Brooks Haislip- Connection Facilitator

03/07/2022

Hi friends! I’m choosing to take the exit ramp off of social media, at least for now. I’m really wanting to take my interactions and energy/time spent into more personal realms (in-person events, workshops, client offerings, collaborations) so please stay connected with me via my monthly newsletter and updates on my blog and website. To do so, click the link in my bio to my website and enter your email in the pop-up “Join my tribe” space!!! And of course a personal reach out is always welcome! I so look forward to more and more meaningful connection!!!

02/24/2022

I feel a BIG call to return to simplicity, so here we go! Our 3 basic human needs are to be SEEN, HEARD and LOVED (you can also think of this 3rd one as APPRECIATED/RESPECTED, whatever aligns best for you).

I’m all about starting with the life, the people, right in front of you, here and now. Unfortunately, this is where these needs often get overlooked, assumed, taken for granted, and are, therefore, not fulfilled. Fortunately, this (with those in your most immediate world) is where YOU/WE can have the greatest positive impact in truly simple ways.

These 3 basic human needs must flow both ways, meaning we ideally want to be givers and receivers of them daily, and the more we do one or the other the more we all innately “pay it (the felt sense of positive collective energy rising) forward.” It’s so cool, and so real!

Here are some of my tips on how we can co-create more humans being SEEN, HEARD & LOVED:
- when you make your first human contact each day, make eye contact, verbally connect, if you are close give a fist pump or even better a hug, as touch is so important
- give a simple compliment to others- “I like your shoes”, “You have the best smile”, “You are the best!”
- ask someone how there day is going/was and actually care about their answer and listen
- when someone does something nice for you, look at them and say “Thank you”
- ask yourself if you feel seen, heard and loved in your life. I highly recommend journaling about where you do and where you do not
- share this with those close to you. Let’s get vulnerable (a.k.a. courageous) and spark more heart-led connection. Get support from a trusted one and process how this might look if you feel overwhelmed by this or stuck/not sure where/how to start. I love helping others map out a life where they are SEEN, HEARD & LOVED. It’s a process for myself everyday for sure!

So, are you ready to play your part in healing yourself, your loved ones and therefore the world. Each small act of fulfilling these needs creates a ripple of love! And in a traumatized world I say it’s game on! Are you in?!?!

02/16/2022

If you’ve known me for a really long time this photo is something perhaps of a familiar Brooks expression to you. However, if you’ve only known me the last several years, probably not so much, as, let’s just say, it’s been a season🤪

I actually used to get told (usually by more distant relationships) that I laughed and smiled too much. I know, I couldn’t believe that people would actually say that to anyone either! I mean, seriously, laughing and smiling too much?!?! I have learned that, yes, it actually truly does make some uncomfortable, and I get it. A lot of people would be turned off by my bountiful joyful expressions as I think it came across to them as perhaps inauthentic, insensitive, disconnected from the truth of humanity, exaggerated, who knows and that’s really none of my business. Those who truly got/get to know me know that this couldn’t be further from the truth. These moments of pure joy for me are so big because I know the opposite intimately. I think I equally make people uncomfortable because I’m so comfortable talking about hard things. I have been in the dark, lost many close people in tragic ways, felt the heartbreak of the planet, felt so lost like there was no return, been harassed, violated, alone, terrified, so many hard, dark, dense feels. I say this not to make this about me but to connect because who hasn’t experienced things like this? Life is hard. It’s brutal. And these last two years, no matter what any of our circumstances have been have been traumatic.

We must admit this, and not try to just click our heels together and do some skipping over to the happy stuff thing. Repressed trauma causes serious illness and it’s time to move towards a healthier world pretty please! People are struggling, kids are hurting, hearts are broken. AND I’m so palpably aware that a beautiful shift is upon us! Let’s get real, then we can truly rise!

Who’s in?!?! We’ve got this....we will land in joy, together!
Please check out for my supportive offerings🙏 Listen and love yourself. And reach out if I can be of help.

