Photo: Sulin Sze 2022
Hello you. Welcome to the space, let’s connect. Let’s talk about deep health, extraordinary health, harmony and self-connectedness. I’ll sing a healing prayer for us all and share my thoughts and wishes for 2022 with you. This post is our first step together this year! And my wish for you is that through care for self and others, we can realign, reframe, connect with our truth. We can bring an abundant healing force to this planet. Let’s be compassionate with each other and most importantly, with ourselves. Let’s make time for daily morning rituals, nourishing our bodies, and connecting with our purpose …. coming into alignment.
I’m so glad you’re reading on…
Let’s begin by taking three breaths:
Breathe in through pursed lips, slowly and deeply
Breathe out through your nose, slowly and deeply
Repeat another two times….
Hopefully that was a nice, calming way to start reading this little offering. A new year has crept in! I’ve been back in clinic since January 5th, and this year has a different energy than the same time last year. I’ve been a little absorbed with beach walks, family time, friend time, all those things that nourish you….and I’ve been slack on the blog here. Last year was……hectic. I’ll be honest, I was pretty tired by the end of it. I’ve missed writing these articles. Other things took over. You know that feeling?
So my friends, what I’d like to share with you is some reflections on healing, and how you can connect more deeply with your own inner healer this year. I’ve got five practical steps you can take right now to step into this new year feeling harmonious and aligned. A few of my go-to’s for meditation, mantra, food and self-healing are thrown in here too. I don’t want to start this year with an overly evidence-based critique of anything really. I suspect that like me, you’re wanting something connected, loving and positive??
How to awaken your inner healer
Here are 5 practical steps to get you on a healing journey in 2022
1. Balance your feminine and masculine aspects with a mantra.
Women are not exclusively feminine and men are not exclusively masculine. Both these energies exist in us all and sometimes become imbalanced, and we feel it! So like the Yin/Yang in eastern medicine, we want to fine tune our balance of these forces. I love the Jewel in the Lotus mantra (‘Om mani padme hum’) repeated 108 times. For me, the idea behind this mantra is that we carefully envelope and hold the space (masculine) for our precious hearts (feminine receptivity). That’s how I interpret it anyway, feel free to propose your own version! If you take the time to listen to this mantra once a day, preferably in the early morning when your lil spiritual self is alive and alert, it’ll bring a peacefulness to your day and help you feel balanced and rejuvenated. Herbs can help with this too, you might like to come in for a consult and I’ll design a tea just for you based on your constitution and your presentation. Or a smoothie, or a juice, or a slushie……I do love creating ‘medicine’ 🙂
Click on the pic below for a Jewel in the Lotus mantra that you might like to listen to.
2. Use Visioning to align, create and curate your year.
Visioning is a simple process, of creating a physical (or even just mental) collage of words, images, inspirational quotes or phrases that exemplify what it is that you’re seeking to realise. Take the time now to sit and allow yourself to fully feel what it is you really want …. for yourself, for your family and for your professional life. Seek words and feelings, even sensations like expansion, joy, awareness, presence. You can translate your visions to a vision board if you like. I love prayer flags, doodling, writing lists (must be that Virgo moon!). However you choose to vision, try not to let the expectations of other dictate what goes into your visioning. Keep it aligned with your values. Whatever makes its way onto that vision board or list needs to feel right and truthful for you. This could be something you spend a few days or weeks or months on. Don’t feel any pressure to get it all manifested in an afternoon……unless you have a Virgo moon of course :).
Why not make your visioning a ceremony? My friend Lee and I spent half a day with the singing bowl, candles, meditation and sharing. Photo by Lee Holmes 2022
3. Don’t just cook to feed….cook to heal.
Start every day with pure water, mix in your vitamin C, your greens powder, Qi Glow, a dash of vitamin D, a squeeze of lemon, a splash of liquid chlorella….. And bring in your inner masculine here, let this aspect of yourself draw up a diet protocol rich in anti-inflammatory foods, with a daily checklist and lots of reminders to keep you on track. The key is to make sure what you’re eating is minimally or not processed, and that you’re avoiding refined sugar and too much salt.
