How long are we into this pandemic now? Depends where in the world we are, but no doubt it has solidly upended most of our lives for at least 2 months. That’s a long time to have our routines interrupted, to be apart from friends and family, to feel the incessant rollercoaster of information, stress, and twirling emotions.
One thing we learned from our recent Stress Less Virtual Retreat is that this shared experience of Coronavirus has helped to dissolve the perceived boundaries between us. Whether you are in Peru or Portland you are facing this situation as best you can. We might not have the exact same stressors bearing down on us, but we are all grappling with the huge disruption this is causing.
One of our community members put it perfectly, recently describing the process like “trying to put a crumpled egg back together”. It’s puzzling, exhausting, and it’s nearly impossible.
It is important to notice our posture to the stressors that are emerging in our lives. Are we painstakingly trying to paste the egg back together again or are we able to accept that it changed? Are we accepting of our more challenging experiences or are we resisting them? Resistance only magnifies the experience of the stress. And as one of our retreaters said, “It closes the door to possibility.”
To manage the impacts of this intense time we need to keep the door open. We can accept our glass whether it’s empty or brimming, knowing that it can always be refilled no matter where it’s at (another powerful metaphor that emerged from the weekend).
On that note, we just released a new meditation to help you release any resistance you might be feeling right now so that you can make space within to find renewal and fill up.
Take 16 short minutes to get still and listen.
Close your eyes, feel your breath, and let the tensions dissolve.
NEW SOUND BATH SERIES
To continue to deepen your practice, we also invite you to join us on our 6 part Soul Searching Sound Bath Series that we will be live streaming to our website starting next Thursday May 28th. As time ticks on, it might be tempting to stop doing the things that support you to navigate the heightened stress of this moment, but we encourage you to make time and invest in your wellbeing.
Whether through these sound baths or something else, move your body, feel your feelings, share space with other kindred souls (even if it’s virtual), seek moments of pure presence. This was a huge takeaway from our retreat and will make all the difference as we all keep managing this strange shared experience.
Learn more here and mark your calendars to join us for some sweet sonic release.
