Journal | Keri Krieger

February 8, 2017 by kerik_admin

2016 It’s A Wrap!

2016 A year in review.

It’s hard to believe but I don’t think I have ever done a review post before, but 2016 you were different!

It was a wholehearted year where finally I felt like I could truly (and not begrudgingly) embody my belief that life is happening FOR me not too me (or AT me as some times it has previously felt!)

It was a strange year though in the sense that I kind of felt time got stretched in all sorts of weird ways and most of year actually happened some how all crammed into the the last few months. In fact the first half of the year felt like a different year all together.

Was I alone in this?

Something quite fabulous happened around September where all of a sudden all the work and planning that felt a little bit like it could be going nowhere suddenly went EVERYWHERE!

Lets start at the beginning shall we!

The seeds for the year were planted in Dec 2015 when I attended a Violet Gray intention circle. I wrote about it here. The gorgeous Alex invited me to one of their circles where each attendee makes their own crystal bracelet and my word for the year found me. SHINE.

I wasn’t quite sure what that word had in store for me, but it felt like backing myself, being seen, confidently standing my ground and letting my light shine. To be of service in the most bold and beautiful way. Letting the truth that I have the right to take up space really take hold I put my hand up and raised my voice.

It was a theme that unravelled through out the year so beautifully. I also moved into a gorgeous new home at the end of 2015 and the first few months of this year were filled with purchasing cushions and plants so much so that many of the planned furniture purchases still haven’t happened as I keep coming home from nurseries and Bunnings with even more plants! (who actually needs a kitchen table anyway?)

2016 had its heartbreak moments that I explored in this post HERE. And as I check in with myself enjoying the spaciousness of retrospect I can see an experience that will forever leave me knowing that I can do hard things with Grace.

It certainly wasn’t the most difficult experience of my life but the wholehearted way I took care of myself, the way I honored the process and let myself be guided by the ancient wisdom I offer to my clients was a bit of a revelation. Duh I know right!?

This experience has really shaped the way I have moved forward in my life since and the unapologetic way I choose to live through this natural lens.

There were daily walks with my four legged love

Lots of Live music.

My month long festival of birthday was celebrated in my usual over the top style for most of August. Yes all month, why the heck not?

And where would I be with out the fire works that Sydney puts on every-time I come down for my Roadshow!

A review of 2016 would not be complete without a mention of the amazing women that populate my life. I spent a rich and delicious weekend at Dr Libby’s Beautiful You weekend in June. (if you have not been GO it’s even more amazing than you think it will be! )

Celebrated like it was 1999 at the book launch of Ali Hills book Stand out. (go get it!) and found myself shoulder to shoulder with so many women I admire and look up to, whether it be at events or around my kitchen table.

A deep bow to the women in my world!

Again Dec 2105 saw the start of some amazing growth in my business and coaching practice that flowed through to the rest of 2016 .There was this article on Mindful Collective.

I featured on Nicole Mathesons podcast Unbreakable. You can listen to the episode here.

I adore this women and her way of showing up in the world. It’s irreverent, and feminine and wholehearted. Conversations with her are one of my favorite things.

I spoke at the Soul Sister Circle Sessions held at Warehouse 5 on the Gold Coast. And again found myself collaborating with women I truly admire and respect. Tahlee, Jasmine and Bec the founder of SSC are creative pioneers in their fields. The magic, and power of having 100 women in a room sharing their stories is not to be underestimated.

The big decision that I made in 2016 that shaped the end of the year and is very much providing the main flavour of 2017, is the choice to attend Tigress Yoga Female Yoga Teacher Training for a whole month in Bali.

Yup a whole freakin month in Bali. And you know what people (like me and perhaps you) say, that if it’s meant to happen it will but you need to take the first step. Well I took that step, not knowing where the money or time was going to come from but just knowing deep in my bones that this work was the perfect marriage of soulful restorative practice for myself and a necessary piece of the unfolding puzzle that is my coaching practice.

So it won’t surprise you that the money of course appeared, and then some. Going to further prove (in case you need proof.. sometimes I do!) that when you are truly in alignment with something, you will be supported.

The path, whilst perhaps not paved with unicorn glitter will naturally and with a degree of ease unfold in front of you. I’m equally excited and reverent about this experience which I know will be one of great revelation to me. I’m trying to approach that mindfully although every. single. cell. in my body also wants to cartwheel at the thought of being in that tropical heat with mango and coconut awaiting my tastebuds every day!

