Thank you so much for joining me today.
My name is Megan and for today's reflection we're going to be focusing on the concept of the ebb and the flow of healing.
In the most literal terms,
The ebb and flow refers to the cycle of the ocean tides in sync with the gravitational pull of the moon.
The ebb is where the tide recedes,
Where it retreats from the shore and pulls away,
Thinking of it as though it's stepping back,
Lulling,
Settling.
The flow,
On the other hand,
Is where the tide turns towards shore,
Where it swells with enthusiasm,
Energy,
Power,
And flow.
We cannot force the tide,
Nor can we change it.
And I think to some degree we know deep down this is the inner cycle of our lives as well.
We feel joy and we feel sorrow.
We move through lightness and darkness,
Breathing in and out,
Expansion and contraction.
Many of us feel along our healing journey that we should only be spending time in the flow state,
Where we grasp for the flow trajectory by doing more and being less.
This may lead us to resist a very necessary part of our journey when we find ourselves in an ebb,
But we falsely believe that it means we aren't quite doing something right or that something's wrong with us.
The ebb can often feel like a step back or a stall,
That murky,
Uncomfortable stillness,
Or the feeling like you're stuck.
In our society,
Where we amplify and promote progression,
We aren't really taught to learn how to welcome the ebb as part of our journey.
We aren't really taught to see it as being helpful.
But the ebb is everywhere we look.
The change in seasons,
The breath in and out,
The trees and the plants expanding and contracting,
Even our own heartbeat.
Just for today,
How might you extend acceptance and a welcoming to the ebb of your healing journey,
Extending yourself compassion for this very necessary part of healing?
What would it look like to not dismiss,
Overlook,
Or fear your ebb?
Reflecting on these prompts,
Let's spend some time in a very simple practice that I call figure eight breath,
Where we actively practice moving through our own ebb and flow of breath.
And find yourself now in a comfortable seated or lying down position,
Whatever feels right for you in this moment.
Taking a couple of moments to adjust anything that you need to so that you can fully settle into this practice.
For some people,
It might help to gently place one hand over the heart and another hand softly on the lower abdomen.
And if this doesn't feel right for you today,
Just gently find a comfortable position for your arms and hands,
Starting to bring awareness to your own flow of breath,
Not trying to it in any way,
Just noticing,
Observing where the breath lands on the in-breath and where the breath lands on the out-breath.
If it feels right for you,
Taking a moment in your mind's eye to visualize a figure eight.
It can be upright,
It can be horizontal,
It can even be on a diagonal.
Bringing into awareness the image or shape and gently beginning to match the breath.
On your next in-breath,
Gently tracing up one side of that figure eight as you draw the breath in.
And when the breath reaches its end point,
Instead of stopping the breath,
Notice what it feels like to melt and smooth the in-breath into the out-breath.
As you exhale,
Gently tracing down the opposite side of that figure eight and noticing when the exhale reaches its end point,
Instead of stopping the flow of breath,
Seeing if you can roll the breath right back into the in-breath.
It may take a few times to find your own flow,
But moving towards this idea of one continuous movement of breath in and out of the body,
Where every in-breath melts into every out-breath,
And where every out-breath rolls back into the in-breath.
Just like the waves of the ocean that come in and out of the shore,
We never actually see the shore become fully dry.
The same idea holds true to the breath,
Finding the ebb and the flow,
The expansion and contraction.
Every in-breath melting and rolling into the out-breath,
And the out-breath melting and rolling into the in-breath.
Taking a couple moments now to bring some subtle movements to the fingertips and the toes,
Bringing awareness back to your space and your surroundings,
And returning to this idea of welcoming and accepting the ebb and flow of your healing journey.
As you move throughout your day ahead,
Remembering the essential,
Necessary ebb,
Knowing that it's just as important as the days where you are in flow.
Thank you for choosing to spend time here today.
This very simple figure-eight breath practice can be a very quick and simple strategy whenever you need it to remind yourself that you are whole,
Complete,
And enough,
Exactly as you are in this moment.
