Dearest Daring Reader!

Full confession.

I have been procrastinating writing to you this month.

I know the thoughts I want to share with you but putting them on (electronic) paper will mean one thing….

I will have to walk my talk.

You see, I mostly write to you about my own experiences, awareness and aha’s and if I am offering something for you to think about or to take action on, it’s important to me that I am leading by example.

Even when it’s scary. 

It’s okay to feel scared and at the same time it’s important that you don’t let that stop you.  Don’t allow yourself to get so diminished by the fear that you don’t take the steps or make the bold moves that you know you need to take.

Because it’s time, isn’t it?

Do you feel it?

The world is changing in ways we never could have imagined, and status quo is no longer comfortable.  Nothing is comfortable right now and it is this discomfort that is calling us to act.

There is something that you have been putting off, isn’t there?  Or something you have been secretly wanting to do but you know you will have to risk making mistakes or worse yet, completely failing.

It’s time to get brave, step to the edge, be bold.  It’s time to make changes and stop doing things the way we have always done them.  Stop hiding in Facebook, mindless television, busy-ness, shopping, emails and the endless administrivia that you have been conditioned to believe is important.

• It’s time to have the conversation;
• Make the decision;
• Declare your desire;
• Write the book;
• End the relationship;
• Sing the song;
• Paint the picture;
• Move.  Quit.  Let go.  Sign up.

It’s time to find out what you are made of.  It’s time to meet the you that has been hiding in the shadows of ‘I’m not sure,’ or ‘I’m not good enough,’ or ‘what would people think/say.’

I know what I would say….IT’S TIME!

Love,

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Is it time to hire me? 

I have run, walked, crawled, dragged myself and occasionally shimmied through big and little fears.  What I’m saying is that I have some experience and some really excellent methods for guiding you through the fears and blocks that keep you from that life you would really love.  Is it time for us to work together?  I am taking new clients for the new year – is it time you were one of them?  Send me a message today and let’s get this started!!

Is it time to retreat with me?

The next Way of the Happy Woman Retreat is scheduled for January 27, 2018.  Is it time you took your wellness seriously?  How much longer are you going to wait to put yourself on the list?

Winter One Day Retreat
Saturday January 27, 2018
9:30 am – 5:15 pm
Light of the Prairies Retreat Center

Is it time to bend with me?

I do my best to teach yoga with the intention of nourishing all parts of you – not just the physical body.  Join me for a class or arrange for a private session and leave feeling refreshed, connected and cared for!

I currently have one spot open in my Monday night Relax and Restore and also in my Wednesday morning Women’s Yoga classes.  Send me an email if you are interested in joining me!

Hello Darling!

“What are you imaging will happen if you slow down?” I asked my client

She stared back at me, her face turning pale and then launched into all the reasons why her slowing down would eventually lead to her children having no shoes and her family living out their days in a cardboard box…

“Who would get the groceries?  I wouldn’t get my payroll done, someone has to order supplies for work, the kids need help with their homework – what if they fail everything??  The house would be a disaster, I might miss an email or text message and what if it was important?  My business would fall apart, my family would fall apart – if I don’t keep going we’ll all end up living on the street…”

When she stopped to take a breath, I gently reminded her, “I asked if you could slow down…I didn’t say stop everything you are doing and never get out of bed!”

She laughed…” You’re right.  It’s just that my life is so overwhelming and if I’m not pushing to get through my to do list everyday I worry that something important will get missed.  Slowing down just doesn’t seem to be an option.” 

Does any of this sound familiar to you?

I’ve heard minor variations of this story from most of the clients, students, retreaters and readers I’ve had over the past 12 years.  While some of the details are different, the end is always the same – everything will fall apart!

Here’s what I know to be true about this scenario.  They are correct.  Everything will fall apart – not because they slowed down but because they DIDN’T slow down.  I’ve seen it over and over and over again.  The problem is, if you don’t slow down at least occasionally, the Universe will find a way to slow you down and it’s not usually by winning a lovely pampering weekend at a spa with cabana boys!  Trust me, nothing slows you down faster that having to lay completely still so that the radiation you are receiving for cancer doesn’t hit your heart or lungs!

