As weeks turn into months during the Covid-19 crisis we might be looking for ways to heal the areas of our lives that we are struggling with or have neglected. Worries can be perpetuated because of isolation and the uncertainty of what’s ahead. Our lives are less full and our usual entertainments have been stripped away. We might be finding we’re stuck at home with ourselves and many of the ways we keep ourselves busy or distracted in the past are now gone. It’s more important than ever to look after our minds and bodies and there is also the possibility to transform into a more authentic version of yourself.
This forced retreat has given many of us the time and space for looking more deeply into our lives for a sense of healing both individually and collectively. Like the ecosystem we live within, our own minds, bodies and spirits have become more vulnerable and we’re faced with a mirror of what our humanity has become.
Today’s blog I share some simple daily rituals for healing the human psyche. By attending to your mind, body, emotions and spirit, you can activate your own nourishing healing pathway and help yourself rise from this time in isolation stronger, kinder and wiser.
- The Body Scan Meditation is an MBSR meditation practice that can help you attend to the arising sensations in the body. You can relax the muscles, feel the energy moving through the bloodstream and gently work on softening any areas that feel restricted. https://www.thecoachhub.com.au/mindfulnessplaylist
- Bathing with essential oils or aromatic bath salts can help you release stress by immersing your body in heated water. The ancient practice of soaking in aromatic waters can help you shift the thinking mind to the sensory experience of smell and the heat can soften tight muscles and wash away troubles from the day.
- Using smudging herbs and incense you can set an intention to cleanse your environment and set up a creative ritual for contemplating the healing threshold you want to move through. The smell will linger and be a cue for signalling in the change you seek.
- Allow yourself to be creative using art materials and begin a journey of allowing the subconscious to be expressed through the hands. Open yourself up to discovering what healing needs to happen within and let that wisdom come through your body and mind creatively. Don’t strive toward getting anywhere but rather allow the creation to unfold.
- Go into nature and set an intention for what you want to discover or work on healing. Make a ritual site using sticks, leaves, dirt, gumnuts in either your local park or backyard and notice how nature responds to you. Tune into the wind, sky, ground, trees, local wildlife, sunshine and just listen.
- Explore sound through music, dance and sound meditation like Tibetan bells and other forms of sound in nature. Release stress and other quarrels in the body by letting yourself move the way the body wants to. Let the sound work on the body and emotions and unlock spaces within your body through the dance of movement and sound practice.
- Use your journal as a daily healing ritual by streaming your conscious mind. By downloading your thoughts onto paper you can increase the uncensored awareness of the stories you’re telling yourself. Don’t edit yourself or try to control your thoughts and feelings just notice the practice of free association and reflect upon it.
- Practice self-compassion when experiencing hurt, pain or suffering. Often we struggle to heal when we can’t face our own suffering and in turn we perpetuate it. If we orient toward our suffering gently and kindly we can find ways to release our pain gradually and allow ourselves to heal the fragmented self and be more whole.
I recommend you explore one healing ritual a week and practice it daily. Healing rituals have been performed since ancient times and each of us if we look far enough back into our ancestry we’ll find our own lineage of healing rituals. Today’s healing rituals come from many ancient cultures around the world and have long been used as an effective pathway to healing.