3:27
you know, I said, like, we need to move out of
3:29
our head and into our heart, right, and connect
3:32
more with our body. Like, it's really important
3:34
to understand that the brain, right, it's a reactive
3:38
listener. So when people get kind of caught up
3:44
in that, those loops, or those old records, as
3:47
you may have heard me call it, right, like, That's
3:51
where the past is. That's where reactions are
3:54
living, right? That's where fear is, that kind
3:56
of protective voice that I talk about. But what's
4:02
important to understand is that roughly 80 %
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of the vagus nerve fibers carry information.
4:12
upward, right? So we're talking from the gut
4:16
up to the brain. So this is that really awakening
4:20
piece to understand. The body speaks first, and
4:25
the head receives. And this is something that,
4:29
you know, I've been speaking about the heart
4:32
in a similar way. for over a decade because I
4:37
had the privilege of coming across HeartMath
4:40
Institute early on in my awakening and learning
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about all of their research right and you know
4:48
the field around us and so I certainly learned
4:51
that the heart sends more messages up to the
4:54
brain than the brain does to the heart. So this
4:58
was quite fascinating when I came across this
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new scientific paper where a psychiatrist asked
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a question that neuroscience apparently has never
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seriously asked. Could the gut have a basic form
5:15
of awareness of its own? Now, I'm just, you know,
5:22
again, Gemini Sun, I'm so curious, I get lit
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up by new information. I'm very much about what
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else is possible. Okay. So this kind of information
5:34
is really important. And that's why I'm obviously
5:37
bringing it today. Because when we understand
5:40
that, like, As sensitive individuals, I've been
5:44
calling, you know, we have this sensory intelligence,
5:47
right? It's this heightened sensory intelligence.
5:50
Those of us who are highly sensitive in roughly
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20 % of the population, right? So if you can
5:57
understand that the enteric nervous system holds
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roughly 400 to 600 million neurons, like, wow,
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that just, doesn't that sound incredible, right?
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And the digestive surface reaches about 30 square
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meters, which is like a singles tennis court,
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just to give you an idea of how big that is.
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Math is not my forte, so I always appreciate
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references like this. It's like amazing, right?
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And then, you know, when you understand that
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the gut makes 90 to 95 % of the body's serotonin.
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Now, these may be new terms, you know, new information
6:41
for you, but this is absolutely the kind of information
6:45
that I bring into my work with, whether it's
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therapy clients, whether it's through my spiral
6:52
guide work, you know, because this is important
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for us to understand how our body actually operates.
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if we feel tired, if we feel fatigued, if we
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feel depleted, right? Like there's many angles
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that we can approach that type of symptom. Same
7:13
with anxiety, right? And so I, I mean, that's
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why I'm a holistic psychotherapist because It's
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so important to have many angles, not just one,
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not just that physical, oh, you know, I have
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a stomachache or, oh, I have loose stools or
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stalled stools, right? Like, what did I eat?
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What did blah, blah, blah, right? Like kind of
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on only the physical level. But when we understand
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that that vagus nerve, right, that's running
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from the brainstem all the way through, we've
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talked about the throat, the heart, the lungs,
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right? The gut, like this is an explanation a
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little bit more into why, especially as sensitive
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individuals, when we're experiencing that overwhelm
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or what we might call anxiety, why our gut starts
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to also you know, show some mobility issues.
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But what's really important to gather from, you
8:17
know, and the psychiatrist, his name is Hassler.
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And so he holds this testable hypothesis, right?
8:28
Not a conclusion. But his question is, what does
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it feel like to be a gut? We cannot know from
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outside. So This again, I just want to bring
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it back to trusting ourselves, right? Like for
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me, I've had gut issues since I was a child.
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I certainly didn't understand that my gut was
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communicating, right? Like that. Well, my sensitivity,
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I was getting overwhelmed. Like school was a
9:00
very stressful place for me. I wasn't a bad student.
9:03
I was average or above. But anxiety, gut issues,
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I was in the nurse's office all the time. If
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you went to public school in America, you may
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have had similar experiences with bullies, right?
