MALISSA LARSON YOGA & DOULA SERVICES

“Let choice whisper in your ear and love murmur in your heart. Be ready. Here comes life.”

— Maya Angelou

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Anyone else a skeptic when it comes to yoga and my

Anyone else a skeptic when it comes to yoga and mysticism? ⁠
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No, it's cool!... I feel you 😙⁠
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If yes, read on!⁠
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I'd wanted to REALLY understand the reasons behind the poses I'd learned from my teacher.⁠
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Blind faith, MERP!!⁠
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KROUNCHASANA is the second pose in the intermediate series of Ashtanga Yoga.⁠
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Translated, it means Heron's pose. This pose is said to loosen the hamstrings and detoxify the digestive system.⁠
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I won't get too nerdy on this one, but, if you look at the shape of the pose, you can see my pelvis is tilted forward quite a bit, leg extended out pretty darn far. ⁠
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All of those muscles interact with the digestive organs because, well, it's all connected!⁠
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NOTHING takes the place of a healthy diet totally! ⁠
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But, if you're having digestive issues, trying all the things, and want to use yoga to aid as well, here are some poses that may help!⁠
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🐈 Simple standing forward fold⁠
🐈 Sit in a chair, cross your ankle over your knee and bend forward slightly (pigeon pose modification)⁠
🐈 Legs up the wall ( You can do this in your jammies, in bed, cuddled up with your family and doggos!)⁠
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Simple. Accessible. and effective for ALL bodies !⁠
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Want to learn more about classical yoga? Come and see me for my early morning Wednesday class @hearfireyoga from 7-8 a.m weekly!

Photo by @buffaloshutterbug

There are SO many things I've been taught that, we

There are SO many things I've been taught that, well...⁠
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Just aren't true!⁠
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Like, for example, ALL ovulating folks will do so on the 14th day of their cycle... MERPPP!!! Wrong-ski!⁠
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OR, there are only two ways that genitals form in the womb....MERPPPP! Wrong again!!! There are 30!?!?!?!?⁠
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If you're like me and want some good ole solid factoids, here are some books I'd highly recommend reading:⁠
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💋 Come as you are By Emily Nagoski⁠
💋 Expecting Better By Emily Oster⁠
💋 Taking Charge of your Fertility By Toni Weschler, MPH⁠
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Did I miss your favorite read? Leave me a message in the comments below purdy, please 😊⁠

Featured here is a wee little one who just LOVED t

Featured here is a wee little one who just LOVED the patterns on my mask 🥰 ⁠
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When first born, babies are taking SO much in. ⁠
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They love routine, quiet, and cuddles. ⁠
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When overstimulated they may let us know. It doesn't make them "bad" babies. They're just... well... babies!⁠
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For new families or folks welcoming babies into the fold, here are some things I've found really fun and safe:⁠
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🥰 All patterns may get babes really interested. If you know you'll be holding a newborn, try wearing a fun colored mask or drawing a pattern on your N95⁠
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🥰 Talk and touch softly. You may get a little giggle!⁠
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🥰 If the baby starts crying, don't fret! The first thing to do, check under the hood 👌🏿 No one likes a wet diaper! ⁠
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For more information on my work and how I can support your family, visit the linkinbio @malissa.larson ⁠

Do you, like me, value gratitude as a daily practi

Do you, like me, value gratitude as a daily practice?⁠
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Also, do you, like me, find it REALLY challenging to be grateful at times?⁠
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Gratitude experts, scroll on!⁠
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But, if you're in my boat, here are some helpful findings from the Huberman Lab podcast.⁠
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Do this for a highly effective gratitude practice:⁠
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🦄 Connect with a story narrative. That's right! ⁠
receiving or perceiving gratitude is key to activating your own!⁠
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🦄 Watch for moments of gratitude exchanged between others. ⁠
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Guys, this episode is so worth a listen.⁠
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You can find this episode @hubermanlab, on Spotify or anywhere you get your podcasts. ⁠
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Parents to be, this can be an especially important practice for you. Want to know more, hop into the podcast!⁠
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P.S I have no affiliation with @Hubermanlab. I just LOVE approaches that work 😃⁠
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What else is back by science to work? Hiring a doula of course! For more on my support offerings Follow the link in bio @malissa.larson and write in!⁠
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My teacher Sharathji and I are at a bar.⁠⁠ ⁠

