Candice Wu 0:00
Hello and welcome to the Embody Podcast where we talk about remembering and embodying your true nature, living from your soul, healing, and loving yourself. This is the place to advance your own healing process as we will journey through healing experiences, conversations, and meditations together.

Candice Wu 0:18
This is Candice Wu. I’m a holistic healing facilitator and intuitive coach. I live and love my practice of Embodied Healing because it has truly helped me to be more at home in myself and living a life for my soul. I love to support people in healing personal trauma and intergenerational trauma, in feeling love and worthiness, knowing themselves deeply, feeling at ease in their bodies, and tapping into their body wisdom, and shining as the beautiful expression of themselves that they are.

Candice Wu 0:48
This is session one, New Beginnings. In this episode, you’ll journey with me in the exploration of moving through new beginnings or challenges, with a discussion and three meditations.

Candice Wu 1:00
The first meditation is from the practice of Karma Yoga. And it’s about connecting deeply with the wise of what you’re doing, especially the unconscious wise, and who you are behind it. This is important because it helps you start on the right foot when you’re taking action, and helps you find the true reasons why you’re doing what you’re doing.

Candice Wu 1:20
The second meditation is to offer strength and resilience when you’re moving through challenges or new things.

Candice Wu 1:27
And the third meditation is about moving through fears or anxiety about starting something new. These might be interesting for you so that you can build your capacity in your body and your nervous system, and go for what you’d like to and your life.

Candice Wu 1:40
So, since this is the beginning of the first session of the Embody Podcast, I thought the perfect topic would be new beginnings, and how to move through new beginnings with grace and with all of yourself.

Candice Wu 1:53
It’s not always easy to start something new. Often, fears can come up or anxieties. Or you might even stall yourself or put it off completely. When’s the last time you started something new? Or move through a challenge? And what are the new things that you’re beginning now in your life? What would you like to begin in your life?

Candice Wu 2:12
These are some of the questions that I have for you. And as we move through the podcast today, I’d like to share three ways that I support myself in getting through starting something new. Whatever it is that you are doing or acting on, whether it’s starting something new or moving through a challenge, or working towards a goal, it’s good to know why you’re doing what you’re doing. People who know why they’re doing what they’re doing are more likely to achieve it. And it gives what you’re doing life and purpose.

Candice Wu 2:41
In the Yoga Sutras, the scripts of knowledge, there are a couple of Sutras that describe that our actions have consequences, and that the consequences are directly related to the intention behind the action.

Candice Wu 2:54
In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra translation, Chapter 2 Sutras 12–14 described that our actions have consequences and that the consequences are directly related to the intention behind the action.

Candice Wu 3:09
The practice of this is called Karma Yoga. Karma means action. And in this practice, we ask ourselves, why am I doing what I’m doing? And who am I being behind this and why?

Candice Wu 3:21
This is a good chance for me to share with you why I’m doing this podcast. I’m doing this podcast because I’d like to offer my healing experiences and the ideas that come through me. It’s a chance to truly express my voice and to share the ways that I found helpful in healing and to be myself. So the question to ask beyond this is, who am I being behind this? And usually, that comes in the form of an “I am” statement, to be clear.

Candice Wu 3:48
For me, it’s, I am myself. I am radiant. And I’m fully expressed. Getting to this place of who am I being behind why I’m acting, helps us to get to the core of what we’re doing, and why. This also separates action from focusing on the outcomes and shifts the focus to myself, and what possibility of myself that I’m tapping into. With all of this, what’s most important is to embody. Embody who you are, or who you want to be behind what you’re doing. So that you can take actions from this place, and allow the greatest possibility of abundance.

Candice Wu 4:32
So let’s jump into the meditation about getting to the “whys” and the “who” behind what you’re doing. If you’re just joining me, or are ready to do the meditation, feel free to find a comfortable place to sit. Sit on a pillow or a block, or rolled up blankets. Whatever you need to feel comfortable. And feel free to close your eyes or look down. And notice your breathing.

