This is a real story that is read, approved and celebrated by my online client, Milena Van Driessche.
When Milena first reached out, she had just experienced an emotional crash. She couldn’t think clearly nor make any decisions. An irrepressible crying had started and the emotional pain made her want to hurt herself. The doctor had called it a small burn-out and had given her 10 days off. It was then that Milena took a step back to look at her life and realized she had always been a pleaser. Her boundaries were poor and she had been living in so much fear. When she contacted me for support, she wrote that one of her biggest fears has always been social. She’d been feeling shy and scared to do wrong. It scared her when people were looking at her, and doing things by herself could be challenging. Some days she would be in fear from morning till evening and it translated through her body in stomach aches, a contracted diaphragm and tight breath.
She decided it was time to improve the quality of her life, so she can pursue her desires and her dreams. Her wish was to feel more self-confidence so she could bring her gift to the world. Above all, she wanted to enjoy life more! The image that described her core desired feeling best: DANCING FREELY IN AN OPEN, SUNNY FIELD.
Our first meetings were mainly focused on allowing physical sensations to be what they are and giving space to them (instead of running away from what feels intense or uncomfortable). We practiced with Yes and No and Milena got in touch with her anger. She built trust in allowing emotions and the needs behind them, and it's as if her eyes got brighter and brighter as she felt more empowered every time.
It took a few meetings before I could feel this beautiful woman relax in our connection and the first moment that happened, I could feel a glow in my heart. It's after that session Milena also wrote me her first long message with a lot of celebrations!
"I notice I am growing and I enjoy it so much! With the exercises I learned from you, I check in with myself more regularly and dare to give my feelings the space they deserve. I started making my life more comfortable by reminding myself I always have a choice. What's also new is the recurring thought that it doesn't matter what others think, it's about what feels truly good for me. This week I started to lean more and more on myself instead of f.e. my partner, and I had the impulse to do things alone. I went on a delicious weekend by myself and I've been frisking at the beach and crying out from joy!" (After session #5)
You can imagine the celebration when I read those words!
I was amazed by how Milena took everything we explored with both hands and applied it to her daily life. Already after a few times, it was as if another being was sitting in front of me. Not to say that there weren't any challenges anymore, on the contrary. As the next emotional crisis came, we took it as an opportunity to look closely at her needs and how she can take even better care of herself.
We started a pleasure practice that offered the foundation for Milena to exercise listening to what feels truly good and trust herself in that.
"When I do this practice I give myself over and over again the permission to embody what I feel. The word 'surrender' comes back every time. I am astonished to see how many limitations in thoughts are showing up. They may seem so small or stupid, but are from such significant importance. "It can't be that I just want to lay and breathe deeply." "Hmm, I'd love to stretch my back on the bed, but that is a bad idea because imagine I fall asleep." I need to remind myself continuously that it is okay to long for what I long. It is blissful to give myself permission to fully follow what comes in every moment. Afterwards I can feel a lot of love flowing inside of me and it feels delicious. Through this practice I am much more aware throughout my days of what I feel, what I want and where I am limiting myself to go for what feels good. I am grateful." (After session #9)
In every coaching trajectory I enjoy noticing the natural and effortless transition of focusing on creating a sense of safety (survival) to focusing on more pleasure and freedom (living). With a soft smile on my lips and a sisterly love in my belly I think back of the moment where Milena started to really own her desires: in the sessions, in her relationship, in her life. She could identify moments that in the past would have ended up in a crisis, whereas now she knows how to navigate these difficult challenges. I was blown away by the anger release practice we did together, where Milena shamelessly used her voice and her body in power. We could almost replace the word 'session' with 'party'. I felt so proud when she showed me her webpage with poems, as well as when she told me she signed up for the doula training she had wanted to do for a long time.
"I feel a deep gratitude for your guidance during this intensive trajectory. It is one of the most beautiful gifts I have given myself in 2020. I am happy I made the jump, back then. I am loving my life more every day ❤️" (After session #12)
What I deeply enjoyed in the journey with Milena, was the continuous growing level of celebration. Regardless of the challenges, she managed to acknowledge herself in her wins and savor them. I appreciate her gentleness combined with her strong, witchy wisdom. There is no grain of doubt in me that this woman impacts (more and more) the lifes of the people she meets in the best possible way with her sensitivity, her attunement and her profound understanding of the elements (I think she secretly is a shaman).
We decided to close this journey with a little party! We each gave ourselves a sweet treat and danced in honor of the wonderful woman she is and the steps she has taken.
I can’t wait to continue walking besides her and see her unceasing blooming.
Is it time for you to improve the quality of your life and move from fear to pleasure? Book a FREE INTRO call!