Playing big

It is the first full week of November and the start of my birth month. (Yippee!)

October kind of kicked my butt. But it taught me well and as a result, I have a very different outlook for this month.

The truth is, despite injury and the best laid plans, I kicked butt too. I had to be flexible and really adapt to a bunch of new realities – some of which I wanted and others I most certainly didn’t. I had to ask for help, embrace my limitations, step up my game and make decisions I had never thought I would. I had to learn how to and grow to want to let others into my world.

All of that culminated in a desire to play big. So what does that mean? For me, 3 very specific things comes to mind:

• being present
• inviting abundance
• embracing generosity

Being present: As I learned last month, my inability to be present cost me my mobility – among other things – for 2 weeks. For the month of November, I am challenging myself to re-commit to a daily meditation practice (so far so good!).  In addition to my handy-dandy Meditation Oasis app, I really love the 21 Day Meditation Challenges from the Chopra Center. (The next one stars on November 11!)

Thankfully my poor little ankle is on the mend and that means that I will have the opportunity to step outside of my home and indulge in a social life (complete with real human interaction!) This month, I am letting myself enjoy life and the people who are such an integral part of mine. I am reinstating my “me time” policy and booking my calendar with get-togethers with friends and bonding time with my little Bear.

Inviting abundance: I like the word “inviting” because for me, it really is a matter of holding the space for myself to recognize and receive abundance. So what does that really mean? It means being 10 times more open about inviting others to benefit from the experience, learning and work that I do.  It means both internally AND externally valuing the things that I am best at. It means building a legacy by guiding others in generating impact. 

This month, my little-company-that-could gets to grow its reach. For the first time in the history of Inspired Practice, I have formally created a COACHING PRACTICE to support social and traditional entrepreneurs in achieving greater goals through their venture development. Not only does this allow me to do work that I love but it also means that my gifts can be utilized by so many more people to multiply impact and possibility all around the world. Now that is ABUNDANCE!

Embracing generosity: I have always been much better at GIVING than RECEIVING. Part of my journey through pregnancy has been to learn how to embrace the generosity others bestow upon me. Accepting help is hard enough but asking for it is a whole other challenge. Both are necessary in life and it is time to learn how to embrace this.

As part of the many gifts I am blessed with every minute of every day, this month I will have a very special gift visiting me for a week – my DAD. He will be here not only to spend time with me (in my ever-growing state) but also to help me accomplish some of the many home improvement tasks that I have been asked (politely) not to attempt while pregnant.

On Wednesday, November 20, I will celebrate my 32nd birthday. And with that, I will be launching a treasured piece of work called the Personal Entrepreneurship Journey. I hope it will be a gift to others as much as it has been an inspiring and productive tool for me. No birthday of mine is complete without spreading the LOVE. So on that day (beginning at 2pm EST/GMT-5), 10% of all sales will go to Care Canada’s Mothers Matter program to help thousands of mamas and babies thrive in Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

I hope you and others will join me in my November quest to be present, invite abundance and embrace generosity.  Here we go!

My early pregnancy favourites

Well here we are. 17 weeks along and wrapping up my fourth month and first in the second trimester. By “we”, I of course mean myself and Bear (the nickname we have given our unborn child and yes, it is awesome).

My first trimester was full of ups and downs. I was totally rockin’ early pregnancy until my 6th week (so basically it was wonderful for 14 days!) then all-day nausea set in. Ugh. Followed by migraine and tension headaches. Aaah. Thankfully by the time my 12th week rolled around, I was starting to feel more like myself. I figured out a few things that worked well for me and tried to replicate those things on a daily or weekly basis as best I could.

This is what worked for me.

FOR ENDORPHINS: I read this stupid pregnancy book in my first trimester that was so non-committal about a lot of the basic pregnancy dos and don’ts yet there was a whole chapter dedicated to why you shouldn’t exercise during pregnancy. Oh brother. There was no medical rationale just an argument in favour of laziness. Needless to say, I tossed the book and went about researching good prenatal exercise classes and DVDs. I came across Tracy Anderson’s The Pregnancy Project. Since I was already familiar with the Tracy Anderson Method, read through tons of mostly very positive reviews, and liked the $30 price point, I bought the set (9 DVDs – one for each month). I managed to do the DVD a couple of times per week throughout most of my first trimester and I always felt so much better afterwards.

