Hello Dear Kin  –

Anybody feeling seriously pushed and pulled by life right now? Perhaps finding it challenging to feel grounded or rooted? Any feelings of being untethered? I am. For me it feels like the currents are swirling in all directions and it’s a little hard to find center, ground, steadiness. There are the currents that are particular to my life and circumstance and also the larger surges of the collective angst and grief. So I have been leaning in to learn from my kelp sisters about how to stay anchored in the storm.

Seaweed has what is known as a holdfast. This is their root system that secures them to the bottom of the ocean around a rock or boulder. This allows them to stay rooted even as they move and dance with the changing currents and tides. This seems like a potent teaching for our times. What is it that anchors us when being pushed and pulled? What or who helps us reclaim ground when we feel heady and anxious? Where do we go to settle and find support? 

It might seem simplistic but I have found that the simple act of bringing awareness into my feet or whatever part of me is in contact with the ground is helpful. It can remind me that I am indeed held fast to the planet by the soft and powerful anchor of gravity. That there is support there, truly. Then, I can even play with my imaginal wisdom to feel and see a taproot or stipe (the part of the kelp that is similar to the stem of a plant) that drops into the earth and finds a place to anchor. I notice when I do this that I often take a deeper breath and settle a little.

What feels most potent to me about the seaweed teaching is that the holdfast is an anchor that allows the rest of the being to dance, move and respond to the buffeting of currents and waves. That it offers support to then be responsive and move without being uprooted or lost. And without being rigid and breaking.

Some of my holdfasts are my morning practices of tea, movement and sitting. Touching base daily with folks who can hold the a lot-ness of life…mine, theirs and the collective. Literally feeling the ground support me. Reading historical fiction (usually set in the UK). Walking and dipping and being with the water. Prayer. Offering support to another. (I have a friend who is a very visible social activist and as a result gets a lot of push back and shit for speaking truth to power. She recently put together a Signal group of friends and colleagues who she could lean into when things get rough. It is a beautiful thing to witness and be a part of this circle of belonging and rooting. It anchors me too!)

So, what are your holdfasts?

May we pause and notice the support that is inherently here for us

May we engage with those beings and activities that root us and nourish us

May we find ways to dance and move with the intensity of life

May we bring wild blessings and fierce love to all we encounter

Practice Prompts:

• Practice finding ground and making a holdfast for yourself. Notice where your body meets the earth and feel her support. Imagine a line, stipe, tether dropping and finding a place to grab and secure you. Play with this awareness throughout your day and see how it impacts or changes you and your responses to life. Be creative and find your unique way of anchoring.
• Make a commitment to leaning into the places and people who are your anchors and support. The ones who help you remember who you are and can hold all the feels with you. Who can hold you and in that holding allow you to return and respond to the next wave.
• Find images of holdfasts, roots, anchors and ground that reflect and help you feel this in your body. Dance with these images. Put them where you can see-feel them. Allow them to teach you.
• I offer one to one sessions, in-person in Bend, Oregon, and virtually all over the world. These sessions are centered on supporting you find nervous system capacity and resiliency through various practices including but not limited to Somatic Experiencing®, Continuum Inquiry, Safe and Sound Protocol and various emboding practices.  Please email me or schedule a free 20 minute Exploratory Session.

Practice Opportunities:

• Yoga for Resilience, Mondays, 9:30-11am PT, livestream through Body of Insight (no class June 16, 30, July 7)
• All Levels Yoga, Sundays…June 22, July 13, Aug 17, Aug 31, 9:30-11am PT, livestream through Two Dog Yoga
• On Demand Yoga Practices…All Levels… through Two Dog Yoga

Inspirational Wisdom:

Anything that is not love
is only a visitor to your body.

You are not anxious,
stress is simply flowing through you.

You are not permanently depressed,
sadness is simply visiting you.

You are not lost,
confusion is simply wandering within you.

And you are not broken,
pain is simply passing through you.

Words by Tahlia Hunter (you can find her on Facebook)
Inspired by the poem by Rumi “This being human is a guesthouse”