Check out this Podcast! When I started listening to Evolve Podcast: A New Era of Leadership, I became a little star struck with Carolyn Swora. Over the years the the Empowered Women's Circle has been walking a line between Whoo-Whoo and Wall Street (to quote another good friend Melanie Love who recently connected with me at the Calgary Stampede!). Women in powerful, professional positions are often in their head most of the time. It’s how we get so much sh*t done! We use our thinking brain to do the things we need to do all day long and skip over the bodily sensations that are vital. Sometimes I would even forget to go pee on my shifts at work! So many programs share ways to be "in your body" with yoga, mindfulness, aroma therapy, dance and so many other modalities - I use (and love) many of them! But the missing piece for me was SO WHAT? Why is it so important to be able to interpret those bodily messages? So you FEEL better? YES! So you KNOW when your physical form is tired and needing rest? YES! So you PREVENT the ravaging effects that can occur as a result of dysregulation and unanswered stress responses? HELL YES! For each of us, there are different reasons to tap into our bodily sensations. For some, it’s wild, unbridled pleasure and you know how I love talking about that! For some, it’s to stay healthy and preempt disease. For some it’s to be fully present with the ones we love.
But, for Carolyn, the "so what" is even more powerful - it's so that we can be even better in our leadership roles. I love Kevin Cashman's definition of leadership: "Authentic self-expression that creates value."
Many people think of a leader as the person at the top of an organization chart, which can be true. But, for me, leadership begins with influence and self-regulation. Every one of us has the influence to make either a positive or negative difference in the lives of other people through our grounded presence, the words we say and the actions we take.
EWC Co-facilitators Lisa Burchartz (left) and Catherine Hansen (right) spending time with EWC Fall Guest Speaker and Human Spirit Ignitor, Carolyn Swora (middle).
"Your nervous system is a leadership tool" When we are together September 21st for the start of the EWC Fall 2023 Guest Speaker Series , we promise to unpack all the incredible information that your body is telling you AND why it matters so much to listen inward so you can recenter, realign and reclaim your one precious life this fall (and forever!) We are excited to welcome some new members and completely understand if you don’t feel like you can put another single thing on your calendar - we get it! But, please know that this season will be about doing LESS, doing it with more EASE; going through life in a more CONNECTED way. And the recordings of our guest speakers will be just as life-changing if you cannot make every session. We will be talking about ways to include YOURSELF in the equation of your life. You deserve this!