This week I planned to take a break from the Friday Letters and instead pause and reflect on the past 12 issues I’ve sent you.
But as I’ll explain, yesterday took on a different flow, so here I am writing to you!
If you’re signed up to my Go Slow Friday Letter then you’ll have been receiving a fresh story every week sharing guidance on practices from Eastern Medicine to support your wellbeing. The Goa Sessions – Meditate with Me also brought you short meditation videos filmed out in nature at my favourite locations around south Goa.
This week I swapped the palm-fringed beaches of Goa for the cool mountain air of Dharamsala – the Dalai Lama’s spiritual home. The change of scenery also made it feel like a natural ‘break’ – a time to sink into the new vistas and vibes of north India.
“Without space for healing, without time for reflection, without an opportunity to surrender, we risk a complete disconnect from the authentic self.” *
Last week I wrote about moving through life’s in-between stages and shared acupressure points that help to ease any anxiety arising from the unpredictability of change. This week’s post will assist you with settling into the new stage as it unfolds.
It’s also a lesson in trusting that we usually know exactly what we need – we just need to give ourselves the time and space to figure things out. Then we can use our innate healing abilities to stimulate the change we need.
Grounding in nature, re-connecting to self
Yesterday the weather and my energy levels combined to allow a walk to the Bhagsu Waterfalls. The icy cold clear water flows straight off the Himalaya. Perched on a rock next to the flowing water with the sun warming my back, I finally ‘landed’ in Dharamsala. Body, mind and spirit felt happily connected.
The sound of the water helped me drop into a quiet effortless meditation. My hands rested on the rock and slowly drifted to my feet, moving intuitively to Kidney 1 acupressure point on the sole of the foot (see video below).
I started working the point, pressing gentle on the exhale, breathing in, pressing again, and visualised a stream of energy moving from the earth and into my body via this ‘foot gate’. As my foot started to tingle, a sensation that moved up my leg, I realised this sense of flow and the support of Earth energy was exactly what I needed.
Can you give yourself the time and space to let your hands move intuitively, press gently wherever they settle and see (with the eyes of the heart) what happens?
(Don’t forget your healing hands! The Laogong is a powerful point in the centre of your palms.)
Using Kidney 1 (Yong Guan)
Use it for: more energy, aliveness and clarity. It moves energy away from the head, clearing away fogginess, calming emotions and headaches, and invites physical comfort.
How: work the point on both feet daily for a few minutes, alternately pressing and tapping. Your feet will love the massage too!
This wood point of the Kidney meridian gives our energy strength, forward movement and fresh vision. Try to embody a sense of soul depth and willpower, like a deep, warm, strong ocean, so that this transmits through your hands when working this point. This is the healthy resonance of the Kidney meridian.
“The Chinese say that although outside influences may hamper us, true movement comes from within ourselves and from our innermost spring. When we learn to tap into this spring it gives us gifts of knowledge and tranquility. By finding this source within we can find our own wisdom and creativity that can refresh our vision so life can flow with power, purity and without fear. In this virant spring water we can be bathed in rejuvenating, refreshing and cleansing pure waters. Yong Guan gives us a burst of vibrant spring waters.” **
Sources:
* Jeff Brown: Hearticulations – On love, friendship and healing
** Debra Kaatz: Characters of Wisdom