02/08/2022

STOP......
- trying so hard
- constantly doing something
- doubting yourself
- being critical of others
- thinking your way is THE way
- consuming things you promised yourself this morning you wouldn’t today
- trying to do the really hard stuff alone, or any of it really
- postponing that creative project you dream of getting to someday
- just STOP.

DROP...
- one or two things off of your “to-do” list today/this week and fill that space up with time outside
- a commitment that’s been draining you for way to long now
- down to the floor and sit or lay in stillness for 2 minutes
- a pen down to paper and write out 3 things you are grateful for
- your hand to your heart and/or belly and breathe

BREATHE...
- one big inhale and exhale around your belly
- one big inhale and exhale around your heart
- one big inhale and exhale through your whole body
- gratitude into every cell of your being for just being here and able to choose to do so
- and know you are seen, heard and loved
- the infinite amount of energy, life force from the earth up through your feet into your whole being
- hope into your face
- and remember that internal peace is a mindset
- and breathe and breathe and breathe some more

I am here, breathing with you. None of us are alone in this. Thank all Gods and Goddesses!!!

02/02/2022

Well, that’s a wrap! I had the honor of being a guest on the podcast today. It was delightful being in the company of the two amazing women who host the show. They are on a mission to inspire women over 40 in the areas of health and wellness in a variety of ways, their podcast being one of them. Our topic today was “Finding Joy While Supporting Our Aging Parents” and this photo captures the essence of my internal gut response when first asked me if I’d like to discuss this topic🤪 And, at the same time, my deeper voice was a huge YES and so we moved forward. You see, this is tough stuff, and I knew that reflecting on the brainstorming questions, writing out my responses (which is my best way to process), saying them out loud and then hearing them back would be brutiful, and it was indeed! I am sooooo sooooooo grateful for the push this gave me and sooooooo hopeful that what I shared today and what and I co-created together will be of support to anyone who is wearing the hat of caretaking for their aging parent. It is brutal and beautiful at once, BRUTIFUL! For me there have been many awful slow motion helpless already in grief feelings tugging at my heartthreads kind of moments mixed simultaneously with pure joy divine presence belly laughter and bliss. This journey, so far, has brought me to my knees, awakened me to a whole new center within myself and hopefully texturalized my life with the ability to help others on a similar path be able to navigate their road with honesty and as much joy as possible. I never would have known this new leveled up capacity within myself before walking alongside my mom these past seven years. So, yes, that’s a wrap AND I really feel like the sharing of this story is just beginning. The podcast will be released in a few weeks. Stay tuned, and, in the meantime, love on yourself just the way you are and on those around you just the way they are in this very moment. Time is precious, we are all already enough and really all that matters is our essence, is love. Thanks for being a huge stepping stone for me 🙏❤️🙏

12/14/2021

These are a few of my favorite things, and when I do not get enough of them I FEEL it from the inside out and the outside in. You?!?!

Do you like these things or avoid them with a vengeance?

I’d say I go through seasons with them where at times they feel luxurious and at other times they feel miserable BUT, either way, I know they are a MUST for me....daily. Even just 5 minutes can make a huuuuge difference for me, although I typically aim for at least 20.

I know many of my peers, family and clients DO NOT like these things at all. I get that. These things can be uncomfortable, scary, full of the unknown, can make us aware of things that are just easier to ignore and feel like one more thing on the to do list.

Here’s what’s awesome about these 3 of my favorite things: they can be a 3-in-1 package deal and you can let it be super simple. They key is consistency and an openness and curiosity to the full spectrum of experience. Just stay with it. Just like most things, getting started (like actually just stopping what you are doing) is the hardest part. So, how do we get motivated? How do we stay consistent once we start?

