One of the themes I’ve been working on for years now is receiving. I’ve had to learn to receive compliments and pleasure and kindness and fulfillment in ever-increasing amounts since falling in love with Bear three years ago.
If you’re like, RECEIVING, KRISTEN!? REALLY THAT’S YOUR PROBLEM!?? MUST BE NICE.
Stay with me.
Receiving sounds AWESOME in theory but is often tricky in practice.
How often do you let a compliment land instead of a.) doubting it or b.) returning it immediately to the person giving it?
Read: NOILIKEYOURSWEATERBETTER!!!!
Or: OHTHISOLDTHING,ITWAS$4ATTARGET.
Have you ever been embarrassed by accepting a gift because your inner asshole brain is freaking out that you didn’t bring a gift to give in return? Or that you brought the ‘wrong’ gift?
Do you distrust strangers who are being nice to you because you assume they want something?
To be perfectly frank: are you really all-the-way-down-okay with receiving oral sex from a partner?
All of those forms of receiving take work. (Or at least, they did for me.)
In a time of giving and giving and giving, it’s important to take a moment to receive.
To let the kindness of another person deeply affect you.
To let someone compliment your hair/shirt/heart/soul/work without batting down the praise or rushing to reciprocate it.
To enjoy all acts of kindness without keeping a running list of how you’re going to return the favor or even the score.
Ultimately, the more we receive, the more energy and juice and love we have to give.
I’m specifically talking about receiving more of the good stuff that has no limits here on earth: more joy, more delight, more wonder, and more awe. (See also: miserable people don’t leave joy in their wake.)
If you wanna do the work of getting more alive and more open — and therefore more able to receive love and joy and pleasure and energy — the Receive breathwork class will do the trick.
You’ll lie down and breathe with me.
You’ll relax for a bit afterwards.
And you’ll end with a heart just a tad more open than it is right now.
Introverts! You can do this class at home and without wearing shoes or pants or even clothes, if you want. All you need is a place to lie down, a pillow, and the breathwork recording.
Extroverts! Invite a friend or seven over and do it together! I might die from pure delight if you send me a photo of your meet-up afterward.
The Receive breathwork class is $22. Pick it up here.
It’s available via magical instantaneous download after checkout and is about an hour long.
25% of all breathwork proceeds are donated to Together Rising and/or Flying Kites.
If you’re ready to lean into your own discomfort and blow through a bunch of the stuff that means you shut down around people, don’t trust compliments, and/or hate getting gifts, please join me.
Curious about whether this is right for you? It’s priced so that experimenting doesn’t cost you much more than a yoga class. Give it a whirl.
Why breathwork? I talk all about my reasons for loving the practice here. This podcast episode also talks about my training and my love of breathwork: show your work.
P.S. If you want to release some more resentment you have toward those you love, BOOM this podcast is for you. Show your work!
