Balancing Light and Shadow (6.24.25)
I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Lisa Gunshore last week on her podcast Buddhist Biohacker. An hour flew by while we chatted about yoga, motherhood, career changes, self inquiry and personal growth, It’s All Connected..
Listen in while you go for a walk, relax on the couch, or wash the dishes - I think you’ll love it. (or watch the video version!)
Two pieces I wanted to pull out from our conversation to share with you:
A brilliant question Lisa asked me
The importance of exploring both the shadow and the light
During our chat, I was sharing a little bit of my journey, and she asked, “what has been your biggest self inquiry?”
You know when people ask you a question and it requires a pause? I needed one. I sat back in my chair, closed my eyes, put a hand over my heart. I didn’t want to answer too quickly. It felt like an important moment.
When I listened inward, the answer that arose both surprised me and made me laugh a little.
What do I notice when I slow down?
It is a continual inquiry, and when I pull on many threads of growth in my life…this feels central to all of them. Following my intuition when it has nudged, begged, forced me to slow down, turn inward, and check in has led to major pivots in my life, deeper commitments, exhilarating adjustments.
Learning to slow down, even when life is busy, feels like work that I know many of you are engaged in as well. Practicing taking a pause, time for yourself, in between meetings or nap times…it’s often where our crucial healing happens. And then this healing allows us to show up as the leaders in our life that we are meant to be.
The second nugget - balancing the light and shadow - emerged from this conversation.
It’s usually much more fun to talk about the light - the “good” stuff. The healing affirmations. The qualities we’re striving towards or that propel us forward. There is SO much power in focusing a lot of energy here.
AND.
If we talk about healing, we HAVE to talk about the shadow. Specifically, we talked about how to explore the shadow side of each energetic center in the body, each chakra.
In short, how do we acknowledge the hard emotions and moments in our lives?
How do we sit with, heal, maybe even love the parts of ourselves that we have a harder time accepting as part of our own journey? The fear, guilt, shame, grief, lies, illusion and attachment that are part of the human experience.
The high level look at each chakra’s shadow:
Root chakra -> fear
Sacral chakra -> guilt
Solar plexus chakra -> shame
Heart chakra -> grief
Throat chakra -> lies
Third eye chakra -> illusion
Crown chakra -> attachment
When we move towards these shadows, with courage and compassion, we can begin to heal and integrate, and feel more whole. When we see ourselves more holistically, as complex beings worthy of love, this strengthens our ability to offer that same compassion to others.
These components of each chapter were the most emotional to write, but absolutely the most healing ones. I emerged lighter as a result, as if I was offering myself a hug that lifted me off my own feet.
Reflection Questions
1. What has been a self inquiry in your life, or in life recently? What have you learned as a result?
2. What’s your relationship with exploring your own shadows?
3. What is one way you could integrate light and shadow in your life this week?
Lots of love,
Jess
If you're ready to explore both the light and the shadow of your healing journey, my book It's All Connected takes you through each chakra with depth and compassion.
