​Hello beloved ones,

I am not one to start an email with negativity and stress, yet today I do want to face it head on looking at the data with radically honesty and personal reflection. We are seven months into this global pandemic reality, RBG has been replaced in whiplash speed by Amy Comey Barrett confirmed to the Supreme Court , and our election is six only days away. The US economy is facing a tsunami of long-term unemployment as millions who lost jobs early in the pandemic remain out of work six months later and job losses increasingly turn permanent. Need I go on? 

The stress of pandemic is impacting all of us in different ways and at different times. A recent NPR article states that we are seeing sleepless nights, hair loss and cracked teeth as pandemic stress takes its toll. Front line workers, poll workers, college students, teens/young kiddos, parents & families, racial/ethnic minorities, and unpaid adult caregivers are some of the main populations impacted. 

Why do I elevate this information? Because it's real. SO real in fact I am one who is personally experiencing sleepless nights, brittle hair breakage/loss AND I just went to the dentist this week; two fractures in one tooth and I now need a crown. Seriously, I cannot make this business up. And this is just about me personally, nothing of what I know to be true of the struggle of my family, friends, and people with which I work. People are struggling all over! Though only I can share my own story, I do this humbly and transparently, so you know you are not alone. 

Sweet Sleep & Dreams Week 3 w/ Dana
November 4, 2020- 3:30PT | 6:30ET

Sweet Sleep & Dreams Week 4 w/ Dana
November 11, 2020- 3:30PT | 6:30ET

Join us on our Facebook Page

Hello tribe,

How are you? How's your stress level? How's your focus, creativity, inspiration? If any of this is landing in an OMG I don't want to entertain these questions kind of way, I am for sure talking directly to you.

Life these days can get to be too much. However, if you're feeling overwhelmed, without enough energy, and running low on patience & productivity, ask yourself 'how's my sleep?' There you will find a big clue to how you're feeling and functioning day to day.

In our culture a phrase is often thrown around,  "You can sleep when you're dead." Welp, I am here to say without sleep you can feel like the walking dead. I don't recommend not sleeping as your aspiration; it's really not so noble. The grind, burning the midnight oil, crushing it, killin' it, nose to the grindstone, putting in blood/sweat/tears & the like are simply not sustainable and can actually be harmful to your long-term health and wellbeing.

Over the next four weeks, we are going to focus on restorative practices such as Yin and Yoga Nidra, both forms of yoga that will help us sleep better. We will take small steps and tool up on tips & techniques that can support more restful nights and more hopeful, inspired days. 

Yours in ease and zzzzz's,
dana

​Jessica understands struggle. She has dealt with addiction, trauma, nightmares, fear, and anger. Because of all of this, she ended up losing custody of her three daughters, one of the most painful experiences of her life. 

She says "I tell myself I'm not worthy I'm not good enough and I'm not capable. And I believe that. I've done this for years. Honestly,  it's hard to get rid of all of that once its etched into your being for so long."

Jessica is looking forward to a bright future. She is currently 36 weeks pregnant and due any time. She feels confident that what she has learned with Embody will continue to help her build from where she is. She says, "I have actually been able to unknowingly begin applying these grounding techniques through out my day, where now its just a normal reaction for me depending on what's going on in my life. Dana has taught me how powerful just being mindful can really be."

No matter what is going on around her, the practices she has learned with Dana gives her the ability to stop, and breathe. ​

Hey tribe!

Let's join together tonight to honor the life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg through our yoga and mindfulness practice. We will shine a light on her powerful work in our world & how her legacy can and must live on through each of us. At this important time in human history, we all must ask ourselves how we want to show up & be remembered; sitting on the sidelines or engaging in our lives and in our democratic process? When I feel small, afraid, overwhelmed, and not wanting to engage, I look to RBG & I also draw from other sources of motivation. These words of Theodore Roosevelt always get me out from under the down comforter where I am hiding on my sofa.  May "The Man in the Arena" motivate us to move beyond our perceived limitations and into action; whether actions be clumsy or swift, we simply must be sure to act!

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

See you on the mat tonight on Facebook. Or you can also email me for the link & join in with others in our zoom room. 

Yours in the arena,

Dana Christian Lee
Embody Founder & Executive Director

Upcoming Events Calendar
 
Embody in Grand Rapids:


Thursday, October 8, 2020
Join Mel Trotter Ministries on October 8th for a red carpet movie premiere of the recently filmed Mel Trotter movie, One Life at a Time. (with an appearance by our own Dan Skwarek ;)
When: October 8, 2020
            6:30 p.m. Outdoor Reception
            7:30 p.m. Showtime
Where: Celebration Cinema GR North
***Bring a mask***
Admission to this event is free, with an opportunity to support Mel Trotter at the event. Sign up using the link below. You need an invite & to be registered to attend.
 
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!
​