This full out, all or nothing pace you are going at is slowly and quietly depleting you from the inside out.  It is stealing the life and spark from your years.  Have you been feeling frumpy lately?  Forgetful?  Short tempered? Brain fog?  Maybe your friends have commented that they are experiencing similar symptoms and so you feel like it must be normal.

It’s not normal.

These are the symptoms of chronic stress – warning signs to get your attention, signs that are suggesting that a different path is needed.  And this stress is wreaking havoc with our hormones, our sleep, our heart health and brain health.

So, please consider slowing down.  You don’t have to stop,  just consider paring back a bit.  Get your groceries delivered, out source your laundry, set up a cooking co-op, refuse to answer emails after 9:00 pm, take your full lunch break, stop for 5 minutes to just sit and do nothing (not even checking your phone), trade your gym work out for a restorative yoga class once a month….and if you still think you can’t slow down, maybe its time you hired me to coach you (or hired someone – anyone – I don’t care).   Just. Slow. Down!  

 Love,

P.S.  My client did slow down and she told me recently that ever since she did her business has been making more money than ever!  Just sayin’…..

P.P.S  Need some help figuring out how to keep everything going while slowing down?  Contact me for a coaching session, a private yoga class or join me at the next Way of the Happy Woman retreat!

The Way of the Happy Woman® Autumn Retreat

This past week, I had an appointment with my oncologist.

“You are the healthiest person I am going to see today,” he said after going over my latest test results.

All clear.

No signs of malignancy, no evidence of cancer.

Yay!

It was four years ago last week that I started radiation treatments and now, today, I am healthy and strong and cancer free (to the best of our knowledge).

As I walked out of the clinic, my thoughts immediately turned to my to do list.  So many things needed my attention and I felt the familiar anxious pull in my body to get moving and get things done.

Stepping into the warmth of the noonday sun, I noticed another feeling in my body….an overwhelming sadness.  This was odd.

I listened more intently.

What was the sadness about?

Then, in a flood of awareness I realized I had completely brushed aside the amazing news I had just received.  Not only had I dismissed it as one small aspect of my day, I had also dismissed all of the work I had done to get myself to a healthy state of body, heart and spirit.

From the day I was diagnosed I looked for ways to come back to a balanced state of health.  I worked with a therapist, I found a wise and competent naturopath, I added supplements to my routine and drastically changed my diet.  I began working with a Chinese Medicine Doctor and having regular acupuncture treatments.

I made difficult decisions that went against the conventional advice of our western medical system.  I refused chemo treatments and hormone therapies that didn’t align with what my body needed.  When the doctors didn’t align with what I knew in the deepest part of myself that I needed, I fired them and found doctors that would co-create health with me.

I let go of my work – the business I had worked so hard to build and let it come back to me in a way that was more nourishing for me and for the people I worked with.  I dedicated myself to a daily meditation practice and in four years I have not let anything deter me from my mediation cushion.

What I did was not easy.

It takes constant practice to be able to listen to your own wisdom.  It’s harder still to take action on what your body, heart and spirit is telling you are right for you.  (Trust me, firing cancer doctors does not get you on the “nice list”!)

I listened to many people too – doctors, nurses, social workers, healers, naturopaths, homeopaths, chiropractor, massage therapist, nutritionists, coaches, mentors, family and friends….and I am healthy today because I filtered all that advice through my inner wise self.

I listened – deeply, closely and with faith – to the part of me that is truly wise.  The aspect of me that is connected to the Divine.

Please note….I know that many other women and men have done similar things that I have done and they have not had such positive results.  I am not saying that I have some kind of cure or that I did everything right therefore I am healthy now.  Maybe it’s a miracle …AND it’s a miracle that I had a hand in creating.  I am not brushing this off to luck or chance. I am tired of not acknowledging my efforts in life.  I have shown up for myself everyday for the past four years – it has been really hard and I am claiming this dedication.  I am celebrating – not that my tests were clear….I am celebrating that I listened and took action.

