What Does Living in Alignment Actually Mean?

In an initial coaching session, I ask my clients the following questions. Go ahead, follow along and ask them of yourself:

“How do you know what your ‘YES’ is?”

“How do you know what you like?"

“How do you know what your ‘NO’ is?”

“How do you know what you don’t like?”

“What in your life currently feels really warm, peaceful, juicy, exciting, interesting, energizing?”

“What in your life feels draining, boring, or really hard?”

Then I ask,

“Are there things in your life that you want to say YES to, but are saying NO, or vice versa, where are you saying YES when you actually want to say NO?

Alignment is agreement between the choices you are making and how you feel about those choices. When I say "feel," I do not necessarily mean what your Mind tells you is the practical, smart, or appropriate choice. I mean, are your choices in alignment with what your Soul and Body are asking of you.

Living an aligned life means living in a way that makes your Body, and your Soul feel GOOD. This is not selfish. Embodying alignment for yourself is the correct way to live.

Alignment is purposefully designed to be different for each of us. We are purposefully NOT designed to be all the same, though we have been living with the idea that we should mostly be the same as each other; do the same things, like the same things, dress the same way, have the same belief system, eat the same way, and follow the same life trajectory.

This serves an important function for our nervous systems in that when we are around the familiar, we feel safe, but it does not always serve your Soul Purpose.

Your Soul Purpose is simply living a life that fills your heart and body with lightness, curiosity, enjoyment, and inspiration. By moving toward the things that feel this way, your inspiration opens up, your body is energized, your nervous system can begin to calm, and your mind is able to clear. Your brain sees opportunities to express your unique gifts, maybe even figure out how to receive your abundance (get paid) through the expression of those gifts.

I say this specifically because we have a very specific, not necessarily correct, set of beliefs about what kinds of careers can make money and what ones do not.

Daily, moment-to-moment choosing that which lights you up, that which energizes your being is how you live in alignment. It is NOT just the big choices.

The saying is, “how you spend your days is how you spend your life,” because it is the small day-to-day choices that either create a life of alignment and vitality, or a life of boredom and exhaustion.

Soul Purpose doesn’t have to mean the ONE thing you are here to do on this planet. It means the way you are meant to show up every day, the way you are meant to express and feel throughout your entire life.

I cannot underscore enough how important, how vital to our collective experience on this Planet together, that each of us lean into the activities, expression, places, and things that make us genuinely happy. This is how Life is meant to be.

When we are all happier, WE ARE ALL HAPPIER.

Signs of alignment:

*Sustained natural energy

*Clear mind

*Sense of purpose, fulfillment, and vitality

*Creativity

*Harmony

*Sense of peace and resilience

*Firm boundaries

*Pleasure

Signs of misalignment:

*Pain and illness in the body

*Emotions such as anger, bitterness, resentment, anxiety, guilt

*Deep exhaustion

*Dissociation

*People-pleasing

There are many reasons why we may not be living in alignment, primarily having to do with our conditioning and our wounding. The good news is that alignment is a path, not a destination.

We can always grow closer and closer to full alignment. Sometimes we move in and out of it, sometimes something that was once aligned for us, is not any longer and we need to let it go. We get to know ourselves, we get to reflect on past experiences, and then we get to make choices that feel better.

When you take action for your own best well-being, for your own alignment, it will be for the highest good of all those around you.

Please join us for our monthly Partnered Healing Community Group meetings. The next one will be held in March and will be a deeper dive into nervous system regulation. We'll be sharing our number one tool for effective and sustained nervous system regulation. You can sign up here on the events page.

For more on your own journey toward alignment, talk with you Partnered Healing Provider about which coaching options are right for you.

Written by Jessica Cochran, BSN RN

Integrative Life Coach

Certified in Sarno X Sachs Solution for Healing Chronic Pain and Anxiety