Amidst the holiday hustle and bustle, remember to take time to care for yourself. Just a few minutes a day can help you stay balanced and maintain body-mind-soul integrity. Here are some of my favorite techniques for grounding and centering.
1. Shaking the Bones is an exercise that Dr. Ann Marie Chiasson, M.D. suggests to help relieve stress and release emotions. You can see a video of Chiasson demonstrating the technique on Dr. Weil’s website, but basically the exercise is as follows: Put on music with a good beat. As you stand upright, imagine a cord going from the crown of your head up to the sky, holding you up. Allow your neck to relax so your head falls forward. Relax the rest of your body. Close your eyes and bounce gently at the knees while you shake your arms and upper body. Do this for five to fifteen minutes, unless the exercise becomes intense or uncomfortable, in which case stop, open your eyes and stand still. Chiasson recommends doing this exercise to start your day, to clear yourself before bed at night or after any difficult experience. A more complete description can be found in Chiasson’s book Energy Healing: The Essentials of Self-Care. I will confess that I occasionally experience knee pain after doing this exercise – I probably need to bounce more gently – so after doing this technique, I follow with the toe tapping technique below which seems to relieve the knee pain.
2. Toe Tapping is another technique from Dr. Ann Marie Chiasson’s book. Helpful for anxiety and insomnia, this exercise is an adaptogen that assists in balancing your energy system by boosting your energy when it’s low and calming you when you’re anxious. Below is a video demonstration of the technique in a sitting position; however I prefer to do this technique lying down.
3. Moving of Yin and Yang is a Spring Forest Qigong exercise developed by Qigong Master Chunyi Lin. The exercise is a moving meditation that opens the energy channels in the body and supports physical, mental and spiritual healing and well-being.
4. HeartMath techniques have been developed by the HeartMath Institute to help reduce stress and overwhelm by accessing the intelligence of the heart. The HeartMath Institute has done fascinating research on the connection between the brain and the heart and the importance of coherence which occurs when the heart, mind and emotions are aligned. I highly recommend poking around their website to learn more (https://www.heartmath.org), but below is a video that describes one of their basic techniques.
Of course, a Healing Touch session is another powerful way to deeply relax and come into alignment and balance. Contact me for more information or to make an appointment.
Peace and love,
Lelia
Further reading:
Chiasson, Ann Marie, M.D., Energy Healing: The Essentials of Self-Care
Childre, Doc Lew and Howard Martin, The HeartMath Solution: The Institue of HeartMath's Revolutionary Program for Engaging the Power of the Heart's Intelligence
Lin, Chunyi and Gary Rebstock, Born a Healer: I Was Born a Healer and You Were Born a Healer, Too!