Practical Spirituality
by Sue Ivins
 

Its three o’clock in the afternoon and the niggling headache that has been threatening all day finally explodes into a full blown stress attack.  For Angie, an account director in a small, but frantically busy advertising agency, it is just one more set-back in her non-stop day.  With deadlines looming, a demanding boss and even more demanding clients, Angie puts her pain on hold until she has time to deal with it.

But at six thirty, as she finally eases out the door, she remembers that tonight she had promised to take part in a healing circle at her local meditation centre.  Weary to the bone, and mentally exhausted after her frenetic day at the office, Angie decides to give healing a miss and heads home instead.  Just too tired to be spiritual tonight, she thinks, as she orders take-aways for the family before slumping in front of the TV.

Rory has had a similar kind of day.  As an architect and building consultant, he spends his day on-site, dealing with contractors, trouble shooting and stamping out fires, before putting in another couple of hours at the office.  As he heads home he realises that he still has a mountain of paperwork to deal with, and urgent emails that just have to be sent.  As he drives home he feels the familiar churning and tightening in his stomach, feels his throat burning.  Time to book a Reiki session, he says to himself as he turns into the drive-way.  Time? he thinks ruefully – not much of that in my diary at the moment.

Megan tries to coerce her 18 month old to eat his supper.  Only another hour and its bedtime, she tells herself.  A full-time mother and part time internet journalist, Megan tries to juggle home and husband with kids and a career.  She fully intends to spend a some time in quiet meditation when she gets in to bed that night, but falls asleep the minute her head hits the pillow. As she gets up to see to her crying toddler in the middle of the night, she swears that she’ll snatch a few minutes the following day to meditate – but once again the day is over before she knows it, and the chance for a few minutes of quiet contemplation has gone.

Sound familiar?  For most of us, the middle of the year means tiredness, if not downright exhaustion.  Nights are long, days are short, and the weather is unpredictable – sunny and warm one day, freezing cold the next. 

We’re all aware of the pressures of daily life – where home and work and family combine to increase stress and tension to sometimes unbearable levels.  Finding time to relax however, can be hard when you’re always on the go.

And if you’re getting up each morning feeling more tired than when you went to bed, if just getting through the day is a major achievement, then your spiritual life is bound to take a knock.  What you really need is a good long holiday, away from the stresses and strains of the daily grind – but there’s slim chance of getting a few hours off, let alone an entire weekend.

The good news is that, even when frantically busy, you can recharge and revitalise your mind and body with a variety of simple techniques.  But just a few minutes at a time can make a huge difference to your health and overall well-being – and help to reduce your stress levels as well!

Nutrition:   It stands to reason that we need to take care of our nutrition – but somehow, when we are faced with an increasingly busy lifestyle, there just doesn’t seem to be the time.  We skip breakfast, grab a chocolate or packet of crisps for lunch, and fill up on coffee to get us through the day.  By the time we get home we’re ravenous …and I’m as guilty as the next person here … and so we snack continually until its time to go to bed.  Nutritionists agree – the more stressed your lifestyle, the more vital it is to have a healthy meal-plan.  By skipping important meals like breakfast and lunch, you become more prone to low blood sugar, which in turn causes a drop in concentration and energy. Spend a few minutes planning healthy meals for the next day – a good structure is breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, supper and maybe a snack afterwards.  Remember to drink loads of water as well. It may take a few days to get into the habit of eating regularly, but its well worth the effort.  You will feel much better – and may even see the difference on the scale as well.

Greet the sun:  For most of us, the clanging of the alarm clocks is enough to make us groan and bury our head under the pillow for just a few more minutes of sleep.  For the next few days, instead of curling back into the duvet, get up and greet the day.  You can do this in your bedroom, but if possible, try to go outside for a few minutes.  It’s invigorating to be outside very early in the morning, while the day is still young and fresh.

Stand with your legs slightly apart, and turn to face the morning sun. (If it’s not up yet, face the direction where it rises). Raise your arms and spread them above your head, and breathe in deeply, through your nose.  Allow yourself to feel the energy and light of the sun pouring in through the top of your head and filling your entire body.  Hold the breath as long as you can, and then expel, with a deep whoosh sound.  Bend forward from the waist as you breathe out, and let your body go limp like a raggedy-ann doll, as you allow your body to fully relax.  Repeat this breathing five or six times, allowing the sun’s energy to invigorate and awaken you. 

Sound Therapy:  All day long, we are surrounded by noise.  Telephones are a frequent intrusion, both at home and at the office.  The radio has become a constant companion, whether it be a play, music or an intriguing talk show.  The 21^st century office is accompanied by the low-level throbbing noise of computers and office equipment, of machinery and chatter. Even the traffic can become an unbearable cacophony of sound.  To balance this out, we need to be more selective about what sounds we wish to hear in our spare time.  There is a vibrational pattern which emanates from sound, from everything within our environment.  This vibration can radiate into our auric field, and cause a reaction.  We can help ourselves by listening to sounds whose harmonic frequencies enhance our well-being, harmonic sounds that replicate the structure of nature. 

