Find your self crashing?
I’ve had you on my mind.
There is so much going on right now in this world- its impossible to list it all- its different for you and me but all in all its fair to say that each of us has “a lot going on.” So whether you are going through the experience of parenting a toddler, another round of chemotherapy, your first radiation, studying for final exams, moving back home, moving away from home, seeing a therapist for the first time, dating, living alone, feeling tested, questioning choices in your life, or even feeling just fine but a bit stuck… using this concept can help to get you back into your body and take on a perspective that allows for healing in all senses of the word.
I had my teacher say something this last week that spoke to me so deeply I had to share- maybe you need it as much as I did?
“When you feel your life crumbling, crashing…. go deep…” - Guru Singh
Guru Singh is an incredible Kundalini yoga master and in our training we talk a lot about the wave of time… each moment we find ourselves on different “parts” of the wave… its humbling to actually sit and think about a single moment of time and how each moment can be broken down into smaller parts and pieces for us to take in and understand our role and our presence in each and every moment of our lives.
Bringing awareness to our moments actually expands the moment itself.
But this crashing concept… when you feel your life crashing…. go deep. This is just like a wave coming in from the ocean onto the shore…. in the middle of the ocean the waves just keep rolling, they don’t crash in the deep… so what is it about the shore that causes the wave to crash? Well its the deep water coming into contact with the shallow shoreline. Its not as deep on the shoreline as it is in the middle of the ocean. The shallowness causes the wave to crash… then it goes back out to sea and begins again.
Just like in the ocean… when we find our world crashing, we are experiencing that moment of life from a perspective that may actually be too shallow, too “surface level”… even for that very moment. It can help instantly to go deep. Go within. Take the moment to get deeper into this situation, whatever it may be. So often we get into our daily routines and habits and don’t actually realize we’re living more in shallow water than we’d realized… then we find ourselves crashing for a moment. Or moment after moment.
So what does going deep look like?
For me, surfacing or having a more “shallow” perspective usually means I’m “In my head”… I’m worrying, planning, judging myself (or a situation or person?) maybe and I’m missing the entire moment itself, I’m just THINKING about my life instead of actually LIVING my life. I’m hearing more “shoulds” or “coulds” as opposed to being tuned into that inner guidance that just feels “right.” As Guru Singh says, “The mind does not want to be silenced, it wants to be equaled.” To get out of your mind, take your awareness DEEPER. Go into your breath, Go into your Body, and tie it all together with a deep experience of gratitude. Welcome to the solace that resides DEEP within your very being.
My moment to moment “Going Deep” practice looks a bit like this:
Starts with breath… stepping into the witness… and returning to gratitude-
Shallow breathing is what our body naturally does when we are in the fight or flight response, when we are “ready” (caffeinated, sleep deprived, over worked, on edge)…. our breathing gets shallow and quick, this naturally raises your heart rate and your blood pressure, as well as all hormones involved.
Turn your attention to your belly. Inhale deep into your belly. PULL the breath all the way into the bottom of your lungs by pushing the belly out with each breath, and then contracting the belly in on each exhale.
After you belly breathe for a good 5-10 breaths, start embracing the breath for a few more seconds at the very top of your inhale….. visualize getting all of the oxygen from that very breath, every single molecule thats available for you to pick up, take it, receive it into your body…. then when you need to, let it go…. the more oxygen you take in from each breath, the more carbon dioxide you can give to the plants and trees around you. Fascinating really.
Step into your witness mode-
This may be a surprise to you if you have never heard this before… but YOU are NOT your thoughts!!! You are NOT your mind. You HAVE a mind. You HAVE thoughts in your mind. But your mind thinks thoughts INVOLUNTARILY… just like your heart BEATS involuntarily. (to quote Emily Fletcher)
Simply take a step back from the thoughts running in your head and just take a note- either a mental note or actually jot them down freestyle- as to what is actually floating around in there at that very moment… Its incredible when I do this and everything from work to my to-do list to questioning my parenting to fear of death arises seemingly within the same 2 seconds.
Smile and nod at your acknowledging of whats going on in there. Drop the expectation to “quiet” your mind, and instead cultivate your ability to place your awareness elsewhere- your body, your breath, a mantra even … you’re turning the volume down on the head brain, and turning the volume up on your heart and body centers which hold your truth deep within every moment.
We are not searching for answers. Have faith that your next best step in that moment will come. We are creating space for you to remember that you HAVE a choice in the moment. We are giving your body and brain permission to dial down your sympathetic nervous system, and amplify the flow of your parasympathetic nervous system… essentially your pathway to “deep.”
Follow with a few notes of GRATITUDE or appreciation- Even just saying these outloud will gently and quickly raise your frequency and reset your perception. The central channel in the body through which our energy flows is called the “gratitude line”… Bring yourself back to your Center- Deep within. Give gratitude that is big or small. For anything. For your breath. For your body. For your shoes. For whatever pops up. This is not a thinking activity- this is a feeling sensation. This is a visceral moment. Go deep. How does your heart rate slow as you FEEL your gratitude? How does your body respond to this experience of truly receiving your breath and offering thanks? How does this one moment of time going deep into your body, into your wisdom, into your power compare to the one that came before it?
I’m right here with you on the journey to Deep. Sending YOU so much love today.
Jess