Evolution

The pivots, the windy roads, the little breadcrumbs I follow lead me to the gentle evolution and elevation what I want to do with my time on this planet.

I have shifted my life coaching business and branding to suit the current form of this work. I have found a deep joy in the creation of online homes - websites for business and brands who want a greater and more aligned online presence. I hold a great belief that whatever idea or creation wants to be birthed through someone need only find the right vehicle and voice to elevate it in order to become a success (which I am classing as something that gives life and energy to the creator and creates a sense of balance in their lives).

I have found that through the skills learned in coaching which I have honed and practiced in my own business, I have picked up a great ability to help someone distill their ideas into the practical forms. I can ask questions that other people may not think of as they navigate the messy stages of birthing an idea to a fully functional business. I enjoy guiding and walking along with someone as they create something wonderful to share with the world and I get excited at the thought of creating systems that will allow someone the freedom and ease of maintaining their idea and allowing it evolve through joy (and not through the gut wrenching efforting we’ve been told is required).

This post is a reminder that I am inconsistent (as I’ve mentioned before) and so also a disclaimer that these posts (however infrequent they are) will continue to be about life. Coaching. Business. Revelations. Evolution. They will not suddenly turn into design specific posts. That, is just not me. It is for that reason also that I have chosen to leave all previous posts published. They represent a journey and evolution of the mind, soul and heart that sits behind the current offerings on this site.

Preserving the Intention

As this website has shifted (again) from what it was to what it will be I have decided to preserve my original copy write as a blog post. I wrote this copy as I was full of fire, soaring with passion about what it was that I want to do which was (and still is) to help people elevate, empower and evolve. While the vehicle and the what of this have changed, I thought it a shame to not preserve the words written with such intention.

Welcome. Here, you are heard. You are seen. You are whole and worthy just as you are. And most of all, here you are powerful. You are pure magic.

My name is Annika and I am here on this planet to facilitate your journey of elevation, empowerment and evolution. I believe we all have a deep, innate power within us and that as we journey through our lives it’s our purpose to rediscover, reclaim and embody this power so that we can create our most aligned, juicy and joyful life.

My job is to journey along side you, remind you of your power, help you question the things that aren’t working for you and the tactics you’re using to hold yourself back or hide your brilliance. I am here to encourage, elevate and celebrate you on every little step you take towards your own evolution. I will facilitate your growth and through the baby steps (or giant leaps) you make as you journey into places of yourself that were unknown, you will experience your own truly individual and joyful power.

Once you get a juicy little taste of that power that you’ve buried for so long (because you’ve learned that you’re too much, that you had to do things a certain way or couldn’t express your true self because of what other people would think), you open the door to an entirely different life for yourself - a new way of being in the world. One where you acknowledge that you have the power to think new thoughts, change your behaviours and choose different adventures for yourself. A life that is lived entirely in alignment with your own values, beliefs and all the things that bring you pure unbounded joy.

I believe that once our power is tapped into and awakened we are more easily able to align every part of our lives to create flow. This alignment helps us to drop the “shoulds”, the people pleasing, and it allows us to stop playing small for the sake of others. It gives us clarity and the full permission to show up in the world and live the life that we truly crave - letting the things that aren’t for us or serving us fall away.

I want you to think about it…

Are you playing small? Are you scared of being too much?
Are you living a life of shoulds, dictated by the wants & expectations of others?
Have you lost your connection to who you are? The creative, wild, free and powerful being you are?
Do you crave simplicity, ease, flow and unbounded joy?

Before we go any further, let me tell you a bit about me.

I am me. Plain and simple. I am a human being who for a long time felt like something was missing. Never overtly unhappy or unfortunate. In fact I’ve been blessed with so many things in my life I hold gratitude for.

