Positive Energy
Never underestimate the connection between the brain and body!
Physical pain, as well as psychological blocks, can be improved by increasing flow in the body.
Your body is a brilliant web of interconnected systems that need to stay open and move smoothly. When tissues and energy (or thoughts!) become stagnant, the movement of fluids & blood is slowed and hardening occurs.
You get it ~ the back pain after hours sitting at your computer, the kink in your neck after you sleep in a funky position. Your body naturally wants to stretch those things out, get things moving.
But how about when you get stuck in negative thoughts or patterns? How do you move those things around, shake them out? Sadly, the brain tends to keep us there.
In Eastern / spiritual medicine, different parts of the body are linked to emotions, so stagnation in the body can also lead to psychological & emotional struggles.
Releasing and clearing those physical blocks can alleviate mental heaviness.
You want to feel that your breath, blood, and fluids can run freely and smoothly through every vein & vessel in your body.
You’re trying to keep things open, light, unobstructed and moving.
FOR OVERWHELM, EXHAUSTION
Gently trace clockwise spirals on your stomach & then counter-clockwise spirals. Talk to yourself like an overtired child who needs a nap, "Ssshh, it's ok, everything is ok, everything is good, sshhh, just rest, let yourself rest”
TO KEEP YOUR ENERGY OPEN & FLOWING
Squeeze the sides of each finger nail and rub the insides of each palm in circles with the tip of your nails
Stand with feet even and bounce up and down on your toes at a good pace so that your heels are lifting up & hitting the ground
Weave hands together and rest on your neck behind your head. Let the weight of your head rest in your hands. Without moving your head, turn eyes far to the right for 10 - 30 seconds. Same looking left. (Vagus Nerve Reset)
FOR DEPRESSION, STRESS
Shake your body with active, energetic movements. Sing, chant. Make the sound VOO from deep in your belly
FOR OVERTHINKING, CREATIVITY BLOCK
Circle & sway your hips. Side to side, in spirals, fast, slow, both directions. Moan, move your voice low to high
FOR ANGER, LACK OF CONFIDENCE
Stomp & punch. Press hard with your hands against a wall. Lie on your stomach and kick & flail your hands & feet. Scream
FOR COMFORT, SUPPORT
Lie down & rest your hands gently on your heart, belly, pelvic area, neck, shoulders, and / or chest. Deep breaths
TO OPEN YOUR HEART
The arms connect to the heart. Lie on a foam roller to open up your chest & shoulders. Rub & massage your upper chest, front of shoulders. Move & swing your arms around
TO AWAKEN SENSUALITY, DESIRE
With 3 fingers, rapidly tap your pelvic area in a spot that feels good. Then rest one finger on a different spot and feel the internal vibration you just created
Sway & grind your hips to activate genitals
Image via @astrosipa
How Much Can I Change My Partner?
"Aren't people supposed to evolve and change and make requests of each other to bend and grow and expand?"
- Taffy Brodesser-Akner, "Fleishman Is In Trouble"
We all know we can’t change our partners, right? But, I like this quote! Isn't it reasonable to make these kinds of requests?
So ... Which are the things that can change and what should we accept as is?
Are there non-negotiables that need to change? What are they?
Or do I have lists of things that I’d like to be different if I could have my way?
Are those wishes based on my (potentially unrealistic) comparison to other relationships? And to my ideal version of what a relationship should be?
In what ways am I willing to change?
What if I change and my partner doesn't??
What if nothing changes.
What if I get the changes I want? Then what??? 🤔
Image: Energy Ecstasy and Your Seven Vital Chakras, Bernard Gunther (North Hollywood: Newcastle Publishing Co., 1983), p107
Love Addiction🥀
"Love addicts use love, or the pursuit of love, as a way of distracting themselves from uncomfortable feelings or emotions.
Love addiction is deeply rooted in a constant need for attention, validation, nurturing, and connection.
Some love addicts get caught in toxic relationships and become codependent. Love addiction and codependency often go hand-in-hand as love addicts will do anything to take care of their partners.
Toxic care-taking can be in the form of enabling immature behaviors or 'rescuing' in hopes that they will not be abandoned.
Love addicts allocate an unbalanced amount of time, attention and value to the person that they are addicted to and this focus usually has an obsessive quality.
🌹 Therapy can lead to a deeper awareness regarding the underlying causes of the obsessive needs. Learning about codependent patterns leads to a better understanding of oneself which can lead to improved self esteem and healthier love connections." - Alexandra Katehakis
Anything here resonate? Give a call, we can help!
Image: "Zabriskie Point," 1970, dir by Michaelangelo Antonioni
What's The Most Liberating Thought You've Ever Had?
★ MY ANSWERS:
COGNITIVE
"This is the way it is. For right now. And it will change.”
"I don't need to know the answers."
"I don’t know, and can’t possibly know, what’s going to happen in the future."
"Change is good."
"I'm ok."
“Thoughts are real, but they’re not true.”
“Knowing WHY is not important.”
BUDDHIST
“Joy is not controlling.”
"Most of my own suffering is caused by me. That means I can change it.”
“Enlightenment is absolute cooperation with the inevitable.” (Tara Brach)
“Life is a continual succession of agreeable & disagreeable situations.”
"I have my most powerful toolkit with me at all times - my breath, my body, and the present moment."
“Sense what it means to be in the center of now.”
TAOIST
“A warm spring wind steadily dissolves winter ice.”
"A wind that changes direction often, even a very powerful one, will disperse nothing - it only stirs up the sky. The wind that causes real change is the one that blows consistently in the same direction.”
“In a great storm, the wise bird returns to her nest and waits patiently.”
LAW OF ATTRACTION
"When I'm working too hard / pushing for things to be a certain way, I let go of the wheel and let the easier way show itself."
"When things don't fall into place with ease, it's a sign to me that maybe I should reconsider what I'm pushing for."
"It's important for me to notice if I feel drained after being with someone."
★ What are yours??
Prompt by Rob Brezsny
Image by Benjamin Everett
Routine is More Dangerous Than Adventure
"Routine is more dangerous than adventure. Routine is killing us, dulling people’s sense of curiosity and purpose and wonder, leaving us looking back on our lives with regret." - Bertrand Picard, Psychiatrist & Aeronaut
Whaddya think, 2023?
Yes, it's been a rough few years and we need to take it easy on ourselves. We cannot underestimate the importance of safety and security.
But, perhaps it's time to come out of our little bubbles? Has stagnation crept in?
When
How
In what ways
Does safety, security, routine hold us back?
When
How
In what ways
Should we push ourselves out of our comfort zones?
What are the things you think of as crucial for your wellbeing? What would happen if you lessened your grip on one of them?
Have you been playing small? Acting out of fear? Prioritizing comfort over all else? Feeling too routine in life?
We're all on our own paths and, of course, no judgment. You do what you do, but just some things to think about as we enter this new year ...
Cheers to us all for making it this far! 🎉
Art by Benjamin Everett
