Staying Awake and Aware
"Baby Stepping"
I have been enjoying being out in nature each day during this pandemic time. The beauty of nature provides such joy and peace for all of us. Immersing ourselves in nature is such a relief from the fear, anxiety and exhaustion of COVID19. I enjoy the beauty of the birds and various animals in my excursions. There are beautiful blue herons like the one pictured here at our local reservoir. I marvel at its elegance and grace. The herons are amazing examples of being alert, aware and awake. While bike riding or walking, I have witnessed the herons serenely standing in the same position for 30-45 minutes.
Sometimes when I'm out in nature, I can be distracted by my thoughts and miss out on the marvels that appear. Nature reminds me to stay awake and aware so I don't miss out on the sweet beauties like this precious deer standing patiently or this dear squirrel carrying the nut so carefully up a tree.
Sometimes the pandemic can fill us with such anxiety, despair, fear and exhaustion. It can cause us to feel depressed, overwhelmed and stuck. It is so important that we be gentle, loving and compassionate with ourselves and others. Staying awake and aware helps us to notice where our minds go and stay present to our mental and emotional states. The practices of yoga, breath practices and meditation train us to live with awareness and to stay awake. Also, these practices help us to notice when we fall asleep and are on autopilot. The more aware we are of our breath, the more aware we will be in our life. Our breath only lives in one time zone-the present!
Remember the fabulous movie "What about Bob," from 1991? (If you have not seen it, or it has been awhile, I recommend checking it out. It has some valuable messages and it is a very funny movie.) One of the messages is "to view our day in baby steps." When I find myself feeling anxious and/or overwhelmed with regard to all the uncertainty of the virus and the state of our lives, I remind myself to take baby steps, that's all, "just take it one step at a time," as Bob is advised to do. As we have all learned so poignantly during the last several months, our lives and plans will shift and change depending on the state of our world. We can choose to keep coming back to each moment as skillfully as we can, rather than be preoccupied about the future.
Also, may we be curious and observe how we talk to ourselves. What are the messages you tell yourself daily? In the movie, it is suggested that Bob repeat to himself: "I feel good. I feel great. I feel wonderful." Now you may not resonate with this mantra but we can pick a mantra that will help ground and shift us when we get overwhelmed with fear, anxiety and despair. We can think of a mantra as a phrase that protects and to remind us that we are never alone, that there is sacred energy always present within each of us and every living thing to guide and comfort us. It could be
"I am Safe," or "All is Well" or "Let Go and Let Be." The point is to repeat a phrase or phrases to ourselves to bring us back to the present moment and the gift of our sacred breath and wholeness.
Come join us for self-care, support and guidance; come "baby-stepping" with us for some yoga, meditation, massage and craniosacral treatments! Lets keep our focus on where we are now rather than on what we didn't do yesterday or last week or month. May we support each other on our journey of staying awake, living with awareness and choosing NOT to go back to sleep in our waking lives.
