YOUR FREE SOMATIC PRACTICE
EARTH YIN - WHAT SUPPORTS YOU?
EARTH YIN - WHAT SUPPORTS YOU?
PROPS: folded blanket, bolster (optional)
My Earth theme that has been in the foreground for the last couple of weeks revolved around the concept of "mothering". Couple of days ago, I was listening to one of my favorite Podcasts "We can do hard things", this episode was with Oprah Winfrey. Oprah shared a letter that one of the Podcast hosts (a writer Glennon Doyle) had sent her after Oprah's mother died and these are the words that struck a cord in me: "at this moment I am writing an essay about the word mother, what that word really means, how it’s less to me a fixed identity we can be or not be and more an energy we can offer or not offer. The essay is about how some of us who can check the box mother never really learn how to offer mothering love and how others of us who don’t check the box, harness it and offer it widely and wildly. The essay is about how much better off the world would be if we gathered up mothering love and used it like a floodlight instead of a pointed laser aimed only at the few we’ve been assigned."
As someone who has made a decision to go through this lifetime without giving birth, I've always felt an abundance of mothering energy I can easily offer outward. Especially towards animals :-), but I also think it extends towards people who study and practice with me. There could be a whole theme built upon the part of the quote calling to imagine a world where mothering love is offered widely and wildly - used like a floodlight rather than pointed laser.
But what came up for me around this theme was the challenge of extending that type of love, patience and understanding towards myself. I share in the beginning of the session how I have been befriending a stray dog over the last months and nursing her back to health and trust after an operation. I have been surprised (and not surprised) by the infinite amount of patience, compassion and understanding I have for her (I've named her Charlie:-), I know intuitively when to give her space and when to reassure her with my presence and touch. What if I were able to "talk" to my own inner fears and triggers with such love, understanding and kindness? To be a compassionate parent to my inner child?
During the Earth's season of harvest and filtering, one of the inquiries to take with you is to become aware what is supportive and nourishing and what is not. Both in our inner and outer lives. I offer it as a reflection throughout the practice - paying attention to the nature of our thoughts, perceptions, habits and self-talk. Similarly like when I am tending to my garden this time of the year, I need to discern: what am I harvesting and what gets composted back into the ground. Well what about our inner garden?
In Chinese Medicine Spleen (one of the Earth element organs) governs thoughts and mental processes. The Spirit of Spleen is called Yi and is often translated as intellect or intention (we'll have another class looking at that in more depth). Overthinking, rumination, looping thoughts, fretting in Chinese Medicine terms has to do with an imbalance in spleen energy and the Earth element. Consider this as not having the capacity to "digest", integrate and assimilate the information and sensory input. It points towards an unregulated nervous system and to the importance of KNOWING our capacity and NOTICING when we are over-extending ourselves.
Our slow Yin and somatic practices become valuable practice ground where we are able to listen in and observe, practice healthy boundaries and healthy discernment. Sprinkled throughout the Earth element series are simple nervous system regulation tools that help to ground and find our center in the midst of changing circumstances. In this session, I offered gentle stimulation of the abdominal area and a self-soothing and grounding exercise sometimes called "butterfly hug".
The two short poems I shared were by Andrea Gibson:
My Earth theme that has been in the foreground for the last couple of weeks revolved around the concept of "mothering". Couple of days ago, I was listening to one of my favorite Podcasts "We can do hard things", this episode was with Oprah Winfrey. Oprah shared a letter that one of the Podcast hosts (a writer Glennon Doyle) had sent her after Oprah's mother died and these are the words that struck a cord in me: "at this moment I am writing an essay about the word mother, what that word really means, how it’s less to me a fixed identity we can be or not be and more an energy we can offer or not offer. The essay is about how some of us who can check the box mother never really learn how to offer mothering love and how others of us who don’t check the box, harness it and offer it widely and wildly. The essay is about how much better off the world would be if we gathered up mothering love and used it like a floodlight instead of a pointed laser aimed only at the few we’ve been assigned."
As someone who has made a decision to go through this lifetime without giving birth, I've always felt an abundance of mothering energy I can easily offer outward. Especially towards animals :-), but I also think it extends towards people who study and practice with me. There could be a whole theme built upon the part of the quote calling to imagine a world where mothering love is offered widely and wildly - used like a floodlight rather than pointed laser.
But what came up for me around this theme was the challenge of extending that type of love, patience and understanding towards myself. I share in the beginning of the session how I have been befriending a stray dog over the last months and nursing her back to health and trust after an operation. I have been surprised (and not surprised) by the infinite amount of patience, compassion and understanding I have for her (I've named her Charlie:-), I know intuitively when to give her space and when to reassure her with my presence and touch. What if I were able to "talk" to my own inner fears and triggers with such love, understanding and kindness? To be a compassionate parent to my inner child?
During the Earth's season of harvest and filtering, one of the inquiries to take with you is to become aware what is supportive and nourishing and what is not. Both in our inner and outer lives. I offer it as a reflection throughout the practice - paying attention to the nature of our thoughts, perceptions, habits and self-talk. Similarly like when I am tending to my garden this time of the year, I need to discern: what am I harvesting and what gets composted back into the ground. Well what about our inner garden?
In Chinese Medicine Spleen (one of the Earth element organs) governs thoughts and mental processes. The Spirit of Spleen is called Yi and is often translated as intellect or intention (we'll have another class looking at that in more depth). Overthinking, rumination, looping thoughts, fretting in Chinese Medicine terms has to do with an imbalance in spleen energy and the Earth element. Consider this as not having the capacity to "digest", integrate and assimilate the information and sensory input. It points towards an unregulated nervous system and to the importance of KNOWING our capacity and NOTICING when we are over-extending ourselves.
Our slow Yin and somatic practices become valuable practice ground where we are able to listen in and observe, practice healthy boundaries and healthy discernment. Sprinkled throughout the Earth element series are simple nervous system regulation tools that help to ground and find our center in the midst of changing circumstances. In this session, I offered gentle stimulation of the abdominal area and a self-soothing and grounding exercise sometimes called "butterfly hug".
The two short poems I shared were by Andrea Gibson:
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ALL THE GOOD IN YOU
When all the good in you starts arguing with all the bad in you about who you really are never let the bad in you make a better case |
WELLNESS CHECK
In any moment on any given day I can measure my wellness by this question: Is my attention on loving or is my attention on who isn't loving me. |