The Unravel Challenge Week One 2/1/2021

Welcome to your first week of unraveling. I am happy to have you here. I hope you are ready to find your true Self. But first we have to dig deep and remove some layers. So,  let's get started. 

Week One is all about foundations and clearing away. So imagine you have found the perfect plot of land to build your house or pitch your tent, but there's all this debris in the way. Today, we start demolition on that debris! We are clearing that land. 

Your exercise this week is called "The Flower to Seed Exercise". We will get to the how of completing this exercise, but first let me give you what you will need to even begin the process.

What you will need are The Eight Bricks of Your Foundation, they are:
​1) The Emotional Brick
2) The Financial Brick
3) The Social Brick 
4) The Spiritual Brick
5) The Occupational Brick
6) The Physical Brick
7) The Intellectual Brick
8) The Environmental Brick

Here is what each of these bricks is comprised of:
1) Emotional- Coping effectively with life and creating satisfying relationships
2) Financial- Satisfaction with current and future financial situations
3) Social- Developing a sense of connection and belonging and having a well developed support system
4) Spiritual- Expanding your sense of purpose and meaning in life as well as connecting to whatever you deem as your higher power
5) Occupational- Personal satisfaction and enrichment derived from your way of making an income
6) Physical- Recognizing the need for physical activity, diet, sleep and nutrition, and the importance of overall optimal health
7) Intellectual- Recognizing creative your abilities and finding ways to expand your knowledge and skill sets, as well as have an outlet for them
8) Environmental- Occupying pleasant, stimulating and safe environments that support your well-being

Now that you know what the bricks to build your solid foundation on are and what they are made of. Let's get into what you are going to do with them! 

First, Review in detail each of the eight bricks. Note your thoughts about each. List any bricks that bring up feelings for you (good or bad) and what those feelings are? Do any of these bricks bring up energy or pain in your body, if so where is it located? 

Second, Evaluate which three of these eight bricks is currently the most out of balance in your life. They could be the three that rank the lowest (the least nourished bricks) or maybe there is a brick that is ranked so highly you need to dig into why that brick is so well nourished while the others are suffering. No judgement - just see, make notes and pick the three you wish to spend your energy on this week! 

Third, Complete your "Flower to Seed" Exercise for each of the three selected bricks. Here's how you do the F2SE (Flower to Seed Exercise):

Imagine or even draw in your journal a flower. You don't have to be Picasso, a stick figure flower will due just fine. So imagine - you have your bloom, your stem, your roots and alllllllll the way below the surface of the dirt and below the roots are the seeds that started this whole thing.

**F2SE with examples are provided at bottom of post. Feel free to review the examples at any point if you need deeper guidance**

You will complete the below steps with each of your bricks... so rinse and repeat x3 ;-)

FLOWER:
Take one of your three selected bricks and write it beside your flower. You can write the actual brick name, for example "financial" or a known issue that falls under a brick's composition, for example "failed relationship patterns", instead of writing down "social". Do what feels right for you! However you choose to label your flower - This is what is portrayed outwardly to the world. Or maybe you are a master at hiding it, so it is not seen but this is what is deeply felt within you! Either way - This is your current perception of what is out of alignment in your life. We will call this your perceived problem.  

STEM:
Now list beside the stem the first thought that comes to your mind as to way this brick is out of alignment in your life. Don't over think it. Don't analyze it. Whatever is the first thought that is dropped into your intuition, write that down. This is your initial "why".

ROOTS:
Thinking on your initial why, take your time. Maybe you step away and come back. After you have taken some time answer - What caused the situation, or feeling, or falling apart of this brick? This is what brought this to be.

SEEDS:
Now, holding what caused the situation, feeling, blockage etc in your spirit, in your mind's eye and in your heart space... meditate on when this happened in your life. What was going on around you? How did it happen? Maybe even why did it happen? This is the spark that started it all - your SEED... 

When you get to your SEED(S), we hit PAY DIRT. We have the material we need to move forward. This is your REAL ROOT... not the flower that is presented outwardly to the world. The SEED(S) is what is hiding you - from you and this is what we will work with to heal, process and release!! 

**F2SE with examples are provided at bottom of post**

Forth, Pluck this flower from your mind, body and spirit so we can backfill the hole and HEAL! This is where the real work comes in. You now take what you uncovered as your seed(s) and dig into how you begin to heal that part of your life. This part takes work because I can not simply tell you how to do this, one because I don't know what your seed(s) is and two because everyone's journey is going to be vastly different. But I will provide you some examples of things I have done and that my clients have done to start to heal parts of their lives: 
- setting boundaries
- speaking up for yourself
- removing people from your life
- creating work life balance
- seeing a therapist
- seeking a naturopath 
- eating better
- reconnecting with the Creator
Even with these examples, will you have to map a route to fit your needs to get to the end goal! Take your time with this. It is not meant to do all in a day. Take your time with your SEEDS. Remember that FLOWERS weren't grown overnight, so in most cases you won't remedy all your issues in 24 hours. But use this info you have just unearthed as stepping stones to coming closer to knowing and seeing your TRUE SELF. Cheers to BECOMING YOU!

Xo - JANET G

Please leave comments, thoughts and share journey below in the comments. Also, Share this post with a friend...maybe even an enemy LOL. We might be able to heal them too ;-)

F2SE Examples
#1
​FLOWER- Spiritual
STEM- Stopped speaking to the Divine
ROOT- Felt like He didn't hear you
SEEDS- Prayed for a love one to live and they passed away 
BACKFILLING THE HOLE- Grief counseling, writing the loved one a letter to become complete with their leaving, meditating with/on Divine to get clarity and resolution on life/death

#2
FLOWER- Hate the dentist
STEM- Getting filling and the thought of getting fillings gives you severe anxiety and feelings that you can't quite place
ROOTS- This wasn't like this always, it happened after your second filling
SEEDS- As a child you had something stuck in your teeth and asked for assistance to remove it and was told to "figure it out yourself"...resulting in a cavity
BACKFILLING THE HOLE- Look into ways to heal your feelings of abandonment and unsupportedness

COMING SOON:
new book ... The Weight Loss Equation: How to Finally Lose Weight and Regain Your Spirit
workshop ... Discovery Camp: Using Your EnerQi to Thrive On and Off Your Mat (in studio and online)

Janet Gathers, GatHouse Fitness, is not a therapist or psychologist nor a medical doctor. Please seek professional assistance if you are suffering from depression or an illness. 
Janet Gathers is an Advanced Yoga Instructor, Level II Reiki and Nationally Certified Personal Trainer.  

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