Balance
Spring is here and with that comes the second season of MUJERES | Creating Visibility + Impact Through Storytelling. Season two will feature conversations with TEN women of color who are taking up space as their whole, authentic selves and bringing much needed change into the world.
I learn so much from the mujeres I get to interview. Mujeres, like Yvonne Hernández, who is on a mission to teach meditation to one million children. Her personal story of cultivating balance from the inside out is a reminder of how powerful we are when we tune into the wisdom of our body and our inner voice.
As a Libra, balance is both a love language and a mild obsession of mine. I crave it, seek it and thrive in it. It is the key to my overall wellbeing and the thing that literally sustains me.
Similar to Yvonne, I came to my understanding of personal balance through a breakdown and a breakthrough in my health. Like her, I was also a new mom struggling to figure out how to show up for my kids and show up for myself. Also, like Yvonne and most Latinas I know, I had internalized the message early on that women are meant to be self-sacrificing and self-less, and I had repeatedly burned myself out trying to fit that expectation.
I remember the first time I realized that I could choose another way. The first time I understood that I was not powerless in the face of my circumstances and the internal steadiness I craved was something I could access anytime and anywhere.
It was early in the morning on a weekday and I was standing at the kitchen sink, washing a pint of blueberries. At the time I had a child in first grade, a preschooler, and an infant. The news of a school shooting had just broke so I was feeling anxious about taking my older kids to school.
Every nightmarish “what if” went through my head and my body weakened. The blueberries fell out of my hands, dropping into the sink, and I gripped the kitchen counter to steady myself. I was aware that I was having some version of a panic attack and I needed to focus on the present to regain my strength.
With my eyes closed, I started to breathe and call all of my attention back to the center of my body. The kitchen faucet was still running and now tears were pouring down my cheeks and into the sink. I took a deep breath and then another, followed by many, many more until eventually I felt grounded and whole in my body again.
Slowly, my grip on the kitchen counter loosened, I felt the strength in my legs restored and, with my nervous system regulated, I was able to make an empowered choice about whether or not to take my kids to school. Nothing in my external environment changed, but everything shifted for me internally.
That morning at the kitchen sink taught me three very important things about balance that I have consistently leaned on to cultivate ease and harmony in my health, my relationships and my life:
balance begins within me, not outside of me
balance is a steadiness that comes from aligning with everything that is whole, authentic and true at my core
balance is accessible by the breath
This is why Yvonne’s mission to empower children and families with meditation and self regulating practices like breath work is so beautiful to me. This is also why I am so passionate and honored to bring you the stories of Mujeres who are breaking through barriers and sharing their authentic gifts with the world. Click here to read more and join me on instagram to become part of our community of change makers.
Sending lots of balance and ease your way, mujeres!
xx | jessica