Candice Wu 5:08
Notice earth below you and which parts of your body are rested on the floor. Start to feel any sensation or emotion that’s happening inside. So ask yourself, what new things or challenges are you stepping into? Choose one for now. Whether it’s a challenge or something new you’re beginning, picture this thing or action, or this challenge. Notice any sensation in the body or emotions that come up while doing it.

Candice Wu 6:06
And now ask yourself and be completely honest and transparent. Why are you doing this? Or why do you want to do this? And listen for the response from inside. Whatever your responses, continue to ask why again, until you get to the very bottom of it. Until it has to do with you and who you’d like to be.

Candice Wu 6:43
For example, if the answer is, to provide for my kids, this is why I’m doing what I’m doing. And ask yourself, why? Is the answer because I get to be a good father? Or is it, so that I don’t feel judgment from my colleagues? Or, that I’m afraid that people will outcast me? Whatever the answer is now, notice it. And keep asking yourself why, ’til you get deeper and simpler, to the core of why you’d like to do this or why you’re doing it.

Candice Wu 7:31
Feel free to pause the meditation at any time, if you need more time. Now we’ll move on to the next question.

Candice Wu 7:42
Whatever your why is, ask yourself now, is this a good reason for me to do this? Is this reason from fear and constriction, or from openness and expansion? Notice what comes up for you now without any judgment. Now ask yourself, who are you being or who would you like to be behind this action? Let yourself find an “I am” statement that clarifies who you’d like to be behind this.

Candice Wu 8:38
An example is “I am enough,” or “I am lovable,” “I’m vibrant,” “I’m disciplined.” Now, imagine and feel that you are already that. Picture yourself being and acting from this intention of who you are. Notice this image of yourself and feel any sensation or emotion that comes with it.

Candice Wu 9:25
Imagine yourself being truly complete in this intention, in this statement of “I am.” And notice how you act and take steps from this place. Feel free to take as long as you’d like to picture yourself being in this intention and acting from here. If you’d like more time, please pause the podcast now and resume when you’re ready.

Candice Wu 10:10
And now we’ll move into the second meditation, which is resourcing strength and resilience. We begin with this meditation instead of working through fears first, so that the nervous system can build safety in the body. Then when we go into the fears and anxieties of the third meditation, you’ll have more capacity internally to feel through what’s there. In this meditation, I will invite you to recall a time that you began something new or got through a challenge.

Candice Wu 10:39
For me being in a Chinese family, we showed very little affection. And when I was in middle school, I noticed all of my friends hugging. It was a weird experience, but I wanted to experience it for myself. And I wanted it with my family members.

Candice Wu 10:53
This idea was a bit freaky because nobody hugged each other in my family at that time. It just wasn’t the way we showed love. But, I decided to go for it. And one day I hugged my mom. And it was weird. But over time, it got easier. And now it is completely easy to hug my family members, and we do that freely. The experience of going for something that I was afraid of, gave me invigoration and a feeling of power.

Candice Wu 11:25
So as we move through this meditation, I invite you to recall a time that you tried something that you are afraid of or that was challenging or was new to you. And we will strengthen the feeling that came after you completed or got through this experience. So let’s jump into the meditation.

Candice Wu 11:47
Feel free to find a comfortable place again, whether that seated in a chair or on the floor, or standing. Feel the floor beneath you, feel your breath. Find your spine and notice each of the vertebra stacking on top of one another. Be open and curious to whatever experience, emotion, or sensation you have in the present moment.

Candice Wu 12:25
Now I invite you to recall a time that you began something new or that you had a challenge, or something scary, and you got through it. This can be as simple as speaking up when it was hard to, writing something to a loved one and sending it, making a meal or anything that comes to mind now.

