Say, “I am empowered!”.  No, no.  Say it out loud.  “I am empowered!”  You said it, right?  How does it feel?

Does it roll off your tongue easily and with conviction or …

Does it sort of get stuck and you feel kind of small or in some way it just doesn’t feel right to you?

If you are one of the many women who is living your life fully empowered, I applaud you!  What I am about to share could still impact your life.  However, I woke up very early this morning with a message on my heart for so many of the women I know (many followers of The Wonder Woman Challenge) who do NOT feel empowered or could at least live from a more empowered place.  In either case, read on.

“I am empowered!”

If you are not living empowered you are living power-less.  As women we so often give our power away leaving us in a very stuck place in life, which in the end leaves us with not as many options as we would like and often need.

It is very uncomfortable and down right depressing to wake up one day realizing that, as a woman, you have no choices in life or at best very few.

On the surface The Wonder Woman Challenge can look like a fun and fluff program, but in reality it is a program to teach us about who we really are, to love ourselves, becoming more authentic, finding our joy, AND living empowered.

Say it again, “I am empowered!”

Are you really?  Do you want to be?  Have you had enough living without the choices in life that you desire and need?  Have you had enough living power-less?

Have you had enough sitting in the backseat of YOUR life?  Yes?  Then you are ONE decision away from hopping in the front seat of your life to live more empowered.

What do I mean?

I am taking my own personal Wonder Woman Challenge to a whole new never before level, a bootcamp per se and I’m opening it up to you, my readers, to join me.

With God as my pilot and me as the co-pilot, I am stepping up (within my own authenticity) into courage to say, “I have had enough sitting in the backseat of my life living a power-less existence!”

“I AM empowered!”

The Wonder Woman Challenge Bootcamp will dramatically change our lives, yours and mine.  Along with creating more love and joy in our lives, we are going to:

• improve our health – what would that look like for you? Weight loss? A  more fit body?  Less dis-ease?

• improve our finances – what would that look like for you? If you don’t already, what would it be like to have your own money to do with as you please? What if you could impact your food budget?  What if you could have affordable maybe even free transportation?  What if you could save money?  What if you could lessen your family’s financial burden even in a small way?  And for some, what if you could put food on the table for your children?!  (There are lots of single mom’s out there super struggling having to “shop” at food banks.)

I am saying, yes, to truly living an empowered life The Wonder Woman Challenge way from a place of self-love, self-care, self-nurture! And as I am impacting my life, I will be impacting the lives of others and you can too!

The Wonder Woman Challenge Bootcamp – “I am empowered”!

I know but I know that this message resonates with a certain group of women who are hand picked for this kind of bootcamp.  Let’s find out if you are part of that group.  I sure hope so!  Email me at:

wonderwoman@shileennixon.com (subject line: TWWC Bootcamp)

Letting love flow,

Shileen

Creativity is awesome.  It sweetens and spices up our lives.  For me, creativity is a must and in all honesty it gives me a huge charge and feeds my spirit.  If you have have been following along with the 30 day self-nurture challenge you know that creativity is one of the 7 suggested categories to include in your practice.

I thought that I would share with you today the graduation party that we gave my youngest son last weekend.  Although I kept it simple, I did add little touches of creativity that blessed my socks off.

Note the little tea candle lanterns.  They were so simple to make and inexpensive too.  Creating the lanterns filled my cup and now every time I use them fills my cup as well.  Little things like these tea candle lanterns create so much joy for me!

What simple thing can you create in your world that will fill you up with joy?

Fresh mint! I love it! It smells refreshing and invigorating yet calming at the same time.  A big whiff of mint gives me that aaahhhh!! sense.

This week the members of The Wonder Woman Challenge received an email about focusing on nature for one of their self-nurture activities.

Hint:  If you have not signed up for the challenge and/or the weekly encouragement tip go do that now so you won’t miss out on anything.  Click HERE or look to left of this page.

Here is an example of what I did today.  My little (very little) herb garden needed some love.  So we went out and cleaned it up a bit.  If any of you have ever grown fresh mint you know that it grows like crazy and my mint had pretty much taken over my little garden space.

There’s no way I could use as much as I pulled and I certainly didn’t want to throw it out, and although I am sure there is a great way to preserve fresh mint that I am not aware of (please share your ideas ), I simply put it all in an old awesome looking watering can that is now sitting in my family room.

So now every time I look at it, it blesses the daylights out of me plus the house smells like lovely mint!

Aaaaahhhh!!  I love it!!

See?  Simple!  I took 15 minutes out in nature to weed back the mint.  Then brought a little nature indoors by placing the mint into a sweet container, and now the self-nurture activity keeps on giving to us in body, mind, and spirit.

Does it get in any easier and sweeter?

Shileen

This moment in time …  mmmm.  Sometimes you don’t realize how much you need something until you get it.

Today my family and some of our friends went to Kennywood Amusement Park for the day.  To their disappointment I did not go.  I felt like I had disappointed everyone, but I knew in my spirit that I needed to stay home.  I knew that being in the midst of lots and lots of people with all kinds of craziness would only add to the stress I was already feeling.  Oh, I’m sure in the end I would have had a good time, but again, it is not what this girl needed today.

