|
I’ve been doing this detox home practice for the last 7 years and it has become an essential mid-year reset that helps me disrupt old and limiting patterns and establish new practices for coming back into healing and wholeness.
It can feel impossible to find space to heal in the midst of so much turmoil and suffering. I have the impulse to escape the chaotic and uncertain reality of the world all the time. But learning how to find regulation and refuge from wherever we are is one of the most valuable (and necessary) practices right now.
When we create the space and the conditions for healing inside of our daily lives, we build the capacity and creativity to respond to whatever is arising with discipline and grace. We learn how to practice boundaries, ask for what we need, create ritual spaces and design our own journey of detox and recovery.
Here is what I've learned along the way about how to build a home practice:
Lower the bar. I know this seems counter-intuitive in a culture that worships progress, but if you want a practice that is going to last, you need to start simple. Practice isn't any more or less impactful if it is longer in duration or more challenging in execution. Practice just is. Consider setting aside 30 minutes each morning to simply be with yourself. And then let the rest emerge.
Make an inviting space. I know now that if I take the time to design and set up my space with things that nourish me, I'm more likely to go there to practice. Consider what would be comfortable (bolsters, rugs, heaters), soothing (essential oils, crystals, poetry, books), sacred (tokens, nature, medicine) and supportive (music, journal, pictures of loved ones).
Let go and listen. Often I approach my practice with an idea of what i want or should do. But when I listen - really listen - my body often tells me something different. Lately I begin each practice in embodied inquiry. I ask "what do you need?" and let my body lead.
Bring in the sacred. The only thing I have found that stops the spin and grounds the frequency of (constant) anxiety is to remember that I am a part of something bigger than myself. That I am not the first nor I am the last in my line. And that the only way through is together. So bring in your guides, call forth your ancestors, put your feet in the dirt, burn your fears, voice your affirmations and know that you are held.
Be consistent. It does not matter what your practice looks like or even feels like. There is no one-way to practice. There is simply returning to yourself over and over and over again. For me this looks like waking up before dawn and sitting quietly with the waking world. Sometimes I write, sometimes I move my body, sometimes I watch the sun rise...and sometimes I lay in a fetal position on my mat. But it doesn't matter what I DO. It just matters that I make space and show up...for whatever.
Next week, we're building a home practice together. For seven days, we will move together, grapple together and rise together as we make our journey through the chakras and towards liberation. Join me👇
|
