Updates from Michelle Lawson

Fear Will Have You Shrinking (But You Were Meant to Expand) - Embodied Living Podcast - EP 2

  • Jun 22, 2025 09:43 PM Central
  • Michelle Lawson
  • 0 Comments
Hey beautiful souls,

Can I just say something really quick (and real)?
Fear will have you playing small and calling it “safety.”
But deep down—you know.
You were never meant to shrink.
And maybe, like me, you've been shrinking for so long, you forgot what expansion even feels like.
Not anymore.

Welcome back to Embodied Living—the space where we get real, raw, and radiant as ever.
Over the next 6 weeks, we’re diving into the core themes of the Embodied Living journey—and today we’re starting with a big one: Fear.
Why not begin with the one thing that most shapes how we show up, hold back, or hide—and we may not even realize it’s running the show.
I’m not just talking about big, loud, scream-in-a-pillow fear. I’m talking about the quiet, sneaky kind:
  • Fear of being seen.
  • Fear of taking up space.
  • Fear of doing life your way.
  • Fear of being judged, misunderstood, or, let’s be real, abandoned.
Who’s felt this?
(Go ahead and nod. I see you.)

My Own Fear Story

Fear ran the show in my life for a long, long time. Not with dramatic meltdowns (though I’ve had my moments). But in micro-moments.
  • The pause before I spoke up.
  • The apologizing for simply existing.
  • The rehearsed laughter that was quieter than my joy.
  • The way I edited myself into something more "acceptable."
One of my deepest fears? That I was “too much.” Too loud. Too emotional. Too intense. Too everything.
So I shrank. I muted my laugh, held back my humor (even though it’s one of my superpowers). I overthought every word before I said it. Why? Because I believed being liked mattered more than being me.
But here's the thing: I didn’t even like myself that much while doing all that. Because I was constantly abandoning me—for them.

The Real Shift

Everything changed when I started coming back into my body.
When I let myself laugh loudly, because dammit, life is funny.
When I danced in my kitchen and on the sidewalk.
When I stopped filtering my truth and started living it.
Not with defensiveness, but with clarity. With love. With truth.
That’s when I felt safe again. That’s when I felt me again.

Fear Isn’t Just a Mindset—It’s a Sensation

Fear doesn’t always shout. Sometimes, it just sits in your chest, tightening up your breath before you post something vulnerable. Or curls in your belly before you enter a room and wonder if people are judging. It’s the breath you hold before you speak your truth. 
That’s not brokenness. That’s your nervous system saying, “This doesn’t feel safe yet.”

Most of us were taught: Fear = Protection. Something happened, and your body made a deal with your younger self: “Stay small. Stay safe.” And it worked… for a while.
But now? You’re a grown-ass woman with wisdom, fire, and purpose. And that deal? It's expired.

The Sneaky Ways We Stay Small

Let’s name some of them—see if these sound familiar:
  • Soften your truths to avoid conflict
  • Apologize for your joy, your laughter, your ideas
  • Ask for less than you need (love, rest, respect)
  • Tame your pleasure, your weirdness, your edge
  • Overexplain (hello, trauma response)
  • Stay in relationships or roles that don’t reflect who you are—just to keep the peace
We’ve been trained to be “good.” But babe, you weren’t born to be good. You were born to be whole. And wholeness? It’s messy. Radiant. Expressive. Wild. Tender. Sacred. Grounded. It’s all of it. And it’s yours.

What To Do When Fear Shows Up

Not trying to bulldoze it. Not trying to silence it. We work with it.

We remind our body, “It’s safe now.” Try this next time you feel fear rising:
  • Inhale through the nose for 4 seconds
  • Hold for 4
  • Exhale through the mouth for 6
  • Say aloud: “I am safe in my body. I can trust myself.”
  • Repeat it. Until your body believes it.
Anchor it in your chest. Your throat. Your solar plexus. Let it root.

Soul Work: Journal Prompt for the Week

What am I afraid would happen if I fully trusted myself?

Go deep. Let your truth speak. What would happen if you stopped shrinking? Stopped performing? Stopped explaining your damn self?

What would be possible if you let your real self breathe?

Let this be your invitation into the depths. And if fear rises again? Come back to your breath. Ground in your truth.

Final Words, Beautiful

You’re not here to live behind a filter. You’re not here to play small for the comfort of others. You’re here to expand.
To feel the fear and still move forward. To honor your softness and your fire.

Let this land:

You are not broken. You are not behind. You are a powerful woman remembering who the fuck she is, one breath at a time. You are right where you’re supposed to be.

And I’m right here with you.

💖 This Week’s Affirmation:

“I can feel fear and still choose my truth.”
Say it out loud. Say it until it becomes your knowing.
If this post cracked something open in you, share it. Send it to a friend, a sister, a mama, a fellow wild woman who needs to hear it. Let’s spread the ripple.

Until next time—
Stay embodied. Stay radiant. Stay you.

And remember:
Pleasure is your friend.