1. Do it first thing in the morning if you can
2. If not, put it on your calendar perhaps even with a reminder and treat it like your most important meeting of the day
3. Journal once a week about WHY you are dedicating this time for yourself
4. Remember that always always always when we take care of ourselves as a priority our energy shows up for others in a more optimal way
5. Start with 3 minutes tomorrow morning and build up the length of time as you choose- just be present with your breath and bodily sensations, let the thoughts come as they wish without judgement and just lovingly bring your awareness back to your breath and body with big big love for you showing up for yourself
6. Know I believe in you and am here for you if you need ANY support
❤️❤️❤️

12/09/2021

SUPER AWESOME HOLIDAY SPECIAL ON VIRTUAL PRIVATE SESSIONS IN THIS NEWSETTER!!!!

LEAN INTO MY NEW YOUTUBE CHANNEL FOR SUPPORT! ~ "Storytimes with Brooksie' for the little ones in your life (mindfulness, self-esteem, love themes) ~ Guided Relaxation and Breathwork Practices for you (short, simple and deep) ~ Invigorating Embodiment Practices to Guide you Into Your Optimally Align...

12/06/2021

Here’s a piece from a blog post I wrote in 2019, a time when I thought things couldn’t get more polarized, fear-based, dark, confusing, disconnected...well, I believe it’s an understatement to say I was wrong! And so, I now, once again, down on my knees, pray, hope and yearn for a Revolution, one that I will still call a "REVOLUTION OF LOVING KINDNESS!!!" Who's in?!

PRESENCE is being summoned more than ever on the planet right now, and it is harder than ever, as it is going against the grain of our current culture. In a world of faster, more, quick, easy, one-sided narrative, narrow-mindedness, lack of commitment, now now now, etc to truly arrive in the present moment can feel super intense. And yet, I know that right now it has never been more vital. Where/when do we begin? Start right where you are, right now, and keep it simple. Take a breath and be with just that one breath. Feel it move into your body and out of your body. Now, take another breath and be with just that one breath. See, you did it!!!

PRESENCE COMBINES 2 KEY ASPECTS:

1. awareness/mindfulness/paying attention and being with what is, showing up for the life that is happening, seeing clearly each moment you are in

2. Love/loving kindness- not judging/manipulating/or trying to change any aspect of what is, being in a state of loving care, trusting from which a wise response will be born, having a sense of sensitivity, immediacy, intimacy, & aliveness

So, sit. Be still and in solitude. Take some slow, deep breaths and strengthen your inner muscle of presence. Recognize whatever thoughts, feelings and/or sensations come up and just give them permission to be there, allow them to be there and give them some space. And when you do so, send each one LOVE, send yourself LOVE and just keep coming back to the one breath that is happening right now, learning how to stay, focused on love and kindness.

Do this every morning for 5 minutes, and perhaps also anytime you start to feel overwhelmed, scattered or tired. Just start. Now. Imagine if every human on the planet joined in on this. I would certainly consider that a revolution. (Cont in comments)

11/29/2021

Relentless dark news, daunting restrictive possibilities, constant strategizing, judgement being thrown from all sides...I could go on and on but I WON’T because this is just one way of seeing things and I choose another. Not in denial but rather from a place of heightened awareness of knowing my mindset is always my choice and knowing that how each of us responds to what is effects the whole. I’ve been getting the message loud and clear that it is time to level up in the love department. That we are on the battlefield and now is the time to fight for hope and love like never before and this starts deep within every single one of us!!!

And so, I choose to do my best to focus on joy (my awesomely goofy son and joy of wellness), creativity (my work, writing, nature play, self-care), passion (my husband’s big love for Christmas), connection (cultivating meaningful relationships) and love (hugging my Mom and doing yoga breaths with masks on talking about how the ONLY thing that matters that any of us can ever do is to love while tears roll down her face as she shares how much she wishes she could still do things she used to be able to do).....I mean, it’s time to WAKE UP, SLOW DOWN & CONNECT to what we truly value.

Write these things down, talk about them with your people, embody them, choose small actions that create these feelings/things today. And do these things while YOU CAN:

- What matters to you?
- Who inspires you?
- How could you create beauty this week?
- What’s an act of kindness you could do today?
- What self-care practices are on your calendar today/this week?
- What can you put in your body that feels good long-term?
- Who can you tell you love them?