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Again, is somebody going to get beat up? Is somebody
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going to get hurt? Is somebody going to talk
9:25
poorly about somebody else? What's the gossip?
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There's so much drama, right? At least when I
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was a kid, that was my experience. But the point
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is, is... My gut was informing me, right, that
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I wasn't safe. I wasn't feeling safe in that
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environment. And so to not have to go to school
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and to stay home, like that provided that sense
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of safety that I needed. But this, again, this
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hypothesis, you know, brings us back to, again,
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connecting more with our body. You know, what
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is? being sensed within our body and so many
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of us you know have been caught in that pattern
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of we have to think our way through everything
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right we have to plan it we have to figure it
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out ahead of time like think think think right
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and it's like wrong wrong because when we tune
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in and really start to develop a more loving
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and kind and nourishing relationship with our
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body, we can start to understand how our body's
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communicating for us to make the choices differently.
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And it is, you know, being a highly sensitive
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person means that you have a higher likelihood
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of being able to tune in and pay attention to
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what your body is sensing signaling right like
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i really see symptoms as signals it's communication
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that we just maybe haven't yet been able to interpret
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But the more we understand how our body operates,
11:17
right, and the vagus nerve is absolutely one
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of those key pieces that I return to when I'm
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working with groups or individuals, because we
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need to understand how that vagus nerve is stimulated,
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how to tone it, right? Our gut, again, when we're
11:40
talking about this Scorpio season and the depths,
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right? Like we're getting to the colon and that
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area of transformation and release, right? So,
11:53
and same with our reproductive organs. So anyway,
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I just wanted to bring in this new piece of scientific.
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this scientific paper because again it's i i
12:08
just i'm fascinated our bodies are so much more
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than most of us have ever realized and you know
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we do a lot of our questioning up in our head,
12:19
right? Like we're spinning on the brain's capacity,
12:23
which again, we want to remember more information
12:28
is going from our gut to our brain, just like
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more information is going from our heart to our
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brain than it is from our brain downward. And
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I don't know if this is new for you, but it's
12:41
so important. Because really, when, you know,
12:45
women come to me, and they say, I have a really
12:47
hard time making decisions, you know, I just
12:50
give in, you know, or I just see everybody else's
12:55
needs. And so I just want to meet their needs,
12:58
because I care, right, but then they disregard,
13:01
or I like to say, self abandon, right, their
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own inner guidance and communication, because
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They just haven't understood the signals and
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what it's communicating. So this, you know, is
13:19
really an invitation, right? For you to start
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connecting more with your body and it's any intelligence
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because it truly is miraculous. But most of us
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were not raised to see it that way. And that's
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important to understand because you know, what
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we give our attention to grows. And so for a
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lot of us who were schooled, right, in a school
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setting, you know, four walls, you're told what
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to focus on, how long to focus on it, right?
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And even given a very limited viewpoint of history
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or health, right, whatever the topic may be,
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but there is so much more than most of us have
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been exposed to. So, you know, it's interesting
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when I think of, you know, the word focus, a
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lot of women that come to me, like they, the
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head is spinning on so many different things,
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whether it's worries, whether it's planning,
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you know, whether it's how somebody else is going
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to respond to something, right? Like getting
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way ahead of the current present information.
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And, you know, I teach the importance of focus,
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right? Like bring your focus, bring your attention
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back to your breath. Like just connect with your
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breath, wherever it is. You don't need to change
14:45
it, right? Just focus on your breath. So I see
14:52
that a lot of us were really trained to focus
14:56
in very narrow ways, even if we were given many
15:00
different subjects, right? But just like the
15:03
body. right? Like, oh, this part of the body
15:06
only works this way. This part of the body works
15:09
this way, right? But when we really take a step
15:12
back, it's like, well, what's really going on
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though, is that we're a community of organs,
15:20
right? Like we have this connective tissue. We
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have this communication going on throughout our
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whole body. So we really don't want to separate
15:32
and segregate all of the organs of our body.
