I usually write about getting to learn what your heart wants and listening to your body.
But, I know, like you, there was a point in my Life, where I either had no idea how to even start, or thought I knew but really didn’t.
My body was aching, my skin itching and my relationships were much more complicated than today.
We all have a tendency to deny or refuse to acknowledge what we are feeling. Mainly because of our way of Life these days. Always on the go, always reaching for more, higher, faster, stronger. Competition is everywhere. Even if you don’t want to take part in it, it always rubs off on you. And actually leads you to empty your energy tanks and quiet your heart’s whispers.
So, with the seasons changing, I thought it would be a great time to share the best ways to experiment and hopefully get to finally be in touch with yourself – in your body and in your heart.
Here in beautiful British Columbia - Canada, we are seeing the leaves change colors, the cool temperatures welcoming us when we wake up and sending us off to bed at night, the rain and the clouds being much more present during the week, the snow inviting itself very soon, and overall, a tendency to want to slow down when we can let ourselves feel it.
It can also feel depressing and way too heavy when we think of the prospect of winter getting closer by the minute. But I would like to invite you to ride that wave and welcome the opportunity to come back inside, our homes, our hearts and our bodies, after a great summer of giving outside of us, in the beautiful outdoors, with a lot of social activities, longer days, ….
This season invites us and actually gives us all what we need to be in touch with ourselves.
And to that I would like to add another layer. To finally get to care for your body in the best ways possible, movement and exercise (be it gentle or intensive), is key. To move the energies that get stuck in us.
See, the traditional medicine of India, Ayurveda, has understood that at its very beginning and they stated that “almost all dis-eases are due to a lack of circulation of Prana, our Life Force”. That is to say that when you are sad, when you are hurt, when you are worried, when it gets cold, when it gets dark, and when the environment at work, in our Life or outside is not as inviting, we contract and stop moving. And that blocks the “healthy” flow of energies inside of our bodies. Which can be translated to blood actually. Our muscles won’t get the right amount of oxygen to be able to contract and relax as they should, our organs won’t get the proper amount of blood to feed themselves and clear the toxins away, and we will start accumulating toxins and pain all around our body.
So moving is key to keep that all flowing properly. Even when we don’t feel like it.
What I would like you to think about if you are in a situation where moving is hard, is to move mindfully. Picturing, while you do the few steps you can, that these energies are slowly getting unstuck and starting to flow. That the build-ups are breaking and that these energies flow further and further every time you move. Until the puddles of energy here and there in your body become rivers flowing into each other, extending to every extremities of your being. One great move would be, on a sunny day, to go sit on a bench in the sun soaking in the natural energy, refilling your tanks with juicy, warming, readily available Life Force.
For those of us that have more body capacity, great activities can be walking, dancing, yoga, pilates, stretching, spending time in nature,….
But another caution I want to touch on is for the ones in this group that will take my invitation to move as an order to move even more and more intensively than what you have been doing. Though you have no energy, you cannot sleep enough, and you just have no time to get to the gym anymore, even less care for your family or your own body.
For you, I want to invite you to shift your 45 minutes intensive work out routine into a gentle yoga routine that will warm up, unlock, nourish and relax your muscles and whole being. Bringing you back that precious energy instead of letting it exit your body more and more. Only 2 to 3 times a week, and it can be as short as 15 to 30 minutes. Also enjoying every other movements you do (and that can be simply moving around your house or your office), mindfully as mentioned above.
My last advice is about getting in touch with your heart.
Once you are moving your body’s energies around, gently and mindfully, you will notice that you will feel energized, at peace and fulfilled. I want to invite you to enjoy that state. Take one more minute in your routine to really acknowledge how good you feel, and take one more breath to root it in in your body. And in that state, you may also notice that you have more ideas. Maybe not productive ideas, but more ideas of how to take care of yourself. And that is one key to accessing your heart’s desires. So pause, breathe, feel, visualize and let your heart talk to you.
I hope you will try this this week and if you feel inspired, feel free to share what came up for you.
With all my love,
Marianne
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