What Does Rising Together Mean to You?
2020 has been an incredibly challenging year. Our mission at KiraGrace has always been to support women moving through transitions, and this year has truly challenged each of us to change and adapt in unprecedented ways. Your patience, strength and perseverance through these difficult times has inspired us to dedicate the month of September to Rising Together with the KiraGrace community. Our goal is to continue to bring you a little bit of sunshine and inspiration as we navigate these changes.
Rising Together would not be possible without our amazing KiraGrace Warrior and Global Ambassadors. We asked them to share what Rising Together means, and we hope that their answers may bring you some inspiration and peace at this time:
"To me rising together is the reminder that you don’t need to do it all by yourself, that we’re strong together! It’s a great reminder to put our heads together and finds ways to support each other as well as ways to lean into the support all around us. When I find myself feeling overwhelmed it’s an important reminder that puts things in perspective. It truly takes a tribe to thrive!" - Tiffany Cruikshank
"Rising Together means community, plain and simple. It's about lifting each other up and finding ways to connect with each other. 'If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together!' - unknown author." - Valerie Knopik
"Rising together means working collectively to elevate ourselves, community, and inner spirit." - Marie Belle
"For me, in order to rise together, we need to stand behind one another, support one another, and be there to catch one another when we fall. In a world with so much negativity and competition, let's work through adversity and problems together, combining our energy to stand and rise together." - Karla Ilicic
"Rising Together is the reminder that, no matter how alone, scared, anxious, or sad we may feel at times, we are also connected, unified, and stronger together than any one of us is alone. We can borrow each other's faith, lean on one another's wisdom, and take turns supporting and being supported throughout the ups and downs of our lives. Rising Together means that, while no one can do this work for me, we do not need to do it alone." - Christina Sell
"I believe Rising Together is a collaborative effort to support each other in ways that create an environment that is compassionate and empowering. With a network of support, we can all be more successful at achieving whatever our heart desires. We are all resourceful and equipped with talents, skills and experiences that can help lift each other to rise. Learning more about each other and understanding our differences can also bring us together. Seeing each other, learning from each other is a step a forward for everyone." - Jenny Graddy
"The Rising Together series, to me, has been a commitment to stay grounded in nurturing practices. We humans need resilience than ever, and these nurturing mindful movement practices support that so beautifully." - Ariele Foster
"'Together We Rise' means to me that we are not alone during this very isolating time. We are here for each other, at least in spirit, and on Zoom." - Michelle Marchildon
"The word Yoga means "to join, unite, to yoke" the individual with the universal consciousness - "rising together" is a celebration and reminder that we are all in this together in both the spirit of personal growth and global unity." - Lara Ederer
"Rising together means...we choose to keep going through connection and support. When we Rise Together we’re interwoven with strength—like a basket or net made of many pieces—we can hold and endure, give and get, so much more than we can alone." - Kristina Reese
"Rising together means helping each other in any way possible to manage life during these uncertain times. Even those who teach others how to find their way back to center need help. We need help letting go and also creating something new to do or to look forward to.
What I find most challenging right now is that the whole world collectively—as well as life as we knew it individually—-has changed.
In my lifetime, I have experienced one of the worst pains a parent can face, the pain of losing my son at age 20 in an unsolved murder. Yet that was more of a personal struggle, my own journey, while the world just kept on spinning.
Even though back in 2003 I felt like an outsider looking in, I could understand that with time and some level of acceptance I would be able to rejoin the spinning world. At this time of great change, there is nothing for us to look at and try to get back into. There’s no telling what the future will bring and the way to help move forward it is not yet clear.
This is why I say rising up will mean helping each other. In the end, that’s what we’ve got. Every day I focus on that idea: how can I help? Even a small thing can make a difference. Stay positive because it’s better for your health and work on radical acceptance any way you can." - Desiree Rumbaugh
"We are truly able to 'rise together' when we take action in concert with others for the benefit of the community as a whole. This requires us to accept the current climate of uncertainty, resist the temptation to engage in fear-driven behavior, and forge ahead while maintaining a balance of courage and conscious caution. Asking how we can best be of service and making choices in accordance with that goal will help us stay on the path of lifting up others as well as ourselves, and together we will rise." - Kiley Holliday
"Rising together.
We have been driven apart & taught to betray each other. We are soaked in fear.
Stop the hate.
Breathe deeply, take each other’s hands, stand together, support each other. Regain & rebuild our precious life.
May we all Walk in Beauty." - Ana Forrest
“To Rise Together means that you find compassion in one another’s shadows as well as the light. You come together as one, interconnected and whole. You relinquish control of your own individual needs at times to support someone else in their time of need. To Rise Together means to care about others without carrying someone else’s troubles.” - Amber Gregory
“Rising Together, to me, means that we embrace what’s already there for us. When we move out of our own way and do away with OUR plans, it opens up the opportunity to accept what the universe has in store for you. We’ll make it because we’re rising together."
"Our practice should teach us not only to move well on our mat but to move well in a community. It teaches us to see, to notice that this world - our community - is a better, a kinder, an uplifting place when we „move well“ amongst each other. RISING TOGETHER for me is to realise that WE ARE ALL ONE. And as ONE UNIT we can do exceptional things." - Andrea Sauter
"Rising together means listening to each other and knowing when it’s time to step aside so that someone else can step up." - Kathryn Budig
If you liked this blog, check out our other blogs like "When Gratitude Isn't Enough" "8 Different Types of Yoga: Explained to Help you Choose", "The Art of Aging Gracefully: Issue 4", and "The Secret of Self-Care: Approach over Action"
