When I landed in L.A., I made a promise to myself. I promised I would do a daily movement or embodiment practice, no matter what, and just to be clear, there were many day where I wanted to break this promise. As I’ve kept it, what I’ve discovered in the process, has been invaluable. It’s been an investment in trusting and valuing myself and remembering what moves me in my life.
L.A. is a wild mixture of magic and drudgery, of sexy and gray, and I am reminded of this daily, as I slowly make my way through sun-drenched, traffic-clogged streets, past giant billboards, announcing new blockbuster movies, emmy-award winning television programs, upcoming headliners at the Hollywood Bowl and where you can get tested for STDs or how you can “freeze the fat.”
Life can pull your attention away
If you’re not attentive, here, you can all too easily get pulled away from yourself and your deeper longings, but in truth, it doesn’t take a big city to leave us disconnected. Many things can pull us away from ourselves. Our children’s needs, parent’s needs, partner’s needs, friend’s needs, work demands, money issues, world events, travel planning, event planning, upsetting news, heartbreak, loss, and so on.
And because of this, it’s important to take a moment, remember something you long for and make a promise to yourself that supports this. A practical promise. One you can keep.
Making a personal promise
It doesn’t matter what the promise is. In fact, it’s best to keep it simple. It might be calling a friend, because you wish to connect. Reading a book, even for 5 minutes, because you’ve been longing to turn actual pages of a story. Lying down and breathing, because you wish to feel your chest and heartbeat. Setting aside 20 minutes for a daily movement or mediation practice, because you want to feel your body and yourself.
The “what” doesn’t really matter, but making a promise and keeping it do.
Value in keeping a promise
These promises we make come from a deeper place. From deeper longings and desires that wish to be met.
When you break a promise, the personal ones, you postpone yourself. You give less value to your deeper wishes. It’s a small moment where you disrespect yourself. Over time, this can wear you down and make life feel overwhelming, pointless or at the very least, uninspiring.
Every time you keep your promises, you touch that deeper place. You choose a moment of intimacy. You remember the importance of what you wish for. Over time, keeping these promises, not only makes you feel good, but it nourishes you in a very deep way. You trust yourself more and you remember your worth.
So, I’ll leave you with this …Is there a daily promise you wish to make to yourself and what deeper wish does it connect to? In this guided practice, you’ll learn to connect this wish to a promise and embody it more deeply, as you melt away old resistances, procrastinations and moments where you might give up.