View this post on Instagram

 

I have always sought meaning and purpose in my life.

I’ve always been drawn to spirituality from a young age—natural forms of healing and the body have always fascinated me. I am in deep reverence to the cycles, the earth, and our spiritual essence. These are the commonalities that connect us; they are the source of self-healing, collective healing, and climate healing.

To live in harmony with the Self brings harmony to our lives and way of being—connecting, interacting, and engaging with life in all kind of way. We need to unblock as a means to return to a harmonious, natural state of being.

Our world has been dominated by the ego: limitations, lack and scarcity, fear and anger, and separation from Self, spirit, and Earth. The mind and ego are what create our shadow, our shadow is the gateway to healing and becoming whole again. First, we must admit to ourselves that we have a shadow side. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can unravel that which is holding us back and causing us harm and suffering.

To be clear, when I say shadow, I mean the pain that we deny and our unhealthy approach to processing emotions. I, of course, do not advocate to resist bad emotions—quite the opposite—they are beautiful part of experiencing life. However, their beauty can only be embraced through an understanding that it is normal to have cycles of different emotions; it is in the denial of them through projecting, blame, and a lack of connection to Self that we hold onto our shadow, shame, and pain.

Aboriginal Australians* say that we have three brains: the gut, heart, and the brain in our skull. We must filter through from the gut to the heart to the head to make decisions—to know the way.  This is not dissimilar to healing systems of Ayurveda, yoga and others; the commonality being an earth, heart, and spirit connection. 

At the heart of the Self and the collective lies beauty, unconditional love, harmony, deep connection, understanding and abundance.

The following are five anchoring practices that remind me of my innate, universal truth and a pathway to return to it:

May they bring you solace in this time. Take that which resonates—leave that which does not.

1. Create an inner sanctum within.

Envision this almost like an inner temple, or an inner sanctuary. Start to connect to the deepest part of you, the part of you that no one can access. This is the place of your deepest peace, harmony, and unconditional love—it is nameless and formless—your soul, your connection to Source.

Now envision it as an inner sanctum, a sacred and protected space. You decide what you allow in and out; it is your safe space that no one else can access. You decide what is true here, what dream seeds you plant and nourish. This is your place of refuge and connection.

When we do not feel safe in our own bodies, how can we feel safe in the world?

Start to plant seeds within: of your wishes, aspirations, of self-love, self-empowerment, beauty, oneness, and harmony. Nurture them and watch them bloom into a new greater you. Stay aligned with the intention of your inner sanctum and you will start to be able to hold better boundaries as a means of protection.

2. Reconnect to Earth and spirit.

This is one of the most empowering practices we can do on this beautiful planet. The earth and spirit are what connects us all—it is what we all hold in commonality. Now more than ever we are being called to tune inward.

When we truly take time to connect with the earth—to meditate with her, listen to her wisdom, enjoy her beauty, and give thanks for all the medicine she gives us—we give her a chance to heal us.

The earth and spirit were inspiration for and guided the creation of many ancient healing systems, such as yoga, Ayurveda, Herbalism, Taoism, and Traditional Chinese Medicine to name a few. At the source of these wondrous systems is a deep connection to Self, source, and the earth—through her elements.

Find that wisdom through your own connection with the earth.

Try to sync with the earth’s cycles: go to bed early, rise with the sun, study your circadian rhythms, dive into Herbalism, try growing your own food, put your feet in the dirt, eat and cook as a spiritual practice, and always gives thanks to the earth.

Connecting to spirit reminds us of our divine, limitless, inherent nature we seem to have forgotten; the non-physical part of our world.

As Dr. Wayne W. Dyer explains:

“Everything that now exists was once imagined. And everything that will ever exist must first be imagined.”

In other words, we were energy, an idea that existed before we entered our physical bodies. When we connect to spirit we feel aligned, blissful, open, loving, and compassionate—it’s a beautiful feeling.

The earth and spirit want to heal you, guide you, and protect you. They are our anchors—always—but especially in times like these. 

