These Practices Will Keep Your Mind Calm, Cool, and Centered
The peak energy season has arrived ~ happy summer solstice!
The fire season of early summer is one of my favorite times of the year, as the sun stays up late, everything is in bloom, the hummingbirds are back, and I'm swimming as much as possible (once it warms up here in the northeast!).
However, one thing to watch out for is the excessive rising energy that can make your heart beat faster, and a feeling of anxiety or mania can arise with this elevated energy. This is very normal, as when the energy is at its peak in the natural world, we too are affected, as we are part of nature.
Just this morning, I was feeling it. It felt like I was nervous for no reason. So I sat on my meditation cushion and knew I needed to move the rising fire chi (energy) from my head down to my lower dantien, or lower abdomen, where we store our chi.
In Chinese medicine, the rule of thumb for balanced energy is water above, fire below. We want to maintain a cool, calm water-energy mind and a warm, fiery abdomen to keep our digestion and kidneys warm so they can run optimally.
We are born with this balance, as you'll see babies with watery heads, lots of tears and saliva, and warm bellies that rise and fall when they breathe. But as we age, it can reverse, becoming hot-headed with stress and anxiety, and a weak digestion and kidney function as our bodies become cold.
Specific breathwork can help restore balance. This morning, I started with a minute of breath of fire, focusing on pumping my navel back to my spine and visualizing a ball of fire under my navel that I was pumping chi into, stoking the abdominal fire to build it up and ground me.
Then, after a few moments of deep, slow abdominal breathing, I started the fire path/water wheel meditation. This is a simple energy loop in which I visualize golden light rising up the back spine on a four-count inhale and flowing down the front on an equal count exhale. And it worked.
Afterwards, I sat in stillness for 40 minutes. Occasionally, my mind would wander a bit, and I would gently bring it back to the fire path breathing. I felt such a stillness that was deeply relaxing to my mind.
I was so grateful to know these practices to ground my energy. They work so quickly and effectively.
This reminded me of a few days ago, when a student came in before class, saying breathlessly she was so busy that she couldn't make it in enough to continue her membership. I suggested that we discuss it after class. During class, we practiced some of the breathing techniques I mentioned, and a combination of fiery and watery poses to balance this seasonal energy.
After class, she said, "I haven't felt this good in a long time! Never mind changing my membership; this practice is like medicine!"
And so it is—medicine that not only calms the mind, but also strengthens the muscles to relieve joint pain and create flexibility so we can move easily and gracefully.
And a good class will provide mindful reflections that foster our emotional intelligence and deepen our compassion, ultimately making us kinder people.
If you're interested in learning these techniques to do on your own and share them with others in your life who could use them, consider taking the 200-hour teacher training starting in September.
I hope to see you on your mat soon, to regulate your energy, improve your mood, and create freedom in your mind and body.
From my heart to yours~
Namaste,
Maggie