How can you hear your heart when the days are so loud and busy?
When we are not watching, life can turn into one big notification.
The phone dings, an email sends, a text comes in, a WhatsApp pops up, an alarm goes off, a coffee pot buzzes, the washing machine chimes, calendar reminders ping, smartwatches vibrate… we are on alert, programmed to respond in order to keep life moving for ourselves and others around us.
We are productive, make-shit-happen people. We have families, friends and dreams to tend to. We live in a world where to move forward means work - doing things and having habits or practices that drive our desires.
We can bring awareness to the impact of a notification filled life by meditating, stopping to breathe, hobbies that bring us into a flow of joy, social appointments that make us belly laugh and intentional time to nurture the most enjoyable parts of living. The key component is intention. The more intention we bring to life, the more presence and joy we experience.
I recently celebrated turning the big and beautiful 4-0. I indulged in the transition alongside my love, Adrian. He surprised me with an unknown destination that literally took my breath away.
Photo taken at Antelope Canyon
I had an experience coming into 4-0 of the deep value of unplugging from a notification-filled life. I adore my life’s work. My clients, my leading retreats, my dancing practice, my workout routine, my business leadership programs, my photography AND I really got why I love my life’s work -- it centers around getting still and unplugging to hear what the heart has to say. The heart speaks in stillness and through embodying the antidotes to anxiety (love, joy, peace, patience, wholeheartedness). What Adrian gifted me was serenity.
Photo taken at Horse Shoe Bend
I believe there is a life that wants to be lived through you and your big and beautiful heart knows the way. I have walked hundreds of people through hearing their hearts and it is the most refreshing and joyful experience in life. I want to personally invite you to turn off ALL of the notifications in life. Try this for 24 hours and see what happens.
If you are ready to unplug and be with your heart, I invite you to join me in Costa Rica. We will laugh, cry, dance, play, meditate and explore our way through Costa Rica together and you will not return the same as you once were.
Living Life on the Edge
Wild One,
I’m coming to you from Arizona where I’m literally sitting on the edge of Horseshoe Bend. (Click to watch or listen)
We talk a lot about "living on the edge"—the concept comes up during retreat and I use this analogy throughout my work. So as I sit on the edge of this massive natural wonder it feels like a timely topic to discuss with you.
It’s my belief that there’s a life that wants you—to be lived and expressed through you…a purpose you’re meant to fulfill which requires you to step into unknown territory.
For many people, making a move toward the life that wants them feels like standing on the edge of something like this…
And it is scary.
When you’re on the edge of something your palms are sweaty, your heart is racing, and you feel like you might die. It makes sense because the person you are now, in some ways, has to die so you can be the person you’re meant to become.
Many people can’t stand that discomfort—the edginess—so they stay the same.
If you’re not living the life you want to live and you want to be all you were meant to become, then you have to move into unknown territory. It will feel like being on the edge of something. It might feel scary. If you wait for that edgy feeling to go away, or if you wait for the shakiness to subside, or wait for that racing heart to stop…you’ll never move.
We have to be willing to move beyond this metaphorical edge--and we can’t wait for that edgy feeling to go away before we do.
Are you ready to make your move?
Who is it that you’re meant to become, and are you ready to become her?
Retreat to Realign: A Wildhearted Update from Mexico
If you’ve been following my Instagram stories you know that I've been in Mexico for the Work-ation experience with Tiffany Bednar (you know her as my partner in Wildfire, the business-intensive program I offer). It’s been a great opportunity to break away from my usual environment, take a look at my work from a different perspective and to create some new possibilities in my business.
Maybe you can relate to that feeling! Have you ever found yourself going through the day to day, so engrossed in your routine that you lose sight of the overall vision of your business or even your life? Sometimes it’s hard to keep perspective on the greater work we are doing, and we just need to step back and realign. (It’s pretty much the very definition of retreat, right?!)
Retreat is an opportunity to literally pull back and take some time to recharge, reconnect and reengage in our heart’s work with renewed energy.
I'm looking forward to sharing some big updates with you on the next round of WildFire very soon. PLUS I’ll be releasing dates for upcoming Wildhearted Retreats, so be on the lookout!
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You are a Powerful Creator and 2019 is calling you NOW.
Step into 2019 with a powerful way of being.
The hustle of the holidays are calming down. Perhaps you are traveling home, or plugging back into the flow of life this week. Often we begin to get a flood of emotions as the close of a year approaches and the creation of one is calling.
I invite you to acknowledge 2018 and manifest 2019 in a playfully collaborative way. I have created a 10 minute video and a journal exercise to help guide you in accessing your hearts desires for a powerful 2019. I am here for you. I want to hear what you create in this exercise and allow yourself to reach out. Embrace the support and send what you design with this practice to me directly at ashlie@ashliewoods.com.
Grab your Journal and follow these steps to bring into 2019 who you most want to be, Wild One.
Download: Reflect on 2018 to Manifest 2019
Your Heart is Able to be Trusted
Breakaway from old patterns and step into the life that is calling you forward.