Where are you not showing up for yourself?   What is your body trying to tell you?  Can you hear the whisperings of your heart?  Where is your spirit trying to guide you?

Maybe it’s time for you to listen more closely….

Love,

Deb

I gazed longingly at the key lime tart in my sweetie’s hand.  I salivated a little as I imagined what he was tasting as he bit into the tart.  A glance over at my sister-in-law’s plate revealed a collection of mouth watering sweets that she was sharing with her husband.  Then I looked down at my empty plate and sighed.

“Do you want a bite of my tart?” my husband asked.

“No…you know I can’t have that,”  I replied, “I can’t have anything good,” I pouted.

It wasn’t true, of course.  My inner drama queen had just decided that she wanted some stage time (throwing the back of her hand across her forehead….poor, deprived me!)

 It’s been more than four years since I gave up sugar, gluten, dairy and several other foods in order to support my body in healing.  I am a believer in the concept of food as medicine and intuitively I knew that I could help my body recover from the cancer by making different food choices.  I am very used to not having the classic desserts and treats that my friends and family have so I wasn’t sure why it was bothering me so much to watch them indulge this time. 

 Several days later, it was still bothering me as I talked about it with a good friend of mine.  A few years ago I had the realization that I was afraid of food – afraid that if I didn’t eat exactly ‘right’, the cancer would come back (and that I had a belief that I could control whether the cancer came back or not!). So I began to relax my approach to eating but in talking with my friend, it came out that I was still afraid of food on a more subtle level.

“What is the balance between food as medicine and food as pleasure,” I mused out loud. 

“How can I stay committed to protecting myself from cancer and at the same time enjoy a wider variety of food?”

Then my very wise friend asked me a really good question (and you know how I love a good question!).

“What if it’s not ‘how can I stay committed to not dying’ but instead ‘how can I commit to living,’” she offered. 

The question landed in my heart and I immediately felt the power of the reframe – it is about living from a place of love instead of fear.  My choices now become about the actions, people and activities that make me feel alive in my body, heart, mind and spirit, rather than the choices that help me to merely exist – it’s about thriving instead of surviving. It’s a commitment that I am very willing to make!

What are you committed to?  Are you living and choosing from a place of fear or a place of love?  Which place would you rather be in?  As we move into the second half of our summer, consider aligning with the expansive, juicy energy of summer.  There’s nothing like summer energy to make you feel fully alive!

Love,

The early morning sun shone through the rustling leaves, causing shadow and light to dance softly across the patio table.  Bright pink and purple flowers in containers around the deck created a colorful contrast to the green of the grass and the leaves.  Song birds twittered in the mature trees around the yard, the occasional chickadee or nuthatch landing on the feeder as if to share breakfast with us.  A mama deer casually strolled across the lawn, pausing to look over at us as my friend and I enjoyed breakfast on the deck.

Ah….bliss!

One of my most favorite things to do – breakfast outside on a sunny summer morning.  Having a friend join me for breakfast only made it more delightful!

That’s how I started my week last week – by taking my bliss vitamins.

I realized a long time ago that I am much more effective when I am happy.  I have more energy, I have better concentration, I am more organized and I get more tasks done (and done well). I have often called these joy filled moments joy boosters and my teacher refers to them as bliss vitamins.  I thought that was a great way to frame it – most of us wouldn’t go for weeks without taking our vitamins or supplements or medications, why do we go for weeks without taking the time to enjoy something yummy, beautiful, peaceful, etc?

Taking a few minutes each day to enjoy or indulge in something that makes your heart sing is good for the heart, not to mention the body and the mind.

Have you taken your bliss vitamins today?

Love,

Darling reader:

May is my birthday month.  I love celebrating my birthday!  I feel very blessed to have this gift of life and every year I make a point of celebrating that gift.  I start by taking the day off.  This is mandatory and non-negotiable and sometimes I have to go through a fair bit of rearranging in order to make it happen but I always make sure I can take the day off.

