Rebecca Berke, BCH, shares some ways to ground yourself and feel calm in uncertain times.
I can imagine, if you are like me, you are living with a plethora of fears, anxieties, and uncertainty that does come with a global pandemic. In facing real danger and the tragedy of loss, we must honor the intelligence of these feelings. We can meet them with as much mindfulness, gentleness, and compassion as we can.
Many of us are maintaining social distance by staying at home in our order of “Shelter in Place”. It does allow us time and space (just enough) to take note of what is going on inside of our bodies and minds. Here is a simple way to stay in tune with our wisdom and calm comfort that is within all of us.
Simple Exercise to Tune into Calm Comfort
- Sit and notice where you are.
- Look around and see what is out the windows and also what you see close by you.
- Notice if there are sounds near and far.
- Bring your attention back to your chair and your body in the chair.
- Notice where you feel supported… your back, backs of your legs, feet on the floor, etc.
- If comfortable let eyes close down or just have a soft gaze and breathe inside yourself.
- Not trying to control or change the breath but just breathe.
- Notice the breath in and then the breath out.
- See if the shoulders can relax a little more.
- Unclench the jaw…. let the cheeks soften and the teeth part slightly.
- Soften your hands if they are clenched and relax them just where they are.
- Notice if there is calm in the body and where you might feel it. Perhaps your feet are calm…
- Breathe into that space and see if it can spread to other parts as well to get an all-over felt sense of calm.
- Take as much time as you wish to feel calm.
Anchor this Calm and Comfortable Feeling
- Notice the calm feeling and take a few breaths to really tune into it.
- To connect this feeling in the body ….Anchor the mind and body together with a mudra such as the thumb and index finger (like the ancient meditators), gently clasped hands, hand on the leg or whatever feels good and easy to do.
- The mind and body are working together for a sense of calm.
The Practice to Anchor
- Take a few breaths and do Anchoring movement to bring that sense of calm. The mind memory will take that feeling into the mind and body. It will inform the moment to the place of calm that is within your mind and body.
- Doing this practice throughout the day (about 5 times) strengthens the mind/body connection to a real sense of calm clarity in the moment.
- If we take care of each moment then we are better able to sustain our calm clarity to any situation that arises.
So along with the difficulty of these times, we have the amazing possibility to greet it with our compassion, wisdom and kind intention. We are living with the unknown, fear and loss. Everyone is struggling hard. As we calm ourselves we create an energy of caring for and to ourselves that has an effect for good to all. This connection to Self allows us to savor the beauty around us, of spring and the joy of openhearted awareness of others.
Be Well ….and may you practice Calm Comfort.
With deep care and a warm heart,
Rebecca
