Ep 120: Tenderly Embracing Joy with Christine Gyovai

May 11

To do the real work of healing and growing without alcohol, we need to create safe spaces to let every part of ourselves be seen, loved, and welcomed. Today, we’re going to talk about leaning into tenderness.

Christine Gyovai is a fierce changemaker in environmental design who is also a total powerhouse for building resilience in her local community. A former client of Karolina’s, Christine transformed her relationship with alcohol over the past two years and learned how to tenderly embrace her desires and seek joy. In this episode, discover what it means to embrace your vulnerability and imperfections and fully love yourself!

Christine Gyovai is the founder of Dialogue + Design Associates and has been working in her field for over 20 years! She is also the host of the Yes! We Rise Podcast, where she shares stories of communities and leaders stepping up and cultivating resilience and transformation in their communities.

Creating change in the world starts with you

Christine has long had a desire to create change in the world from a very early age. With a deep passion for the environment and social justice, her entire career has been intrinsically focused on helping communities envision and build a more resilient future.

Working at both the community and the individual level, Christine holds space for humans to come together and create a vision for their community’s future. Activism and advocacy work were a pivotal part of her early years, but then in grad school, she experienced a shift in perspective.

Her pace of doing and working to create change often outran her pace for bringing joy into her own life. To unwind at night, Christine would often enjoy a glass or two of wine. When she began to do a lot of personal growth and inner work, it was here that she started looking closely at her relationship with alcohol.

I had the joy of working with and coaching Christine, and today she has been alcohol-free for two years! Through this journey she discovered a misalignment between herself and the rest of her life. From being present with her feelings to going after her vision, setting boundaries to prioritizing her self-care, going alcohol-free empowered Christine to go after a joy-filled and meaningful life!

Peeling back the layers and revealing your True North

As she began her alcohol-free experience, Christine found herself entering a place of vulnerability. Think about it: the thing that has allowed you to take off the edge and numb out is now gone.

Now, all of the feelings that she had been able to ignore, were unavoidable. So what do you do with that?

For Christine it meant leaning into tenderness. We all put on armor to protect ourselves, right? Without alcohol to numb, that begins to get exposed, new feelings come up, and layers are peeled back. Christine needed to be compassionate with herself in order to do the work of healing and growing. She created a safe space to let every part of herself be seen, loved, and welcomed!

Christine began to explore new ways of being. It was no longer about living up to some unattainable level of perfection or doing all the things. It was about learning to be vulnerable, tapping into her goofy side, making time for stillness, and choosing passions that aligned with her inner compass.

Imagine no longer postponing joy in your life. Since going alcohol-free, Christine has launched the Yes! We Rise Podcast, received her first level of yoga teacher training and is currently in her second level of teacher training. This year she even went on a solo trip to Florida and signed up for a sailing class last minute.

It’s incredible to see what becomes available to you when alcohol is no longer in the way. Just like Christine experienced, going alcohol-free allows you to tap into your inner compass and discover your True North!

Turning from fear and honoring your inner desires

One of the fears Christine allowed herself to challenge is the worry of what other people will think. It can be so easy to make decisions based around other people, but when we do, it’s almost always out of fear.

Even sharing the news of being alcohol-free challenged Christine.

To step away from fear-based decisions, be clear about your values and align with your inner compass. To tap into that inner knowing, you can try journaling or reading every morning, exercise, or connect with your loved ones.

Being present with yourself is such a powerful way to discover your values and what is important to you. What does your heart want?

Christine has learned that her thoughts are real, but not necessarily always true. Your body always knows, especially when you get still enough to listen to it.

What would it look like to get still with yourself and just be curious about what you really want and need.

Do you need more self-care?

Do you have a dream you want to go after?

Your dreams and desires matter, and they deserve to be honored! What is one step you can take toward loving and honoring those inner desires?

“Was it uncomfortable? Yes. And I breathed through it. And I leaned into the discomfort and said, ‘This is uncomfortable. And there is this safety choice I can make.’ So it was both listening to the parts of concern in my brain, who's trying to protect me, and leaning into that which brings me joy and letting THAT be the metric. And there are hard things with that too. There are difficult things with that too… but it's letting that joy lead.” Christine Gyovai

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Learn more about Christine’s powerful community work with Dialogue + Design Associates.

Hear incredible stories about resilience through Christine’s podcast Yes! We Rise. You can also follow along on Facebook and Instagram.

Karolina invites you to a NEW and FREE five day workshop from May 16-20, 2022: Ditch Alcohol and Discover Your Purpose. Learn how changing your relationship with alcohol prepares you to go after bigger dreams! Hone in on how this one shift is a catalyst for any new identity.

Karolina’s book is available in hardcover, Kindle, and as an audiobook. Be sure to get your copy of Euphoric: Ditch Alcohol and Gain a Happier, More Confident You today and leave your review.