EMBODIED LIVING NEWSLETTER - JUNE 2025

  • Jun 5, 2025 05:09 PM Central
  • Michelle Lawson
  • 0 Comments
Take a look at this month's newsletter - an ode of sorts to all the busy mothers trying to keep it together this summer

What Does It Really Mean to Live Like a Woman? -Embodied Living Podcast - EP 1

  • Jun 2, 2025 04:38 PM Central
  • Michelle Lawson
  • 0 Comments
Hello beautiful beings, and welcome to Embodied Living—
the space where we get real, raw, and radiant as fuck.
Today is our very first episode, and it’s a tender one. It’s personal, it’s powerful, and it might just stir something deep inside you. We're diving into a question that shaped so many of us—quietly, sneakily, and sometimes painful.

What does it really mean to live like a woman?

We’re kicking this off with a video that had me shouting “NO!” at my screen in frustration… and “YES!” by the end in full-body goosebumps joy. It’s called “Like A Girl.”
In the beginning, people are asked to run like a girl, throw like a girl, fight like a girl—and guess what? They act weak. Clumsy. Small.

But then they ask young girls the same thing…
And suddenly—everything changes. They run hard. They punch strong. They move from confidence.

That’s when it hit me like a lightning bolt to the heart: Somewhere along the way, we were taught that being a girl—being feminine—meant shrinking. And dammit, that story stuck.

We’ve all felt it.

Whether we were 12 or 42, we’ve felt that moment where being a woman meant we needed to tone it down. Be nice. Be less. Be “good.” But I’m here to say: it’s time to shake that shit loose.

Let’s fast forward because girlhood becomes womanhood, and the narrative?  It doesn’t disappear. It just gets sneakier.

"Like a woman" becomes...
  • Too emotional.
  • Too loud.
  • Too sexy.
  • Too dramatic.
  • Too ambitious.
  • Just... too much.
And what do we do? We perform instead of embody. We harden. We quiet our intuition. We numb.

Because let’s be honest: being a woman often feels like walking a damn tightrope.

But hear me loud and clear: 

It is NOT your job to be palatable.
It is your right to be powerful.

Let’s talk Emotional Intelligence (and who actually has it).

We’ve been spoon-fed this idea that women are too emotional. But the truth is—we’re emotionally literate.

And here’s what emotional intelligence really means:
  1. Self-awareness – knowing what you feel and why.
  2. Self-regulation – sitting with your feelings instead of reacting to them (hello, 90-second emotional waves).
  3. Empathy – feeling with others, not just for them.
  4. Social skill – communicating to connect, not control.
Now let’s break it down.

Men? Often emotionally repressed volcanoes. They’ve been told: “Strong = Stoic.” But when they erupt? It’s road rage, yelling at TVs, punching walls—anger is their culturally-approved outlet.

Meanwhile, women? We feel. We know emotion. But only when it’s pretty. Polite. Palatable. Be angry? You’re crazy. Be bold? You’re “too much.” Be confident? You’re “intimidating.”

But guess what?

We’re not biologically more emotional. We’re just trained to carry everyone else’s emotions plus our own. We forgot that our feelings are not flaws. They are the bridge to our power.

Let’s talk people pleasing. Or as I like to say—fear in a really pretty dress.

Let me be real with you. For decades, I was the queen of people pleasing. I made everyone else more important than me: My kids, my husband (now ex), my friends, family… hell, the mailman probably got prioritized over me at some point. If they were happy, then I must be too, right?

WRONG.

I said yes when I meant hell no. I held my breath just to keep the peace. I dimmed my joy, my sensuality, my truth—just so I wouldn’t make others uncomfortable. I was performing my life.

And then one day I looked around and realized, everyone else was happy except me. I was exhausted. Depressed. Disconnected. Living a life I built for their comfort. Not my truth.

So I stopped. I started feeling into my body. Sitting with the discomfort of being unliked. Being misunderstood. Not being chosen. And on the other side of that pain?

Freedom.

I realized:
  • Not everyone needs to like me.
  • Being misunderstood is not my problem.
  • And I didn’t need to be someone’s favorite to love myself.

So now, when someone says:

“You’re doing it like a woman.”

I say: Why, thank you. I worked hard to get here.

Because this is Embodied Living! And it’s not just a Podcast.

It’s a reclamation. It’s an 8-week journey for women ready to come home to themselves. To live not from approval or performance—but from truth. From the body. From power.

Each week, we peel back a layer:
  • From fear to freedom.
  • From shame to sensuality.
  • From exhaustion to embodiment.
With tapping. Meditation. Body-based practices. And lots of real talk. Because this world doesn’t need you to shrink, sweet one. It needs you rooted in who you are.

So take a deep breath. and repeat:

I honor the woman I’m becoming.
She is already inside me.
She is rising.
Want to join us inside Embodied Living?

Applications are open now.  CLICK HERE
Come home, beautiful. The body never lies.
Until next time,

Have a deeply pleasurable day 💋





Recent Posts

Meet Michelle Lawson

 
I am a Soul Purpose Guide and Healer with a passion for moving women into a place of empowerment, authenticity, and true knowingness of who they are.  I use my intuitive abilities to help my clients get honest about who they are and what they want and to break up with patterns that no longer serve them.  I use my knowledge and experience to propel my clients towards a more empowered life where they are true to their Spirit, Mind and Body. I offer practical, insightful steps to rediscover their value and self-worth.    When we connect with our own innate gifts, we empower not just ourselves but those around us.  

Send Message