We know instinctively when our nerves are frayed, or when we’re upset.  By playing a favourite piece of music, we can lift and enhance our whole being.  Sounds to listen to include Gregorian Chant music, nature sounds like the sea, early morning bird song, dolphins and whales.  Indian Ayurvedic vibrational music is also beneficial, as is classical music by Bach.  Next time you’re stuck in a traffic jam, put on a tape of natural sounds or Gregorian Chants, and allow vibrational healing to take place.  Or try shutting your office door at lunch-time, and indulge in a little music therapy.  Allow the music to waft over you, around you and through you for a while.  Let your mind go wherever the music takes you. At the end of tape, or when you’ve had enough, become aware of your body, your legs, arms and fingers.  Feel your breath as it flows in and out of your body.  When you are ready, open your eyes and stretch.

Colour me beautiful: Just as sound is an intrinsic part of our lives, so too is colour.  We are surrounded by an auric field of light – indeed the different layers of the aura are very much like the colours of a rainbow.  The quality and vibrancy of our aura depends on our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.  The next time you feel yourself getting frazzled at the office, or at home, take five quick minutes to recharge with this colour exercise.  This extremely beneficial meditation with colour uses the seven colours that correspond with the chakra system.

Stand or sit and allow your body to relax.  Breathe in deeply until you can feel you are breathing from your diaphragm.  Now breathe in the colour RED into your solar plexus, and feel it as it moves throughout your body to where it is needed. Release the breathe, and focus on the colour ORANGE.  Allow it to move throughout your body, feel it as it moves into you.  Now repeat this process using YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, INDIGO and VIOLET.  Finally concentrate on the colour white, feel this light entering your body and cascading through your entire body, cleansing and energising your entire system.

Relax for a few minutes, feeling this white light around you.  Gently become aware of your body, your breathing, and stretch as you slowly open your eyes. 

Use your head:   Stress headaches and muscular tension have become commonplace in this busy world we live in.  The good news is that you don’t have to be an Indian Head Massager to relieve the pressure – with a little bit of experimentation you can locate the key acupressure points yourself, and learn to massage your own scalp.

Spread your fingers slightly and hold them fairly rigid and stiff.  Make circular movements with your fingertips along your forehead, lifting them off your scalp and then bringing them down is short firm movements.  Work your way over your entire scalp – this has the effect of stimulating hair growth, and reducing pressure build-up which can lead to tension headaches.  Now pull your hair gently all over the scalp.  Keep the strain for a count of ten with each handful.  Don’t pull too hard, but don’t be frightened to be firm.

Muscular tension can also build up in your shoulders without you even realising it.  If you have been driving a long way, humping heavyweights, such as children or heavy briefcases, or sitting in front of a computer with your shoulders hunched, then don’t be surprised to feel your shoulders tightening up. 

Find a quiet space, and inhale deeply into the abdomen.  As you exhale, let your breath take your head gently to one side.  With the side of your hand near your fingertips, make gentle chopping motions along the shoulder from the point below your ear to the edge of the shoulder (Make it a gentle tapping, not a karate chop!) Next, rub your hands together to get them warm and tingly, then place them (fingers together) behind your neck. Press and release in a circular movement along the base of your skull to the top of your spine, and then as far down your spine as you can comfortably reach.  Do this four or five times, and then work on the other shoulder.  It’s a wonderful rejuvenator and literally takes only five or ten minutes.

Touch your toes:  With 26 bones, 33 joints, 38 muscles, 56 ligaments, and somewhere in the region of 7,200 nerve endings, the foot truly is a feat of engineering.  The average person takes between 5 and 10 000 steps a day; with every step you take, your heel absorbs one and a half times your body weight.  And to add insult to injury, we stuff our feet into too-tight shoes, stand in high heels that place too much pressure on the balls of our feet – its little wonder that after a hard day at the office your feet send little messages of misery throughout your entire body.

You’ll be amazed at what just a few minutes of foot pampering at the end of a long day can do, - not just for your feet, but for your mind as well.  Take your shoes and socks off and stretch your feet out in front of you to de-tense them.  Circle both feet from the ankles ten times in one direction, and then ten times in the other.  Point your toes down as far as possible, and then flex them as high as you can.  If you suffer from foot cramps or strains, roll a gold ball under the ball of each foot for about 2 – 3 minutes.  Soak your feet in Australian Eucalyptus for about 10 minutes, gently using a lava rock to smooth and soften the soles. 

To rev up tired legs use menthol, cypress or peppermint creams (available from most health shops) to tingle, energise and de-tense tired throbbing thighs and calves.  Gently massage the lotion in firm upward strokes from ankle to mid-thigh. (Avoid using on broken or irritated skin) 

And so to bed:  Instead of counting sheep, try this simple exercise to get you off to sleep.  Put a few drops of lavender essence on your pillow, or place a sprig of fresh lavender on the bed-table – it helps promote peaceful sleep.  Lie on your back, and breathe in deeply three times.  Now take your awareness to your toes, and feel your feet relaxing.  Relax each part of your body, feeling the tension releasing in your legs, thighs, spine and face.  As you relax your mind and body, breathe in white light, and allow it to gently fill your body.  Feel it as it soothes and heals your body.  As you feel this light around you, spend some time in quite contemplation of the day. Find time to talk with your guides or maybe say a prayer.

Sue runs a healing and meditation practice in Johannesburg.  For more information call 082-821-0891