Rachel Alba, Spiritual Coach

Yesterday I posted about presence and play being important for pleasure…

Today here are some of the things that have helped me get out of serious work mode all the time:

1) this fluff. He always asks to play just when I’m starting to overwork

2) Reading novels

3) befriending less serious people (this one is admittedly challenging… both to find said people and then to relax into their pace, but it’s so healthy to have a balance between driven friends and go-with-the-flow friends)

4) Intentionally setting aside time (ideally a whole day) with nothing scheduled so I can do whatever I want. I do this about once a year realistically. Ideally I’d want one once a month.

5) Watching TV without guilt. (This could easily be done without presence, but part of the key to presence is to know that you can’t be fully present all the time, it takes too much energy. So permission to check out is important)

What are some of your methods for finding play and presence?

Play and Presence.

If I’m honest with myself and you, I have a really hard time playing. The little girl who was taught to keep up with her older siblings in speed while hiking and in maturity while doing everything else, has a really hard time being silly and playful.

Yet, play is an important part of savoring life.

So much of the past several months, have been oriented toward simply enjoying life— hanging out with family, playing with Loki, being creative in the kitchen. And I’ve been mostly present.

But, then there’s this voice that says: You should be working.

Our culture values productivity over just about anything else.

But often to be productive we have to turn off our connection to full presence and definitely to play. And without presence and play, pleasure gets lost too.

My invitation for you today is to take a couple of minutes or a couple hours if you have the time to not be productive (without guilt).

It’s my challenge to myself too.

Let me know how it goes in the comments.

📸: .photographs

The mundane can be delighted in.

The quotidian can be savored.

Today: the sunlight on my curtains is an invitation to be still. Breathe. And simply enjoy.

Freedom to be you in any situation comes from savoring yourself.

Trusting that:

✨ You are valued and valuable
✨ You are already and not yet your best version of you
✨ You are healed and healing
✨ You get to be exactly where you are.

This is the culmination of all the work of the year-long Savor program that starts in October.

We start with savoring our senses, then our s3xuality, then our spirituality, and finally see how this three dovetail into loving and savoring ourselves, as we are and as we will be.

There’s an early bird pricing and bonus until Sept 15. Book a discovery call to find out more (link in bio)

Savoring is a practice.

It’s one that takes devotion.

Over the past couple weeks I got a little lost in my practice of Savoring… so I’m taking a breath, making some time to go slower, and remembering that when you’re fully present savoring comes naturally.

You deserve a life that’s savored.

This doesn’t mean you start to drink more champagne or stay in fancier hotels. It doesn’t mean you need to get a new wardrobe or spend lots of money on new hobbies…

It just means you get to slow down and find the moments of delight already there in front of you. And then, you get to do more of those.

What’s tricky about this work is actually having a space to practice slowing down so that you can attune your delight and desires.

That’s why a program like Savor is so helpful. You have community and time set aside to practice slowing down so you can savor more.

I’ve opened up my schedule for more discovery calls in September.

If you’re interested in finding ways to continue to deconstruct your understanding of s*xuality, spirituality, and your body in community. This is your chance :)

A while back I was receiving a Craniosacral session and this message came to me so strong: Let yourself be held.

In a capitalist culture, we’re taught to stand on our own two feet and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps… and some of us have learned to be very good at this. I am very good at this. But then I get totally exhausted and crash.

So what would it be like to actually let oneself be held. To be held by existence and to trust that there is an essence that holds us.

To help me with this, I like to imagine someone’s hands on my back letting me lean back into them. If you want you can imagine they’re the hands of a beloved ancestor or saint or deity to feel connected to. What can they offer you by way of support today?

It’s practices like this that we talk about incorporating in Savor. It’s a spirituality that isn’t specific to any tradition but finding ways for you to feel connected and held. The doors to savor are open and we start in October. You are invited :)

As August comes to a close (where did the time go!) and I see lots posts of kiddos first days of school, all I want is brand new Ticonderoga Pencils and fresh syllabi.

One of the reasons Savor starts in the Fall is because the fresh start energy is contagious. We all feel the pull to ride the wave of new adventures and growth that happens when everyone goes back to school, so why not do it yourself?

You can think of Savor as a school-year-long (October-May) course that’s gentle and spacious. A course that’s about you coming to know what you love and doing that more. A course that’s tailored to your needs and desires.

It’s going to be incredible. Embodied. Intelligent. A place to retreat and reconnect every other week. Are you ready? Book a discovery call to learn more

Change your life by doing this 21 day cleanse! Or do this 3 month coaching program and all your problems go away!

Even in school, we’re giving a month to learn all of Greco-Roman history, or about the Renaissance, and then we move on to the next topic… and the next… and the next.

We’re rushed through growth.

But what if you were given a luxurious amount of time? And the space to rest and integrate that growth?

That’s why I’m offering Savor as an 8 month program with meetings every other week, and 3 integration periods throughout. This is meant to allow really shifts to occur, real growth to happen and stick. Support for you to grow at your own pace.

How does your body feel when you think about growing at your pace?

My chest settles. The space between my shoulder blades melts. My belly expands with my inhale and I sigh gently with my exhale. My whole body relaxes as I get curious about what my life would be like if it moved at my pace.

Savor is a space to practice moving and growing at your pace.

Curious? I invite you to use the link in my bio to book a discovery call and learn more.

The Savor Group is a space for women to come together to heal our relationship with our bodies and souls. To come home to knowing:

The body is soul.

The body is our home.

And to find a home in your body is to find a home in God.

These are big statements. They’re radical. They’re maybe even a little scary…

But, I want you to imagine what life would be like if you knew that in every moment, simply by being connected to your body’s senses, by feeling safe even when those sensations are big (like seggsual sensations) that you are at home in the fabric of all—at home in God.

What might that shift?

If you’re wanting that shift in your life, DM me to book a discovery call and learn more about the Savor group. There’s a great early bird special until September 15 that gives you a 1:1 session before the group starts on October 2, in addition to a $300 discount on the deposit. (That’s over $500 of goodies)

My brother-in-law and I talked a lot about a while hanging in the pool, sipping cocktails in Myrtle Beach (I’m also about the sacred—deep talks—going along with profane—alcohol, frivolity, excess.)

Most often we talked about how when you’re trying to make a decision we go into our heads. Our minds are great for doing math, sorting out ideas from a philosophical space, figuring out how to put furniture in a space, or how many days it will take to drive somewhere without stops…

Our mind is not good at doing the philosophical work of determining if our ideas align with our being’s fullest truth. It’s not good at knowing how it will feel to have the couch facing the window vs. door; nor how many museums, roadside dives, and parks will call to us as we drive.

For those we need to consult the heart. In the moment.

Once we settle into the heart, often the confusion in the head goes away. The heart usually knows what the head can’t.

So today, in our savor promo: let your head melt into your heart and ask, “what do I desire.” The answer might not be in words, it might just be a feeling. It might be subtle. Or it could be lightening strike clear. Either way, I’d love to read what your heart tells you.