LIVING WELLNESS
You are not late. You are not early.
You have arrived right on time. Perfectly made, just as you are
There is no accident in being here.
Here we carry the torch of awakening. Together we walk back to the light.
ABOUT LIVING WELLN
What the world needs is healed women who have come home to their profound and quiet strength. Women who move from a place of intuition and deep selfknowing.
We have incredible, natural power and wisdom that we house in our ability to bridge the seen with the unseen. We are gifted the ability to birth into the world not only children, but the manifestation of visions, ideas, and solutions.
We are bridge builders and collaborators. We are healers and caretakers. We know ourselves, we know our needs, and we fill those needs first to create an abundant and radiant life for ourselves, and then those around us.
This happens through alignment with our inner world, and from there we manifest our purpose into our outer world, and the result is a life full of Living Wellness.
In these pages, we will remember that a woman rising is not about becoming something new, but returning to who she has always been.
Here, we come together as a sisterhood, heal together as a community, and step in to our purpose as a coven of women balancing the forces of our divinity and humanity.
There is nothing to fear here, because we are the source of this forward movement.
Together we find our way home.
T e n d y o u r g a r d e n .
C l e a r t h e w e e d s ,
T i l l t h e s o i l .
W h a t l o o k s p a r c h e d a n d b r o k e n i s
a c t u a l l y f e r t i l e , a n d f u l l o f f a t w o r m s ,
a n d t i n y g r e e n s h o o t s
t h a t n e e d m o r e l i g h t .
C l e a r a w a y n o w w i t h a b a n d o n .
S c a t t e r f r e s h m u l c h .
S w e e p o u t t h e c e l l a r .
G a t h e r t h e b a s k e t s .
T h i s i s t h e s e a s o n o f r e p a i r .
T h i s i s t h e w o r k o f t h e h e a l i n g h e a r t .
M a k e w a y n o w , t h e h a r v e s t i s
c o m i n g . A n d t h e r e w i l l b e p l e n t y
e n o u g h f o r a l l .
- L E
MEET LEANNE
If you asked a few years ago if I felt happy and successful, I would have said YES!
I’ve got a house, three healthy kids, a loving husband, and a dream job as an event planner in California wine country. Who could want for more?
It turns out, ME! Behind all of that outward success, I was miserablesuffering from chronic pain, anxiety, sleeplessness and a general feeling of dread My life looked happy and tidy on the outside, but I was a quiet mess on the inside
I tried everything to get relief, but figured this is just what mid-life aging feels like. Except, it had been going on for decades.
I wondered, is it possible to actually feel good most of the time?
That’s when Reiki Energy Healing began to work a miracle in my life. I found strength to set boundaries, to stop apologizing, and to stop saying yes, when I really wanted to say no.
Along the way, I left my career, went back to writing and launched a podcast. I became a certified Reiki Master, and walked through the 10 rites of the sacred initiation of the Munay-ki Shaman.
Over the last four years, all of these threads have now woven together to bring this magazine to life. I am humbled to be your guide as we explore what it is to heal, come into alignment, step into our purpose, and find community along the way.
On these pages we will explore how to experience a better version of life through the integration of the spirit realm and the natural world. I believe that healing is one of the bravest things we can do for ourselves, and this magazine is here to support women on that journey.
Welcome, sister. I am so glad you ’ re here.
X O ,
e a n n e
D O N ’ T S T O P
C R E A T I N G
Y O U R L I F E .
I T I S Y O U R
B L A N K
C A N V A S .
I T I S Y O U R
S T A M P U P O N
T H E W O R L D .
W E A W A I T
Y O U R G I F T S ,
F O R T H E Y
A R E Y O U R S
A L O N E T O
G I V E .
TRANSFORMATION
You evolve without thinking, you transform by choice.
When the holding is finally too much, the hiding no longer worth the effort, transformation arrives as an invitation to unravel, wide-eyed and ready.
It looks like risk. Dissolving old habits. Losing former identities.
The foundation crumbles. The world slows. At this quieting, you are invited to look in the mirror, look into your soul, look beyond the veil.
A
W O R D O N . . .
And in that death, transformation becomes the tender skin and soft underbelly in the newness of rebirth.
There, waiting, are the parts abandoned. The messy imperfections, the dark heart of your flawed humanity.
Once you see, you cannot un-see. Once you know, you cannot unknow We call this ownership of the truth The place where blame and drama come to die
An awakened soul.
A rising tide of change, where J O Y falls easily from the tongue.
