~ smart, strong partner or mate, wise teacher ~
The fox is an enchanting creature with plenty of mystique to go around. Fox personalities are skillful in business and also make great teachers. They are quick to learn and adapt well to new situations. Foxes are ideal life partners, as they commit to relationships for the long term and their natural charisma keeps things exciting. Fox energy helps us stay true to those most dear to us. When this card appears, reconnect to those you love. Foxes don't do well when they slip away.
when in balance ~ magical, ingenious teacher, monogamous
when out of balance ~ sneaky, unsure of their identity
to bring into balance ~ partnership, connection
Hi friends! :) Welcome to week 26 of our yoga series - exploring this life through the symbolism of the animal kingdom. Each creature represents a different aspect of our human journey, helping us to better understand and connect to our inner and outer worlds. Every 5 weeks in our yoga classes, we cycle through each of the 5 elements (earth, water, fire, air, space) and their respective animals in this card deck.
Last week, the black egg of the space element called us to recognize the place at our core which is pure, unstained truth. The greater we connect to that essence, the greater the quality and the authenticity of every word, thought, and action we birth into the world will be.
This week, we begin our sixth cycle of the elements with the fox. This animal belongs to the earth element, which represents our relationships with fears and habits. The fox symbolizes the part of us that is sleek, sexy, and exciting to be around. She represents you as the ideal partner. She is loyal, understanding, adaptable, charismatic, unconditionally loving, and also an amazing teacher. As we bring our inner-fox into balance, we learn to release insecurity... especially our tendencies to hide and run away when we feel insecure.
Have you experienced yourself fully in your "fox"? Where you just feel irresistible and overflowing with fun-loving, magnetic energy? Perhaps you've experienced it first hand or maybe just a taste. Perhaps you've dreamt of it... and if you haven't... try envisioning it now. Who are you as the perfect partner -- the version of yourself that is honest and loyal and fun and so so deeply connected?
At least for me, the reason that I don't often feel fully in my fox energy, or the reason that I can even feel completely disconnected from it, is due to insecurity.
Insecurity creates a distorted view of yourself and of those around you. Instead of seeking how you can connect, love, have fun, and add joy to your own and other's lives... you seek out potential threats.
It's not that we want to seek out the negative instead of the positive, but it can be our default setting; our natural tendency.
This tendency is our primal nature -- to stay safe, we must avoid threats. It's natural and vital for our protection and survival. It's always important to recognize that there's nothing wrong with you... and don't add another layer of guilt and insecurity on top of the challenge you're facing (I find myself doing this often) by getting down on yourself because of your body's very natural reactions to keep you safe.
As always, it's never something we can do all at once. We can't just decide "Okay, I'm dropping all of my insecurities right now!" "Wow I'm now the ideal partner and I am 100% confident in myself and my relationships and I will never have another problem or challenge again teehee" I mean maybe, and if you can do this, hats off to you, that's great! Just don't trick yourself. In new age terminology this would be called ~spiritual bypassing~ aka tricking yourself into believing you've grown more than you really have by, in effect, just ignoring your problems to appear as a "woke" person.
Growth happens in cycles, it happens with time. It's not linear. God, I can't even tell you how many times I've thought I had, at least for the most part, overcome an insecurity... and then WHAM something triggers me and I feel that insecurity maybe more intensely than I've ever felt it in my entire life lol.
Anyways, as we grow in any facet, we are settling into balance... and sometimes that pendulum must swing dramatically on our journey to equilibrium. The fox teaches us that beneath the layers of insecurities that may be active or dormant... we shine our brightest, we connect the most lovingly, we move with overflowing joy, we are loyal and kind.
So perhaps, in recognizing the ways you fearfully react (lying, cheating, hiding, shutting down, anger, paranoia, etc.), you also recognize how those reactions are holding you back from showing up as the kind of partner you know you can be.
When we fearfully react due to insecurity, our judgement is usually clouded and distorted, our decision-making becomes self-centered and protective instead of inclusive and expansive. When we fearfully react due to actual danger or someone mistreating us, yes this can definitely bring up insecurity as well. I believe it's important to really sit with the situation, if you can, to distinguish... am I being triggered because I am being mistreated? Or is the other person actually not in the wrong, my insecurities are just super active.
Communication is really helpful. With your partner and and also with yourself. It's tempting to hide and isolate and run away when insecurities arise. But this only tends to exacerbate the issue of disconnect... of not feeling "enough" in some capacity.
As always, everything is situation-dependent... but in relation to today's theme: Don't run away... lean in. When you feel insecure and unsafe and lack confidence, isolation will only emphasize these fears... fears that are asking to be healed by the love, safety, and comfort of the precious people you share this human experience with.
The next time an insecurity arises -- will you shut down... will you get angry... will you just try to ignore it? Or will you combat the feeling of disconnection with its only medicine -- connection? Through honesty, communication, engagement, and loving understanding?
The fox invites you to balance your role as the ideal partner. Freedom from fear allows us to move vibrantly like the fox: magical, sexy, sleek, charismatic, loyal, truthful, and wise.
...
Next week, we learn from the beaver of the water element. The beaver within us, represents our involvement with long-term commitment to projects and selfless service. This card celebrates and recognizes our participation in these roles, and perhaps also causes us to ask ourselves... where might we be lacking some beaver energy?
til next time ✌︎
dream extreme!
♡ kat
Комментарии