The new year is off to a wonderful start with the birth of my second niece. Little Abigail made her way into the world on the morning of the 1st of Jan. I had hoped to be at her birth as I was with her sister, but she had other plans. So another trip to our nations capital is on the cards!

I also thought it might be fun to share my reading list for the year. And also reveal my little addiction to teen fantasy fiction…. there really is no better escapism!

Lastly, if you would like an opportunity to reflect on the year that was using the 5 elements I have a play book for you. You can find it here.

I read in no particular order ……

A Year of Yes Shonda Rhimes

Rising Strong Brene Brown

Outrageous Openness Tosha Silver

Women’s Wellness Wisdom Dr Libby

Speaking Out Tara Moss

Cross Roads of Should and Must Elle Luna

Love Warrior Glennon Melton Doyle

When Women Were Birds Terry Tempest Williams

Stand Out Ali Hill

Celeste Roland Perry Wild Wood

The Wrong Girl Zoe Foster Blake

My drug of choice is teenage fantasy fiction and I make no apologies for my behaviour! (I can inhale one of these in a single Sunday afternoon)

Garth Nix The Old Kingdom Quartet

Cassandra Clare Lady Midnight

Claudia Gray Trilogy

Blood in the Beginning Kim Falconer

The final Terry Pratchet book.

Another trilogy I read at my sisters over Xmas!

Still currently reading from 2016 A Course in Miracles

Seven Thousand Ways to Listen Mark Nepo

I know there are some I have missed but I think thats as good a start as any if you are looking for a great read!

I truly hope your new year is off to a magical start and I look forward to connecting with you across 2017

August 21, 2016December 6, 2017 by kerik_admin

How a mentor will help you avoid overwhelm in your complimentary health practice

Mentor, health practitioner, Keri Krieger,

(Doesn’t everyone set up a work station on a stool on a rug with their dog?)

You’re a healer; you give to others. So it makes sense that you need serious support for yourself so you don’t burn out and can continue to serve others.

As a mentor and coach, I’m often asked about the different roles that I play for various clients, and I wanted to speak to that. To unravel the benefits of both, depending on your needs.

A mentor is someone who has gone before you in a field that is similar or the same as yours, and is laying the steps for you to follow.

A good mentor will not try to be all things to all people. I personally work with discovering your own unique metrics for success and ways to optimise them. I am not an SEO expert, nor can I offer you guides to six-figure marketing funnels (although I can refer you to people who can do all those things and more).

A coach’s role is to empower you and guide you in your own personal life and/or business through self-discovery. It doesn’t matter what field you work in, or what area of your life you’re looking for help with. A coach can meet you where you’re at and help you get to where you want to go.

Being a coach is an essential part of my mentoring due to the personal and authentic component of practicing in health and wellness. To be honest it’s where most of the business growth is. I focus on mentoring health practitioners to establish and grow their business, but along the way there’s always personal coaching available to give you a holistic helping hand.

A good mentor or coach will have an agreed timeline, plan and price and include plenty of reflective practices as well as experiential outcomes (that’s the bit where you get to see how far you’ve come).

If you are in the health industry, practicing acupuncture, osteopathy, naturopathy, chiropractics, massage, healing or any other natural treatments, there are so many good reasons to have someone holding space for you and assisting you on what can often be a very solo path.

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There are a number of factors to consider when looking for a mentor or coach and why you might need one in the first place.

The first and most simple answer is because it’s always easier to see from the outside in. A mentor with practical experience in your field will notice your unique skills that you assume most people must have – because for you it’s second nature (it’s not) – and help you to maximise, hone and honour them. Mentors notice your particular struggles and can help you to outsource them or simply deal with them differently.

The second is because you might not be taking enough care of your awesome self. Many health practitioners start on their professional path after a life-changing experience. Some are forced to deal with a health crisis of their own, while others need to care of someone they love. From that point on, gathering information, experiencing treatments and discovering and learning everything you can about your body, mind and spirit becomes your new focus.

It’s often this same desire to help that can get in the way and block your path forward. Compassion and a desire to help is deeply admirable, but not at the expense of your own health and wellbeing.

