We all have our days where we don’t feel Soulful. WE have a hard time connecting our body, mind, and soul. This is usually due to a shift in our energy (previous post regarded the loss of a friend), a decrease in our frequency (yes, this can be scientifically measured!), and just the day-in day-out stressors of our lives. However, you’d be amazed at how quickly you can change that by integrating soulful practice in yoga. There are many classes that specifically focus on just this.
For instance, I have been going through an arduous divorce for the past 3 years, fighting for my daughter. I know many moms and dads can relate to being the single parent who does their duty, whilst the other parent does nothing and gets by, all the while we pay. Integrate drug abuse/alcoholism/mental illness in the other party, and it’s even more difficult. That is my situation, that I don’t want to post on, but I think it will really help people that there is a way to LET GO of that bondage. The reason why the other party may not feel what we do is, simply they don’t care, OR, as I mentioned if there are other factors such as drinking and drugs, illnesses of the mind, etc., they don’t feel. They are able to numb while we are not, because we don’t use substances or have mental illness that causes such behavior. So the burden is horrific on us…and it just isn’t fair. Unfortunately, life isn’t fair. We have to do all the work while they lie back and do whatever they please.
I have personally been struggling with this for 3 years now, and it has outspent me completely. However, there is no dollar amount when it comes to the safety of my child. To make it more worse, though, yesterday, alone, I had to take my daughter to the emergency room, pouring rain. I HAD to get her help. However, I am still so drained that I can’t think straight. Adding all of these stressors, financial, emotional, etc. has lowered my frequency to something I have never experienced. I can feel it. Today I will embark on raising it, and letting go of what I cannot control.
A lot of people modern day choose yoga as a fitness regime. It’s popular, it’s so fun, but there are so many other benefits and I’m here to explain how to get out of that dark spot and become Soulful. Afterall, it is SOULFUL SUNDAY!
There are things such as Soulful Yoga Therapy which combines counseling, psychotherapy, etc. However, you don’t need to be led to thinking this is the only way. You can absolutely come to your true self and highest frequency and bliss simply by doing the simplest things.
For one, meditate. Sit there alone and meditate. Think of what is hurting you and ruminate on what you want to, and if done with a true heart, will achieve. This means letting go of all the anger, resentment, pain, turmoil, stress, whatever it may be. Throw it away. None of that serves you. “Bitterness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” You are poisoning yourself if you are bitter or angry. Let it go.
Another would be to practice yoga, whatever level you’re at. Anything that can release those feel-good hormones (that’s why it is so common that all doctors recommend walking every single day. That is not hard, but getting there may be).
Ground yourselves. Through grounding, you connect yourself to the Earth. I love to sit outside and just stand in tree pose with my bare feet in the grass. You’d be surprised that feelings of joy and gratitude will enter without even trying. Yu can also sit, just ground yourselves. Think of what you have, rather than what you lack. We are so blessed for the smallest things. (Commentary: This really hit me when I went on a mission trip to Guatemala (Chimaltenango), and to see the conditions they lives in. We built stoves for them, we ministered to them, we fixed their houses, we prayed over them…but I will never forget what I saw. Life that I didn’t know existed because I have been abundantly blessed, simply to have a stove and a shower! Did you know that they had to shower in home-made saunas, as in the sweat being their water to bathe themselves? Ruminate on that.)
Therapeutic yoga – it is different than the other types. If you need a mental release, this is for you. That doesn’t mean you can’t do the “fun yoga,” too; but it is different and we need to understand that difference. As a practitioner, you may always email me for a free consult. However, I can tell you here what it is and how you can do it on your own too. What it is: a way to help students accept whatever circumstances they are currently in. Maybe it is the loss of a loved one, or any of the examples I’ve given above. Anything that does not serve you. Therapeutic yoga helps you to accept that this is just a space in time, and that you can handle it in a way that heals you. Transforms you. Empowers you. Sometimes we just need that push.
With a practitioner or not, you need a safe space. You need to be mindful. You need to honor your body (mind, soul, heart). You must nourish yourself in every aspect in the present moment. Remember, you cannot neglect one aspect of “you,” simply because you are focusing on another. We have an innate way (usually subconsciously), of neglecting our body’s role in mental health care. Yoga in particular gives us that chance to explore in our PHYSICAL BODY what is happening with our energy levels, our functionality, our ability to be our true selves, our frequency…the list goes on. I like to call our bodies our “soul tents.” It’s really what they are. Our body doesn’t come with us when our time is up. It’s all about what is in our being, however, what we FEEL (such as depression, anxiety, PTSD) is also felt in our bodies.
Breathwork – did you know there are so many exercises that can reduce the heart rate (anxiety, PTSD)? Did you know there are so many breathing exercises that can change your left and right hemispheres of the brain? (Examples are bumble bee breathing, alternate nostril breathing). So when I say breathing exercises, I am going far beyond “just take a deep breath.” There is physical modalities that you integrate to perform these exercises.
With a practitioner, they are usually very intuitive and pick up on things you may not. So it is great to have an outsider (who knows what they are doing) guide you through soulful yoga.
Lastly, if you don’t have the money or aren’t ready to take that leap of faith with a practitioner, you can always use one on Zoom (I am available), or there are so many mindfulness apps that you can download for free. There are so many YouTubes that can guide you, for free. The bottom line is, if you are reading this still, you need to do something. Stress, anxiety, depression, etc. makes your body more susceptible to disease, even cancer. There is so much more than I ever knew before becoming a practitioner. Soulful is a word that has so much more meaning behind it. If you want a healthy mind, body, soul, then please honor yourselves and take the time to practice self-love and self-care.
Bomb Yoga Mom 