Hello Fellow Body-Mind-Hearts –

Rhythm is fundamental to our wellbeing and our sense of wholeness. We are rhythmic beings that form from and in liquid, with a deep sense of wave motion in our cells. We learn music from the play of the rivers and rain and other bodies of water all around us. Organic life inherently undulates and sways through cycles of birthing, living and dying. So, nurturing and restoring our inherent and natural rhythms is key to living a juicy and present life.

Our lives unfold at a faster and faster pace all the time, especially for those of us living in big cities. The speed of communication and technology is dizzying.  The speed of transportation, particularly air travel, is boggling to the cells of our body and is truly amazing to the mind if we truly consider it. The gifts of this speed are many…being able to connect instantly with family around the world, landing in a distant location in just a matter of hours, and accessing remarkable amounts of information instantly.  And yet the impacts of such speed are not always healthy. We are resonate beings and tend to sync up with the speed around us and start to impose this on our insides. But our biological rhythms are slower and less frenetic when in equilibrium. If we ignore this understating it is to our detriment as we will burn out, feel overwhelmed and push ourselves into misery and illness of various types. When are are in sync with ourselves then we feel more whole and true in all parts of us. 

So how do we nourish our inside rhythms so we can meet the outside movement of life? How can we be true to ourselves and true to the requirements of our work, family and more? This inquiry is at the heart of all spiritual practices and is of particular interest to those of us who see the body and all its trillions of cells as a portal into a deep wisdom of presence. By tending the physical pulse of our aliveness as it shows up in our organs, fluids and more, we honor and re-inhabit our essential presence and can better meet the intensity of the world. Finding ways (places/practices/people) who help us slow down and notice when we feel settled and whole is critical for our well being. Investigating and learning what our honest and true rhythms are will allows us to make choices about how we move through the world and how we can stay vibrant.

When you arrive home from work, perhaps feeling exhausted or agitated or sometimes both, what do you do to tend for yourself? A walk in the woods or a few minutes of sitting with your feet on the ground and your hand on your heart or some gentle rocking and movement are some ways to start to settle back into the slower biological rhythm of you…your home tempo.
When you you feel jostled by an encounter or an event what might you do to be able to metabolize and move through it? Gently opening and closing your hands, feet, legs and arms a few times can gently invite a healing pulse back into your system. Receiving come craniosacral work or going through a slow and respectful movement practice can also start to shift us from discord to harmony.

Here are some simple ways that help me to regulate and find my rhythm…consciously leaving space in my calendar for no commitments, small seaweed motions through my spine anytime of day, listening and moving to soothing music, noticing when I am irritated, agitated and/or not feeling myself and taking a few minutes to notice my surroundings and the rhythm of my breath, making choices for my outer schedule that support my inner sense of wellbeing. When I feel pressure to get this blog post out on the New Moon every month I also endeavor to give myself some leeway if my timing is a little different than the moons…like this month and the last:)
What are some of the ways you settle, regulate and find your inner tempo?

Rhythm Blessing…
May we tend and nourish our authentic rhythms.
By doing so may others be invited to find theirs. 
May we dance the truth of our souls into the world. 
May our rhythm be felt by those around us as an invitation to authentic presence and resonance. 

Practice Prompts:

• Lie on the ground with some padding like a yoga mat or blanket and gently roll side to side a few times. Pause. Repeat several more times perhaps in slightly different variations of shape. Pausing and noticing how you feel inside regularly.
• If you’re feeling pressured and pushed gently rock and sway through your spine for a few minutes and notice what you feel and how you respond to the pressure from this liquid wisdom.
• Visit a body of water and spend some time allowing your body to listen and feel the rhythm of the water body and find recognition and wisdom.
• Book a Resiliency Session with me and we can explore many different ways to find and sustain your innate rhythm and broaden your capacity to meet the speed of the world.

Upcoming Practice Opportunities:

• Continuum Inquiry Playshop…Monday, December 9, 7-9pm
• Full Moon Mandala Practice…Thursday, December 12, 7-8:30pm
• Yoga Nidra Practice…Sunday, December 15, 5:30-7pm
• Annual New Years Day Practice…Wednesday, January 1, 10am-12pm

Inspirational Wisdom:

Bell Song

Ah, the body.  It is a great
bronze bell.  It looks solid
inert, asleep, it hangs there
something no breeze even tips
something no casual touch can wake.

But when it moves/when it is rung
the sound waves pass through the walls
it vibrates down into bedrock
the air itself rolls in surges
that make the bones resound.

For awhile everything is realigned
new magnetic poles in the spine
and the fingertips.  Then the body
tells, this is what I am for.
Peal me again, again, again.

~ Marge Piercy