Ask yourself…

Are you saying yes all the time?
Do you have trouble charging what you’re worth?
Are you blocking out your time off? Or do you help others with ‘home’ treatments on your days off?

Often it’s not until you’re feeling burnt out and resentful that you wonder how on Earth you could possibly do this as a full-time job. Or perhaps you’ve considered quitting to return to the day job you left for this new path.

Does this sound like you?

I want you to know it doesn’t have to be this way. Honestly, there’s an easier way to follow your heart.

Setting healthy boundaries, being clear on what your ideal week looks like (the number of clients you see and what you personally need to be the best version of you) isn’t often taught in colleges.

Let me tell you right now these are magical, practical, and necessary skills that will reap rewards in all areas of your life!

In the health industry things can often feel a little more personal. There seems to be less of a barrier between your emotional world and your clients. You need to have really clear boundaries and skills to deal with people in highly emotional states; this can takes time and practice. The support of a coach or mentor can guide you in these support skills.

I love sharing my favourite life hacks knowing with wholehearted joy that they WORK!

When I mentor practitioners, some of the most powerful moments happen when we print out a weekly calendar and play Tetris with their schedule until it fits and feels good. And I’ll be real here, there are tough conversations and tears over things that need to be outsourced or simply removed as they no longer serve.

I am the big sister mentor you’ve been looking for after all!

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From my experience there are a few mistaken beliefs holding back the amazing women I mentor.

“I must feel or have experienced everything that my clients are going through before I can help them.”

Not true.

“I should be older before I can have a worthy opinion.”

Not true.

Some people think that a certain number of years on the planet qualifies you to have an educated opinion on something. But the metrics of Age, Experience and Time aren’t transferable. They just aren’t. There will be situations that you have experienced that others twice your age haven’t, not all life experience is necessarily age dependent.

I know plenty of amazing acupuncturists in their twenties who are currently childless running incredibly successful clinics specialising in fertility. These women are gentle and compassionate and incredibly well versed in all the latest studies and practices. Clients of any age are going to benefit from their education and passion.

One skill or trait that is often put down to being age related is confidence. This can work either way here I’m going to be honest. I look back at how gung ho I was in some of my early years and the single-minded focus and belief that acupuncture was going to change everyone’s life! (I mean it IS amazing.) It was only as I accrued some more life experience (and humility) that I realised just how little I would ever truly know of the 3000-year-old art and science that I practice. But here’s the wonderful thing: This only increased my thirst to learn more and be a lifelong student to the art of Chinese Medicine. This has benefited my clients immensely and is the most empowered place to be of service from.

Having someone who has walked that path 1000 steps in front of you is going to save you from many of these pitfalls and offer navigation skills as you get clear on the kind of practitioner you want to be.

“I just need to do the right course and then I’ll be good enough.”

Not true.

I’m certainly not saying that you should throw yourself onto the unsuspecting public without adequate qualifications, but being a student is a lifelong path and one that maintains a humble and curious nature. These two qualities are a so essential to cultivate. And yes you can be humble and successful and charge your worth. These are NOT mutually exclusive, just let me show you how!

Start before you think you are ready. Begin and the path will begin to take form in front of you!

“I need to be an expert in all areas of my business.”

Not true.

This will hold you back. Every. Single. Time.

Let me explain by sharing my story. I’ve been in the health industry for 20 years. Eight years ago I woke up and realised that I was a business and I needed to start acting like one. I needed to back myself and take myself and my business to the next level. I had no idea exactly what that was at the time.

Now If I expected myself to be an expert in social media, marketing, design, writing, and publicity… that would have been pretty crazy. I’m an acupuncturist. It had taken me years and years of solid and dedicated work on those skills alone and I didn’t want (or need) to become an expert in a bunch of other fields.

Finally, and after torturing myself for just long enough, I found a mentor in Samantha Gowing. Over the years I have had great support from mentors, kinesiologists, psychologists, and not to mention a kick-ASS VA and a mastermind group. It took a little while to find the right people who got my brand and got me and the way I like to work. If not for that first mentor I might still be believing that silly story of mine that I should be able to do it all on my own!

With my skills as an acupuncturist, medical intuitive and life coach mixed with my own personal experience of navigating the ups and downs of life and business I have a very powerful skill set to assist you to on your journey.

If you’re curious about mentoring or coaching and would like to know what the next step for you might look like, head over and find out more.

