Let August be August.
And let yourself

just be
even in
the uncertainty.
You don’t have to fix
everything.
You don’t have solve
everything.
And you can still
find peace
and grow
in the wild
of changing things.

Morgan Harper Nichols

—

August is the space between, the last month we have to savor and see the summer season fully before we get back to the schedules and routines that will carry us into the next 9 or so months. So root yourself down, get some rituals that will offer a foundation as we shift again. Find ways to see yourself in the here and now. Because you can, we love you.

“Your energy introduces you before you do.” -homebody club

As the early morning sun rises, our bodies wake. It’s a slow process. A million thoughts race

through your mind before your feet have even had the chance to touch the ground beneath you.

Around 35,000 decisions a day, and you are met with the first. Do I leave the comfort I am

surrounded in? Before long it's one foot in front of the other. Your body starts to become alive,

ready to tackle the task ahead of you. When you arrive, there I am. Waiting to greet this able

body you are in. Some walk in ready for the day, while others have hesitant steps. You are

asked “how are you” before you even have the chance to ask yourself that. “Tired” is the

common denominator that connects us all. But then the door opens, and the slow bodies step

in. Instantly, the warmth crawls up your skin feeling so familiar like the sheets you stepped out

of. Music fills your ears. Movement starts to awaken the body you call home. Your skin glistens

from the warmth as you inhale and exhale. Inhaling the movement and exhaling the slowness

from your body, taking in all the things you need. You walk in slow, but don't stay that way for

long. I observe it in the exit. I see it, the fire in your eyes. An extra bounce in the steps taken as

you exit ready for whatever the day may bring. A new sense of purpose written all over your

face. You feel accomplished. You feel awakened and alive. It’s the cycle that occurs day after

day, 365 days a year. The awakening of your body in the four walls that hold you.

Sun falls, as the new morning rises. And you begin again.

— Shelby Gill on the experience of sitting at the Front Desk and witnessing our community members coming in and going out before and after a class.

So what even is the Enneagram?

What does it feel like to you to feel known?
To feel like the parts of you that others might not understand can breathe? Have you felt that? Have you experienced the freedom that comes with making peace with the story that has brought you to this far? The story that is your own unique unfolding— the roots of you.

The Enneagram is an incredible tool that gives language for these parts of us. Revealing our TRUEST parts. The ones that have always been there, but have become clouded along the way.

The Enneagram in essence, is our egos set of coping addictions that we have wrapped around our childhood wounds so we don’t have to tell ourselves who we actually are.

Join Enneagram Guides, Liv Monte and Jill Moran as they lead us through some necessary enneagram basics to start or deepen our Enneagram knowledge and in turn, revealing the Self and gaining awareness.

Rituals can vary from a morning routine, a journal practice, an exercise practice, to winding down moments before sleep to so many other things. Once you have narrowed down the ritual you’d like to create, heres how to structure the ritual. We love these elements from ZenHabits.net of a Ritual.

The Elements of Ritual

• Create your environment: A ritual might have an altar, a temple, incense, etc. But your ritual doesn’t have to have these particular elements — the important thing is to consider what environment you’d like for this ritual, and how that environment will affect the practice. By taking care to create the environment, there’s an element of mindfulness and intention that is missing from most of our actions. An example might be to have flowers and music and sage as you do your yoga practice, or to eat dinner with phones off, a candle burning, and silence in the room.

• Intention: As you start, set an intention for the ritual. What would you like to practice during this ritual? How do you want to show up? Set the intention, and then carry that intention throughout the ritual.

• Bring presence: A key part of ritual is to be as fully present as you can. This is another element missing from most of our daily actions, but if we elevate something to ritual, it can increase our presence.

• Deep appreciation: Ritual is about bringing full appreciation to the act. A daily shower ritual is appreciating your body for the miracle it is. Daily eating rituals is appreciating not only the nourishing food, but the people who put their life energy into growing, transporting and preparing the food. A daily writing ritual might be an appreciation of your connection to your reader. We often take things for granted — ritual brings the appreciation for life, the world, others and ourselves back into our lives.

• Contemplation: Ritual can be a space for contemplating what’s important to you, what you are afraid of, what your aspirations are, and more. Again, this isn’t something we normally make space for, but what if we created that space?

• Connection to aspiration: What do you want to create in the world? Who do you want to be? How would you like to show up, to shift yourself, to serve others? Ritual is a way to connect to these aspirations, so that we can be more resolved to live them.

• Lift to sacredness: We take the ordinary things in our lives for granted, but what if we lifted the ordinary to sacredness? This doesn’t require a belief in God (though it can) … it’s imbuing a power into an action. The word “sacred” comes from the Latin “sacrāre,” which means to consecrate, to dedicate. That usually has holy connotations but can simply mean to be devoted to something that has power. What if we could see the mundane as powerfully sacred and magical?

• Close in gratitude: A ritual has a closing, which might be simply gratitude for whatever you just did, how you practiced, or what you are devoted to. Give a small prayer of thanks to yourself, to the world.

Come see us soon, we love you so much.

Next month is our Birthday and we can’t wait to celebrate with you. Stay connected to our socials for all the happenings!