let yourself land - a free meditation to feel grounded and at home in your body
Most of us live a step (or many steps) in front of our bodies. We are in constant mental motion, sequestered in our heads. We tend to forget there is support underneath us; that we belong on the earth, in our bodies, with our breath.
Poet John O'Donohue writes, "Our bodies know that they belong; it is our minds that make our lives so homeless… Our modern hunger to belong is particularly intense. An increasing majority of people feel no belonging. We have fallen out of rhythm with life. The art of belonging is the recovery of the wisdom of rhythm.”
Our Yoga and Meditation Practices can help us slow down and get grounded. We tend to think of feeling grounded as a state of mind, but feeling grounded can arise from learning how to relate to physical, tactile support, whether it’s a floor, chair, earth, or mat.
as we grow up, we tend to forget what it's like to have a relationship with the ground
Think of how babies learn to roll from their backs to their bellies. They teach themselves slowly and deliberately to move in relationship with the ground. They press and push and partner with the ground to get the support they need to grow and thrive.
As adults, we are practicing—training—to remember our relationship with the ground.
We are training to become more and more familiar with the moment when we feel ourselves—physically and emotionally—land on the ground. That moment when we exhale and we feel like we don't have to keep it all together and hold it all up and get it all done.
We're training ourselves to notice that moment when we feel completely unencumbered, even for a very short time.
The truth is, it calms our nervous system when we feel a sense of support in our life and in our world.
Feeling separate or isolated can create stress. We need to learn how to experience our relatedness more than we're used to.
the moment we feel ourselves physically held, it sends a message to our brain that we’re supported, which helps us shift out of the stress response and into the relaxation response
As we do this, little by little we release tension, gripping, resistance, and holding — which not only makes us feel more at ease, but makes room for our breath, which allows us to calm our nervous system, pause, and be open to the present moment.
free meditation: let yourself be held by the earth
When we learn to be supported by the ground, we are able to become more present and available to ourselves and the people we love. In this meditation, we’ll work on our relationship to the support of the earth through visual imagery and a body scan to build somatic awareness, and finish with a mindfulness technique.
EXPERIENCE THE HEALING POWER OF YOUR PSOAS
Join Jillian Pransky for a 60-minute workshop that will explore:
the principles illustrating how the psoas relates to stress, digestion, breathing, posture, as well as a sense of safety and relaxation
a short supple psoas restorative sequence that weaves together mindful slow yoga, restoratives, and conscious relaxation.
In this session, you'll also learn about Jillian's upcoming 108-hour Restorative Yoga Teacher Training. Don't miss this opportunity to explore the benefits, application, and transformative potential of practicing and teaching restorative yoga.