My teacher Sharathji and I are at a bar.⁠⁠
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I am sitting there at a stool with my leg behind my head and he is wearing a white lungi.⁠⁠
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I am having a conversation with him but what is coming out of my mouth is the opening mantra. He is pleased and we are eating tortilla chips.⁠⁠
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As you could have probably guessed, this was a dream. ⁠⁠
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Have you ever been so absorbed with something that you have lucid dreams about it?⁠⁠
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At the time I was deep in running my yoga school, working on intermediate series ( Ashtanga Yoga stuff), and bartending.⁠⁠
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The subconscious mind is SO powerful. ⁠⁠
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My dreams prove to me that this is true, see exhibit A...⁠⁠
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If you're getting ready to tackle something BIG ⁠⁠
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Like... growing and giving birth to a tiny human⁠⁠
starting a yoga practice⁠⁠
therapy ⁠⁠
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or returning to school for a degree...⁠⁠
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Here is a fun meditation to do. ⁠⁠
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Before you go to bed:⁠⁠
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😴 Lay down in a comfortable position and take five big deep breaths. Only think about the breath now⁠⁠
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😴 Now, imagine yourself at the end of the road you're on. Not a struggle self but a badass self.... ⁠⁠
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What are you wearing? ⁠⁠
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What do you look like? ⁠⁠
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Where are you living? ⁠⁠
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Who are your cheerleaders beside you?⁠⁠
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😴 Now, see yourself doing the thing you've set out to do and being REALLY good at it... Like Real good. ⁠⁠
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😴 Notice if any thoughts of resistance come up around seeing yourself successful... Notice any voices or bodies that come along with those thoughts...⁠⁠
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😴 then kindly to yourself or outloud in your safe space, tell those thoughts, people or voices, to fuck off with their fuckery ⁠⁠
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😴 and continue to see yourself shine.⁠⁠
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Repeat this for one week (or more) and see what happens 💥⁠⁠
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Interested in working with me on the mat? Click the @malissa.larson link in bio and drop me a line. ⁠⁠
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"I discovered that when I believed my thoughts, I

"I discovered that when I believed my thoughts, I suffered, but then when I didn't believe them, I didn't suffer and that this is true for every human being. Freedom is as simple as that. I found that suffering is optional. I found a joy within me that has never disappeared, not for a single moment."⁠⁠
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~Byron Katie⁠⁠
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As Byron Katie writes, freedom comes from not believing the thoughts.
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She teaches this great technique (That I found after googling her because I LOVED this quote)⁠⁠
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If you're an overthinker (AHEM, like me 😅) and find yourself at odds with your thoughts, this may be just for you. ⁠⁠
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Here is a neat technique I found from her work in Wikipedia called "turnarounds".⁠ 😻
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The four questions are:⁠⁠
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💭 Is it true?⁠⁠
💭 Can you absolutely know that it's true?⁠⁠
💭 How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?⁠⁠
💭 Who would you be without the thought?⁠⁠
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⁠⁠the turnarounds are a way of experiencing the opposite of the thought that one is believing. For example, the thought "My husband should listen to me", can be turned around to "I should listen to my husband", "I should listen to myself", and "My husband shouldn't listen to me". "⁠⁠
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When you practice the turn around there ultimately is another truth waiting for you beyond the thought that is causing you stress. ⁠⁠
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Have anything you want to turn around? Birthing friends... this one is especially for you!!⁠⁠
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Leave me a comment below ⬇️⁠⁠
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For more on my work and to sign up for a free consultation for you and doula services see the link in bio @malissa.larson ❤️⁠⁠
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“All suffering can and should be avoided” ~ Pa

“All suffering can and should be avoided”
~ Patanjali Yoga Sutra 2.16

Karma in hinduismn means the sum of a persons actions in this and previous existence, viewed as deciding their fate in the future.