Then I spend most of the day by myself.  It’s my own personal retreat day to do whatever I want.  I take some time to reflect on the year that has past and to dream about what I would like to happen in the coming year.  I take myself on little adventures and usually end up splurging on a nourishing body treatment at a relaxing spa.  Often I end the day with a dinner out with my sweetheart and some close friends (and some gluten free chocolate cake of course!).

How do you celebrate your birthday?  What would it be like for you to take a whole day just to focus on you?  What adventures would you go on?  What might you discover about yourself that you haven’t been aware of because of your busy life?

This one day away from my responsibilities and obligations replenishes my energy and my spirit and renews my commitment to myself and my dreams.  I would love it if everyone would take the day off on their birthday.  It’s a wonderful self-care ritual!

Which brings me to a reminder….

You are invited to join me for my Spring/Summer Way of the Happy Woman Retreat.  It may not be your birthday but giving yourself the gift of this one day retreat will be one of the best things you can do for your body, heart, mind and spirit!  Early registration closes this Friday so don’t wait too long to register.

Here are the details….

Sunday June 4, 2017

9:30 – 5:15
Light of the Prairies Retreat Centre
Lorette, Manitoba
Investment $150 or register by May 12^th and pay $125
Click here to register and to get more details

I look forward to retreating with you soon!

Love,

Follow Me on:

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/GetItDunnJoyfully
Twitter: @debdawsondunn

“There is suffering in life,” my teacher said.  “This is the first of the four noble truths.  There will be pain, sickness, loss and death.”

My mind immediately flew back to the morning yoga sequence where she had all of us holding a squat pose for what felt like 20 minutes (it was about 4 minutes).  I had definitely felt suffering there!  And then there was the sweet relief of being able to straighten my legs and come out of the squat.  A moment of bliss and my screaming thighs began to fade to a memory. 

I brought my attention back to my teacher.

 “We can’t avoid pain or sickness, sadness or fear,” she said.  “These are aspects of life just like vibrant health, ease or joy and all of these experiences make up a full life. 

This is such an important point.  Something I noticed after coaching hundreds of people is that everyone (yes, everyone) was searching for a life without pain.  We are bombarded with messages of living your best life or living life to the fullest and we often interpret these messages to mean a life without anything “negative.”  As a result of these messages, we spend so much of our time, energy and resources trying to create a life without pain or challenge.  We make decisions and take actions that we hope will help us avoid getting sick, losing a job, having an accident, attracting the “wrong” partner, etc.  We believe that if we can just do the “right” thing and therefore avoid anything negative, we will be living our best life. 

I became keenly aware of this belief when I was diagnosed with cancer.  So many people, when they heard about my diagnosis, responded with “how could you of all people get cancer?  You are so positive and you are all about living a joyful life.  This doesn’t make sense!”

But it makes perfect sense.  We are not immune to “bad” things happening to us just because we have a positive outlook or we teach about joy or have a regular spiritual practice or we eat our fruits and vegetables.  Life is good and bad, light and dark, ease and challenge and to make room for all of these aspects is really what it means to live your best life.  When you give up the struggle to create a pain free life, ironically, life seems to be less painful!  Here’s to you living life to the fullest!

Love,

A note of thanks to all the lovely responses to my last newsletter.  You are all so wonderful and caring!  And just to ease your mind (a few people were worried) that story was from (almost) four years ago during my cancer treatments.  I am in good health now, feeling great and moving on!

Happy New Year!

Can you feel it?  The energy is shifting.

Take a deep breath into your body.

Close your eyes.

Listen to your breath.

Something is different….

It’s there, trust me even if you can’t quite feel it, it’s there.

Something wants to come alive in you.

It’s time.

As we move into spring this week the energy becomes palpable.  After the long, dark winter of hibernating, resting and reflecting we now begin to feel the urge to get moving, to start planting seeds, to create something new.  This is the time of year for New Year’s resolutions, not in January when we want to curl up with a blanket and binge on Netflix! Now is the time to look to your coming year and decide what you want to create for yourself.

