Protecting Our Peace: Why I Created The Calming Ground Membership

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to fall off the band wagon?

I know I’ve talked before on this podcast about the ways that meditation, exercise, being outdoors, and qigong – a form of moving meditation – have changed my life. But, I have to tell you that I too know how easy it is to fall off track!

Many of you have probably heard me say before that my life can get busy! I’ve got 2 bio kiddos ages 11 and 13 year old and then two bonus kiddos ages 12 and 14 years old. With four children in the house who are active at home and busy outside of home with all their activities, sometimes life can feel super hectic. Not to mention balancing work, taking care of the house, our three cats and two rabbits, and – of course making time for my marriage with all the activity!

So, what tends to fall off the wagon for me and so many other women – and men – out there? You might have guessed it – self-care. Even though little exercises and activities throughout the day can be easy to incorporate, it seems to be one of the first things that are forgotten or cast aside when the rest of life’s demands come rushing in and we are focused on the juggling act of day-to-day life.

Doing the little things can end up feeling like another to-do on the endless task list – another stressor!

Not to mention when even bigger life events happen that we just don’t see coming. Last year, I started having some health concerns. My heart seemed to be going out of rhythm sometimes and it was a wakeup call – I went to a cardiologist and started going down the road of trying to figure out what on earth was happening. At the same time, my mom was diagnosed with kidney cancer. It was a lot. Too much. On top of all that I had been juggling on the regular, these added health scares for me and someone I deeply loved felt crushing.

At that point in my life, I made some huge decisions. I re-evaluated how I was living my life and my priorities. And I decided to increase my focus on grounding practices that would help me get through the upheaval. I also decided to shift my focus at work and how I was working.

This is the very reason I started The Calming Ground Membership. Truly, I started it because I recognized how much the little self-care practices I was doing were making a difference. I realized that my calm – my eye in the storm – could exist within me, which I never actually felt or known before. It didn’t mean life around me calmed down – I still have the 4 kiddos always moving in 4 different directions, I still have my job and my house needing attention, and my pets, and my marriage. My heart is fine, but I’m still navigating the journey of cancer with my mom.

So, if life hasn’t externally changed significantly, how can I feel so different?

It has been these regular practices I’ve incorporated into my life. They don’t make my life perfect; and yet they do give me access to a peace that travels with me wherever I go. This is a peace that I can call upon when I’m feeling super stressed, cranky, sad, or overwhelmed.

I also notice when I fall off the wagon. Sometimes I get distracted and forget to do the things I know help me feel more in-balance. Inevitably, soon I’ll notice that my sleep gets impacted, my fuse shortens, and I feel more cranky on the daily.

I’ve learned to recognize those ques as a way to remember to get back into my daily practices – my meditations and my exercise to ease the stress. Even though it might take a little time in my day, these practices actually help my efficiency and time management in the long-run.

Through my own journey, I’ve recognized how much it would have helped me along the way to have someone reaching out to me each week with support, encouraging messages, and bite size accessible practices or reflections that I could implement throughout the week to help me ground.

That’s actually the reason why I started The Calming Ground Membership. I wanted to give other women – and women tend to have a particularly hard time prioritizing ourselves when we’re being pulled in so many other directions – an opportunity to receive support, guidance, encouragement, accessibility, and a path to protect their peace.

Life is going to keep humming along. The pressures will be there. And, we get to protect our peace. That is within our power.

That’s what I’ve learned along my journey. This simple truth inspired me and felt radically simple and life-changing. It inspired me so much that I got to work creating a membership. I wanted it to be rich in value but low-cost and simple, so it could be accessible to help this be accessible to other busy women along the way juggling so many balls.

You want to know the other truth about this experience for me? The membership helps me too. I continue to practice what I preach, and I get to witness other amazing women on their journey struggle and experience their wins and their peace.

So, to all of my listeners out there who can relate to my story: I remind you to take a deep breath and know that, while your story is uniquely your own, you are not alone in your stress.

Together we can lift one another up and remind one another that our peace can be protected, our balance can be re-gained, and support is out there. I know that for me, this has meant the world.

If you want to learn more about The Calming Ground Membership, you’re welcome to reach out to me. Shoot me an email – I’d be happy to answer your questions or hop on a zoom and just have a chat. You’re welcome to share this episode with a friend who might benefit, too.

Let’s spread the love and support, shall we? It tends to feel better when we’ve got friends.