Each year as Spring approaches, my heart starts beating faster, ideas begin blooming and bursting inside of me with one hundred bright shades of color, my feet tingle and before I know it I have completely lost my connection to the ground I am standing on. I start tripping over myself and feel like I am floating off into space because I have forgotten that it is just as important to nourish and deepen my roots as it is to spread out towards the sky in every direction. Anxiety and anticipation consume my attention and I have to write myself sticky notes that I place around my house reminding me to PAUSE, feel my feet, and take 10 long breaths while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Remembering to pause helps me to not only keep myself from flying off into space but it helps me to energetically integrate and be present for what I am learning and experiencing.
Here are a few ways I am choosing to nourish my roots this spring while continuing to stretch and grow outward.
— Practicing the Sacred Pause 3-5 times per day! This includes pausing, feeling my feet, and focusing on my breath for at lease 10 long exhale breaths. Checking in with my senses: what I smell, taste, hear, feel and see - looking around to identify at least 3 objects I observe.
— 15 minute daily movement practice for grounding and relaxation followed by at least 5 minutes of seated meditation.
— Morning writing practice for 5-30 minutes. This can be a one page stream of consciousness flow or responding to a writing exercise or prompt.
— Spending time on the earth, lying on the ground literally on or near roots while feeling the density of my bones.
— Offering Therapeutic Movement sessions in my private practice that can be catered to the individuals needs/goals: including meditation, subtle body awareness, alignment, chronic pain, flow state, and somatic learning (connecting to intuition and intelligence of the body).
The last few weeks have been a time of rapid growth and new surprises for me. I attended a workshop a few weekends ago on Yoga and Meditation for Chronic Pain led by three incredible teachers: Libby Hinsley - Yoga instructor and physical therapist, Lisa Sherman - Acupuncturist and Yoga Instructor, and Will Hamilton - Psychologist and Meditation Teacher. During this weekend training - I was brought back into my roots in a very deep way through skillful slow flowing yoga sequences and grounding guided meditations. After this nourishing and enlightening training, I have decided to offer therapeutic movement sessions for individualized experiential learning based on your personalized interests, which can include meditation, subtle body awareness, alignment, chronic pain, flow state, and somatic learning (connecting to intuition and intelligence of the body). During our first session we will discuss and evaluate your interests, goals, intentions and any questions you may have about our process to create an individualized plan for therapeutic movement together.
Please enjoy this brief grounding meditation to help connect to your roots this Spring.