Our nature is to expand, to grow. Are you willing to get uncomfortable and stretch yourself? Are you being led by fear or love? Are your choices from an informed, empowered place, or from an uninformed, reactive place? Are you shoulding others with a narrow outlook or holding space with respect for others freedom?

Reach out if you want to dig deeper into any of this with my support, write, comment, let’s level up!

11/11/2021

Aiming my life towards the creation of JOY feels importantly aligned to me! How about you? What are your guideposts?

Who I choose to surround myself is a big piece of this JOY creation and so I am very discerning about who I choose to align with.

Yes, there are lots of things in life we cannot control or simply just have to do and peeps we have to be around...AND there are many areas we can choose these things. So where I do have choice I claim it!

I feel so much gratitude this week for the opportunity I had to collaborate with two other coaches who happen to be friends who are like soulsisters. As coaches we all have very specific niches. We decided to mix it up by creating a multi-dimensional hour incorporating mind, body and spirit. I felt so much JOY leading up to this workshop, during it and on the other side! We thoroughly enjoyed the space and time we had with a wonderful group of women who said yes. We are grateful for the women who chose to give themselves an hour this week and we are hopeful we had a little impact on their lives. ♥️

If you are wishing you had the recording so could experience it yourself reach out!!!

Thank you, .evolve.expand and for how you both show up in the world. I am grateful for your friendship, all I learn from you along the way and the magic we co-create professionally.

11/01/2021

Many of my social media followers are close family and friends or long-time clients who already know a lot about my journey, however, as I’ve been flying a bit under the radar over the last few years and am in work creation mode again, I thought I would reintroduce myself.

I can remember as a little girl being so purely amazed by the beauty and presence of life that it filled my body with incredible amounts of energy. I loved more than anything being in nature, moving my body and connecting with a divine wisdom that I was aware of all around me. This feeling is what drives my work today as I am on a mission to guide people to what feels like their most embodied, connected and optimal life, so that we can all feel filled by more of life's abundant support.

Hats I have worn along my 25-year wellness journey have been a massage therapist, a yoga teacher, a studio owner, a mindfulness teacher, breath work coach, workshop and retreat facilitator and intuitive guide. Present time, I bring all my favorite parts of these things into my own unique blend and consider myself “your guide to a connected life.” I offer virtual one-on-one sessions, groups calls, YouTube videos, Insight Timer resources and workshops to guide people into embodying their most aligned life, from the inside-out and the outside-in. I am on a mission to help literally align people in their bodies and with their breath so that they can integrate with their Truth and live their life as this embodied Self.

To learn more about how I do this please go to my website at brookshaislip.com, and contact me if you are interested in a session. You can also jump right into an experience with me on my YouTube Channel “Brooks Haislip- Mindful Living” or on Insight Timer “Brooks Haislip.” AND, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, show up on my next call on November 9th with two other amazing coaches! We will guide you through an awesome experience of self-awareness and reflection and offer some potent starting points if you are feeling ready to release what no longer serves you and make room for new energy to come into your life.

Thanks for listening and nice to meet/re-meet you!!!!!!
Blessings,
Brooks

10/21/2021

Reflect & Release - A virtual workshop to give yourself permission to name and claim what no longer serves you.

Are you feeling stuck?
Is a sense of relief way overdue?
Are you desiring a shift but don't know how to begin?
What would it look like to give yourself permission to release what no longer serves you with the support and toolbox of three experienced coaches and a group of other women ready to do the same.

The fall season is a catalyst of support as we release old, stuck, and dense energies bringing us down and holding us back. The seasonal energy of fall mirrors the dying off of what no longer work for us. This allows what we are ready to release rise to the surface so we can let it go!

Are you ready to say yes to yourself and receive support? You are not alone in the this feeling of "stuck." We've got you!

We would love for you to join us virtually during lunch on Tuesday November 9, 2021 from 12:00-1:00 pm. $22 per person. DM me for link or visit my website at brookshaislip.com to sign up! .evolve.expand

10/11/2021

Sometimes the last minute spontaneous need to reflect, release and reset calls so strongly I just can’t deny it. Ever feel this way? I am getting better and better at listening to this deep calling with more permission to take action on it with ease and not feeling guilty or feeling like I need to explain myself to anybody. So freeing!