Every year I choose a theme for my year instead of setting New Year’s resolutions.  For me, the theme keeps me focused all year and allows for changes in energy, health and life in general.  It helps me know what to say yes to and when to say no.

My theme for 2017 is Opening to Flow.  Interestingly, it was this theme that helped me realize that forcing myself to set goals and “hit the ground running” on January 1^st was not truly opening to flow – more like going against the flow!  (I wrote about this in my January newsletter)  I needed to honor the energy of winter and the needs of my body and spirit by resting and visioning until the energy of spring began to nudge me into action.

What have you been longing for?  What would you love to create for yourself in this new season?  Do you have a theme?  Would you like to choose a theme?  Align yourself with the energy of spring – fresh, awakening, vital.  Answer the call of your heart and your spirit now and notice how what you want to create is divinely supported!

Happy New Year!

Love,

Deb

Greetings Gorgeous

First let me say welcome to my new subscribers!  I hope you enjoy being a part of our community.  Also, for all of my readers, I really appreciate hearing from you when you have a comment or want clarification about my monthly message so please don’t hesitate to hit reply and let me know your thoughts!

This message is dedicated to my drivers: Leonne, Jo, Jackie, and Nancy

You are Worthy of Love

“I’m really scared,” I began to cry softly into the phone.

My friend stayed quiet, listening to me intently.

“I don’t want to do this anymore….”  I started to cry harder as the situation seemed to crash in on me.  “I don’t want to go to that hospital every day, I don’t want these treatments, I don’t want any of this….I don’t think I can do it….”

I had been handling the whole cancer process fairly well, I thought.  The diagnosis, the surgery, the recovery from surgery, the change in diet, the insane amount of medical tests and appointments but when it came to the radiation treatments, I had suddenly hit a wall.

I don’t even remember what my friend said to me that day, I just remember how she quietly let me cry and listened to my fears, as unfounded as they may have seemed, helping me to feel less alone.  She called me a few days later to check in with me and to tell me that she had a plan.

“My friend suggested something we can do to help you and I hope you’ll agree to the plan,” she said.  “We are going to drive you to your radiation treatments every day.”

I was stunned.

“There’s no need for that,” I protested.  “I’m okay – I was just having a rough day the other day….that would be too much to have you drive me every day.”

“That’s the beauty of this,” she said.  “We’ll get a whole group of people and all take turns and none of us will have to drive more than once or twice a week.  We’ll drop you off at the door, wait for you to have your treatment, and then drive you home again.  You won’t have to worry about traffic or finding a parking spot or anything!”

We talked for a few more minutes and when I finally agreed, she hung up the phone and I sat there, still feeling stunned and uncomfortable and thinking maybe I should call her back and turn down her generous offer.  I didn’t feel worthy of that kind of generosity.

But the next week, they began arriving at my door.  For over six weeks, every day, a different friend would drive me to the hospital, wait for me to have my treatment and then drive me home again.  It was the most amazing thing anyone had ever done for me.

About two weeks into my treatments, I was lying completely still on the table as the radiation machine did its thing.  I started to think about my friends driving me every day and I wondered why they would do this for me.  I wasn’t paying them, I wasn’t buying their gas, I wasn’t taking them out for lunch or even paying for the parking.  It seemed that they were doing this because they cared about me, maybe even loved me! Perhaps this was what unconditional love was all about.

I let that thought sink in and then I started to cry.  I was overwhelmed with the realization that I must be worthy of love if they were happy to do this very generous act of support, day after day, week after week….

Here I was, 49 years old and it took a cancer diagnosis to show me that I was worthy of love.

So let me tell you, my beautiful friend…you are worthy of love.  Believe it, feel it, know it, open your heart to this truth.  You don’t have to do anything to earn it, you don’t have to pay anyone for it, you don’t have to be any kind of special person – you are worthy of love simply because you exist.

You don’t need a crisis or challenge to teach you about this love – I’ve done all the hard stuff for you – all you have to do is keep repeating this over and over and over until you can fully believe it, no matter what is happening in your life.  This month, use all the Valentine messages to remind you of the most important message you could ever give yourself:

 You are worthy of love.

