HEY YOU,

how have you been these last few weeks?

My February was beautifully busy. I spent a lot of time with family, taught a meditation weekend for yoga teachers and took a trip to a surprisingly sunny Berlin attending the Demo Day of the Grace Accelerator, where I’m serving as a mentor. Watching all these strong and courageous women showcasing their businesses that all aim to contribute to a more equal and sustainable future was inspiring and hope infusing.

I also had the chance to support an amazing tech company (they call themselves guardians of the multichain) during their company retreat. Exploring and strengthening capacity – in other words: understanding and building resilience. Especially during a time where multiple companies force their employees back to office, being with an international team that works fully remote with a leadership that believes in building connection and wellbeing within their company, truly made me humble that I get to do what I do.

ON CAPACITY &

And then there was the German election. The political state of our country, the world, really, has me thinking about courage and capacity again and again (and very worried).

Courage, because I think we will need courageous hearts and humans in these coming years. We will need to speak up and stand up for what we believe in, whenever we can and where ever we can. We will need to lift each other up, support one another, lean on, listen to and be present with each other. And keep shining the light on what is true and important.

So how do you define courage?

When I asked in my community these were the answers: 💙 To start over and over again. 💙 The opposite of conformity. 💙 To be tender is to be truly fierce. 💙 A quote: There is no courage without fear.

Consulting the dictionaries: Courage is the ability to act in the face of fear, difficulty, or uncertainty, driven by conviction, strength of character, or a sense of purpose. It’s often about leading and moving forward with heart, even when the path is uncertain. Acting from one's core, with authenticity and conviction.

Which makes even more sense when we look at the etymology: The word courage comes from the Latin cor – meaning "heart" – and evolved through Old French corage, which originally referred to the innermost feelings, spirit, or temperament of a person.

Personally, courage has meant:

... to quit my job.
... to say goodbye to financial stability.
... to share from a place of vulnerability.
... to be seen.
... to become a mother.
... to say no.
...

💙 What does courage mean to you? 💙 What is the most courageous thing you ever did? 💙 When was the last time you felt courageous? 💙 Is there something holding you back to make a courageous move? 💙 What is it?

Being courageous requires capacity. The great thing about capacity is we can build it, and we can help others in doing the same – as leaders, colleagues, humans.

How to strengthen your capacity

Our capacity is at home in the body. You can think of it as a garden you’re growing and caring for. Enough sleep and a nourished body is your soil. Begin by making time and space to take note of how your body feels, e.g. through a body scan or a meditation practice. The more you practice presence and perception with your body, you'll know what you'll need to strengthen your capacity. Like plants in a garden, we all have different needs when it comes to our wellbeing and growth. Here are a few basic ingredients to explore:

• Movement: I've been known to take 30sec wall-handstand breaks between meetings to energize and change perspective. Simple movement practices like shaking, jumping jacks or dancing to literally move the energy in your body, do the trick during your (work)day. Any regular movement that weaves into your routine will make space in the body.
• Breath: Focusing on your breath, balancing inhale and exhale e.g. to a count of five, is a technique called Resonance Breathing, that brings heart rate, blood pressure and respiration in balance and is proven to reduce stress and anxiety, improve cognition and the capacity for relaxation. This way for nerd knowledge.
• Smell: A scent can change your mood and mindset in a split second; e.g. bergamot to uplift and lavender to ground. Test a few to know which ones work for you.
• Sound: If you know me, you know I'm a big fan of curating playlists for any occasion. Yoga classes, birthdays, anniversaries, focus time ... which songs feed your soul and make you feel alive?
• Touch: hands on chest and belly, rubbing your upper arms or hugging yourself supports the regulation of your nervous system.

My current go to practice is taking a walk in the park, playlist on headphones, either humming (which is a breathing exercise) along or box breathing counting my steps. What's your recipe?

Contemplating about capacity, of course we cannot leave the mind out of the picture. It navigates where we focus our attention and invest our energy, consciously and subconsciously. But let's go down that rabbit hole another day.

If something resonates with you, sparked your inspiration or you feel like sharing, I'd love to hear.

Thank you for being here.

Love, K