If you’re not sure where to start, I’d suggest a healthy, fibre rich, gluten free bread recipe. I must must must get my Buckwheat recipe up on the site! For now, check out this one: Life Saving Loaf of Bread.
If you’ve seen those amazing green loaves popping up on my socials, it’s the Detox Bread and the recipe’s included with the Detox program. I specialize in detoxification and anti-inflammatory diet protocols. If you’ve not yet got yours from me, ask at your next consult or if you haven’t seen me yet, what are you waiting for?! Come on in, I’d love to work with you! Book here
Baking your own healthy bread can totally transform your diet from an average one, to a diet to provides you with roughage, flavonoids, vitamins and fatty acids. Like this Buckwheat bread. Photo: Sulin Sze 2021
4. Make time for nature – connect to Source.
To truly heal, we need to look beyond the physical and superficial. Every symptom you experience has to come from somewhere. There’s always an underlying disharmony that drives dis-ease.
To start regaining harmony, look to the feminine aspects of your self such as earth consciousness, receptivity to your surroundings, love of beauty and balance, feeling your weight on the earth as a form of grounding. Listen to music that cheers your heart and spend time with people you feel love towards as often as you can. Most of all, go out among the trees, birds and water, all transmitters of feminine consciousness.
As my beautiful and wise friend Jutka Frieman says, “The best teacher of the feminine is earth and nature.” It’s true isn’t it. Step into the green and let nature heal you, gently, without effort. After waking in the morning get straight to Earthing – placing your bare feet on soil, grass, sand or in water for 5 minutes. Breathe in the life force. Be receptive to the sounds around you while you do this. It’s best done in silence. Want more info on Earthing? Read 12 ways to relieve anxiety naturally – part 1
5. Prioritise health.
The last one is the most important. Be strong, be dedicated, be committed. Yes you may lose your way sometimes, but health is a process and doing nothing won’t get you the results you’re after. Invest in yourself and make the time required to feel better. Put it in the diary; your food prep time, your meditation time, your nature walk time, your mantra time….
I have a CALM meditation that’s short enough to fit into every day. You’ll find it here.
Okay, that’s enough directives :)!!, now I have something for you….
Healing Mantra
This is a mantra for healing and living compassionately. No matter what your spiritual or religious beliefs, these words are so old, so ancient, they will resonate with you on a deep level. They’ll heal your cell and vibrate within your body, mind, senses and soul. Close your eyes and take in the sounds of these sacred Sanskrit words. I hope you like it!
A very very crude (!) translation for you of this Mantra and the intention behind it:
- I honour you
- The one who dispels all fear
- Help us purify our souls
- In adoration to you, Avalokitesvara
- I sing the ‘heart’ (Dharini)
Although the vibration of the Sanskrit sounds are more important than literal translations, this is what is in my heart as I offer this to you:
- May the compassion of Kwan Yin embrace you
- May you be happy
- May you be connected to your heart
- May you feel loved and find friends
- May you be safe
- May you live harmoniously
- May you bring healing to others
- May your negative karmas be purified
Some things for your Healer Toolkit:
- Sacred Chant: Om Mani Padme Hum mantra
- Handy wellness Spirituality App: Saged App
- Viriditas Bath Salts (harmonising herbs, epsom salts, crystal salts)
- Negative ion candle for home cleansing
I hope this was helpful for you, for your journey in health and wellness this year. Don’t forget you can always come in and see me in clinic too, whether you’re a return client or a newbie. Even if this is all totally new to you and you’re not sure where to start, pop me an email. You’re all welcome in my healing space.
Hey there! Welcome to my world of totally natural and powerful healing medicines. Medicines from nature. Medicine from Source. I’m a naturopath and herbalist with extensive clinical experience working with a range of health conditions including hormonal, metabolic, mental health, sleep and more.
I’ve brought together years of clinical and teaching experience, academic skill and curiosity to bring you this blog. I hope you enjoy it! If you do, leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!
Reference
- Interview with Jutka Frieman (2021, Dec). Episode #11 – The Feminine Way into Spirituality and Realisation. Timeless Teachings. Available at: youtube.com/watch?v=maKYZbF33qM