Me before alone time!

I have spent the afternoon and evening by myself having what I call alone time.  It took me awhile to unwind and de-stress but suddenly it hit me.  Oh my goodness!  I so need this time and space to just “be”.

Me after alone time!

As the day has progressed the tensions and stress and all the things that made me feel irritated and uptight have slowly faded away.  Even though I have worked today at home, I have still been able to unwind and de-stress with soft music in the background and beautiful weather filling me with happiness.  I’ve been able to breathe and think without interruption.  It sure feels good!

Do you ever feel like you need time alone to just “be”?  Actually, I am a person who requires alone time to recharge and rejuvenate in my body, mind, and spirit.  It’s strange that I haven’t recognized the need, but sometimes life gets crazy with one thing after another to where I miss the signals.  This sure explains a lot of my behavior lately.

So, I am making a commitment to myself to be more aware of this very important need that I have … alone time, space, time to just “be”.

With that, I encourage you to create more awareness around what you need and then honor that need.  What might that look like for you?  You know me, I love your comments so please do share!

*Pictures provided by Home Sweet Home Pet Sitters

Exercise is self-nurturing.

Yes! It really is!  However, in my coaching practice I discourage my clients from including exercise as part of their self-nurture challenge until they are able to get beyond equating exercise with punishment.  Let’s face it, most people hate exercise and self-nurture is about doing things that you love.

I am here to tell you that it is possible to turn exercise into a beautiful, loving, self-nurturing activity.

Realize that your body is an amazing machine that works hard to keep you functioning.  A lot of people take care of their cars much better than they take care of themselves, but I know that’s not you, right?! Of course not!

When I learned to tune into my body at the gym, wow!, did my workouts change and so did my results!

As you workout you do want to push yourself to get the results that you are after, but while you are pushing yourself, you are doing so in a coaching manner.  You can have a difficult workout, but not in an ugly, degrading and/or punishing kind of way.  Your thoughts want to be more from a place of encouragement and celebrate your improvement even in the smallest way.

But here is where it really changed for me when I discovered Supta Baddha Konasana, a restorative yoga pose.

After my workouts I lay in this restorative pose and really tune into my body allowing myself to feel the work that I just did.  And while doing so, I think about all the different systems at work, I imagine the new muscle being created along with excess fat and toxins  being discarded and flushed out of my body.  While I’m visualizing and meditating on all of this, I move into a spirit of gratitude and thank my body for all that it does for me and for the work that it just did, and reaffirm my body and self that I will continue taking good care of me because I love me.

No matter where I am exercising, at home or in the middle of a busy gym, I will take 5-10 minutes for Supta Baddha Konasana.

Girlfriends, this is such a powerful technique.  I encourage you to try it and watch how a shift about exercise begins to take place.  And, overtime, watch your results improve!

Are you ready to add exercise to your self-nurture practice?

Stay tuned for how to use Supta Baddha Konasana a different way that will make you feel like a queen!

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I noticed she was very sluggish. She was having trouble fulfilling what was being asked, even small things. She would take what seemed like forever to do the simplest tasks, sometimes getting lost to the point where she would have to be saved.

I knew what was wrong. She was being overworked. Day after day she would have so many tasks going on all at the same time, juggling so much more than she could handle. But she continued to be pushed until she could not be pushed any further. Her productivity continued to decrease even though the workload not only continued, but also became more demanding.

Finally, I knew what needed to happen so I expressed to her that she really needed to shutdown for a bit and helped her to do so.

We all know how it is when we have been overworked, how hard it is to stop and unplug. It doesn’t happen right away. The mind and body still want to keep going. Things keep popping up to address that seem urgent in the moment, but really are not, so you just have to delete them from your mind … until that beautiful moment comes when you can finally rest and relax.

That is exactly what happened to her. I sat with her and watched and helped until she finally found her way to let it all go. I could almost hear her sigh of relief.

Turned out she really didn’t need much at all. It is amazing, really, how little it can take to restore only if we would give ourselves that privilege. Once she rested a bit, she woke up and was ready to get back at it … functioning her normal, productive way … feeling good about herself and her abilities to serve others.

Can you relate to this story? I certainly can!

The truth is, the “she” in this story is my computer! That is exactly what happened to my computer last night. We were both tired … ha ha. So as I laid down to do what I call a 15-minute power nap or the R & R Pose and I had my laptop beside me helping “her” to shut down, too. She was so lost with so many files, windows, and applications running that it took time for her to reboot. I had to force quit many applications before she could finally shut down and reset herself.

I feel like that sometimes don’t you, the need to reboot? Why do we push and push thinking there is no time to rest? We only become unproductive or at best less productive by doing so.

Let me tell you that by taking the time to rest and take care of ourselves afford us the ability to be more productive … always! And, we are less stressed, healthier, happier people … operating from a place of inspiration and joy.

