During the COVID lockdown I’m sure most of us have done some form of decluttering or cleaning up around the house! I love doing this and I do it often, even without a pandemic. It’s amazing how living more minimally and having our material things organised improves not just our physical body but also our mental and emotional health. Plus it makes space for new and amazing things, opportunities - and relationships, to come into our life.
Our minds can get pretty full and cluttered too and it’s one of the biggest issues we are faced with today. Over stimulation, instant gratification and encouraging a sense of ‘busyness’ can lead to a busy and messy mind.
Just like our home, our mind needs organising too - like filing away documents and shredding ones we no longer need - which always feels so good! Writing has helped me so much and it's a clever way to see repetitive patterns of thinking. It’s also great for getting the to-do’s and emotional worries out of our head - especially before bed time and if you are prone to overthink at night and have un-restful sleep. If you are the creative type or have amazing world changing ideas when you're supposed to be sleeping, write them down too! Have a book near your bed. It's so satisfying knowing those great thoughts are waiting for you on a fresh day when you have time to dive deep into them and bring them to life. All of my passion projects have been created by years of ideas written down in journals and books specifically dedicated to 'ideas' or little notes then filed away in manila folders for when I was ready. It's an incredible way of manifesting.
I also use a tool where I try to take a step back from my thoughts and move them from my inner body out a little further so they seem just in front of me - they’re still mine ofcourse, they’re just not ‘in’ me. This can help to ‘view’ thoughts and be more of an observer rather than have them run around in circles in our head. A client calls it ‘making imaginary sticky notes’ which I love!
For grounding down I do a ‘box breath’ - using counting and the breath to quieten and clear the mind. Breathing in deep for a count of 3, holding for 3, exhaling from the belly up and out for 3 and holding for 3. Then working on increasing the counts - whatever you feel comfortable with on the day. A quick and very effective way to calm the nervous system is to lengthen the exhales (so longer exhale and exhale hold counts then the inhale ones) - which is also great for when we feel anxious or overwhelmed.
Then try adding an earthing technique to this by standing up - feet shoulder width apart - planted and strongly supported by the ground - breathe in deep pulling up energy or an imaginary golden liquid or white light through your feet to fill your body, and on the exhale moving anything you don’t need into the earth out through your feet. You can imagine this as smoke or a dirty coloured light. Move in a flow and you will find this is so beneficial and very grounding. This is really powerful and with time you will be able to move into this technique quite quickly. You can think of having roots growing out of your feet and moving into the ground. I also like to use an imaginary sound - like the ones on nature documentaries where they do the sped up clips of a plant growing. The sound is incredible when the roots move into the earth, and surprisingly it is really helpful to imagine this. Tap your roots into the ground and release anything you no longer need then refill your roots - like a plant would with water and nutrients, and feel recharged from mama earth.
I hope you find these tips helpful and incorporate them into your wellness toolbox.
with love,
Miriam x