AUTUMN 25
5 THINGS FOR YOUR SEPTEMBER
Hi friend, thank you for being here. I kinda put my heart into this edition so I really hope you do take the time to read and absorb and think about all the things.
1. lessons and dharma from a year of friendship breakups
2. music because I'm in such a deep techno phase rn
3. yoga cues to deepen your Warrior 2
4. my Excel template to boost your productivity at work
5. a page from my travels: unreleased photos from Paros, Greece
TYSM for letting me share my light. with love, monica
PLAYLISTS: Sunset, Could Be It, For a Dream, Emotional_Release. Listen at monicameas.com/music
1. FRIENDSHIP BREAKUPS & THE 8 LIMB PATH
I broke up with someone. Then someone broke up with me. Why are friendships breakups are lowkey more painful than a romantic breakup?
Break down the 8-Limb Path: 1 of the limbs is Yamas aka guiding principles on how to deal with people. Double-tap into the Yamas & we see Sutra 2.30-2.31 which is Satya: Truthfulness. “Living in truth” can sound like a tall order, fluffy BS & impossible. I can make it more digestible
Someone asks you if this looks good on them, you say “yes” but it looks god awful. A friend asks you to hang out; you lie “I’m tired” but you actually just don’t want to be around them. I go to a party “because I have to”. These are examples of not living in our own truth. If you keep telling these small white lies & being in spaces you don’t want to be in, you are showing up as a false version of yourself. The people you are around don’t even get to experience the “real” you if you don’t even really want to be there. So, how are they supposed to accept the true version of you? Like a beaver building a dam, each lie is a log blocking the natural flow of your energy’s river into the world. And one day, the dam is going to get so high that you can’t even see the river anymore.
SATYA - TRUTHFULNESS, SUTRA 2.30 - 2.31
If you know me IRL, you know I used to struggle heavy with balancing many friendships & commitments. Giving so much to everyone and going to everything. ANYWAYS, I’m alive here and now to tell you how I started protecting my energy around people more:
VISUALIZATION: Imagine your energy as a tall glass of water when you start your day. As you work, talk to people, do your little workouts and walks…a little bit of water pours out each time. And sometimes, our energy goes to the wrong places and wrong people. Do you ever feel completely drained at the end of the day? Say this: I pay attention to where I am investing your energy, and where I am not investing enough
BODY TO MIND – STOMACH & SHOULDERS: For the next time you talk to someone you think might be bad vibes! Bring awareness to your stomach and shoulders. Is your stomach tight? Tense? That’s where our body’s fascia holds our fight/flight response. When it’s tight, you are probably on guard and super aware of the words coming out of your mouth. If your lower belly is soft and your shoulders are dropped/relaxed, your body feels safe. Our body is a fab barometer for judging people <3
OUR BODY CAN BE A BAROMETER FOR DETECTING BAD VIBES. HOW COOL IS THAT?
It’s nice to have firm boundaries and expectations of what we want from a friendship. Also, understanding what we will not tolerate. That comes with time.
I asked my 22-year old cousin who her best friend was & she said “Oh, you mean the person I’ve been friends with the longest?”
No. All 3 of my friendship breakups this year were 7+ years in duration.
I broke up with Friend A (7 years) because I finally came to the light and realized she is selfish and has no respect for other people’s time. My firm expectation moving forward is people not changing plans on me, maxing it at 2 times not 4+ times. And I will never again send screenshots of the calendar date/time because they don’t have enough respect/brain cells to “remember” the date. I put up with it in my early 20’s… but 29 year old me sent a breakup text detailing the above <3. Be friends with people who respect your time
Friend B (7 years) broke up with me because I forgot to send her a birthday text for the 2nd year in a row. This taught me that other people’s firm expectation is a “Happy Birthday!” text, fuck everything else. All good, clean breakup & no hard feelings. Sending her alllll the love!
Friend C (10 years) taught me the most. Friend C sent me a text “Hey, can I call you?” and my text back was “Sure, are you disinviting me from your bachelorette trip?” She told me she didn’t feel like I supported her enough in her engagement; so I sent her a 6 minute voice message back. (She saved it, never responded). Let's go back: I went through something traumatic last year, that coincided with the timing of her engagement. I forced myself to go to the dinners & sent texts, during a phase of my life where I was dealing with stages of grief. She basically scolded me for not talking to her about this traumatic event: “I feel like I’m walking on eggshells around you. When I try to get you to talk about the traumatic event, you snap”. In my voice message, I touched on how over the course of our friendship, she always made comments such as “you’re a hot mess” “you can never seem to get it together” in a lighthearted joking manner. After much reflection, I realized I never felt safe enough to truly talk to her. Negativity can be coded in insecurity and jealousy, not always directly towards you - but a reflection of their own demons.
With this, I learned the importance of emotional safety in friendship. And how fucking important and human it is to meet your friends where they are.
