As a teacher you do not own your students. They do not owe you their loyalty. You have to earn their trust. 

Students are not yours to keep. They are gifts for reflection and impact. They are the other half of teaching. 

Students are not leads or customers. They are human beings with open ears and hearts.

Despite the impulse to a call a student "My Student", refrain until they decide to call you "My teacher." 

Try instead "A student who comes to my class" or a "A new student" or "A student who has been coming a lot".

Why is this distinction important?

Well you see, there is an inherent power differential between you and your students whether you like that or not. To disavow this, I fear is to disavow the power of teaching and the teacher student relationship. Students are looking to learn and be guided. And there is a looking to and towards. Honor this by giving them space to step forward in connection. 

It can be deeply powerful for a student to attach themselves to a teacher. To you. Let them choose to identify as your student before you call them your student. If a student does select you for this honor, to call them your student is a sign of respect. Honor them as such.

To lay claim to them as your own otherwise is disrespectful of their freedom. 

Let students self identify. 
Because we all need attachment. And we all need freedom.

With Love,
Livia

Move, she said. 
Give me space.
See.
See who I am now. 
Look at me with fresh eyes and still yet with the eyes of long knowing, recognition.

This is it.
All of me.
Take it all. Or nothing, She said.

I can bear the constraints no longer. The double-binds and the outrageous cacophony of what it should look like and how it should be.

Move.
Give me space.
Let me find my true size of love.

So she danced. 
She danced until her feet ached. 
Until her heart was in her throat. 
And her hair, matted and wild flew as sweat dripped into every crevice and curve.

In her wild consumption, in her madness of reclamation, the earth opened itself unto her. Consumed her and transformed her. The heavens poured its light and rain down her back and into her ears.

Until she touched a seed. Long buried deep inside. 
Silence.

Move, it whispered. 
Give me space.

And then once more, like the crocus of spring, she rose. Innocent in her fresh green eyes seeing as if for the first time, this ridiculous, miraculous, life.

L. C. S.

photo: Jessica Christie Photography

Feed Your Nervous System

with Elizabeth, nutritionist and founder of ByErikaElizabeth

We can talk about the micro-biome and gut health, we can talk about the endocrine system and hormonal health, but really, when it boils down to it, our degree of wellness and vitality is simply a reflection of the state of our nervous system.

Let me to explain.

We all have dreams, things we want to create, places we want to go, goals we want to accomplish, but in order to do so, we need adaptability. If you believe that you are your only limit, then you are aware that we often are the ones standing in our own way. For me, I used to let anxiety, my perceived "health crisis" and fear of being inadequate rule me.

How many people are limited due to their own stress and anxiety?

Or maybe, if you are anything like old me, you put rules and restrictions on your life so that you can remain “healthy” and in control. You miss out on life because you’re too busy coping.

Or perhaps you just don’t quite feel like yourself...I’ve been there too. You feel like you’re doing everything “right” and yet somehow, something is still off. You lack that luster + vitality we all desire.

By no means do I think an herb is going to revolutionize your life.

However, what I can tell you is that when you begin to nourish the most foundational system in your body - the nervous system - the benefits are endless.

You see, when our nervous system is off, that takes precedence - meaning, every other function in the body becomes secondary (digestion, detoxification, reproductive health, etc.). The nervous system has to perform in overdrive in order to keep you functioning throughout the day.

You may have heard of the phrase “fight or flight” or “sympathetic nervous system” - this is the place we want to be in only 5-10% of our life. This is the kind of nervous system activity that gets us out of real danger.

In acute scenarios, it is essential.

That said, existing in this state the majority of the time is destructive and detrimental to our health. In the western culture that we have created, the body is falsely perceiving dangers all day long due to the over inundation that we have immersed ourselves in. Our world and technology has evolved quickly, while our nervous systems haven't fully caught up. This is why we see an epidemic of adrenal fatigue and burnout, food intolerances and allergies and depression and anxiety at an all time high.

THIS is why “stress management” is so critical to not only our health, but to the evolution of society.

But I’d like to take it a step further.

What if rather than simply managing our stress aka coping (not thriving), we went in and improved our bodies relationship to stress?

Here’s the deal, our world is not slowing down anytime soon. In fact, the demands are only going to continue to increase. So instead of coping, why don’t we take preventative measures to become robust and adaptable - able to take on more with a sense of ease and grace. Our body stops perceiving a busy lifestyle as danger, and starts being able to respond appropriately, rather than react from a place of survival. AND, we’re able to consciously choose rest, when that is what the appropriate response is.

The issue is NOT stress, the issue is the way in which we currently relate to the stress.

This is where adaptogens come in. Adaptogens are a class of herbs that work in collaboration with your body to adapt to perceived stress. Through time, these are the herbs that have developed a high level of resiliency within their nervous system (yes, plants have nervous systems too). When we consume adaptogens, we actually infuse this same resiliency, aka adaptation energy, into our own system. When this occurs, the body shifts from sympathetic dominance into parasympathetic nervous system activity - in other words, a state of rest and rejuvenation.

This is the state in which the body and mind process stress and eliminate stress chemistry from the body. Similarly to why sleep is so important to our health, existing in the parasympathetic state is crucial for us to experience balance and harmony.

As we stabilize the parasympathetic nervous system, only then do we really begin to notice sustainable differences in our mood, our energy levels, our productivity levels, our ability to digest food, our physical appearance, etc.

Through this, we actually improve our relationship to stress by increasing our bodies efficiency to process our environments.

**COUPON CODE:

Use code: "LIVIA" for 10% off at checkout

www.byerikaelizabeth.com