But I always felt like I never quite fitted in - always slightly misunderstood. As if I had dimmed a light within me and never remembered how to turn it back up. At some point in time I learned that I had to change myself to appear more like everyone else, so I did. And that feeling of something missing grew into an untameable restlessness. This restlessness is what finally led me to coaching, spiritual connection and what I am here doing now. I began allowing parts of myself that I hadn’t accepted or hadn’t expressed to show. I nurtured these parts, feeding them with knowledge, stillness and spacious freedom. Slowly dropping the persona I had built, letting the things I thought I should be doing fall away. And in doing this I created a life that I love. I felt my own power for the first time and I allowed that part of me to begin making decisions judgement free.

I’ve been involved in coaching, self discovery and some form of personal development study for the better part of 2 years now. And as I had more and more of my own personal shifts through these practices it became clear to me that I wanted to be a part of the elevation and evolution of as many other amazing human beings as I could. I want to be there when someone remembers their own power. The moment they realise they have a choice in the way their life unfolds. I want to help to create a new paradigm for the women of our world. To shift the way we think as women and ignite the power that we’ve been told was too much.

This is the fiery part of me. The activist. The change maker.

And on paper (the practical part) - I am trained in a gentle heart centred coaching style by the amazing Beautiful You Coaching Academy and am currently completing my Meditation Teacher Training through the Biomedical Institute of Yoga and Meditation. I also hold a Bachelors degree of Exercise and Nutrition Science from UQ.

Our Feminine Advantage

So, I was at dinner the other night and over some pretty intense conversations a phrase that went a little like this was uttered…

Women are behind and disadvantaged in business because they are too emotional, too sensitive and too unpredictable.

WTF. You can imagine my reactions and defences spilling out immediately. I know that notions like this are still strongly in play but it always shocks me when people I know hold these beliefs and say them out aloud without an ounce of shame. I understand that each individual is entitled to their opinion but as a society we have got to wake up to these ancient ideas that are continued to be circulated in the business world (and any aspect of life really).

I believe that we at a point in history where the scales may finally be tipping from the more masculine way of being (logical, go go go, hustle, grasping, forcing - and I’m not saying any of these things are inherently bad) to a more balanced way of living. There are 101 ways that our divine feminine energy can guide us and allow us to invite flow and ease in to the way we live our lives or do business (whether you’re a male or female). But without a switch in the way we’ve been thinking as whole, these energies will never balance. I’m not saying that the feminine must overtake or outrun the masculine ways of being but they must balance.

So how do we tip the scales? How do we switch people’s thinking about women and the strengths our natural energies afford us? We have conversations. We speak up. But first, we own our authentic selves and we show up, brightly, proudly and unapologetically so that we can SHOW people the strength in choosing a different and more balanced way of being. We don’t allow fear to keep up small. We have courageous conversations. And we do this, not only to show other’s that we don’t have to do things the way they’ve always been done for them to be done well but also to invite others to embrace their own selves - this is how we cause a chain reaction. This is how we tip the scales.

So if you’re wondering what I said at the dinner table (although I didn’t get a chance to say all of this - this is the bulked out version!)… I made a point in explaining that the way I approach my business in a heart centred, people focused way is my biggest strength. The way I am able to communicate in a kind way allows me to cultivate a good work environment. The way I can talk to my customers with a genuine interest and care allows me to hold beautiful relationships around my business. The way that I focus on the feelings I want my customers or clients to have when they interact with my business allows me to focus on the most important things and come up with ideas that would otherwise stay hidden. The way I am learning (because I am still learning) how to honour myself first and plan my work around this allows me to be more productive, more focused and more creative in my business. It allows me to do things differently. I am more than capable of embracing the balance of feminine and masculine ways of being in business. And I am confident that the gentle, softer and more easeful parts of this are a huge strength in my business - never a hindrance.

I would love to know - What strengths do you hold that flow from your feminine energy? How do they support you in life? Where are you not allowing yourself to shine and embrace your whole self (including all the parts we’re often told to hide - like our feminine side) tell me - what are you afraid of?