Note: Neither a coach or mentor can qualify or substitute for the services of a mental health professional, especially psychologists and psychiatrists. There have been times where I have lovingly referred applying clients onto other more appropriate allied health professionals. Feel free to get in touch if you’re not sure who is the best person help you.

Eva-Rose Joyce

Acupuncturist after 6 months of Practitioner Coaching.

I enrolled in a year's worth of Practice Mentoring with Keri 6 months ago. It has been wonderful to have her on the other end of the phone for assistance with tricky clients, decisions on the direction of my practice and to benefit from her extensive experience in the spa industry. She’s generous with her knowledge and time, her articles are insightful and practical and I really feel she really speaks my language! I’m looking forward to what is in store for the next 6 months as I feel I have already come a long way.

S. Roth (after a 1:1 session)

/ S. Roth

I am home from Retreat and just was telling a friend how seeing you really helped me last week and I just wanted to say thank you for your care. It really helped me through my pain seeing you.

Kara Martini

I have found your gorgeous affirmations (that I have been reading over and over!) so helpful. Thank you so much for the healing work you did for me - you have such a beautiful caring nature, it helped me so much xx

Debbie Zita

Keri will lovingly and gently guide you through any emotional physical mental and of course spiritual blocks that you may be facing. She is not only a gifted intuitive but is highly intelligent and brings a sense of humour and ease to her work.

Lara Goode

Osteopath / South Eastern Osteopathy (Soon to be found at Rawreliefosteopathy.com.au!)

Words simply cannot describe just how amazingly magical Keri is. Starting my journey on an 8-week life coaching packaged was the best thing I ever did. Having such a supportive, intelligent and purely down to earth mentor literally changed my life. Her endless devotion and encouragement throughout our coaching sessions has helped me learn new life skills (both personal and business associated). As our program ended (and many tears were shed) I decided I could not possibly live without her and continued a monthly ‘maintenance’ of life guiding goodness! This coupled with body and soul nourishing acupuncture I wouldn’t have it any other way. Keri is now a valuable referral for many of my own clients and a close friend ? Jump on board people! You won't be disappointed! Xx

Ali Hill

Psychologist/Speaker/Awesome Human

Keri’s ability to hold space when I was feeling hopeless, to cut through the noise when I was drowning is her gift to busy women. With her unique insights, her depth of experience and quirky humour, having her as a health coach bought me back to myself. When doubt rung louder than reason in my head, Keri’s practical advice gave me permission to be the biggest and best version of me. Every woman who is busy, drowning, losing sight of themselves will get huge value out of the words and wisdom that Keri shares. Do yourself a favour and get on board. I know that my future self is eternally grateful for the investment I made in having Keri in my corner.

Sheriden

Student of Nutrition

Thank you so much for sending me all those resources, and for taking the time to chat with me too! I felt so much better about my future even just after the little chat we had. That really meant the world to me and spun me a 180 in the right direction to a more positive outlook - so, thank you again.

Irene

Aged Care Worker and Magical Human

Thank you for the session on Friday I feel amazing! I seem to have more energy and even invited friends over for dinner on Saturday night which is not like me I don't usually initiate this but I did, so I'm feeling very happy and keep telling my family that I have had a great weekend. I am so happy to have met you and grateful that you have come into my life.

S. Roth (after a 1:1 session)

/ S. Roth

I am home from Retreat and just was telling a friend how seeing you really helped me last week and I just wanted to say thank you for your care. It really helped me through my pain seeing you.

Kara Martini

I have found your gorgeous affirmations (that I have been reading over and over!) so helpful. Thank you so much for the healing work you did for me - you have such a beautiful caring nature, it helped me so much xx

in Coaching 0 comments

June 19, 2016October 1, 2020 by kerik_admin

Love, Breakups & The Internet – Sitting at the campfire of your heart

A little over four months ago I took off down the road from my new home and had myself a solo lunch date. This is something that I have often loved to do, book and dog in hand I have no problem enjoying my own company. I wrote on this day that too often we wait, for the guy or the gig, or the something before we do the things we want to do. Go in with a full deck I said for when you do meet that someone, inspired by an afternoon reading articles by wordsmith Alex Franzen I was reminded of her post on online dating … and the seed was planted.