Candice Wu 13:00
Take yourself to the moment in time where you knew you got through it. Notice where you were, what was happening at that very moment. You might even be able to recall the smells, the sounds around you, who was around you. Open your awareness to anything that you’re feeling in your body at this moment. As you imagine this part of the experience, feel any sensation in the body like lightness or tingling, heat or coolness, tension, spaciousness. Notice any emotions that come up, and where they’re located in your body.

Candice Wu 14:10
Let yourself experience this without doing anything at all. Take as long as you’d like here. If you need more time, please pause the podcast. And if you’re ready to move forward, notice how you feel about doing that same type of action at this moment. If you were to do it again for the most recent time that you experienced it, notice the difference if any. And again, be aware of any emotions or sensations that come with this. Any images, and even movements in the body.

Candice Wu 15:31
Take your time here and whenever you’re ready, feel free to give a little movement to your body. Move all the fingers and toes. Deepen your breath, and slowly start to open your eyes and notice your surroundings.

Candice Wu 15:54
If you’d like more time again, please pause the meditation and join us back when you ready.

Candice Wu 16:02
And now we’ll step into the third meditation around beginning something new or stepping into challenges. This meditation is about working with the fears or anxieties that come up around stepping into something new or challenging. For this particular one, we will jump right into the meditation. So here we go.

Candice Wu 16:22
Feel free to stay in your comfy place, or find a new position of the body that feels comfortable for you. And again, just noticing yourself right here and right now, sensing your breath, any emotion and sensations in the body. Just feeling into the experience of being in your body.

Candice Wu 17:00
Now bring up the new thing or the challenge that you were focusing on from the beginning. And allow yourself to imagine one of the fears or the worst fear that’s connected with this.

Candice Wu 17:24
For me, doing a podcast brings up my perfectionist side. So I worry that I’ll say something stupid, or I’ll forget something which I already have. So with this, I distill it down to the belief that lies underneath. The belief is I am stupid or that no one will care what I have to say or that I’ll do it wrong.

Candice Wu 17:55
So feel into this action for you this beginning something new or stepping into a challenge. And notice one of the fears that you have about it. See if there’s any image or picture that comes to you about what this looks like and check in with your body. See if there’s any emotion that you’re feeling at the moment. Any sensations in the body, any movements that start to happen. And allow this to unfold without any judgment. Let yourself feel into this a dose at a time.

Candice Wu 18:52
So now when you’re ready, just let that idea go. Let the image go. Open your eyes for a moment. Just notice your surroundings. Notice if there’s something pleasant in the room to look at. Just let that break happen. When you’re ready to go back to the fear or anxiety, or the discomfort, shift back to the image or emotion that you had before about starting something new or stepping into a challenge.

Candice Wu 19:38
I invite you to go back and forth at your own pace, to just looking around the room, taking a break and feeling into the fear, discomfort, or anxiety of this image. And as you do so, notice what’s happening in your body. Notice any emotion and sensation, feel into what changes, what stays the same. And know that you can always take a longer break than just a few breaths or minutes. You can come back to it tomorrow or next week.

Candice Wu 20:34
For now, feel free to pause the podcast if you’d like more time to practice this. Or if you’re ready to end the meditation, then you can stay with me and start to notice your breathing again. Feel free to deepen your breath. Give a little movement or stretch to the body if you’d like. Then gently open the eyes and notice your surroundings.

Candice Wu 21:11
I invite you to return back to the time when you got through something challenging or did something new, and how that felt. So that you can embody that strength and return to it if you’d like to. And now give yourself some gratitude for practicing these three meditations, for doing some internal work with beginning something new or stepping into a challenge and honor anything that happened in this time.

Candice Wu 21:54
If you’d like further support or have questions, feel free to reach out to me. Thank you so much for joining me today for these three powerful meditations, and for the start of my podcast. Look out for more podcasts on healing tips, meditations, and ways to care and love yourself.

Candice Wu 22:12
If you’d like to learn more, you can also join me in the Embody Community on Facebook by going to CandiceWu.com/embody. Also check out my website for more information about healing, consulting, retreats, and meditation albums with me. It was nice to be here with you and see you next time.