Alignment finds its purpose.
And life is fully alive in the incredible lightness of being.
B R E A T H E
The most important moment is this one.
RISING WOMEN
Taking a departure from the outward fight for equality, a new era of women are turning to a paradigm of their own making, fueled by community, soul-centered collaboration, and the unshakeable power of women rising
T h e D i s c o n n e c t
Historically, women have had a complicated story line. We’ve been told for centuries a similar narrative: we can’t and shouldn’t be trusted to lead This notion has been so consistent in our culture, albeit often subtle, that even we have fallen to the idea that we shouldn’t trust ourselves.
It wasn’t always this way. In our tribes of origin, women were leaders and warriors, hunters and gatherers, shaman and medicine tenders, right along with their male counterparts There was an understanding of balance and necessity between the masculine and feminine that is within all of us.
To simplify this concept, in our healed masculine we have inner strength, resilience, and integrity. In our healed feminine, we nurture through compassion, and embody empathy, creativity and a connection to the divine Both males and females have these qualities, and when we embody their balance, we lead together and collaborate for the greatest good of all.
In Arkan Lushwala’s book, The Time of the Black Jaguar, he describes our world as “suffering from an excess of a false masculine force ” That is, our collective male disposition is out of balance This imbalance leads to war and suffering, greed and self-service, fear and insecurity, lack and withholding.
This disconnect is everywhere now, as we are being led and influenced by this imbalance and the idea that enough is never enough. It’s been a distraction for all of us, but especially a disservice to a woman ’ s ability to feel her full worth, and step into the leadership that is her birthright.
Our trust of intuition and caring community, has been replaced by our overcommitment to achievement and self-reliance. We no longer remember our own soft belly of wisdom, or the sisterhood we once enjoyed as part of our daily life
Instead, we choose competition over collaboration, and logical mind over body instinct. We apologize for our emotions, our inspired ideas, and for taking up space even in places where we belong.
This paradigm is shifting quickly now. If you have not already felt it, you will.
Never before have women had more access and ability to create their own world of opportunity to come home to themselves. We are now awakening to the idea that we can be healers, once again, without asking permission first.
This begins with our own individual hearts and minds. It starts with seeing our own worthiness, our inherent divinity, and our natural power to return balance to our collective nervous system.
We are doubling down on this, by turning to one another, sister to sister. Together, bypassing the old guard of gatekeeping that has minimized our worth, and withheld access to our equal contribution
The dawning of this generation of women contains the realization that we are no longer competing with men, nor trying to break a proverbial glass ceiling. This kind of contrived competition is built on shifting ground, because we are not meant to work against each other, but rather in harmony as full versions of ourselves
This generation of women has the potential to be the most powerful in our modern history, because we are quietly coming home to ourselves. We understand that while fighting and marching have been essential to our progression, we are now taking the ownership of healing ourselves, and each other, through our sisterhood
With the return of our internal balance between our masculine and feminine gifts, we become judicious with our energy, and only give our power for connection and creative inspiration.
We step back in order to step inward, and allow the return of our feminine power This is the return of the Wild Woman, who is not afraid of her own softness and wisdom A woman who can hear the cacophony of inbalance in the world, and hold space for the healing to take root.
We are doing this now in greater number, because we know the imbalance is universal, and we have the wisdom to begin restoring the natural order
As we heal, others are invited to heal. As we rise, others are invited to rise. In this way, we are all brought along to repair the nervous system of our collective humanity.
We crave to belong to each other again. This begins when we belong to ourselves first Stepping into our own alignment, stepping into our own purpose, and ultimately restoring our long-lost belonging to each other in the process.
“Dr Estés has created a new lexicon for describing the female psyche. Fertile and life-giving, it is a psychology of women in the truest sense, a knowing of the soul ”
If Women Rising piqued your interest, or invited you to wonder what the Wild Woman thing is about, then Women Who Run with The Wolves is a great place to start.
Author Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D., takes a deep dive into the myths, fairy tales and stories of the Wild Woman Archetype and shakes the medicine bag over our awakening heads in the process.
book spotlight Go Deeper!
This best selling book has been in print for more than four decades and remains a must-read for any woman looking for a deeper understanding of her primal authority and divine feminine wisdom.
“A deeply spiritual book [that] honors what is tough , smart and untamed in women.”