in Feng shui your heart 1 comments

May 30, 2016October 1, 2020 by kerik_admin

My love letter to Fear

Fear we are often told is something that we need to get the better of, we need to conquer and be in charge of and sometimes this might be true. Liz Gilbert has a wonderful conversation with fear here. But what if occasionally when we feel fear taking hold we sat down and had a chat and listened to this very primal instinct. What might we say to make it listen and quiet down?

in Coaching / Emotions / Feng shui your heart 0 comments

May 7, 2016October 1, 2020 by kerik_admin

What to do when friends no longer support your path

Oh wow. I agonised for at least an hour over that heading. I really wanted to call it “not everyone in the transit lounge is coming on the plane with you” but google wasn’t understanding the metaphor! It hurts to even read that title. But it doesn’t have to.

Here we are heading for the half way mark of the year, and I’m wondering how your going with all those New Year goals?

Did you pick a word for the year? It might have been shine, or something around being visible, speaking up, owning your truth, being the best version of yourself and all of this sounds pretty good doesn’t it?

How has that been unfolding for you?

in Coaching / Feng shui your heart 0 comments

April 11, 2016July 19, 2016 by kerik_admin

The Practical Magic of Feng Shui

Art by Brandy Woods

The last few weeks have seen me re-arranging the furniture like crazy. This is a pretty normal habit for me. Seasonally I like to keep the energy in my home fresh and keep clutter from building up.

But after 3 moves in 13 months last year I was taking no chances so last week I had Feng Shui Consultant, Building Biologist and Nutritionist Kate Woods come to my house and check things out. Kate is one of the very few building biologists in the country. As corporations come to realise the link between productivity, staff health and that our environments directly impact that, this field is set to explode. And of course as an acupuncturist I wanted to make sure the energy in my house was being supported. I wanted to feel like the energy of my home was working WITH me. In acupuncture treatments we take into account the external causes of illness and these can include the obvious things like external trauma, too much heat, wind, and dampness but also other ‘pathogenic factors’. I looked at this like an acupuncture treatment for my home and couldn’t wait for Kate to work her magic. It’s an incredibly precise science, and I wondered how I would possibly measure the results.

in 5 elements / Biz magic / Elemental living 0 comments

February 12, 2016February 13, 2021 by kerik_admin

The single divorced middle aged woman’s guide to not giving a f*ck about Valentine’s day

(and so much other crap that compromises keeping our hearts strong and open)

Now that I’ve got your attention with that incredibly dramatic title, let me just say

I love love. All of it.

I mean, I love romance and flirtation and devotion.

I love that feeling when you first meet someone that you like, that feeling that you get when you haven’t even met someone but you’re just finally OPEN to it. Like yeah… I can go there.

I almost, ALMOST even like that feeling when you have just broken up with someone you truly deeply loved. Like you know even though the air around you hurts you did something real and magical there.

I love lusty, and sensual. I love that feeling when you are truly inhabiting yourself and people stop and look when you walk by. Even though you haven’t brushed your hair and your wearing clothes the dog slept on (or maybe they can tell.. who knows)

But you get my point.

I love feeling connected; with myself, with the world around me, with potentially a pretty hot human.

And then there is Valentines Day.

And it’s just not fucking helpful.

in Feng shui your heart / Life magic 0 comments

February 8, 2016 by kerik_admin

New Year Elemental Journey

I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure even at this early stage in the year if I can recall how exactly I got here.

And it’s only February!

The first month of the year named after the God of doorways and new beginnings, Janus, passes in a flurry of New Year’s intentions and recovering from either the year that was, a very indulgent festive holiday or a little bit of both.

Well I’m offering you a ‘do over’ on the Eve of the first New Moon of the Year which symbolises the Chinese New Year.

This also happens to be either Imbolc if your in the northern hemisphere or Lammas if your with us down under, both pivotal festivals and turning points in the year. Its a seasonal pause where we reflect on what we’re reaping in the first harvest of the summer or looking at what we are intending to sow with the coming of the light after the cold of the winter.

This is the year of the Fire Monkey and before the passionate and fast paced year is upon us I want to offer you an opportunity if one has escaped you so far to reflect on the year that was, and set yourself up for a magical and intentionally crafted new year.

To take yourself on an Elemental Journey moving through Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood follow the link to receive my New Year Elemental Journey PDF designed to guide you through the Five Elements and into the year ahead.

