Communicate Calm to your Nervous System during Uncertain Times.
FEELING OVERWHELMED AND ANXIOUS DURING COVID19 LOCKDOWN?
LET SHARON EXPLAIN HOW YOU CAN COMMUNICATE CALM TO YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM DURING UNCERTAIN TIMES.
VIEW THE MEDITATION VIDEO COMPANION TO THIS POST
For those of us who are in Melbourne, we find ourselves once again in lockdown due to COVID19. These times are very uncertain and unsettling for us but in this second round of lockdown I am choosing to call it a ‘hibernation’. For me, the term ‘hibernation’ allows me to get my head around our circumstances and to see it as part of the changeable and fluid rhythm that is inherent in our experience of life. It is a term that reflects the natural cycles, seasons and transitions that surround us and helps me remember that life is tidal – that we rise and fall, ebb and flow, expand and contract, that life is always changing.
‘Life is tidal, … life is always changing.’
During these times of transition and change, it is normal to feel overwhelmed, groundless and out of control, and experience physical responses such as our heart racing uncontrollably, the mind overthinking and ruminating, stress hormones surging through the body, and the body feeling physically tense and anxious. But we do have a tool in our back pocket that we can use at any time to support us through these times of change – and that tool is the breath. The respiratory system is one of the only systems of the body that we have conscious control over, and we can use this system to help us down-regulate other systems of the body, such as the nervous, digestive, cardiovascular system, and endocrine systems, that are heightened in response to stressful and challenging circumstances.
I also love the idea that the breath is our personal connection to the cycles of life, that the expansion and contraction of the breath is a reflection of the larger rhythmic patterns of life around us. In many ancient traditions it is believed the breath is the vehicle of the soul, that when we are born and when we die the soul enters and leaves the body via the breath. How fortunate are we to have this respiration system that quietens and soothes the other systems of the body, helps us experience that natural rhythms of life and gives us a pathway back home into our body again and again.
‘…our breath is our personal connection to the cycles of life…’
In the video companion to this post, I have included a meditation which I hope you will find helpful in accessing your own natural breath and give you your very own inner source of support to help you respond to life’s twists and turns with calm, ease and skill.
Drop me a line and let me know how you go with the meditation. I am also here to answer any questions you may have about the practice – please do not hesitate to get in touch.
If you would like more support with your home practice then I would so love you to join my private home practice community where you can access videos, resources and ideas to support you along the home practice path.
JOIN ‘FIND YOUR CALM – A HOME PRACTICE COMMUNITY’ HERE
Take care dear friend, stay safe and breathe.
With love,
Sharon
xxx