Do you feel you are being asked these days to take a good look at your self-care IQ? Is your body and psyche urging you to make self-care a greater priority in your life?
What, you might be asking? I have a self-care IQ? You might not have looked at it that way, but our bodies have a natural healing intelligence, right? Why not also a natural self-care intelligence?
Self-care is an important aspect of healing, and especially important right now for those of us who are healers, light workers, caregivers in any capacity, or in whatever way choosing to be a force for good on the planet. Self-care all too often gets relegated to the background as we try to do all we can to be of service to others and the greater whole. But we must care for ourselves if we are to truly be of service Giving too much of ourselves, as many of us know from painful experience, is a guaranteed recipe for stagnation, burnout, or even a full blown health crisis.
The Devil is in the Details?
We are being inFormed this month by the energies of Virgo, and her ruling planet, Mercury. While Pisces, Virgo's opposite sign in the zodiac, wants to look at life through 'rose colored glasses', Virgo's energy has us looking though our close-up, magnifying, or even microscopic lenses, taking in all the little details of life we may have been overlooking or ignoring. Virgo is all about paying attention to the details, and TAKING CARE of those details. Virgo, the archetypal virgin, teaches us that the earth and all life is sacred and worthy of care. She holds the truth that our body, too, is a sacred vessel that asks to be honored and cared for as such.
Of all the astrological signs, Virgo is the one most associated with the healing arts. Whether it is in allopathic medicine, making sure all the little details of a surgery or diagnostic test are being paid attention to, or in natural or energy medicine, identifying toxins and pathogens, which herbs and supplements are beneficial, and what chakras and meridians are out of balance, the Virgo attention to detail is essential for a positive outcome when confronting any health challenge.
Is Your Body's Little Voice Nagging You?
As the little voice of our body's healing and self-care intelligence, Virgo energy is asking us to pay close attention to what our bodies and our psyches are needing in terms of self-care. Aches and pains, unusual fatigue, sluggish digestion, negative thoughts, just not feeling ourselves, all these are the body's way of trying to get our attention. But how do we best respond to these signals?
We want to just 'fix' whatever it is in the easiest possible way and move on, right? But how about if we listen a little more deeply to what the body is telling us? Being truly curious about what is going on and doing our best to be in a place of non-judgement are a good first step to understanding our bodies messages. Is the body perhaps telling us there is something we could be doing to better care for ourselves? Are we getting enough sleep? Are we getting in at least a few good hours or more of exercise in every week? Are we drinking enough water? Could we be paying more attention to our diets, eating less junk and more whole, unprocessed organic foods whenever possible? Might we be needing to detoxify our bodies on a more regular basis?
We can all get out of balance with even the best self-care. But learning to listen to and respect our bodies messages can go a long way to better informing our choices. Where might we make a few improvements to our self-care that will pay off in terms of more energy, better mood, less stress and more enjoyment in our lives? With the added bonus of being able to be more effective in our work and service to others, of course!
One of my greatest self-care challenges has always been exercise, and it has taken me a while to find a really workable way to insure I add exercise to my regular routine. You may be surprised that as an energy healer I'm talking about exercise, but I have found that as we age, this is part of a whole health outlook that we can't ignore. For me joining a local Pilates Club has been a great way to do this, and is something I now really enjoy and look forward to. There are so many options these days, from yoga, to Pilates, to the gym, to regular walking. Have you found a way to get regular exercise that works for you?
Balancing the Details and the Bigger Picture
Energy medicine modalities like Resonance Alchemy tend to balance both the more detailed, body specific aspects of our health associated with Virgo, and the less visible energetic, emotional and spiritual aspects associated with Virgo's opposite sign, Pisces. I find both polarities of the equation are essential for effective healing and overall wellbeing. Both polarities, the little details as well as the bigger picture, are also important for our own self-care.
So while the physical aspects of self-care - a clean diet, regular exercise and the like, are very important, the emotional and spiritual aspects are just as relevant. Let's not forget that self- care may also mean taking time to have more fun and enJOYment in your life, to spend more time in nature, or to meditate on a regular basis. Whatever 'me time' feels most supportive and nourishing to you should be near the top of your self-care priorities.
This summer I decided to take time out to go on a 10 day retreat to Mt. Shasta, and it could not have been more rejuvenating and restoring on every level. And while I understand most of us can't realistically do that on a regular basis, me included, time out for regular rejuvenation, even if it's taking a long relaxing bath, is super important for our well being.
Emotional self-care can also include setting good boundaries with others, learning to communicate our needs and wants in a positive and constructive way, and choosing to be around people who support, encourage and inspire us to be fully ourselves.
Energy Maintenance 101
Our energy bodies, too, need regular care and maintenance. Especially these days when we are bombarded by so much electromagnetic 'smog' from phones, computers and the myriad of electronic devices that now surround us. This is one of the areas in which Resonance Alchemy shines, as it offers powerful but easy to use practices to keep our energy fields grounded, balanced, clear, and strong in the face of outer energetic challenges.
As a healing modality Resonance Alchemy is a potent blend of a more 3D focus on the physical details of our health, the energetic/electromagnetic component of our energy fields, and the higher dimensional emotional and spiritual aspects of our being that make up the compete picture of our multidimensional health and well being.
It is also and perhaps more importantly an empowering self-care modality that gives us a comprehensive tool kit to raise our self-care IQ. R.A. offers techniques which allow us to tune in to and identify whatever imbalances our body or psyche may be experiencing, to clear, balance, and transform those energies, and to raise our vibration and maintain mutidimensional energy coherence, alignment and flow in our daily lives.
For extra energy and a regular re-charge of your energy battery, why not try this 5 minute meditation every day. Focusing on the area just below your navel, what I call the Master Healing Point, breath deeply into that area and silently repeat the syllables below, just as you would a mantra. These syllables work to bring the plasma energy of the sun and our own light bodies into our physical bodies, helping to rejuvenate us on every level.
