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How to stay calm and centered in the face of stress, change and overwhelm

How to stay calm and centered in the face of stress, change and overwhelm

by | May 11, 2020 | body wisdom, chinese medicine, death, mental wellbeing, nervous system, resilience, Ritual, Soul wisdom, traditions | 0 comments

How are you doing?

It has been over six weeks since we started self-isolation here on the island and as with most things it feels like forever and just a few days ago at the same time. There are days when I love it, the ease and gentleness that a day can take puttering around the house, playing with ayana, getting my hands in the dirt and then there are others where I wake up with this intense agitation like a bird trapped in a cage and I want to rage at the powers that be for telling me I can’t be free and do what I want to do. If you know me you know I love my freedom and in a year with a collective need for freedom this feeling of being locked up can seem extra intense.

So I wanted to share with you some of the tools I use on a daily basis to help clear and release these energies, stay centered and grounded, protect my energy from the collective fear and grief and recharge myself when I am drained. I have actually started a youtube channel and will be posting these exercises in more detail so check it out for more info and let me know what you think.

As a mother of a tiny human and a solopreneur, on top of everything else I find it essential to go to bed early and rise at least an hour before my daughter. I do this for myself first of all and for my family, work and community secondly. Rising early allows me to start my day with intention and get in all the little things that make me a better, calmer, happier person. The first thing I do when I wake in the morning is set up my mat and after drinking some lemon water with chia seeds to get my liver moving and give a little flush to my intestines and kidneys, I do 20-30 mins of movement. I usually go with what I feel at the moment whether it is Yoga with Adrienne, some self lead or youtube inspired qi gong or some serious movement with The Class or Betty Rocker. This gets my qi and blood moving and brings my awareness into my body and clears my mind.

Next I Clear

No matter what movement I do I love to finish it off with shaking. Shaking helps to release pent up energy, loosen and lubricate the joints, relax the muscles and just feels awesome. I begin by bouncing on my heels and letting my bones rattle and vibrate from my feet up to the top of my head, then I bring my arms and head into the mix, shaking them as gently or vigorously as I need, then I lift each leg and shake it out. Lastly I jump around letting my whole body loose with deep exhales, howls and groans. There really is nothing like shaking to activate, stir and release. (Check out my video on more ways to clear your energy.)

Then I Center

After Shaking it is time to center, centering helps me to bring my energy into myself and set my mind to neutral in service to my heart. The third eye located in the middle of your head where your pineal gland is located is also known as the Seat of the Soul. It is a place where we can place our consciousness to witness and direct our lives. You can simply put your awareness on this spot and look out from this place. I like to visualize a room where I am seated on a cushion with candles and incense burning and a small looking pool in front of me. From this centered place I can go about my day and observe my thoughts and reactions more clearly. (For more ways to center check out my video)

After I Ground and Connect

Once I am centered I like to ground my energy down into the earth, this gives me stability and a sense of connection and wellbeing that my animal body loves. I bring my attention down to the base of my spine and visualize a root growing down into the center of Mother Earth where it divides growing out into the four directions to anchor me fully. From here I take some deep breaths feeling that connection and the calm, supportive energies of the earth wash over my body while I send my gratitude to the earth from her love. When I feel complete with Mother earth I draw that energy up through my body to the top of my head where a great trunk grows up into the heavens and branches sprout in each of the four directions and I begin to breath and connect with Father Sky, the sun, moon, stars, planets and spirit. I draw down the energy of spirit and the light of these celestial beings to fill my body. Also sending thanks to them all for what they give me. (For a full guided meditation on this and connecting to the Father Sky, sign up for my newsletter at the bottom of the page)

Finally I Protect

After grounding and connecting I bring my attention to my Dan tian (energy center in my abdomen) and visualize an electric blue octahedron ( two four sided pyramids with their bases together) around my body and energy field. The tips of the pyramids are above and below me and the four points are located in front, behind, and to the left and right of my body. It is electric blue as this is the colour of truth like Archangel Michael’s sword. I then invite in and thank my guides and instruct them to keep away all low vibrational, fear based, negative energies that are not in my highest good. I also place this octahedron around my home, car, bike and clinic.

These five steps that I do first thing in the morning help set me up for a good day ahead and only take a few mins. Throughout the day if I’m starting to feel agitated or heavy or in a situation that feels tense I will shake off what doesn’t serve me or send the energy down into mother earth to be composted and then quickly visualize my octahedron and I’m good to go again.