- The Washington Post Book World
Order on Amazon | Kindle | Audible
RESOURCE KIT
B I G E M O T I O N S
Deep breathing exercises help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which reduces stress and calms the mind. When you're feeling overwhelmed, try inhaling deeply for a count of four, holding for four, and exhaling for four. This simple technique can quickly reduce feelings of panic or stress, improve emotional regulation and reduce anxiety by reducing the body's stress response. N a m e t h
n M i n d f u l B r e a t h i n g
Identifying and labeling the emotion you're feeling can help you gain perspective and create distance from the intensity of the emotion. This act of labeling can decrease the emotional charge and provide clarity. Research from UCLA suggests that labeling emotions can lower activity in the amygdala, the brain’s emotional center, which reduces the emotional intensity (Lieberman et al , 2007)
Sometimes, the best way to manage intense emotions is to step away from the situation. Taking a brief "time-out" allows you to cool down, regroup, and approach the problem with a clearer mind. Try going for a walk, drinking water, or practicing mindfulness. Studies show that short breaks can lead to emotional reset and cognitive recovery, improving emotional regulation.
Showing yourself kindness when you're experiencing difficult emotions helps to soothe emotional pain rather than make it worse. Self-compassion practices encourage treating yourself with the same care and understanding as you would a friend. Researcher and self-compassion teacher, Dr. Kristin Neff, highlights that self-compassion leads to greater emotional resilience and helps reduce negative emotional responses (Neff, 2011).
Grounding techniques help to reduce the intensity of overwhelming emotions.
Techniques like the "5-4-3-2-1" exercise (name five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell, and one you can taste) are simple but effective. Grounding exercises have been found to reduce dissociation and anxiety, particularly during periods of high stress (Mills et al., 2016) .
DEAR ONE, Set your intentions. Speak your wishes.
Now, set them free.
What is meant for you, cannot miss you.
For you are loved beyond measure.
You are heard with full attention.
Your wishes are the command of the great beyond, that is your heart -LE
T h e M i d d l e
Imagine what would be different if instead of fighting emotional swings, and the inevitable physical changes of midlife, you embraced all of it as a gift?
What if you celebrated aging as a privilege; a period of time where the hard won experience of your younger years becomes the prized wisdom of your second act?
What if wrinkles and a few sags meant you had been places, and you know things, and therefore you are a source of this beautifully gathered knowledge?
What if big emotions were signposts and road markers for things in your life that need to be changed, or adjusted, because they’re no longer a fit?
What if instead of midlife being a dreaded crisis that’s happening TO YOU, it’s actually a prized gift happening FOR YOU?
Disruption is the purpose
Mid-life is designed to be disruptive!
For women, midlife marks a drop in estrogen, which means you have less ability or desire to multi-task You have less ability to tolerate demands and inconsistencies from those around you
That’s because you are moving out of the “super woman” years, when you were a professional multitasker, holding up so many aspects of your life
Until, one day, you felt unwilling or unable to do it the same way. This season of biological change is designed for simplification. You’re not meant to fight this change You’re meant to let go of your former ways and step into a new season of more freedom and discernment, where you employ the wisdom you’ve earned.
Awakening is the reason
When you stop trying to maintain the younger version of yourself, then the beloved mature version emerges A woman who knows what she wants and how to get it. You become someone you like, and want to be around. You become someone you want to love better, and care for in ways that nurture your body and soul
When this season is embraced, midlife changes are redefined as markers of your evolution It shifts from being an inconvenience, or something that needs to be fixed, into a time of unleashing the power that has been honed and crafted through decades of living.
Imagine that the best years are still ahead, with less distraction, and more focus on simplicity, purpose, and pleasure.
You do not need to be fixed Midlife is not a crisis It’s a beautiful gift happening for you, nurturing the new woman awakening within
A portal full of possibilities and blank pages.
Take care, it says. This is precious time now, so go slow. Have a stretch, breathe deep, and wait a spell while the sun warms your toes.
Don’t go rushing into all those demands just yet. They will still be there when you arrive.
So, arrive when you are good and ready. When you have set yourself right. When you have paused to take in the day as it stretches awake in the golden light.
Take its hand, for you are the reason the day has dawned It arrives each morning to hear your laughter, to witness your forgiveness, and to help you trust in the abundance that already exists around you.
Breathe awake these assurances. Grasp hold of this belonging.
To yourself. To your life.
To the world around you, already full to the brim with everything you need. -LE
Living Wellness Magazine in its entirety is Intellectual property of Leanne Elliott and Leanne Elliott Communications No portion shall be reproduced, shared or duplicated without express, written permission Edit & Proof by Christie A Tarman
Copyright September Issue 2024