My hope is for all of us to ask ourselves what it is we need more often and to listen to this truth for ourselves. Often the actions that are required call on courage but from my experience every single time I follow my voice and take these actions there is only more love than before on the other side.

Blessings to all of us pausing and getting clear on what’s ready to be released that no longer serves us and here’s to the wind being at our backs as we trust the process!

I’ll see you for class next week and, in the meantime, please check out my new YouTube channel “Brooks Haislip- Mindful Living” and watch, like, comment and subscribe. I would so appreciate your support!!!

09/21/2021

Give me some love please friends! New biz YouTube pate with very first video up as of this am! Please watch and “Subscribe”- help me get started and grow!!

This 9-minute morning movement class will get your body aligned and awake with an embodied mindset of being curiously open to possibility and strong and read...

09/14/2021

DON’T MISS THIS ANAZING OPPORTUNITY- a free call where my dear friend and colleague will share her personal healing story alongside an incredible leader in functional medicine.

Here is a glimpse of what to expect:
“In 2019, I found myself with a set of health symptoms that left me questioning why despite living a holistic lifestyle that I felt terrible. I was experiencing severe fatigue, brain fog and mitochondria dysfunction. I was dealing with vitamin deficiencies and thermography showed systemic breast inflammation. It was through the lens of functional medicine and lab testing that I uncovered hidden stressors that were causing my ailments.
Please join us Wednesday Sept 15th @ 8pm where I will be sharing my story alongside Dr. Lauren Pepper who will explaining what exactly is happening in the body when we start experiencing all of these symptoms and how to go about correcting these imbalances in the body so that we can restore our health and live to our potential.”

DM me for the free Eventbrite call link!!
I cannot wait!!

08/10/2021

I’ve got lots of ideas brewing of what, when and where this could look like!! Feeling so ready to teach again! Yoga, mindful movement, intentional body awareness, whatever you want to call it, I loooooove sharing and exploring being in our bodies with more awareness together, and it is time. If you are interested in joining my classes, I would LOVE to know your top choices of day(s) of the week and times (EST) you prefer. Please DM me your favs! I plan to do outdoors in-person and virtual❤️🙏❤️

06/29/2021

Pure joy and love led the way for me on these. My intention with all three of these was to paint with an attitude of play, which, I don’t know about you, but any kind of play has always always always been THE best medicine for my soul, especially when I know I am in the dark.

So be it a kid-adult pick up soccer game at our neighborhood park, a 30 minute paint session, a walk around the block without my phone listening to all of the animals talking, a 5-minute dance party in our kitchen, a call to a good friend to share a silly story etc, play feels essential to me right now more than ever.

When we play, connection is created and we get outside of ourselves, therefore dark stuckness at least gets loosened up, and we remember the whole point of being alive: joy. Without it, what’s the point?! Knowing joy within ourselves actually amplifies empathy for others, and fuels us up to be of service. Not that life is not also naturally going to be hard, bitterly agonizing and even heartstakingly brutal at times, it will be, but that because of this Truth, we must create strong, healthy counterpoints so that we don’t get swallowed up in all of that. This takes a massive amount of personal awareness AND why we need each other when we are lost in it to say “Hey, friend, want to come paint with me?, Let’s just shut up, put on our favorite ‘80’s song and dance, Let’s imagine the funny conversation the birds are having, whatever we do for the next 10 minutes is purely to aim ourselves towards JOY. ...READY. SET. GO!” And, if there’s any amount or a wall of resistance, do it anyway!!! That means we really need it!

So, here are some “S’s”, some tools to manifest more joy in our lives today. Let moments of joy be:
-SPONTANEOUS (random time dance party)
-SIMPLE (walk around the block or just sit outside and create a pretend, humorous conversation between the birds)
-SILLY (make funny faces with yourself in the mirror or a buddy for 1-minute or get out your markers/colored pencils and draw for fun, crumple up what you made and toss it)

Joy is needed medicine now more than ever.