FOR NUTRIENTS: Back in 2012, I had met with a dietician and a naturopath to ensure I was getting the right nutrients – both in my food and through supplements. I had already been taking a (drugstore brand) prenatal vitamin with the hope that the higher iron value would continue to keep my hemoglobin in a healthy range. It was recommended that I try Genestra Brands Pregna Vite to up the dosage of iron (and folic acid for when the time came to start a family). It is not an inexpensive vitamin but it is such high quality that it was one of the few supplements I could swallow during my first trimester. (The B complex vitamin, on the other hand, made me gag every time.)

FOR NAUSEA: On the days I was extremely nauseated, little would really help to address it. Laying down and sleeping was good but I wasn’t always successful in actually falling into a slumber. Eating something every 2 hours kept the nausea at bay for a bit during the last few weeks of my first trimester. Otherwise, the only thing that really worked were almonds. Popping 5-10 raw almonds in my mouth would give me a bit of energy, some calories from protein and something substantial in my stomach. I could carry them wherever I went and they always gave me some relief before the next wave would come.

FOR SANITY: I found early pregnancy to be one of the most isolating experiences of my life. You can’t get any information from your doctor or midwife about your baby until 10-12 weeks in. You can’t talk to anyone else about it because it might not be a “sure thing”. You experience so many weird sensations and symptoms. You “google” said sensations and symptoms only to find out about a million little things that can go wrong. You are hormonal, nauseated, slow and unproductive but can’t explain these things to others for fear of raising concern or suspicion. I wasn’t a woman-in-charge anymore, I was a total basket-case who, at times, teetered on the edge of losing her sanity. So I turned to meditation as a way to “get a grip”. I downloaded the Meditation Oasis Podcast app and haven’t looked back. They have some great meditations on gratitude, stress, patience and yes, even pregnancy.

FOR FUN: I picked up quite a few pregnancy manuals when I first found out I was “with child”. (I stayed away from books that I had heard were extremely alarmist.) Most of them were not the right fit for me. Then I came across Fit Pregnancy magazine and loved the content. It seemed like just the right dose of everything I was looking for. I bought a digital subscription via Zinio and look forward to each new issue.

FOR MEMORIES: I started a Word-based journal the very same day I peed on that all-important stick. The journal had two kinds of entries: some were more about my pregnancy and the experience, and others were letters to Bear with memories or stories that I would want to document and share with him/her. I found this adorable illustrated Fruit of the Womb journal on Etsy by Megan Elizabeth Gilbert. Now I use it to record pregnancy milestones and reflections. My letters to Bear have been transferred to an electronic book with weekly photos that I will get published after his/her birth.

FOR ENERGY: I started to drink a ton of water at around my 9th week. I found myself getting dehydrated. The thing with water is it is refreshing and thirst-quenching but not packed with energy. So I would take a carton of coconut water with me on-the-go and it did wonders for my energy-level.

FOR RELAXATION:  The acute sense of smell that one develops during pregnancy is not all it’s cracked up to be. There were few scents during the early days that I actually found appealing or could tolerate.  Lavender was pretty much the only exception. So I kept a bottle of essential oil near my bed and desk to relax and revel in something comforting and familiar.

Just want to say…

I just want to say….my life would suck without you. And YOU know who you are.

Ages ago I came across  a really powerful meditation by a contributor to Kris Carr’s book Crazy Sexy Diet that I absolutely love.  Today is THANKSGIVING in Canada and I can’t think of a better day to share it.

Set aside some time, find a comfortable seat, and sit down. Close your eyes and become aware of your breathing, breathing in and breathing out. Silently say the words “Blessings to” as you inhale, and as you exhale say the name of someone you know and love, as it is easier to give a blessing to them. Continue for several minutes, extending your blessings to include your family, friends, etc… You will find that as you say their names, their image will appear to you.

I am not a masterful meditator. It doesn’t come easily to quiet my mind but this “blessings meditation” is actually something I try to practice on my morning commute. Often it is with my eyes wide open looking out the window of the streetcar. I put my ear-buds in, crank up the ocean waves track on my iPhone and say “blessings to” every person I can think of.  I am ever surprised by some of the people who pop into my head. But the first on my list are always my family members (human and canine alike), cherished friends and some remarkable people across the planet who I have never met in person but whose very existence has changed me.

It is true that I love to count my blessings. Yet I think turning my mind away from myself and toward others surprisingly strengthens my sense of belonging.

In addition to being thankful and sending along blessings to others, I am spending the day on several constructive activities. Since statutory holidays do not really apply to entrepreneurs, the Inspired Practice office is open this afternoon so that I can finalize editing of 2 videos, film another and curate content on the building blocks of social ventures.  The other “work”  that is underway is purging, packing, tidying and cleaning. As our closing date approaches, we are excited to celebrate the holiday with preparations for our next adventure.

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians and blessings to all.