Blog update! Please Read :)

Hello fellow readers!

I have switched the host site for my blog from blogger (gmail) to Squarespace. That means my posts will no longer be updated at this site but instead can be found at my website www.angelagiacomelli.com.

For those of you signed up to receive notifications when I post you will no longer receive them from here. However if you sign up for my newsletter you will be able to receive blog updates as well.

Also if you sign up you will receive a free downloadable gift of me chanting to enhance your meditation or Savasana practice at home.

The steps are simple...

1. Enter your name and email on the first page of my website.
2. Check your email for a confirmation email and confirm your subscription
3. Check your email for the welcome email with the downloadable link.

(Note: Be sure to check your spam in case it get forwarded there)

Each week you will receive an update on my blog posts and once a month you will receive free tips, updates and inspirational stories for your practice!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you will continue to follow me through my website and newsletter.

Lots of love and gratitude!

Namaste,
Angela Giacomelli

Trust In the Bull$&^!

Trust... What does that look like to you?

To me it looks like surrender. It looks like Santosha (contentment with what is). It looks like serenity. However, to trust is a lot of times easier said than done. To completely trust is to completely let go of what one thinks "should be or could be" and be alright with it.

We don't know what the future holds. We think we do as we go through our daily rituals and it seems like the "same ol', same ol'" but really everything is moving forward, shifting and changing. We just forget to notice until one day boom! It all changes. This doesn't mean that it's a bad thing. There are lots of "booms" in life that are incredible they are just "booms" when we aren't expecting it.

It's in these moments we are challenged with change. Anxiety can run high and thoughts of the future run wild. It's easy to run stories about "what if's". Of course these are the moments we need trust the most to calm our wavering minds. However, it's in the sweet surrender of trust life becomes easy and exciting.

Trust that it's all working in your favor. Trust that all challenges overcome are just growing pains to help you attain to the next level. Trust that what you have to offer is valuable and unique. Trust that what you can't see is better than you can imagine. Trust that you are capable of more than you believe. Trust in the journey your life is taking you and that it will all make sense in the end but the end doesn't need to come too soon.

This is your journey, live it! Trust in it.  I once had a coach share with me an example of what life looks like that has forever stuck with me....

He took a marker to a dry erase board and drew sharp lines up and down, up and down over and over again across the board.
He asked, "What does this look like?"
"A heart beat.", I said.
"Yes!", he exclaimed.
"And, what does this look like?" He drew a flat line across the board.
"Death.", I said confused.
"Precisely",  He replied. "If your life doesn't look like the jagged lines I drew above then your not living!

It's those incredible ups and downs that have us experience life on so many levels. Trust that it's an incredible ride.

Relax!!

Daily meditation... To a lot of people this may seem like a complicated practice to commit to. Not to mention there are so many different ways to do it. How do you choose which method? How can you commit?

Here's the secret... Just relax!

All you have to do is sit quietly and relax. Have a space that you can just be for a moment. For me, I love to be in nature. When it's nice outside I take 5-20 and just sit outside. Sometimes it's on my porch. Sometimes it's in a park. If it's cold I enjoy sitting by a window in the sun.

You could focus on your breath. You could repeat a mantra. You could chant. These are all great tools but all you have to do is just be still, be quiet and did I mention relax? Making your commitment even to 5 minutes a day is beneficial and it's not complicated.



Here are some benefits to a regular meditation/relax practice:

-boosts immune system
-improves relationships (to self and others)
-improves self acceptance
-pain relief
-improves confidence
-reduces stress and anxiety
-improves concentration
-improves feeling of connection

When I first started meditating I felt like I needed to do it for a half hour to an hour everyday to see benefits. So, I would start, then quickly fall off the wagon. If your not used to it, sitting still can be a daunting task. On top of it I felt like something miraculous was suppose to happen and because it wasn't I'd give up. However the miracle is the connection to the present.

Let me repeat that.... 
The miracle is the connection to the present.

Over time I started to realize I didn't need to have an epiphany each time I sat down nor did I need a lot of time. It wasn't about full on transformation or any of the tools I used to mediate. It was simply the consistent act of "just being" each day that benefited my well being. Today I can meditate anywhere. One of my favorite things to do when I'm running around during my day is to go somewhere in nature even if just for 5-10 minutes to just sit and close my eyes. I listen to the sounds of nature. I feel the sun on my skin. I smell the air. I feel my heart beat. Life is so beautiful. When we are busy it's easy to forget the beauty that surround us but if you stop and relax, just once a day, you will reconnect to it's source.

I recently found this in the book 365 Tao Meditations that I thought was such a wonderful reminder to relax and why...

So what are you waiting for? Relax.