SATYA: LIVE A LIFE WHERE YOU HAVE THE COURAGE TO LIVE THE CONCEPTS THAT YOU FEEL IN YOUR HEART
2. EDM MUSIC
DAISY GUGLIELMI: Techno. Techno. Techno. Techno.
“Switch” Daisy Guglielmi x Eczko was my first intro to Daisy
Nato a Baria, una piccola città in Italia. Lei è… just kidding! I won't write her bio in Italian even though I do want to haha
After being in the underground scene, Daisy started studying Techno under producer Joe Impero in 2017 and then started playing with techno labels Mandarine Club & Elephant Park. In her 2023 debut, she supported Russian DJ Nina Kraviz at Serious Kitchen Festival. Daisy just dropped a new EP with Galactica Records; a label known for I Hate Models and Luca Agnelli
Daisy's EP “Domina Infera” is full of hard techno. If you like kinda gritty, synthy drum sounds then you might like this EP. “Energy” is a collab with KAAII. My personal favorite is “After Trigger”. It's giving 3am at Basement in Brooklyn, pleaseeeee
If you like her, here other techno DJ's for you to check out: Beauz, Charlie Sparks, Lilly Palmer, Adam Beyer, Amelie Lens, Enrico Sangiuliano, Charlotte de Witte, Sara Landry
3. ON THE MAT
VIRABHADRASANA 2 OR WARRIOR 2: cues to deepen your practice
Start in Tadasana, feet below your hips. Toes to the front of the mat
Step your left foot back. Turn your left toes to face the left side of the mat, with the outside blade of your left foot staying parallel to the back of the mat
Look down at your right foot. Place your right kneecap above your right ankle, this protects the joint. Your right thigh is parallel to the floor and your entire right leg is a right angle
Ensure your knee is not over your ankle
Bring your arms out to a T, palms facing the floor and in the same line as your shoulders
Look at your middle finger on your right hand and keep your gaze locked in there. Relax your shoulders and muscles below your earlobes
Keeping everything still, bring some awareness to your left foot. Drag your left foot back until your right inner thigh starts talking back, as you sink deeper into your 90 degree angle
Push through the outside blade of your left foot to lift your left hip up an inch
Push your left heel into the floor as your as you lift up the corner of your left chest
Imagine you are pressing down on all 4 corners of your right foot and adjust your balance
As you breathe in through your nose, relax the space between your eyebrows
As you breathe out through your mouth, soften your low belly
FLOW: W2 - Peace - Reverse Triangle - Triangle - Extended Side Angle - Vashi - Chaturanga - Up Dog - Down Dog
4. AT WORK
SHOW UP STRONGER IN MEETINGS: This one's for the corporate babies
BACK TO BACK MEETINGS? Take 3 deep breaths in between meetings. Sit up tall, relax your shoulders and place your hands on top of your thighs. Head parallel to the floor - imagine a tall glass of milk on your head. Inhale, soften your face and the space behind your ears. Exhale, soften your belly and sit up a little prouder and taller
FEELING UNPREPARED? Take a few moments to prep & gather all documents that could be relevant for the meeting. During the meeting, you are rapidly able to find key information for conversation and questions because you prepared and have everything open in front of you. For example, if you have a meeting, you could open: the budget chart, email where the budget was communicated, budget tracking platform, change log and a new Excel for any quick math
LEFT THE CALL, NOW I CANT REMEMBER SHIT: Take recap notes after the meeting. Pay attention and be totally present during the meeting and don't double-work. Then, carve out 5 minutes after to recap specific action items & next steps
STRUGGLING TO GET REAL WORK DONE? Block out an hour of “focus” time and go on ‘Do Not Disturb’. Put on a playlist or something instrumental, to really get your brain in a flow. My old team called it “EDM & Excel”. Lately, I've been in a techno phase & been really into Excel'ing with Layton Giordani
DOWNLOAD MY EXCEL: monicameas.com/excel
5. IN THE WORLD
PAROS, GREECE
HOSTEL: Paros Backpackers
TO DO: Ride ATVs around the island
TO EAT: Pepe's Souvlaki
VILLAGES TO VISIT: Lefkes for the culture, Naousa for the drinks
BEACH: Kalogeros. Black sand beach. Want black sand to put on your face and body? Bring a water bottle + climb to the top of the big rock OR brave the currents at the bottom, under the ledge. Use your water to moisten the dry clay to make it wet enough to pull off
TO DO: Ride ATVS through the Ancient Marble Quarries. See where the pretty, white ultra-smooth Parian marble hails from. It's also wicked fun to ride through since there's not a super clear marked path, very rocky. You don't have to pay to go - there's clear descriptions marked around the marble sculptures and digging quarry sites. It's go-on-your-own
Paros was my favorite Greek island, during my 3 week solo trip. How did I get there? In Santorini, I asked an Aussie where I can go next to be “super chilled out” and he said “you'd really love Paros”. So I went
The food was super cheap, there were barely any tourists. Every night, I sat on the beach and watched the sun dip below the horizon. Still, the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen.
Thank you for letting me share my light with you,
Monica Sor Meas