If this is something that you have been wanting to embrace wholeheartedly I would love to work with you on guiding you back to your most confident, unapologetic and WHOLE self! Check out the ways we can work together to tip the scales and allow one more amazing, worthy and valuable soul to embrace their fullness and shine — Work with me!

Protect your energy

Have you ever had those conversations that just light you the F up? Where you come away feeling heard, excited and connected?

I’ve been having a few more of these lately and I am loving the energy and inspiration that comes from them. Which makes me think carefully about how I choose to spend the remainder of my time and whether the people I surround myself with are indeed boosting my energy or draining it.

You know what I am talking about - along with those lively life giving conversations there are those that leave you feeling tired and exhausted. Maybe you come away from them feeling flat and not even realising why. Throughout our lives we have a huge range of people that come in and out of our presence and every single one of their energies will come into contact with our energies if we let them. And every time that we let something or someone influence our energy we give that thing a little of our power and our vitality.

It’s all energy

We are energy. Everyone and everything is just energy. Vibrating at different frequencies on different levels. If you’ve ever tuned in or taken note of how your body feels differently when you’re happy and feeling vibrant vs. when you’re feeling exhausted, frustrated or even angry, you’ll have felt the remarkable difference between higher and lower frequencies of energy.

Now, your energy isn’t only influenced by your own emotions and mindset but also by those that are around you. The thing about energy is that like attracts like - so when you surround yourself with people or situations that align with your values and call you into equal or higher energy frequencies you preserve and protect your energy. You cultivate good feelings, lively conversation and flow. But when you are in a situation that doesn’t feel good, where someone is speaking negatively or maybe just isn’t so in line with your interests and vibes then your energy can be pulled down. Their energy (at a different vibration to yours) pulls you towards their state of being.

Protect your energy

Now this is not to say that you must always surrounding yourself with high energy, energising people but I’m calling you to be aware and mindful of the energy that’s around you. Life will hand us all sorts of situations and it’s not reasonable to think that those we love and choose to spend time with will always be uplifting (just as we could never expect ourselves to remain bubbly and bright all the time). We can however, learn to protect our energy by doing two pretty important things - consciously protecting our OWN energy and removing ourselves from situations that drain us.

The first option is to REMOVE. If you notice that certain people or situations are constantly draining you, make the conscious choice to remove these from your life. It may feel cruel at first - maybe you get a pang of guilt but choosing to limit your time around people that suck your energy is a huge part of you taking responsibility for your own experience. It might be a practice in setting boundaries or maybe you realise that a relationship on a serious one-way street and choose to completely let it go. This isn’t limited to individual people either - it could be anything from a negative workplace to the type of media we choose to consume (I personally have becoming more conscious about the kind of movies I choose to watch as I notice a huge shift in my energy when there is anything with too much violence).

The second option is to PROTECT. There will always be situations in life that we need to endure or stages of life when our loved ones may need us to hold space or support them through tougher times (when they are hanging out in a much lover vibration of energy). In these situations we can choose to protect our energy so that we can still support and show up from a balanced place as opposed to letting our energy shift.

One way which we can do this is to make sure that our schedule has plenty of self care in it. Self care practiced to nurture you and boost your own energy levels will allow you to enter into situations from a more nourished place (it’s the old saying - you can’t give from an empty cup). I challenge you to make a list of all the self care actions that help to raise and balance your energy - mine include blasting my favourite music, macrame, painting, meditating, yoga, being outside (feet to grass), conscious social media (certain profiles and hashtags inspire me!)

Another way to protect your energy is to practice a form of energy protection meditation. To do this sit quietly (at the beginning of the day or before you enter a certain situation).

• Do a few rounds of deep breathing - practice inhaling for 4 counts, holding for 4 counts, exhaling for 4 and holding for 4 counts. This form of box breathing is a great tool to calm the body and mind.

• Once you have settled into this mindful state picture a colourful light (any colour - which ever comes to mind first) or a bright white light at the crown of your head. Visualise the light swirling above your head. See the light feeding down from the heavens or depths of the universe.