I spend a lot of time thinking of all the mischief I’ve created knowing and unknowingly. Maybe too much 🤦🏻‍♀️

Like, daydreaming when I should be curbing my dog, watching for one ways (opposies!), eating the last brownie, etc.

@angelazjamison, during my last trip to India, taught me the Saturday ritual at the local Shani temple.

Shani is the god Associated with the planet saturn.

There I learned a ritual to burn intentional and unintentional karma as an offering.

I cried a lot. It was such a release.

While, Buffalo isn’t the capital of the world for Shani temples, I still practice this ritual in my own way, from time to time.

It helps me make peace with the moments where I cause emotional harm, unintentionally.

Gosh, it’s the worst feeling to hurt someone’s feelings or fall short with a client. Sometimes it’s the trying so hard that does it too 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

A huge part of the ritual for me is acknowledging and accepting that I will accumulate bad karma. That’s the nature of being a human. And that’s ok.

If you’re carrying some heavy stuff including but not limited to making a mistake, failing, being too depleted to go the extra mile, anger, resentment, fear, or just plain daydreaming and running a red light…

Here is a snippet of the ritual I do to find inner peace ☮️ I hope it helps you too.

🧘🏻‍♀️ Go somewhere peaceful and quiet. You may Offer these minutes of silence to Shanidev, the God of Saturn who gladly takes all karma, good and bad, or any other deity that feels right to you.

🔥 light a candle
❤️ chant Om three time
🧘🏻‍♀️ Sit quietly for ten minutes inhaling and feeling the new experience and new breathe come in, exhaling and releasing all of your breath deeply (you may do this for as long as you need, sitting, lying down or in child’s pose)

Check out the link in my bio to connect @malissa.larson or DM me here. I’d love to hear from you. Photo credit @bert_brews

I remember the first time I saw my good friend in

I remember the first time I saw my good friend in college dance.⁠
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When the light hits someone in that way, flecks dance in the air.⁠
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As the music began, her body would float effortlessly across the stage.⁠
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She filled negative space with movement, breath, and told us a story with shapes.⁠
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I was lost in it and I lost myself.⁠
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Expression is a gift, not just to the artist.⁠
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What's your expression of choice?⁠
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Leave me a comment below ⬇️ 😊⁠
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I was ALWAYS thrown by stage left and stage right.

I was ALWAYS thrown by stage left and stage right.⁠
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It makes sense, in theory, 🤪⁠
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Similarly, a baby's fetal station can be confusing.⁠
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Did you know, that when a baby is -1, -2, -3 they're positioned above the rim of the pelvis?⁠
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Station 0 is right at the rim...⁠
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and +1, +2, and +3 are in the vaginal canal. ⁠
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getting your baby low before labor can be SUPER helpful. Lower baby, less pushing, closer to cuddles.⁠
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Everyone wins 😉⁠
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Here are some things to do to encourage a baby lower:⁠
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😻 Walk! This is possibly the best thing you can do to help a little one wiggle down.⁠
😻 Squats and yoga hip openers⁠
😻 Homeopathic remedies to help soften the cervix (more on that in future posts!!)⁠
😻 Climb stairs⁠
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Want to learn more about Homeopathic and natural remedies for induction... Stay tuned! Check out my classes and offerings @malissa.larson link in bio 💋⁠
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Some general human guidelines are really helpful.⁠
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For example⁠
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🥕 Walk outside a lot⁠
🥕 Play⁠
🥕 Laughter is medicine. Do more of it⁠
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Then there are some guidelines that are more preferential. Those guidelines are the ones that can box me in, manipulate and make me feel crazy.⁠
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Children teach me that everyone is different and not by choice. Gifts of the individual may come out when we are just little ones. ⁠
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I ask myself, over the years, which one of my gifts has been put to the sidelines. Let's face it, while coloring in a coloring book is super satisfying and I may be really good at it ( yea I said it!) it's not likely to bring in the chedda. ⁠
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Yet it's digging into those exact little things that have deepened my connection to my yoga practice and doula work. ⁠
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Looking to bring a little extra individual flava and style to your yoga practice and birth experience, I'll invite you to ask, what parts of me have I lost along the way?⁠
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I know, its a deep question!⁠
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BUT maybe you'll just find that missing piece to bring the magic back.⁠
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For more on my ever-evolving relationship with creativity in my work visit my website link in bio @malissa.larson.⁠
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In 2018/2019 I spent two months in India. Every Fr

