My Top 5 Ways To Self Soothe
We have now officially entered spring in my neck of the woods
Spring break is over for schools in BC and a new season is in full bloom. Blossoms & sneezes are plentiful. Balancing time for my work with family adventures during breaks offers lessons in asking for help that never seem to end.
Nowruz celebrations have come & gone and Easter chocolates quietly rolled through our home. I slowly enter the dreaded birthday and deathday season - my turning of years aligns with my father’s transition from this planet. Now symbolizing rebirth more strongly than ever, early April has become both a beautiful + grief-ful time.
Spring represents yang energy, the planting of seeds and flexibility as we move forward with whatever came to us in the darkness of winter. But at this turn of seasons, I have mostly felt exhaustion. Perhaps because we were cheated of a real winter. Eerily mild weather percolated our entire winter and my body felt confused. It still wants to hibernate. I’m still needing my soothing practices of winter.
Rather than dwell on why I feel like I’m bearing the weight of the world, I’m allowing the feels, asking for help in coping, resting more AND I’m noticing a graceful flow through the waves!!
My top 5 soothing rituals
Here are ways that I support my body & mind. I work on staying soft so that I can be lovingly discerning out in the world. In the AM: cleansing breaths + hip openers. In the PM: legs up the wall + eyes covered. All the time: loving-kindness meditations.
Below are 5 tools that have been my daily lifeline. View the longer video with examples here.
1 Legs up the wall
2 Thread the needle
3 Cathartic breaths - love this practice
4 Covering eyes
5 Loving kindness meditation
Bonus: Ask for help - how I’m doing it
Do tell - what has helped you endure this wild winter?
What practices are going to shape your spring? What can you commit to?
It’s important and understandable that the practices we rely on for soothing and tending to our bodies change. Just as the season changes, so too can your rituals - let them adjust to what your energy levels need.