Love,

Deb

Yoga

Relax and Restore with me in my Monday night yoga class!   There are still some spots open so you can sign up or drop in when you can!

Monday nights
January 9 – February 27^th, 2017
8 weeks
$120 + gst/ drop in $20
Sundragon Studios 3141 Portage Avenue
email me at deb@getitdunn.ca if you are interested in the last few weeks!

Private Yoga

I am available to do private yoga instruction and will customize a yoga sequence to fit your specific flexibility and physical goals.   Send me an email if you would like to get more information or to schedule your session.

Follow Me on:

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/GetItDunnJoyfully
Twitter: @debdawsondunn

I’m tired.

I suspect that you might be tired too.  December seemed like the longest month ever yet it flew by in what felt like a few days.  Normally I would be wishing you a Happy New Year but to be honest, I just don’t feel the energy of a new year yet.  I only feel the remnants of a rushed and somewhat chaotic couple of months and nothing feels fully digested yet!

Usually my January newsletter has been written about resolutions, goals and themes for the New Year and as a coach it has seemed fitting that I support and remind you about creating your most joyful and aligned life.  At the same time, it doesn’t feel right to me to be encouraging you to set resolutions and hit the ground running this week.  What I really want to tell you is to rest.

Don’t set goals.

Don’t declare your resolutions.

Don’t even choose a theme.

Yet.

Instead, do what winter is calling you to do.  Rest, reflect, hibernate and dream.

Nature didn’t hit the ground running at the flip of the calendar from 2016 – 2017.  You didn’t see tree’s budding out or flowers bursting into bloom.  In fact, it was the exact opposite here in Southern Manitoba when Mother Nature laid down a very heavy blanket of snow and many of us were forced to stay put.  Yet many of us are trying to implement change and growth without honoring the true energy of this season.

My theory for why New Year’s resolutions fail is partly because this is the wrong time of year to set them.  The energy of winter is not about going out and creating something new or making changes – that is the energy of Spring.  We would do much better to set resolutions in March when the energy is aligned for change, growth and new life.

So this year I am observing a “soft opening” – a later start to my New Year and I offer this late start to you as well.  Give yourself some time to truly digest the past year.  Take some time to rest and reflect on what you want to leave behind in 2016 and what you want to take into 2017.  Give yourself permission to vision and dream during these winter months and then set your goals or create your theme – I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results!

Love,

Deb

Offerings for Winter 2017

Even though I am taking things slower and resting more this winter, I have three offering to help you to deepen your reflection and dream time!

Please join me for … The Way of the Happy Woman Winter Self-Care Retreat!

Sisters: self-care isn’t selfish.

When we women slow down and attune to our bodies (and the cycles of nature), we become more vital, creative, and powerful. If you’re longing to give more, do more, be more, please join me for a very special one day self-care retreat for women!

Together, we’ll create a sacred container for quiet contemplation and creative group practices. Nourish yourself with women’s yoga, insight meditation, seasonal self-care secrets, intuitive journaling, and more. It’s all based on The Way of the Happy Woman: Sara Avant Stover’s acclaimed book, practice collection, and global community.

It’s happening in Lorette, Manitoba at Light of the Prairies Retreat Centre on January 28, 2017. And when you register by January 6, 2017 there’s a sweet discount.

Click here for details & registration. I hope to see you there!

Relax and Restore with me in… my Monday night yoga class!

Monday nights
January 9 – February 27^th, 2017
8 weeks
$120 + gst
Sundragon Studios 3141 Portage Avenue
click here to register

Release your neck, shoulder and low back pain with one or more … Therapuetic Yoga Workshops

A revolutionary approach to therapeutic yoga, these workshops include meditation, breathing, the science of yoga and exercise techniques that help to sooth low back pain, neck and shoulder tension and release stress.   Each workshop compliments the other so you don’t have to do all three to benefit but your body will thank you the more that you attend!

All workshops are being held at Sundragon Studios, 3141 Portage Avenue

Date & Time: TBD