Find Your Voice!
This month's Goddess inquiry subject is Feminine POWER. This builds on last month's feminine FREEDOM discussion.
One of the most powerful things we can do as women, is to know how and be able to protect ourselves. As Goddess Guide Ellen has been teaching us, this means WAY more than just knowing some cool Karate moves!
Defending yourself begins with the DISCOVERY that you CAN. Our first line of defense is our VOICE, however most of us have been taught to be quiet, be nice and take care of others.
We tend to think "of course if threatened I would scream". Ellen assures us, in her years and years of experience training women in self-empowerment and defense, this is NOT the case.
The truth is, you don't KNOW what you would really do ... UNLESS you have practiced it. Since we are blessed to have Ellen in our community, we asked her to write this week's Goddess Living practice to get us started.
BONUS, Ellen tells us that practicing speaking up can be good for MANY things, not just warding off potential physical threats.
This Week's Goddess Practice
Find Your Voice
(AND Your Solar Plexus)
Physical Exercise (Yes, your voice is physical.)
Create a place where you feel safe to yell as loudly as you can. (If you live somewhere with thin walls, do this exercise when most people are at work, or “out.”) You may want to do this in a closet. You may want to find the most remote part of your living space. Have a pad of paper close so you can reflect immediately on paper, after this exercise.
The ideal place is in a bathroom where you can look in the mirror.
Now: hold your hands up like you did when you were a child and preparing to jump into a rope turned by others. (That’s because we didn’t want to be hit in the face by a rope.)
Count to 3 – 1, 2, 3… On 3, yell “No!” Yelling is distinct from screaming. Screaming is in your throat; yelling is sourced from your solar plexus. “NO” as a scream also fits into a stereotype of weakness and helplessness. “NO!” from the solar plexus is a command and communicates strength and power whether you feel powerful or not.
From the first “No!” jot down what happened for you. Were you worried about doing it “right”? Were you worried about people hearing you? Was it embarrassing? Did you blush? Simply reflect on what happened for you. Taking those reactions into account, do it again and again until you transcend the internal dialogue and are simply able to yell “No!” with your entire being.
Simple, not necessarily easy.
~ Love Ellen Snortland