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Just like when it comes to education and learning,
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right? Yes, we want to learn the specifics about
15:46
a certain area, but we also want to take a step
15:50
back and see that it is all connected because
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that's what helps us truly understand ourselves,
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right? How to care for ourselves, right? But
16:03
also how to navigate the rest of our lives, right?
16:09
So I kind of see us. on this journey, right?
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Where we're raised to focus in very limited ways.
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And then we get out of school or, you know, whatever
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upbringing is. And then we're just kind of thrust
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into, oh my God, there's so much, right? And
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then it becomes overwhelming because we were
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so segregated and told what to focus on. And
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now our attention is going to so many places.
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And we really don't know where or what to focus
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on at once. So this kind of just is bringing
16:48
you, you know, full circle back to why I'm really
16:51
excited to continue to share with you this body
16:55
sign series. Because every month when we move
16:59
into the next sign, you know, I'm going to bring
17:02
a little bit of information about the sign and
17:06
what it means and what part of the body is that
17:10
connected to so that we can start developing
17:13
a deeper understanding and relationship with
17:17
our body, but also how we're connected to the
17:20
cosmos, right? I'm here to help bridge, right?
17:30
The celestial and the elemental, right? The cosmos,
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our bodies, like there's just so much beauty
17:40
that can come when we return to our own natural
17:44
rhythm. And I'm certainly someone who's not here
17:48
to tell you what's right or wrong or how to live
17:52
your life. Because believe me, my motto is live
17:55
and let live. Because no one understands me and
17:59
my journey better than me. Just like nobody's
18:03
going to understand you and your journey better
18:06
than you. So it really is up to you to start
18:10
discovering. How does your body operate? How
18:14
does it communicate with you? And of course,
18:19
I'm in the mental health field, so it always
18:22
begins with, and what is your relationship with
18:26
your mind and how it operates? Do you understand
18:30
it? Because lack of understanding right? Lack
18:37
of focus, like these different areas where maybe
18:40
we're not that strong at it, we can develop it,
18:44
right? So we really want you to hear that I don't
18:48
pathologize, you know, when someone is is feeling
18:53
like they're stuck in a pattern that's old because
18:56
this is the thing we don't even know where these
18:59
patterns necessarily come from because sure it
19:02
can come from this physical life right but it
19:05
can also come from our ancestral lineage and
19:09
what what was again we inherited so I really
19:14
really just like to come back to that reminder
19:18
that you're okay you know, and if you're listening
19:22
and you sense that you're a sensitive individual,
19:25
like you're welcome here. You're welcome to listen
19:29
each week that, um, I publish a new episode.
19:33
Um, you know, I always love to guide you through
19:37
take a break and breathe love. But you're also
19:40
welcome to visit my website, realignwithmelissa
19:44
.com. You can read about services that I offer
19:47
for women in Massachusetts, California, and Arizona,
19:51
where I'm licensed. But I also have global offerings
19:55
because I know that sensitive women need to come
19:59
together, you know, to be united in a circle
20:02
where, again, they can be honored for their unique
20:07
gifts. and brilliance, and just get away from
20:13
the masses that don't think or feel so deeply.
20:18
So I just want you to know you're always welcome.
20:23
So let's take a break and breathe love, like
20:29
I said. And, you know, I've come to recognize
20:32
that that is whatever it is for you. I want you
20:35
to feel really comfortable. to take a break and
20:39
breathe love in whatever way works for you i
20:43
guide through different breathing practices on
20:45
the podcast here and i just want you to do what
20:49
feels good to you um so today though i will guide
20:56
you through what i have called heart wave breathing
21:01
So what I invite you to do if you're in a safe
21:05
place, you know, just kind of soften your eyelids.
21:08
If you can close them, you know, great. Close
21:12
your eyes, but you don't have to. And just notice
21:15
your breath. Just notice how it's already moving.
