My ultimate goal in life is to be a whole ass integrated vibe and guide others on that same path of liberation. Just a little over a month ago, I spoke on a panel hosted by @coveteur magazine where they wanted me to share my perspective on body confidence. They asked me a question body positivity vs body neutrality, neither sat true for me. So I gave my own answer. It was after that event along with the many other life experiences that I have had over the years where I knew that my next offering would need to be around shadow work. It would be teaching women how to deeply digest and integrate these parts of themselves that they and society have rejected or found flawed in order to emerge and rise into their power. The term ‘the shadow’ was made popular by Carl Jung. He believed that we needed to fully see this dark side of ourselves if we were to be a fully integrated human. Most of us go to great lengths to protect our self-image from anything unflattering or unfamiliar. We hide these parts of ourselves underneath well-manicured and curated projections in order to please those around us or to make other people feel like the hero in our lives. We bend and mold ourselves into a shape that’s no longer recognizable just so that we can hide away our true thoughts, feelings, and emotions. We repress the deepest parts of our bigness and desires in fear that someone will come along and look at our vulnerable hearts and say, “You’re too much. You want too much.” And when that happens, we tell ourselves stories of scarcity. For many of us we begin to internalize feelings of shame, disgust, self-rejection, guilt. And for some we repress our deepest feeling of joy, happiness, and elation. We’ve all been there. BREATHE. Take a deep inhale into your body and deeper into your lower belly. Let the breath soften your body. Your greatest liberation is just beneath the shadows. #thebougiebruja #thebougiebrujaclub