Flower Girls Meet

Event Recap: Aging Gracefully with April

Aging with grace, or as someone on the call articulated beautifully – “maturing with age”, is a journey we must embrace! April Cole talked about her struggles with getting older after losing her mother in her early 30s, and grappling with the fear that came alongside this tragedy. April recalls wearing a ‘mask’ where she looked great on the outside, but inside she was suffering. April finally saw a psychiatrist who introduced her to meditation, and that changed the game for her! Now she’s living her most authentic and unapologetic life at 60! April says we struggle with the acceptance of aging for two reasons: (1) there’s fear and mystery behind growing older, (2) we as a culture have a preoccupation with our appearance as we age, which is an Americanized mindset. Here are the key lessons we learned from 60-year-old April who is living proof that aging with grace is possible:

  1. Don’t say you’re never going to do or accomplish something. Doing something for the first time later in life is just as sweet as doing it when you’re young!
  2. Look in the mirror and tell yourself, “You look good girl! Thank you for this body.”
  3. Work on your inner dialogue to reframe how you’re thinking about things.
  4. Connect the dots to understand why you behave the way you do.
  5. Write down everything you want to fix about yourself in your journal while still loving yourself.
  6. The way you take care of your body now will have lasting effects later in life, so start caring now.
  7. Fix the issues you’re dealing with now before you’re forced to deal with them at 60.
  8. Work with your therapist to help you unpack the trauma you experienced in the past.
  9. Be okay with being alone.
  10. Stop hiding what you’re feeling. Seek help!
  11. Make a diagram of how you’re feeling at every age.
  12. Be patient with yourself and take it one year at a time.
  13. Focus on surrounding yourself with the right people who truly love and care for you!
  14. Make working out a top priority!
  15. Have things to look forward to and you will feel happier!

Other gems shared from the Flower Girls:
– Youthful people keep you youthful.
– Look at your family history to see what ailments your family has and work to protect against those things.
– It’s hard to accept some of the things that happened to us when we’re young, but if we don’t do it now, it’ll be worse later.
– Face aging with humor and fun experiences. It’s not all bad!

Overall sentiment: Don’t suppress your emotions, grief, or any hardship you’re experiencing in your life right now because as you get older, those things just become more unbearable to deal with on top of accepting the aging process.

Follow April Cole on the gram for more mental health tips and fashion!

Thank you, Dr. King!

May we put action behind your words by accepting ourselves and others, keeping the faith, and continuing to fight for what is right. Your legacy lives on!

Event Recap: Breathing Easy with Molly

We just kicked off our first virtual event of the year with a mindfulness workshop on breathing. Our speaker Molly Black is a Mindfulness Teacher trained in Mindful Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Molly helps people create healthy relationships with themselves through yoga, meditation, and mindfulness. Many years ago Molly was working a very intense job that led her to burn out, so she transitioned to teaching mindfulness, and she hasn’t looked back! Here are the key takeaways from our conversation:

  1. 4-7-8 breath technique: Begin by practicing the 4-7-8 breath, a soothing exercise to promote relaxation. Inhale for a count of 4, hold for 7, and exhale for 8. Repeat this cycle three times, allowing yourself to set a comfortable pace. 
  2. Diaphragmatic breathing! Here’s how to do it: if it’s comfortable, put a hand on the belly and one on the heart (or both hands face down on the legs). Breathe into the belly through the nose and expand the belly. Then exhale out of your mouth and let the belly fall. Repeat 3-6 times. 
  3. Breath of joy, a somatic exercise that helps to stimulate your sympathetic nervous system and get energy flowing.
  4. To calm your nerves,
    – Get outside.
    – Move your body.
    – Change your environment.
    – Utilize the 54321 method, a grounding exercise where you identify 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste.
  5. Meditate daily with Molly on Insight Timer! You will find Yoga Nidra and Body Scan meditations here which are great for sleep and grounding.
  6. Remember to explore what works best for you! Experimentation and openness are key to finding the right routine for you.

To learn more, visit Molly’s website, IG or you can send her an email at wellnesswithmollyb@gmail.com!

Sign up for our next virtual event on aging gracefully here.

Self-Care Sunday Series

Anxious about starting the new year? Join us on Sundays starting in January 2024 for virtual events covering breathing, anxiety, aging, and setting intentions with a mood boarding exercise! RSVP here.

Flower Girls Meet on WGN Spotlight Chicago

Vanessa Flowers, founder of Flower Girls Meet talks about the power of community and narrative exposure therapy in helping others heal from tough situations. Check out the full interview below featured on Spotlight Chicago!