21:19
And just allow the space it needs to just perhaps
21:25
slow down as you connect with it. because your
21:30
focus is very powerful. So I invite you now to
21:38
place one hand on your lower belly, that Scorpio
21:43
area we've been talking about, and the other
21:48
hand on your heart. And then I invite you to
21:54
take a nice deep inhale through your nose and
21:57
feel the hand on the belly rise and take another
22:00
inhale really brief and feel that hand on the
22:03
chest rise and a long and slow exhale out your
22:07
mouth. And again, just honoring whatever your
22:10
capacity is at this moment. It can be different
22:14
from day to day and absolutely from person to
22:17
person, but just follow your rhythm. That first
22:21
nice deep inhale, your hand on your belly rises.
22:24
Second breath is shorter and the hand on the
22:27
heart rises. And then long and slow exhale out
22:31
your mouth. This signals to your nervous system
22:35
that it's okay. You can relax, right? So just
22:40
continue following your particular breathing
22:45
pattern. And again, I call this the heart wave
22:49
breath. And we do want to practice this at least
22:55
three cycles. Longer can give you a deeper, more
23:00
relaxed feeling and connect you even more deeply
23:04
with your body in the present moment. But again,
23:07
three is beautiful. It can bring you right back
23:11
into the present moment and a little clearer
23:15
and more connected with your own inner guidance.
23:25
And this is something that, you know, I encourage
23:29
each person to implement in every day, anywhere
23:35
that you can, especially at the start of your
23:38
day and the end of your day, right? Really connecting
23:42
with your heart and your body and just noticing.
23:48
Are there signals? Are there sensations, right?
23:52
Like tap into your unique sensory intelligence.
23:57
Really notice. Notice what's present for you.
24:17
Beautiful. So I again want you to know that if
24:26
you'd like to walk this path with me, you know,
24:29
you can go to realignwithmelissa .com. At the
24:33
very top, you can subscribe to my weekly newsletter,
24:37
which shares the podcast episode and the written
24:41
show notes. So you're welcome to sign up and
24:45
start receiving that. I do have a Substack subscription
24:50
that you're welcome to do the paid. And with
24:57
the paid, either you can get my monthly new moon
25:05
lunar letter I send out, um, and also attend
25:10
the quarterly, uh, seasonal threshold gatherings.
25:13
Um, I call them sensitivity realignment spiral.
25:17
And the next one is in December at the winter
25:22
solstice. Um, and my other offerings. They're
25:30
all there for you. And I'm really excited for
25:34
the Realign Circle for Sensitive and Strong Women
25:38
in Midlife that begins in January. And again,
25:42
I want you to know that I'm someone who really
25:45
values the depth that sensitive women bring.
25:50
And so I know that these gatherings need to remain
25:55
small. I know I've attended different monthly
25:59
gatherings, you know, and people can have so
26:02
many on the call, people don't feel like they're
26:05
really connecting with anyone, or even the one
26:08
who's facilitating it. So I want you to know
26:10
that even though this is open globally, I still
26:14
cap it at 15 women. So as soon as that midlife
26:22
uh realign circle is full then you know that's
26:26
the max and it doesn't open again until um there's
26:30
availability or if I have enough interest I can
26:33
always consider a second time but I just want
26:38
you to know it's so important that sensitive
26:40
women come together you know to understand that
26:44
you're not alone and that you're designed this
26:47
way for evolutionary reasons and the more you
26:52
slow down and connect with your breath your heart
26:56
your body right like That's where you tap into
27:00
your own innate gifts and talents to really embrace
27:05
and share more with the world in whatever way
27:09
that is. There's no one right way. So before
27:14
we close, I invite you to continue to return
27:19
to your breath, to your body, to what feels true
27:24
for you. Right here, right now, and each and
27:29
every day. There's nothing you need to fix. Just
27:34
notice what's here. Where the heart leads, the
27:40
body remembers, and the soul awakens. We are
27:45
here together to rise, reclaim, remember. And
27:53
as always, I'm so super grateful that you're
27:56
here. You are so important, valued, and your
28:01
voice and presence matters. So take good care
28:05
of you. Much love and light.