• Next, imagine the light surrounding you and forming a protective shield around you. This is your energy shield - know that with this bright, protective light is supporting you and nurturing your own energy.

• You can also imagine a bright shining light bursting through the ground beneath you and joining the shield you have created. You now have the protective, grounding energy of the earth and the vibrant shining energy of the universe supporting you.

• Spend a few moments or breaths here, surrounded by the bright light energy that protects you. Know that this shield will stay with you throughout the day and remember that you can strengthen it at any time throughout the day by revisiting this visualisation.

A continuous work in progress

Originally written Sept 2019

Ever feel like you’ve learned a lesson only to realise you’ve had to relearn it all over again. Acknowledged, a thousand times over!

I’ve just finished up my busiest month of the year for my cafes and each year the anticipation builds and each year it’s busier and busier than the last. Each year I plan to only work a portion of each day, to make sure I’m fully staffed and to give myself days off. And somehow, each year I work almost open to close every day for that week and extra shifts leading up. And so each year I relearn the lesson of burnout and overwhelm. And more interestingly - each year I have to relearn what it’s like to have a day off. Or to take time for myself (not studying or working on the coaching business). But to take time just for myself without feeling guilty. So much so that the first “day off” I just kept opening and closing down and reopening my work tabs (checking the takings that hadn’t moved since last time, trying to allocate expenses that I had already done and thinking I might need to answer some emails that might have come in since last time). This would continue until eventually I get sick of opening my laptop just to close it again 10 minutes later having achieved absolutely nothing productive!

And so I’m going about relearning what it’s like to balance my time. Unlearning once again that productivity or perceived productivity isn’t the measure of my value. Untangling myself from the pressure that crept into the back of my mind telling me that I really must be working or learning or doing something “valuable” with my time. I’m relearning what it feels like to just be. And what it feels like to do just enough to push myself into momentum and flow without pushing myself into the territory of doing / being busy just for the sake of it.

So I’m writing this for me just as much as I am to you - I’m writing this to keep myself accountable in honouring my time, my space and my right to a brilliantly joyful life. And so that you can see that there is never a destination in self-growth or personal development. It just keeps going - we learn and then we re-learn. We might grasp a new way of being just to open up to a completely different way again just a month later (only to realise that what we were doing before really was supporting us better!). It’s a never-ending muddle of small steps and small lessons that we learn over and over again so that we, in this exact moment, can support ourselves and feel good.

So in this season. In this learning phase these are my steps:

• Prioritising joy & flow above all else. Before I started writing this blog I sat down to study since I had some time (and genuinely thought I might feel like doing that). A sentence or two into reading my mind was just not playing along. So that was that for the afternoon - that certainly wasn’t flow. But I felt creative. I felt like dancing. Creating and losing myself in words. So I did all of the above.

• I’m carving out some time to do nothing each day. No screens or books. Just me.

• I’m writing down 3 main things to get done in a day - once those three things are done the pressure is off! If I feel productive and get more done then wonderful but if not then it was still a perfectly brilliant day.

• I’m practicing cycle awareness and exploring what kind of things flow freely during different parts of my cycle. Exercise, nutrition, work, healing and play included - I went running this morning for the first time in forever and it felt brilliant (thank you spring and follicular phase). For more insights into this I’m reading the Womancode and following My Moonbox protocols around eating and exercising for your cycle.

• Creating a morning routine that supports me for the rest of the day - movement, dancing, music, oils - above all it’s free from rush

• This season feels expansive and free - it' feels like it’s here to just be lived. Felt to the depth of my cells and the boundaries of every part of my body and soul. So along with what I’ve mentioned I’m taking all pressure off myself to progress in business. To push for things with coaching or to implement new things at work. This season feels like it’s all about my own up levelling - I know that action and outcomes of this season will come so I’ll be in no hurry to grasp at these!

What is this season asking from you?