I hope you take the time to give these a try and keep your energy clean and clear. Living on purpose with intention and taking responsibility for our energies is once of the greatest things we can do. Please let me know what you think of these exercises and pass this on to anyone you know who might be served by it.

Blessings

Marika

The Power of Distance Healing:

The Power of Distance Healing:

by | Apr 17, 2020 | Acupuncture, body wisdom, chinese medicine, distance healing, research, shamanism | 0 comments

Prayers, intentions and healing energy have been sent out into the universe since humans began to form cosmologies of the world. Traditional practices performed by Shamans, Qi gong masters, Priests and Rabbis have always included connecting with the divine within all of us and asking for help to heal the sick, boost the crops, protect the people, etc. With the Scientific Revolution, there was a move away from this form of healing and a focus on the physical manipulation of the body and the planet. But in the last few decades a growing number of people have been recognizing the validity and importance of prayer, intention and energy healing in our lives. During this time of physical distancing there has never been a better time to begin practicing these powerful techniques.

 

What is Distance Healing?

Distance healing is a form of energy healing or prayer that is sent from one person to another person, place or people; like a mother sending loving thoughts to her children, a friend lighting a candle for the safe passage of a baby or a group of people gathering to send energy to a war zone, disaster area or dying individual and their family. The power of the healing is in the heart felt intention and focus of the person sending the energy and the connection that we all share through spirit, the divine, god, the collective unconscious,… With practice we can learn to sit with our prayers and intentions tap into the collective and focus that energy.

 

How Does it work?

Whether you are using Reiki, Shamanic Healing, quantum healing, Prayer or any other form of energy medicine they all tap into the same collective energy field that we all share. The universe is made up of energy, Daoists call in Qi, Yogis call it Prana, Hebrews call it Ruah and Quantum Physicists, well they call it energy. Much research has gone into If and how distance healing works, while most studies show that it does work none have been able to explain how it works from a Western scientific view point. A well designed 2008 study looking at 36 couples, 22 with one of the couple having a cancer diagnosis and 14 healthy couples, found that directed intentional healing thoughts made a significant difference in the activation of the Autonomic Nervous System, which is necessary to keep our bodies in balance and all of our unconscious bodily functions operating, and the more they sent the intentions the more strongly the Autonomic Nervous System responded.

One of the theories trying to explain distance healing proposed by Dr. Swanson in Synchronized Universe suggests that the molecular level of DNA to the biophoton field of the body, to the biohologram and to the torsion field, which is integral to the aura, connect each of us to the cosmos. According to Swanson’s SUM model, torsion field research findings and theory may provide a scientific basis to understanding how higher, non-material dimensions of consciousness can continue beyond the physical plane. The gist of this research and other research implies that healing energy doesn’t actually travel from one person to another but the intention, prayer, healing energy of the sender shifts the energy field of the receiver simultaneously in nonlocal space. This connects to the idea that we are all connected and are aspects of spirit. So when one aspect shifts another shifts at the same time.

From both a Daoist and Shamanic Perspective we are all an aspect of the Dao or Creator and our spirit comes directly from this aspect. When we are thrown out of balance whether from direct trauma to the physical body, an emotional response to life circumstances or an energetic trauma to the psyche the spirit will often flee the body leaving us feeling disconnected, anxious, fearful, and numb in body or mind. Energy healing works by connecting to the collective or the spirit realms and identifying the imbalance, clearing the body, mind and emotions of the imbalance and welcoming the spirit back into the body. As this is all done energetically there is no need to be in the physical presence of the receiver and in fact I find distance healing allows for the space to let go of the judgements and preconceived notions of the mind and flesh and create a greater opening to the healing forces of the universe.

 

Start sending Healing Energy

If you know someone who is struggling right now whether from pain, grief, anxiety or any other physical or emotional imbalance, here are some simple steps to get you started in sending them some healing energy. You can also use this technique on yourself.

  1. Begin by finding a quiet space
  2. Take some deep breaths in, focusing on your heart beat
  3. Picture the person, place, or people you wish to send energy to
  4. Ask spirit if it is ok for you to send energy to them and what kind of energy they need
  5. Take a minute and really listen. It may come as a feeling, word, image, knowing
  6. Begin to cultivate the energy they need in your own heart and imagine it filling their heart and flowing out through their body
  7. Spend as much time as you can focus on this. Could be 2 mins or 10 all is good.
  8. Keep sending and build up those distance healing muscles.

Please let me know how this goes for you in the comments below and share it with anyone you know who may benefit from this practice.