This New Year is the year of the Fire Monkey symbolised by Fire over Metal.

Now, fire can melt metal, but it can also forge an even stronger Metal.

*For this year ahead think hot fiery and fast. This is great for making decisions on the run, and being flexible and fluid. What this means is though that we need to keep our nourishment at peak levels to remain able to keep up and to not frizzle in the heat!

*Be careful of overspending financially and energetically.

*You will bounce back quickly though in this energetic climate as long as you pay attention!

* Its a year for passion and creativity optimism and playfulness

*Keep your calm centre to avoid falling into anxiety and frustration in this fast paced year and it has the potential to be super fun!

The New Moon is always a wonderful time to set an intention. Simplify it into a word or a feeling and see it grow with the waxing moon throughout the month.

I’d love to hear any questions you have. Comment below or zip me an email.

With blessings for a Magical New Year ahead.

PS. And that link again is Here..

in Feng shui your heart / Life magic 0 comments

September 26, 2015August 29, 2020 by kerik_admin

How to connect with your Divine Feminine super powers!

Rituals- breakdown to breakthrough

The importance of magic and mystery in our lives is something that we need to honour more.
I attended a retreat last August with founder of Tigress Yoga Dévashi Shakti.
In this post about ritual I shared my experience of the water temple ceremony.

At the end of the retreat she encouraged us to not speak about our retreat experience, not from a hush hush ‘what happens on retreat’ point of view, but to encourage the acknowledgment that what we had experienced was sacred and personal and we needed time to integrate our experiences.

Talking and sharing about our experience with people outside of the retreat diluted that experience some how.
It also encouraged me to refocus on my own experience. In a world where almost everything now can be on display .. hello bloggers life! This mysterious experience was just for us.

It kept my focus on how I was feeling not how I would explain it to someone else.
This is extremely beautiful feeling.
This rich magical nourishing experience was just for me.

How divine.

Over the last year I have been diving deep within my own psyche and subconscious beliefs.
I believe that this retreat was a real catalyst for some truly divine unravelling.
Necessary on a lot of levels.
Not always pleasant or comfortable let me be real here!

In Chinese Medicine we talk about Yin being the ‘mother of all things’.
In Taoist philosophy she is the divine darkness in the caves of the Kunlun mountains where all things originate. In these mountains Xi Wang Mu the Queen Mother and Goddess of Immortality resides.

In my sessions with Dévashi I had what I can only describe as an initial fleeting visit to my very own personal Kunlun Mountain.
The deepest yin recesses of my bodily awareness which I saw in my minds eye as caves filled with mercurial water, a place of great magnetic beauty and stillness, a place that felt potent and ripe.
It is this magnetic feeling that I have kept in my consciousness this last year, to remind my self that this magnetic place is the seat of my divine feminine power, and that all the striving and stretching and reaching and working and over doing that had lead to my burn out and physical dis-ease is the absolute opposite of that.

This yin power centre is infinite and as a women in a uniquely women’s body this power source has been here all along yet untapped and unrecognised as who has there been to explain this to me?
I will be forever grateful to Dévashi and the Tigress practice for showing me that all women have within us this unique power centre and way of operating and being in the world. This is just as powerful and effective as mens’ but so very different due simply to our feminine biology and wiring.
For so many women it takes an experience of burn out, illness and fatigue to look for an alternative way of being or more simply put, to stop the endless doing and seeking externally and look within for answers.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
It is possible to seek out the magnetic and the beautiful pathway for us to reach our goals and attain our dreams. This doesn’t mean sitting passive, on the contrary.
It means showing up as all of ourselves.
For women this means feeling safe, and healing that huntress warrior in ourselves that has been on the lookout for danger (often quite necessarily) our whole lives.
It means aligning ourselves with likeminded nurturing circles of sisterhood who by virtue of our mutual intention and numbers, together provide safety and nourishment.

It means choosing when to be vulnerable with our men, men who its appropriate to be vulnerable with and knowing the difference.

Most importantly its about knowing when we need to walk away from our relationships and commitments even briefly and reconnect to the infinite magnetic resource that is our inner world and the natural world around us.

I am committed to continuing this journey of personal discovery, and in my work sharing this magical magnetic process with every women I have the honour of working with.

My wish is for each and every women on the planet to know this resource within them.