So, I urge you, dear women of wonder, to reboot your operating system BEFORE you get lost in the shuffle of demands in your life.

If you have a “rebooting” story or thoughts to share, please do so in the comment section below.

And, by all means, if you need help in rebooting your operating system email me and I would be honored to assist you.

So, how are you … really?  Do you even know?

We are asked all the time how we are.  Most of the time we give a pat answer that we are fine.  We go from meeting to meeting, activity to activity, job to job, etc. often times stressed without realizing just how stressed we really are.

Honestly?  That is where I have found myself recently!

I have started The Wonder Woman Challenge fan page on facebook where a bunch of us have started a 30 day challenge together.  It has just started on Monday.  Even though we are only a couple of days into the challenge I am personally amazed with just how much pressure I have been putting on myself, ignoring what all is going on inside … in body, mind and spirit.

So, how are you … really?

When was the last time you checked in with yourself, when you stopped to get quiet long enough to get an answer back?  And when was the last time you asked yourself what you needed and actually gave it to yourself?

We get caught up in life with all of its ups and downs.  In doing so, we tend to ignore, deny, and even mask what is going on inside of us and unless we take the time to stop and listen, we end up in a numbed out state just going through the motions of life.  And I know from personal experience how that state can lead to depression and illness.

I ask you, where’s the joy in that?

So, how are you … really?  Are you living in joy?

I encourage you to stop right now and give yourself a check in.  How full is your cup?  Take some time now to fill that cup of yours up with love and joy.

I invite you to join us at The Wonder Woman Challenge fan page on Facebook for a 30-day challenge.  It’s only 15 minutes a day.  You’ll get support there as well and you’ll get to read my personal journal.

Love and hugs to you!!

Today is the day of love.

My dear women of wonder, today my heart is full of love and compassion for all of you.  On this day of love, I send you all the love that I can muster up because you are so worth loving.

The Wonder Woman Challenge has always been about stepping off of the merry-go-round of life a few minutes each day in order to love yourself … to fill your empty cup with love SO THAT you can joyfully give to those around you.  We must learn and practice giving from a full cup.

Today is the day of love.

Regardless of what anyone else does for you, what are YOU going to do for YOU?  Don’t miss this opportunity to express to yourself just how much you do care and love yourself.  Your spirit will leap with joy!

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” ~ I Corinthians 13:4-7

I encourage you to not only apply this passage of love to those around you, but also to yourself in a balanced and healthy manner.

Today is the day of love.

“What women need is to learn how to nurture themselves. We need to shower as much loving kindness on ourselves as we habitually shower on loved ones, and even not-so-loved ones. We need to be loved for our fully formed selves, not for our dependent, appeasing selves. And the only way we can have fully formed selves is by granting ourselves the same tenderness and fierce protectiveness we’d otherwise reserve for a beloved child.” ~ Alice D. Domar, PhD “Self-Nurture”

I love you!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Shileen

Taking Valentine’s Day into your own hands is a great thing to do!  Why wait and hope that someone will recognize you on Valentine’s Day when it isn’t necessary?

Valentine’s Day can be a fun holiday, it can be a bummer of a holiday.  As women, we always hope that our loved ones will recognize their love for us on this day.  The waiting can be unnerving … will he/they do something or won’t they?  Will someone think of me?

Let me ask you… who really needs that?? I sure don’t!

Many years ago I decided to take Valentine’s Day into my own hands making it whatever I wanted it to be.  I thought about what would bring me great joy on this day.  How can I express love to those close to me that would also fill my own love tank?

I started by giving a tea party to my family, which consists of two boys and a hubby.  You are probably wondering how I pulled that off.  Although at the time they would not admit it, they all loved it!  It was food!  Tell me what boy or man who does not like food!!  =)  Plus they knew it was important to me and we always enjoyed conversation around family time (we still do).  Our tea parties over the years have always been very lovely and meaningful.

It has been a few years since I have thrown a Valentine Tea party.  I will always recognize my guys on this day and they typically do me as well, but I seriously count their recognition as a bonus.

Listen, it is just as important to love on ourselves as it is to love on others.  When we love on ourselves it frees others to love on us.  While you are recognizing your loved ones on Valentine’s Day, what can you do to recognize yourself?  Plan a special tea for yourself, a bubble bath, buy yourself some flowers, take some time to work on a hobby, etc.  Think of a way to treat yourself special, something that will bring you joy.

Here’s a fun idea!  While I was putting together a gift for a friend, I put one together for myself as well.  I love it!  It is simple.  I always say it is the simple things of life that bring me the most joy!

I made a cute set of Valentine’s Day coasters, bought a new mug (I am a sucker for a cute mug!), made up some of “My Famous Hot Chocolate Mix”, and added some of my favorite tea.  It is so very cute!  Just looking it at fills me with joy!

The coaster idea came from one of my favorite websites Cupcakes and Crinoline in an article called Sew Happy 30 Minute Coasters.

Taking Valentine’s Day into your own hands is a great thing to do.  In the end everyone feels blessed with a full love tank.

Do you have any Valentine’s Day ideas to share?