If you are interested in receiving your own healing please check out my offerings

Many Blessings,

Marika

Covid-19: Opportunity in the Challenge

Covid-19: Opportunity in the Challenge

by | Mar 19, 2020 | Acupuncture, body wisdom, chinese medicine, death, family, Friends, grief, research, traditions, wild food | 0 comments

Wow, what a time we are living in!! I have to remind myself daily that this is the world we have dreamed and it is truly amazing to see how people are coming together, how the pollution of the world is down, how we are being asked to move more slowly in such a fast paced world. I really and truly see it as a gift we are being offered and not one to take lightly. Below you will find some information on covid-19 that perhaps you have not come across and some resources to help you through this and all the other challenges life has in store for us.
 
All life is connected, in fact our bodies are literally made up of bacteria and viruses. They help us break down our food and bolster our immune systems and challenge us to evolve physically, mentally and spiritually. Viruses are especially fascinating as they require a host cell to replicate and so parts of our DNA are actually virus DNA. 
 
We can not escape this truth nor can we escape interacting with these microorganisms. It is a part of being human. But many of us view these tiny beings we share the planet with as something to be eradicated. I think however it is more about harmony than war. Our bodies are innately clever and built to decide which organisms are friend and which are foe. Our greatest defence against organisms that threaten our lives is in our immune systems and part of the immune system is built up of good microorganisms. 
 
In traditional Chinese medicine pathogens are broken down into wind, cold, hot or toxins often with accompanying dampness. In order to expel the pathogens we need strong wei Qi and Zheng Qi (immunity) which are built out of kidney and and stomach fluids. If we are stressed, depleted, or weak than we won’t have enough Qi to defend our bodies and the sicker we will become. 
 
So how can you boost your immune system firstly through diet, eating warm wet foods- porridge, soup, broth, stew, avoiding cold, damp building foods like candy, ice cream, dairy, processed foods. We can also take supplements, herbs and at home practices that have been shown to improve our immune systems. 
Vitamin A,C&D
Zinc
Astragalus
Chaga and reishi mushrooms
Moxabustion
Acupressure
Qi gong 
 
Finally we need to release the fear, anxiety and stress as it is one of the primary things that weakens our immune system. Here are a few suggestions
deep breaths, 
time in nature. 
warm baths, 
exercise, 
talking with loved ones, 
rescue remedy,
Acupuncture, 
Meditation ( sign up for my newsletter to download my tree of life meditation) 
All of this goes far beyond just the virus, the incredible amounts of change that are being asked of us are unsettling to our instinctive centre. Residing just below our root chakra, our instinctive centre remembers all of our early childhood, ancestoral and past life traumas. Whenever anything is unsettling to it, whether it be childhood trauma, an ancestor who died of the spanish influenza or our own death many life times ago from another epidemic, our body remembers and the fear rises up, even if we rationally know the fear is not justified by the circumstances our bodies don’t know that and we are sent into a fight, flight or freeze response. The best ways to manage this are with breath, bringing awareness into your body and your environment to remember you aren’t in immediate threat, smudging yourself with tobacco, palo santo or sage and getting shamanic healing to clear the fear and realign the body, mind and spirit. 
 
Remember all challenges are opportunities, For the first time in years you can hear the birds singing in Wuhan, there is no smog in the skies of major cities like LA, people are coming together online to support those less fortunate in need. We are truly at a time of writing a new dream for humanity. I personally am incredibly excited about this opportunity! In Shamanism, there is a practice of dreaming our worlds into being, most shamanic cultures believe that everything we believe comes true and so each moment we have a chance to dream a new and better world into being. Through practices like mindfulness this is what we are doing, we are becoming aware of our surroundings, our actions and our reactions and learning to change them, creating a new reality for ourselves. What better time to try and do this then when we are asked to change our lives and are given the time and space to rest, reflect and dream. 
I hope you take this time to dive deep, walk in nature, move slowly, enjoy time with your loved ones and really imagine what a better world would be like.
 
To help you I have recorded a tree of life mediation which is part of my morning routine and is excellent at releasing fear, worry, anxiety and stress, grounding oneself and realigning body, mind and spirit with all that is. You can get your free copy when you sign up for my email newsletter.
 
I am also offering sliding scale distance shamanic healings. A powerful way to reset our systems, clear our fears and begin to dream again. $30-60/session
I will be available for a limited number of acupuncture and shamanic acupuncture sessions for those in need. 
I am also available by email if you have any questions or concerns.
 
Many Blessings
Marika Reid Hall RAc HDP BA
 

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