So mote it be.

in 5 elements / Life magic / TCM 0 comments

July 12, 2015August 21, 2016 by kerik_admin

Rituals to guide you from Breakdown to Breakthrough.

Healing Power of Ritual

Ritual is something that I have always used as a marker to honor times and places both physical and metaphysical in my life.

Ritual speaks to the deep unconscious places in us and has anchored intentions and goals for me when life has gotten hectic.

This can be as simple as a cup of herbal tea or something as elaborate as this water purification ceremony, I experienced in Bali. This Ceremony occurred whilst I was on a Tigress Yoga retreat in July last year. I went with all sorts of wild intentions, most of them unrealistic! One of them was seeing this holiday as a ritual place marker of healing and time out. The problem with this was that I had an expectation of what healing looked like.

My expectation was that I would go on this magical holiday (it was really really magical) I would have 10 incredible days off (the first 10 days of actual holiday down time in years ) and I would magically spring back like a magical elastic band version of myself. Viola! Keri 2.0. Expectations much? The reality went a little differently.

But it was EXACTLY what I needed and it was in fact just what I had been asking for. I just didn’t know it at the time because it looked a whole lot like MORE breakdown… nothing like I expected breakthrough to look at all.

It was much like this water temple purification process actually.

I don’t know about you but the idea of going to a truly ancient spring on a beach in Bali bathing in the ocean and being blessed and cleansed conjured up all sort of (unrealistic) images. Eat Pray Love has a lot to answer for, but as these images can attest I looked much more like a drowned rat than a divinely inspired Julia Roberts.

Bucket after bucket of salty spring water is tipped over your head as you are chanted over and a cup of coconut water is offered to you that, somehow in-between gasps and dunks, you are meant to mindfully ingest.

The actual blessing itself was quite like being caught in pounding surf, where you mistime the waves and get dumped trying to gasp for air before the next wave lands on your head.

Most of the time instead of feeling serene and mindful, graciously letting go and inviting in my carefully thought out intention I was just praying that I was ingesting the coconut water and not actually giving myself some deadly parasite that would plague my health into old age… I’m still not convinced that didn’t in-fact happen.

Bali TY & Water Temple 043 Bali TY & Water Temple 046-1 Bali TY & Water Temple 033

Did I feel different? Did I feel changed? Did I leave a different person?

You better believe it.

That pledge that I made to myself, the intention that I had set in action had been witnessed by the gods. Lets be honest I’m an out of the closet Pagan!

I am completely in love with the Balinese reverence to nature and beauty; these places have power if for no other reason than we believe them to.

And that is enough for me.

Rituals - Breakdown to Breakthrough

I came home and I couldn’t in all honesty continue life as I had been. Working with out rest, running from heart ache, avoiding tending to some very large wounds.

In the following months everything unravelled.

A wonderful mix of anxiety, depression, shocking cortisol levels, high testosterone, absent estrogen, exhaustion, and an overwhelming inability to leave the house, left me bewildered and wondering how on Earth I had found myself having another breakdown. Seriously?

The REALLY important thing to realise here and this realisation is only available in hindsight. Is that ALL of this was actually me breaking through. It was the last point of contraction before the process of expansion could take place. And if I hadn’t had such an amazing team of people around me, if I didn’t have all the knowledge of my own years of training I would have believed that I was getting worse. Many people indeed told me I was.

I can tell you now that I wasn’t. Things do actually get worse before they get better but not in the way we think.

It has taken a huge amount of self belief, self care and faith to trust the intuition and self awareness that reassured me in the scariest of moments that this was not under any circumstance a downward spiral.

It was the upward one.

If you find yourself in this situation, in the heat of the moment it will be hard to tell the difference.

So here I am sharing my story with you, to let you know dear reader that there will be moments when you doubt your own resurrection story that ‘something has gong wrong’ with your carefully laid plans of healing your heart and soul.

Do not doubt yourself. Surround yourself with the best team of people you can find.

I involved medical science, herbal medicine, psychology, exercise and meditation.

And above all trust your intuition.

If this post speaks to you in your journey know that help is at hand. I’m kind of a specialist guide for The Dark Night of the Soul. (No water dunking required)

I’d love to hear from you. x

in Coaching / Elemental living / Feng shui your heart / Health / Life magic 0 comments