Last year I facilitated an online group for the participants of the Embodying Elements Movement Immersion. Quite simply, our bodies wanted more.
We started with EARTH. Our ground. Our base.
What immediately became clear was how deeply our bodies long to reconnect to the qualities earth holds ~ the steadiness, the silence, the unending presence that exists without the linear tick-tock of time, without the urgency to act, without the turmoil of emotion. The way our lives are designed today ~ to do, create, act, decide, pro-act, look forward, plan ahead, produce ~ disconnects us from earth with astonishing and painful efficiency.
We are left craving earth from the very core of our cells.
It seems we must reach a point of depletion before we feel our bodies’ yearning to access and feel earth qualities. Qualities that nourish, support, and heal, when we tend to them.
EARTH…
~ Generates
~ Holds
~ Supports
~ Gives
~ Heals
EARTH is…
~ Stable.
~ Ever-present.
~ Consistent.
~ Generous.
~ Persistent.
~ Profound.
EARTH…
~ is simple.
~ holds deep silence.
~ contains vital power.
When we let our feet intimately touch the ground, we can sink into the ever-present depths of Earth’s nourishment. When we awaken Earth’s qualities in our own bodies, we can trust our resilience, even when life shakes us up or disrupts our sense of well-being.
When we generate a flow of earth, time opens endlessly and we sense the full potential of life. We instinctually take care of our needs. We have a strong container for our emotional life. We effortlessly know when to act and when to rest.
Earth is simply waiting for us to sink in and remember.
Simple reconnection
In this very simple guided practice, we’ll use breath, rhythmic repetition and the ground to generate a flow of earth in our bodies. It’s a 10-minute practice. Try it every day for one week. Take note of the flow. Notice how your body holds and becomes the very nature of Earth.
(The exercise is in two parts, one of which will have you in child’s pose for several minutes. If your body is unable to sustain this position, find a place to sit, where you can easily touch earth and rest your forehead on your hands (possible on a table) and settle into gravity.)