3. Practice Pranayama.

If you are feeling stagnant, heavy, or trapped in the mornings, try Kapalabhati (Breath of Fire) or a Kundalini womb activation called Sat Kriya. These particular Pranayamas help me to feel energised and clear of mind, which makes perfect sense, as the stimulation of breath creates a flow of energy and removes of energy blockages.

At night before I sleep, or when anxiety overwhelms me, I practice simple yogic breathing: a three-part breath that consists of breathing into the belly, diaphragm, and then the upper chest. Allow the body to move like a wave, elongating the breath as you relax more, while pausing at the end of each inhalation and exhalation.

If you are feeling over-stimulated, or when you’ve consumed too much media, try Humming Bee Breath (Brahmari in Sanskrit).

4. Remember, you are the creator.

You are a creator, your body physically has the ability to reproduce—to create. This doesn’t always mean through children, but is represented symbolically through what we share, birth, and express in other ways.

In yoga, this creative expression is represented as the Svadhishthana or sacral chakra. Svadhishthana translates as “Swa,” meaning self and “adhisthana,” meaning established. It’s associated element is water—fertilizing and producing life.

This chakra can become blocked by fear, especially the fear of death; it is the centre of sexuality, sensuality, and creativity. Blockages in this chakra could also manifest as a lack of libido, sexual desire, or creativity, and the inability to move forward. 

Often, we do not pursue our creativity because we have taken on the belief that it is only worthwhile to do something if we are good at it or can profit from it. Release this nonsense and enjoy the creator within; feel the empowerment that comes from creating with your hands and expressing yourself through art—we are all artists, lovers, writers, speakers, and weavers.

Art helps us to process and channel deep emotions, to celebrate the beauty of being alive, especially when we are constantly being reminded of its fragility with so much death and collective suffering.

Give yourself permission to express yourself how you’ve always wanted to—because these times show us we have nothing to lose—it’s time to get out of our own way.

Connect to your sensuality and sexuality through a yoni egg practice, self-touch, and massage. Freewrite in your journal, with no pressure of it being “good,” allow it to flow, to move you, to heal you, to give you clarity, to process, and to purge. Paint or draw to express an emotion, appreciate the simple beauty of a flower, write a love letter to a loved one, write a love letter to yourself, make a beautiful meal as a sacred act, dance, make jewelry, or upcycle clothes.

Listen for the inspiration and truths that come to you, as you engage and flow into your creativity, the more you nurture this the more that water element can flow.

5. You are your own healer.

Become your own expert—your own healer. No one knows how to take care of your body as well as you do. Study and delve into other medicines and modalities such as Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naturopathy, yoga, meditation, and Herbalism.

As a healed hypochondriac, I can say that my hypochondria stemmed from not being able to accept the mainstream health narrative; it terrified me to think there were incurable illnesses and that your body could apparently just give up out of nowhere. Finding empowerment through other healing modalities, and becoming my own expert through a deep connection to my body—through meditation and energy practices—completely changed my life.

I am, of course, not advocating to ignore or not listen to medical advice, but having only one narrative creates an imbalance and never resonated as a way of truly caring for my body. Empowerment means knowing you have options, and have the ability to choose from one of those options. 

Here are some of my favourite empowering health and lifestyle resources:

Superfeast, Kim Anami, Wim Hoff, Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay and Susun Weed. They all offer fantastic informative videos, podcasts, and other resources.

These anchors are a practice—a recurring return to self—to find who you really are.

Remember you are powerful beyond measure. You are meant to be here now; no matter how hard it may be. You have the power to overcome.

Find the tools to support you, find beauty in the fragility of life, and you will emerge empowered, strong, and anchored.

There is great change occurring—we need to find our unchanging anchors.

~

Sources:

Wishes Fulfilled: by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer.

The Chakra Handbook: by Shalila Sharamon and Bodo J. Baginski

*Authors Note: I hope that I am using the correct term and language when I refer to Aboriginal Australians and First Nations people. I wish to be culturally sensitive and aware in utilising this wisdom as I understand First Nations people are often voiceless and I intend to share this with reverence. Please let me know if I can improve in any way.