Allow your body, mind, spirit to settle and calm.  Give yourself permission to slow down.

We are living in unprecedented times right now with the global pandemic, practicing extra health & sanitization precautions, homeschooling, self-quarantining, social distancing, and staying at home.  Luckily, we are all in this together!  We have many opportunities during this time to come closer to our inner home, to identify our values and what is really important, to explore and delve into more of our inward journey, if we so chose.

We are brilliant human beings.  Quickly and earnestly, many folks have already found new ways to connect and share through the internet, zoom, chat rooms, etc.  Today, I share with you through my writing with intention for connection with you, sharing from within, calming, grounding and centering.

We all have moments of feeling anxious, worried, helpless and other emotions.  None of us are alone in this global emotional rollercoaster ride! Daily multiple friendly hugs from friends and community have now turned to 6ft. social distancing.  “Deer in the headlights” looks in people’s eyes are more prominent, and conscious decisions are made each time we leave in a car to get essential supplies, or to go to work, to wear gloves, to use hand sanitizer, wear masks.   We are adaptable beings and we seem to have adapted pretty quickly to this stressful situation.  Amidst this fear and panic, staying calm, grounded and centered is something that I have found super helpful.

These fearful, anxious, worried, panic emotions trigger our fight, flight, freeze response in our bodies.  We are then in our survival parts of our brain, the reptilian brain, our body’s instincts react.  When we live in this state for longer periods of time our health is compromised, our nervous, immune and endocrine systems weaken.  Luckily (and unfortunately sometimes), our brains are neuroplastic, meaning our brain cells are changeable, flexible and can be programmed, based on our environment and behaviors; we can be strengthened or weakened depending on which way our thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and neural pathways go.

When we are able to become calm, grounded and centered, our brain is able to also use the prefrontal cortex, the part of our brains that problem-solve, brainstorm, make decisions, think more clearly, use creative thinking, and use more of what I like to call our ‘wise mind’ and listen from our hearts.  Being able to use all parts of our brain is super helpful in balancing our nervous systems, immune system and endocrine system.

Meditation, prayer, quiet-mind cultivation, yoga, Qi gong, are a few ways we can calm our body, mind and spirit. These ways of calming may not be so simple without guidance.

In the upcoming days and weeks ahead, I will share with you various ways that can be helpful to calm, ground and center, related to mediation, prayer and quiet-mind cultivation. Please share feedback of what you find to be most helpful!   Here a few exercises to try that are focused on nature.  Being in nature is a proven way to slow down and calm our nervous system.

1. Go outside, allow yourself to feel your feet on the ground. Breath into your body and allow your breath to go down your body and into your feet.  Feel the energy move from your feet into the ground.  Feel your connection with your feet and the ground below you.  What do you notice?  Has anything shifted within your body?  Stand there for a few moments and allow your body and mind to calm, ground and center.
2. Walk an outside labyrinth or do an outdoor walking mediation. Before beginning your walk, stand still for a moment.  Breath into your heart and focus your attention there. Allow a word, thought, intention or prayer to arise from your heart center.  Keep this as your focus during your walk, allowing other thoughts to simply come and go, without judgement.  If your focus bounces around from one thing to the next, know that this is a normal part of your mind, be gentle with yourself, and go back to your focus.  After your walk, take a moment to notice how your body, mind, spirit feels.
3. Sit in a comfortable place in your home, by a window, so you can see something outside in nature. Allow your eyes to soften and notice what you see.  What do you notice?  Evergreen trees?  Spring deciduous leaves starting to bloom, or spring colors of yellow, pink, purple?   Do you see or hear any birds or other wildlife?  Does the outside seem quiet or active?  Just notice what you see, what you hear(possibly open the window if the weather allows).  Keep your eyes soft during this exercise and allow them to almost close if this helps. Imagine yourself walking around outside now, slowly moving around to notice all that is in your surroundings. Breath into your body and allow your attention to slowly shift back to where you are sitting comfortably.

In calm & grounded health!