06/09/2021

Last night, during an amazing guided visualization by , I was handed a giant conch shell megaphone and given the message to share (my voice, my creativity, my authentic self, my ideas, my hopes, my unique allness) full-out. It reminded me of an online course I did seven years ago with KC Baker, where we spent several weeks in a process of landing on what she called our “diamond insight,” that one thing/message that we would yell from the mountaintop to all beings, from the depths of our hearts, that we wanted to share. Mine was “WAKE UP. SLOW DOWN. CONNECT.” It has been my life and business mantra ever since, and now feels like an opportune time to bring it forward again, especially the SLOW DOWN. I have no idea what “ blowing this conch shell megaphone” will look like beyond this post, but/and message received. This is the first of many baby steps as I lean into trust in my guidance. What I do know, what is ringing so clearly, is that we must slow down slow down slow down. Slow down our inhales and exhales, slow down and really listen to each other, slow down and give thanks to the beauty around us, slow down and enjoy our food, slow down and play for the sheer delight of playing, slow down and remember the appreciated silver linings of this year of navigating Covid, my list goes on and on. For now, a few ideas:

💫 do five rounds of slow belly breathing (if you have children, do it with them)

💫 mark off on your calendar this weekend “playtime” for at least half a day

💫 eat one thing you absolutely love in slow motion and give thanks for it

💫 call a friend and just listen

💫 doodle

06/08/2021

What will you do today with the pure intention of knowing that you are doing it because it brings you joy? Who will you surround yourself by to bring that lightens your spirit? I get it, we cannot run away from the hard things and control who all enters our lives, but we CAN always choose to participate in things with people that open our hearts and remind us that there is always always always light to be found within everyday, no matter what.

These are some close up images of some paintings I’ve been doing with the pure intention of having FUN.
And tonight I paint again with an amazing group of women and cannot wait! It’s been a 7-week journey that I highly recommend. Check it/them out

Cheers to at least an attempted day of fun creation, even if it’s just a sliver, go for it!!!

05/19/2021

The ripple effect, paying it forward, contagious acts of kindness thing is real. Can you be a part of creating a new wave of kindness around you today and/or keep it going if it comes your way from another? I feel the world needs us to do this now more than ever. Perhaps it’s telling the cashier at the grocery store “good morning” and looking them in their eyes? Or playing with your kids for 10 minutes with no goal but to just have fun? Or sending a friend or family member a text message letting them know how much they mean to you? Or picking up trash you see at the park? Whatever you choose, know that you matter and that these small acts can make huuuuuuge ripples!!!!

02/19/2021

For anyone interested in supporting tent community neighbors in their transition to shelter and beyond, please consider a financial donation to any of these amazing grassroots organizations.

02/15/2021

These are 2 quotes/passages that I have recently found so applicable to my personal life and also to the bigger picture of our country and the world. I hope they move your heart in an opening, humbling, real and empowering way as they have done to mine. The truth of my innate/primal need to be with ‘other’ and know and recognize my important place in this great web of life is extremely palpable these days. You? And I’m such a believer that our own greatest guide lies within each one of us, and as these times bring us to our knees in so many ways, may I/we continue to inspire and lift each other up and believe in each other, all the brutal and beautiful steps we must take to do so, may I/we take them. Not easy and absolutely awesome at once.

02/01/2021

Kathleen .kathleen and I are thrilled to be offering a mid-winter workshop on Wintering. It’s the medicine we all need right now- rest, retreat, and restoration.
You will learn our unique 4 step process on THE ART OF WINTERING that can be immediately implemented into your daily life to support and help you navigate this season. You will also experience guided meditations and reflective journaling.
THE ART Of WINTERING process will lay a foundation of restoration and renewal after the stress and angst of 2020.
Join us!
THE ART OF WINTERING
Saturday, February 6th 10:30am - Noon
To register: Venmo $20 to -Haislip by ⅖ - please include your email so we can send you the zoom link.