Prioritizing healing

Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it.” – Tori Amos 

Just when I thought I had fully transitioned into my new schedule, my body had other plans! I’ve been sick for days, and have been forced to spend lots of time under a blanket on the couch. The sickness has been a good reminder that going through major transitions takes a toll on your body, even when you can’t feel it at first.

In the spirit of healing, this seems like a great time to share some of the mind-clearing / stress-reducing techniques I mentioned last week.

My theme of last week was remaining open to newness – new experiences, new ways of thinking, a new schedule, new connections. I had to ride out an initial wave of discomfort about suddenly no longer having the security of a 9-5 job, and thankfully that wave has started to pass. To help move beyond the discomfort, I’ve gotten to work on a marketing plan and started to chart out my goals for 2015 in addition to filling new orders (thank you! thank you!).

Matted art prints ready to be shipped

And now: trying new things! If you’ve tried anything from this list, I’d love to hear about your experience.

Meditation

I’ve heard about the benefits of meditation for years and have dabbled a little bit, but I was always afraid that I was meditating incorrectly. My mind often wandered, I would fidget, and I could never last more than a few minutes without opening my eyes. My new approach is to stop being so hard on myself! My mind still wanders sometimes. I still fidget and open my eyes. Now I just pick back up where I left off, close my eyes, and refocus. I’m currently only meditating for 10 minutes each morning before I start working, but I can feel the difference in my mood and concentration.

I had my first introduction to meditation through Deepak Chopra and Oprah, who periodically offer a 21 day meditation challenge online (it’s free! check out more details here).

Journaling 

Before I meditate each morning, I clear my mind of any dreams, thoughts, anxieties, and concerns and record them into a journal. Amazing. I’ve already had a few mini revelations about myself based on having a record of my dreams to reflect back on. I’ve always loved to journal, but again – I have never made writing a daily priority. I only write in the journal for 5-10 minutes, but the impact feels beautiful and important.

Emotional Freedom Technique (or: Tapping)

I met Karen Berzanski through my business program, and she has a new business focused on guiding people towards pain-free living using EFT (you can find her at her website, here). About a week ago we met on video chat for a long-distance tapping session and I was so intrigued by how much anxiety and stress had drained out of me by the time our session was complete. If you’ve never heard of tapping, check out her introduction video for all of the basics.

Reiki 

Reiki is a healing technique based on the principle that a practitioner can channel energy into a patient to activate natural healing, stress relief, and relaxation. I tried an intuitive reading and long-distance Reiki session with Sandrine Daubord, a healer through my program.  The session nearly brought me to tears a few times, and I left the experience feeling very supported.

Sage Smudging 

In my Reiki session, Sandrine suggested that I clear any lingering negative energy in my apartment through smudging. Smudging is a common term for a cleansing technique from the Native American tradition, where you purify the energy of a room with the smoke of selected herbs. I happened to have sage sticks (a very serendipitous parting gift from a coworker/friend when I left my job), so I gave it a try. The act of walking from room to room and asking for our space to be blessed felt pretty powerful.

Self-care

The biggest message I’ve been receiving lately is that we can’t ignore our own self-care. We just can’t. Beyond trying to nurse myself back to health, I’ve also been practicing gratitude daily. Right now, I’m feeling very grateful that my heart has been open to trying these methods of healing, as each has provided a unique and unexpected form of release.

If you have any additional methods of relaxing, healing, and rehabilitating that have worked for you, share in the comments!

Here’s to answering the calls of our own healing and growth,