In 2018/2019 I spent two months in India. Every Friday while in India I would go to the Durga temple. ⁠Friday is the day of goddess worship. It's a party 🤟🏽⁠
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I would stand in line with women in beautiful colored saris offering flowers, incents, and mantras(songs of prayer often sung in Sanskrit). ⁠
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I was surrounded by swaths of deep red, blue, green, and gold. Large fire pyres were lit at the entryway. Magic ⭐⁠
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⁠I felt a deep connection with Durga that year. I'd learned that she is the protector of birth, among other things. ⁠
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Her prayers are chanted at the moment of transition, while Hindu women are in labor.⁠ Neat. ⁠
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In times of mystery and vulnerability, one may find comfort in prayer. Sometimes, it can help to feel into the possibility with a sense of direction and asking.⁠
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Ultimately, all that power may come from right inside of us. Who knows for sure? ⁠
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But I know what I feel and MAN does it feel good to think like Durga ♥️⁠
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Here are some other powerful spiritual figures that may resonate with you:⁠
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1. Mother Theresa⁠
2. Ghandi⁠
3. Jesus Christ⁠
4. Ganesha⁠
5. Shiva⁠
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Did I miss Yours? let me know in the comments below ⬇️⁠
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Learn yoga with me! See the link in bio @malissa.larson to learn more.⁠
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Media Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/-nsza_0Ki0A⁠
Photo by Sonika Agarwal on Unsplash

In high school, I had a deep NEED for a hot Plymou

In high school, I had a deep NEED for a hot Plymouth Neon Saturn. ⁠
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Ohhh, baby!⁠
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That desire for freedom drove (hehe hehe) me into my first job as a sub girl. ⁠
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I saved all my money and my dad matched it for a down payment. That was so satisfying, to see money, MY money, put to work in the world.⁠
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I always thought, to make money, you gotta work your dupa off!! ⁠
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As I've grown up, the possibilities to work myself to the ground are endless. But, I'm left asking, must I always me that sub girl, scrapping for her sweet Plymouth Neon?⁠
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Jen Sincero's book taught me so much about how to manage my mindset around money. ⁠
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Lo and behold! a healthy relationship with money has SO many metaphorical cross-overs in yoga, labor, birth, and business. ⁠
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Turns out, hard work IS super rewarding. ⁠
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But not in the way I thought. As a small business owner of seven years, I've learned that...⁠
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While collecting cans and selling my unused appliances when money is tight delivers immediate results, it does not do the foundational work of fliers, creativity, and making connections. ⁠
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Growing my income and business has been less like binge shopping at target (ohhhhh friends, the struggle is real. That place is made for folks like me!) and more like... farming. ⁠
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Yoga and birth are like this too. ⁠
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Sure, you can go in with blind faith, hoping for the best, and you may luck out. For most of us, that isn't the case. We leave our experiences wondering what the heck happened and feeling duped. ⁠
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I LOVE metaphors. Here are a few that I came up with from Jen and a few others. ⁠
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🐈 The proof is in the pudding, you have to make the pudding. ⁠
🐈 Money is a concept. Actual paper Money is gross. What's up with that?⁠
🐈I hand the guy in India a stack of paper and he hands me another stack of paper. That paper makes food and a shelter. what? Money is a concept.⁠
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Any advice, reading, or metaphors for money? I'd love to hear. Leave me a comment below ⬇️

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192 Richmond ave.
Buffalo, NY 14222

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