Advice from Four Strong Women in My Life

Podcast: Similar to the read along but this includes the meditation

Good morning, mindfull community !

As I approach another birthday, I find myself reflecting on the past year, setting intentions, and reevaluating my goals.

This time, inspired by insights from Instagram, I reached out to four remarkable women in my life.

I asked them to share messages that have inspired them, hoping their words will uplift and motivate you as much as they have me.

This message reminds me of one of my favorite quotes “The fastest way to get somewhere is slowly”.

So frequently we feel like we’re behind, but why are you stressing about your pace when each step of your journey was written for you millennia ago?

Breathe, do your best, and let the best of all planners do the rest.

Are you noticing a trend here 😌?

One of the most beautiful things about growing in my journey with Islam has been submission.

Trusting in God’s roles as Ar-Razzaq (the ultimate provider of sustenance), Al-Wahhab (the one who gives continuously), and Al-Wakeel (the one who manages all with perfect wisdom).

Understanding these attributes has taken so much weight off of my shoulders.

I’m not saying I’m just skipping through life and seeing what happens, that’s irresponsible.

Rather I’m beginning to realize what I can manage, and what I should leave in Allah swt’s hands.

Now I can use that leftover energy for what I can influence, conserving it for matters within my grasp.

Watching this particular woman's metamorphosis has been such an honor.

There are so many beautiful gems in her message but two takeaways for me were the importance of surrounding yourself with a supportive community as well as the importance of “zooming out”.

So frequently we get tunnel vision, only focusing on where we are and not all of the scattered dots that connected to bring us here.

Personally, I’m living so many answered duas like living in Southern California, and creating a home and family that feels like a safe space.

I encourage you to take a moment to reflect on your own journey; you might discover you’re living your answered prayers too. 💕

One of my favorite meditations that has helped deepen my gratitude is from the Sabr app, an app that views mindfulness through an Islamic lens.

The meditation guides you to contemplate the journey of a single item in your home, considering all the steps it took to reach you. 

It’s a great exercise for looking at how nothing is truly “a little thing”.

It shows us that most things, situations, and people -including you-are quite extraordinary.

If you find yourself feeling stuck or on auto-pilot, I want you to:

1. Perform this gratitude practice (I’ll do a rendition of the meditation on the podcast so feel free to listen there if you’d like to follow along)

2. Reach out to a loved one and ask them to hype you up. It sounds silly however it can be incredibly helpful.

Vulnerable moment 

I believe in the importance of cultivating internal gratitude and self-worth which is why I listed the gratitude practice first.

However, I also think it’s beneficial to have a “hype file”.

On my phone, I have a folder with my favorite client reviews and their milestones, as well as gratitude messages for the days I beat myself up for “not being a good enough trainer”.

I also love to reread old birthday cards, graduation cards etc as often, people see the amazing things in you, that you either don’t see or fail to celebrate.

Sometimes those little things we do can make a world of difference to someone else.

I hope you found this newsletter helpful and I hope you are all having an amazing start to your September.

InshaAllah I will talk to you next week

And as always,

Abundant light and radiant health

Assalamualaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatu