Tag: overcoming shyness

I Created a Women’s Resource Group

One of my recent projects has been the creation of a women’s resource group called Fiercely Female.

I started this group with the help of a coworker in early 2017. I haven’t been to too many networking events. The few that I have been to seemed more like singles trying to pick each other up and really superficial. They were loud, stuffy and filled with people passing out cards and never following up. Not to mention, a lot of cheap wine. Headache the next day. Stained lips. Lame.

I hate cheap wine. I also hate pointless mingling.

So I noticed as I was getting older my network was pretty diverse but also pretty small. I’m not super social or outgoing and choose the people I hang out with wisely.

I’m also really shy.

At the urging of one of my mentors, I created a women’s group. I wanted the group to have some purpose. A take away. A resource. I need help with my career, so why not assemble a group of women who can help each other?

So I did.

Our first event was a hit. We talked about manterrupting and shared ways to not let it piss us off and solutions to work around it. Hint: say things like, “as I was saying” or “hang on let me finish my thought.”

Women’s networking groups get a bad rap.

Mostly because ladies night turns into bitching about people and getting drunk. They also turn into a male bashing event. Nothing gets done. Ways to help each other aren’t communicated. They fizzle out for lack of solutions and infrequent meet ups. Hint: Women are supportive. Girls are competitive.

This is where social media is useful.

When we aren’t meeting, I’m posting on a private Facebook group called Fiercely Female. I encourage the current group members to share, promote themselves and invite others to the group who could benefit or add value in some way. The group isn’t about man hating or politics. There is enough of that going on. I would be lying if I didn’t say man hating occasionally happens. It’s a place where we ask questions, share articles, post videos, share motivational quotes. It’s a digital community.

I’m still trying to work out the kinks.

Since this is all relatively new for me, I’m trying to work out the kinks. I’m also trying to not compare myself with other networking groups aimed for women. They may have started around the same time and gained a larger following. This isn’t about gaining a large following. This is about creating a sincere resource that is valuable.

I’m excited to see where this goes.

Easy 5th Chakra Meditation for Communication

IMG_3641Located at our throat, the 5th chakra is our communication center. We communicate all the time, whether it be verbally, via e-mail, text, phone – you name it. Since we are always communicating, we need to nurture the throat chakra. The color associated with the throat chakra is blue – a soothing, cool blue. Blue is associated with heaven and the divine. Blue has a calming, healing, peaceful effect and reminds us to slow down and take a step back.

We’re so busy and constantly being filled with information overload as a result, we’re always doing, communicating, striving– when we think of blue, let it trigger you to slooooooooow down and take a step back. Before we get sick, we feel it in our throat, which is the first sign self-care is needed. We often keep pushing ourselves, because the demands we’ve put on ourselves require us to do so. We end up getting more stressed out, which affects our ability to communicate from a place of love. When we get stressed out we communicate based on the feelings of stress, therefore what we say can come across as rude and offensive. Nurturing your throat chakra allows you to be in tune with your communication center.

Alternately, when we are shy, or feeling insecure, we often hold back from communicating – because that good ol’ story of not being enough, surfaces and gets in the way of full expressing ourselves. What happens is we psych ourselves out from really finding the power within to clearly express ourselves and get that important message out there.

Follow this easy 5th chakra meditation to help you nurture the throat chakra and find your ability to express yourself from a place of love. Set the timer on your phone for at least 7 minutes and settle in:

Close your eyes, breath deeply for 5 breaths, imagine a cool, soothing blue light centered on your throat, notice how good it feels when the blue light cools your vocal chords, continuing to breath, repeat to yourself, “I communicate from a loving place, I allow myself to express myself freely and easily, I allow myself to speak the truth, and I communicate with clarity and ease,” repeat this however times you feel necessary.

Alternately, repeat these affirmations throughout the day, take a deep breath and imagine the blue light at your throat before you communicate.

The throat chakra relates to the throat, esophagus, thyroid gland, neck, cervical spine, mouth, teeth, and jaw. When nurturing the throat chakra, eat foods that are blue in color, such as blueberries. Eat foods that naturally require little effort to harvest when ripe, such as apples, oranges and peaches. Drink herbal teas, such as chamomile, ginger tea and peppermint tea, which are soothing and calming.

Remember, you owe it to yourself to speak the truth from a place of love.