The art of slowing down: creative ways to ground your energy.
There is an art to slow living, slowing down enough to be present, to be aware, mindful and centred, yet not to get so out of sync, out of balance that you can’t function properly.
There have been times when I have experienced periods of deep, sudden plunges into this magical, mystical way of being, which have been wonderful, yet they never last, so always experience them as bittersweet, I’m grateful, but I know I’ll soon be grieving it’s loss.
What I’ve found to be far more helpful and sustainable is a more gradual, intentional and balanced decent into the mystery. No, you don’t get the heady rush of the sudden plunge, but you don’t have to deal with it’s perceived loss either. You nurture it, love it, like tending a garden and although you will still have times where life has sucked you back in again and you’ve lost the key to your secret garden, you know it’s still there, you know you’ll eventually find your key and can get back in. In fact, the more you time you spend tending your garden, the more you naturally align, you come into deep relationship, so much so that even when you can’t reach it, you can feel it, you know it’s still there - even if you can’t see it and that can give a huge amount of comfort. The more time you spend ther, the less you wander off, and even when you do the time away gets shorter.
Tending your secret garden is different for all of us, we each find our own ways, practices and little rituals, mine obviously tends towards the more creative, imaginal and natural, because that’s the way my bodymind system is ‘shaped’. I enjoy playing with sensations, visualisations, colours and words, to me it’s more than creative grounding, it’s spiritual self-care, an important part of my creative spiritual practice.
Here are 3 of my go-to favourites:
Breathe in through your nose and out through your heart
This beautiful ritual combines breathwork, visualisation and somatic sensations.
It’s extremely powerful at grounding franetic energies, calming when stressed or anxious and both steadying and centering when you feel challenged or threatened.
The Technique:
If possible sit down in a relaxed position and come to focus on your breathing.
Breathe in through your nose naturally and breathe out through your nose. Notice the depth and the rhythm, try to relax into a deeper, slower cycle of in and out, focusing on relaxing on the out breath.
When you have found a comfortable rhythm, breathe in and visualise the breath going down your throat and instead of your lungs it moves through your heart and out through your chest (while actually exhaling out of your nose as usual)
In through your nose and out through your heart.
As you repeat the cycle notice how your body responds; the gentle push from your chest as you visualise the breathe being breathed out through your heart, how the heart seems to redden and swell with the influx of oxygen, as it seems to bloom and unfurl like a flower as you relax and open more and more, how your mind is at rest, quiet, focusing on the rhythm, how your whole body feels centred, grounded, steady.
Continue until you feel full, ready to stop. Offer gratitude to your body for it’s innate wisdom, to Air and to Spirit.
2. Journal prompt: What does my heart want me to know today?
This is a simple, effective channelling excercise to get you back in touch with yourself. You can do this with any part of you, but it’s usually easier to begin with the heart as most of us have somewhat of a natural connection to it still.
Write the prompt at the top of the page.
Once written, use it as your intention. Sit quietly for a moment. Breathe and allow yourself to open.
Poise your pen ready to write and ask your heart directly, if possible out loud, so you can allow the words to sink all the way in, ‘Heart, what do you want me to know today?’
Let your pen flow, let it write whatever comes, if nothing comes then just write ‘I am waiting for my heart to let me know…..’ until the message comes in to take over. Do not question. Do not edit. Do not worry about grammer and spelling. Just surrender to the flow until the flow stops.
Once done, read your message. If you have follow up questions then, one at a time, create a new question/intention, always in present tense and in a direct conversational tone, address the heart directly as you would another person.
You will get what you need to hear, not neccessarily what you want.
Always remember, this is guidance not gospel! Use your own discernment.
Practice makes the connection clearer.
3. Humming a merry tune!
Humming is a superpower!
Humming is something that most, though not all of us can do. It’s quiet, unassuming, pleasant and soothing.
Humming when feeling stressed, low in mood, anxious or scared can help us on multiple levels.
Choose a simple, repeating tune; a nursery rhyme, the chorus of a song etc, sonething you can repeat over and over and not have to think about it.
The simple repetition helps relax the central nervous system, helps calm frenetic energies, block intrusive thoughts and help regulate our emotions.
The vibrations of the humming also help calm the whole system, you can play with them up and down the body from high nasal to deep gutteral. See how it feels within your body as you play up and down, and see where you naturally rest, where your comfort hum lives.
Humming also releases 15 times more nitrous oxide into your body, having multiple health benefits.
So, give them a go! Tell me what you discover!
Which is your favourite?
Creative Blessings,
Rachel.