Dear Family and Friends,

How many times have you been told to follow your heart? Or maybe you've been advised that it is more important to trust a clear and peaceful mind. When it comes to making decisions in our lives and responding to situations, we usually think that we should either make a rational decision from the mind or a feeling-oriented choice from the heart. But what about the intuition?

Intuition, sometimes referred to as "knowing", "sixth sense", "hunch", "inner guidance" or "gut feeling", should always be considered by checking in the belly before we jump into something. It may seem absurd, but sometimes our instinct is the best place from which to make a good decision.

If the mind is "mental", logical, and rational, and the heart is sensitive, feeling and loving, the belly connects to the instinctual and intuitive parts of the self. It is the preverbal place of knowing. Yes, the belly has wisdom and its own intelligence! In a 1996 New York Times article, scientists described the discovery that the body has two brains - one in the skull and the other in the belly!

Good news: we are all endowed with gut feeling. The gut communicates to us in visceral ways that transcend thought or emotion. Yet for some, this "sixth sense" is particularly developed. These people are easily recognized: they are the ones who always choose "instinctively" the best dessert in the menu, the fastest queue at the supermarket, the most convenient route on the road of holidays. They develop the most innovative projects, they have fifty new ideas per minute and they feel comfortable in their own skin... Thankfully, intuition is like a muscle: the more it is trained, the more effective it becomes. It is a skill like any other: you can develop your intuition by applying it consciously and through regular practice. The more you practice your intuitive ability the more confident you will become in using your intuition.

As a compass, a small inner voice, intuition can give us the "right choices" to make throughout our lives. It is a tool that boosts self-esteem, causes luck and develops creativity. In short, intuition is a powerful ally.

How to develop it? In theory, it looks simple: it's about detaching from the rational, not intellectualizing everything to start listening to our five senses, our child's soul, our environment... And our body, too! Practicing and harnessing our intuition skills will allow us to make better decisions and choices, enhance our business and personal relationships, increase our confidence to follow our hunches, better understand other people and allow us to tap into our inner most dreams and desires... As we become more consciously aware of our intuitive ability we can begin to integrate information we receive in our surroundings from all our senses:  sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, as well as from our intuition. 

At Present Moment Retreat, we embrace intuition  - indeed   one of our beautiful bungalows  has its name!! Through yoga, breathing exercices, cacao ceremonies, community acupuncture and other healing arts, we can give you tips to hone your gut-level feelings and strengthen your intuition. Our professional therapists will help you become more comfortable using and tapping into your sixth sense, to notice how much more easily it is to make personal and professional decisions, to know what you really want, and confidently move forward towards achieving your goals and dreams. 

Intuition is a roadmap leading to our inner selves. So let's trust our gut - working together with the mind and the heart, the belly becomes an essential partner in awareness and wisdom...

Namaste,

With Love & Light-