Over thousands and thousands of years — for as long as women have been dependent on others for our food, care, roof-over-our-heads, money, reputation, and personal power — we have learned to see other women as threats.
So when someone else has control over the stuff we need, we can very quickly get into competition with those other folks who might get our stuff instead of us.
It doesn’t have to be that way and there is a way to shift it — which has been one of the brightest spots in my life.
You know the story, right?
When the ocean liner the Titanic hit an iceberg and started going under, obvious panic broke out.
Some passengers shoved into lifeboats, some tried to swim for it. Some of the crew went to work trying to fix the hole in the ship, some simply passed out. But the orchestra that was playing in the ship’s ballroom decided, even in the face of inevitable doom, to keep playing.
I imagine the orchestra members and their lovely wave of music being swallowed — in one achingly slow, languid gulp — by the frigid ocean.
And it makes me think about the work so many of us are called to do, the change so many of us are called to make.
I lived for 12 years, while I was dancing and then coaching, in New York City.
At first I didn’t understand why anyone would want to wear all-black clothing, shoes with platforms, and never look anyone in the eye — which were de rigueur in Manhattan.
But finally I got it and loved it.
Badass boots with three inch soles lifted me off the dirty pavement that I was pounding, and gave height and heft to my meek little frame. All-black clothing told people to stay the F out of my personal space as I went full-force after my dreams. An averted gaze toughened my skin like weathered leather that neither slings nor arrows could pierce.
I felt street smart, savvy, and safe. Like I had superpowers.
Good, right? Yes. Mostly. Sort of.
I had developed some important (Masculine Genius) superpowers, but I was still missing one — perhaps the weirdest superpower ever.
Intuition.
Everyone has it. And yet it can be one of the hardest things to locate in a busy, modern existence.
Everyone needs it. Without it, we are compass-less, adrift in a sea of everyone else’s opinions.
I had to start with a bad breakup so that I could end up with intuition. Want to know why?
What does the Ugly Duckling, Elsa from “Frozen,” or any ol’ underdog have to do with what’s in your underwear?
Read on, my friend, read on. I have so much to tell you about underdogs, underwear, and why I love my quirky body. Period.
” the clarity to leave my marriage. then falling in epic love. doubling then tripling my business while having energy left over for what’s next. the thing that makes it all work … “
"LiYana taught me how to get in touch with my desires, express them, and receive them. she taught me to embody yes, to make each moment more pleasurable than the last … and probably the most profound of her masterful skills as a coach, to artfully dance with fears and limiting beliefs until it felt […]
"i looked at LiYana’s stunning home life … the way she succeeds in her business in a way that is inherently feminine: continuing to move forward, but always allowing versus forcing … the kind of quality of respect that she garners from the people in the world who I admire the most … all of […]
"i had hidden away a huge part of myself – call it creative life-force, sensuality or inner guidance. (i call it all of those!) i thank LiYana for being a huge part of helping me thaw. i have access to guidance that blows me away every time I hear it and follow it. i channel it […]
"i thought i had to do it all and that if i had too much pleasure, everything would fall apart. i had gotten really good at running a highly profitable business, keeping on my son’s nap schedule and making sure that the to-do list was handled, but my inability to enjoying pleasure for pleasure’s sake […]
