Hello beautiful soul
Do you know what I’m done with...?
Watching brilliant women fold themselves smaller just to fit into a world that was never designed with them in mind.
I see it EVERYwhere.
In offices. On trains. On aeroplanes. At dinner tables.
We’ve been trained to move around men like they’re immovable objects.
To shrink so they can expand.
To keep our voices soft, our edges smooth, our presence “palatable.”
And I’m done.
Because when women shrink, the whole world loses.
Enter Guanyin — the bodhisattva who refused to turn away
Guanyin means She Who Hears the Cries of the World.
You might not have heard of her, but in Buddhist tradition, she is the bodhisattva of compassion—the one who vowed she would not rest until every being was free from suffering.
But here’s what makes her a leader we want to embody and why I want to share her with you today:
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She is compassion in action. She doesn’t look away from the truth, even when it’s overwhelming. You want to lead like this.
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She is endurance. One legend says she tried to witness all the world’s pain at once, and her head shattered into eleven pieces. The Buddha gave her eleven heads and a thousand arms so she could see more, reach more, do more. You want to be able to withstand hard stuff and show up in love.
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She is fierce mercy. Her kindness does not mean weakness—it means meeting the world with an open heart and unshakable strength. You want to be a force for good, one of the people who brings light into this world.
She reminds us that you can be both soft and strong, both tender and unyielding.
She calls us to act—not just feel—when the world needs changing.
Tell me that's now how you want to be and lead in this world...?
Mallorca, the fire, and my rage
Last year, I spent a week in Mallorca for the final module of my Sensual Soma somatic yoga teacher training.
16 ish women in a beautiful villa for a whole week.
Inside those walls, we moved fully.
We spoke without hesitation.
We took up space without apology.
We opened windows when we were hot, and closed them when we were cold [and only a woman will understand what I mean here... tell me I am wrong!]
We explored the different parts of ourselves that we had been taught to hide.
Then I flew home. Back into the real world.
Within minutes, I could feel the fire whip through my veins.
Because suddenly, I could see it, even on the flight home:
Women, hesitating before they moved, checking all around us.
Second-guessing ourselves mid-sentence and apologising before our asks.
Shrinking—just enough—to let someone else take the space.
And men...?
Moving through the world with audacity.
Not even aware of how much space they occupied or who might be in the space they had decided to move into.
In that moment I made a decision: this ends now.
Not so that women can dominate—but so that we can stand side by side.
Not so anyone shrinks—but so we all move with grounded, rightful presence. We deserve to take up space too.
The moment I landed back in America, I got to work on creating Women Who Lead, and infusing it with everything we need to really step into all of who we are as women: somatically, cyclically and strategically.
Why Guanyin’s energy matters here
Because to reclaim our space in a world that has taught us to disappear, we need more than rage.
We need the kind of courage that comes from deep compassion—for ourselves and others.
We need the patience to keep showing up.
The clarity to keep telling the truth.
The willingness to witness what’s hard—and act anyway.
This is Guanyin energy.
Not performance. Not posturing.
A quiet, immovable power that says:
I will not turn away. I will not abandon myself. I will not abandon the world.
This is the work we do in Women Who Lead
It’s not about performing your way into power.
It’s about returning to yourself.
Clearing the noise.
Reclaiming your voice.
Learning to stand in your space—without apology.
We start September 10th.
There is a $500 discount available until the end of this week. If you feel that fire—reply to this email or DM me and I’ll send you the details.
You’re not here to disappear.
You’re here to be seen, heard, and felt.
Rooting for you always
Ruth x
Ps. A big thank you to everyone who came along for "Say the darn thing" this week. Catch the replay here for this week only.
It's a great chance to experience Women Who Lead workshops firsthand... aaaaaand learn to stop people-pleasing and start speaking with leadership energy—even in sticky moments.
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