Maintaining your Qi During Quarantine!
- By Jennifer Roe
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- 27 Mar, 2020
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While our world and society are in a place of uncertainty, it can lead to feelings of fear and feelings of helplessness or being out of control. I thought it might be helpful to talk about things WE CAN control while we are in the safety of our homes. This is crucial as it will not only help us to keep our Qi up and stress down, but will help us plug into and place a value on things that are important.... such as self-care while also bringing some awareness around the fact that we still are the conductor in our lives even when we are limited or restrained from doing everything our hearts desire.
Our bodies are our temples, right? We have control over how we treat them and what we put into them. Building and keeping our immune systems functioning at a high level is very important. Be more cognizant of how you are fueling yourself and ask, 'am I eating as clean or as healthy as I normally eat?' There are certain foods that work against our immune system and lower our Qi. Bring awareness to the amount of refined sugar, processed foods, and alcohol you are consuming. If you find that the consumption of these products has increased, is there a way to lighten it? Are you drinking enough water? I personally have found that when I eat cleaner, and fill my system with proper nutrition, I feel so much better mentally, physically, and spiritually! Right now isn't the time to bring our immune systems and our Qi down, but to build it up!!
If you're feeling lethargic or have low energy levels ask yourself, how much exercise am I getting? What about fresh air and sunlight? I know we are supposed to stay in our homes but we are allowed to get outside for exercise. Do you have access to a place around your home where there aren’t other people? A place where you can continue to distance yourself, but can enjoy fresh air, sun, and movement which are all so important to our mental health and well-being?
There are tons of websites, including YouTube, that offer in-home workouts and some are free! Google 'free workouts from home.' There are also plenty of local studios in Durango, Yoga Durango, Sweaty Buddha, and Habit, to name a few, who are offering online programs and classes. You are supporting local businesses AND are giving your body the movement it needs…control!
How is your current stress level?
Is this something you would like to bring an awareness to and address? I recognize that these are unprecedented times and when things are in a place of upheaval or uncertainty, stress levels can sky rocket. This does not help the immune system at all, actually it is quite the opposite. Maybe consider taking the time to meditate or quiet your mind. Now could be the perfect time to start this type of practice, a practice that can help you move out of fight or flight into a calm state of being. Breathing can be very calming, practices such as Yoga or Qigong, other forms of exercise, or even just walking can help. Practicing presence and being in the now are powerful tools that you can always use.
Making conscious choices around what you are bringing in from your external environment and what you have in your internal environment are huge. Consider limiting the amount of media you are consuming, especially if you find that it is causing more fear and stress. This is not only the news that can be very negative and may cause your stress to skyrocket but social media as well. Some social media can be uplifting depending on who you follow but bring awareness into it. If possible, consider turning off the TV and putting your phone down. Consider stimulating your mind by picking up a book, organizing or decluttering spaces in your home, turning on some music and dancing, starting an art project, doing something that inspires you!!
Controlling our reactions to the people around us. We are all in this together and I understand that emotions may be running high, and that many of us may be in tight quarters with our kids or other loved ones. It is a good lesson and practice to be more cognizant and exercise control of how we treat the people around us. It would feel much better for all involved and the energetics of our homes will shift if our reactions stem from a place of love and kindness rather than fear and anger.
Connection. We all need to connect to what we need right now. What feels right for you? Whether you want to connect within or with your angels and/or source; whether you need to reach out to family and or friends; whether you just need to hug your pets and allow them to feel your love; We all thrive off of connection and we need to honor that however it makes us feel best. I know people are using app’s like Zoom, House Party, or Face Time so that connection can be felt with those who can’t be seen face to face.
Our environment. We can control how it looks, smells, sounds, and feels. You can use essential oils to bring a state of peace and calm; to bring uplifting energy; to disinfect the air; to help your immune system; or just to smell good. Light a candle if you like to; declutter spaces in your home. You are in control of your space, now make it feel good!
Be gentle on yourself. There is a lot of emotional energy in the air right now and that emotion can range from fear, grief, and loss to anger and hostility. I read somewhere that now is a time for surrender. Give yourself to the emotion in order to move through it but try to not let it take you down. Our thoughts are very powerful and feeding them in a good way is as powerful and beneficial as fueling our bodies. We are whole, we are human, and we will get through this.
Taking some control back in our lives is a way to take back our power. I hope each and every one of you treat yourselves as you deserve…with love, respect, and dignity. Remember you are energetic beings and the thoughts you put out there and actions you take make a difference in your world and in mine!!!
On a different note…
I have some new services I will be offering and I know I mentioned this in my last newsletter. I will send a separate email out detailing everything. However, I did want you all to know that I am offering remote energetic healing sessions for people who need it. I will be combining these healing sessions with a phone conversation where I can plug into where you are at, and offer some spiritual guidance. I will be charging $50 for 30 minutes, $75 for 45 minutes, and $100 for an hour. I will offer a sliding scale for those who need it. Now more than ever we need to support one another in whatever way that may be!!
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- Write, write, and write some more. What do you want in your life? How do you want to feel? What do you want to achieve? Are you choosing to live in a way that is in alignment to where you want to be? When we put things to paper, it is setting intention which can bring us clarity as to next steps. Remember, we are our own guides and intention is putting energy in motion.
- Visualize. What does it look like when you are where you want to be? What does it feel like? Imagine it, and feel the feeling as if it has already happened. Practicing this regularly is again resonating with the energetic alignment of where you want to be. It is a powerful form of manifestation.
- Work on calming the mind. Find a mindfulness routine that will help with learning to listen more to your intuitive side rather than allowing the “monkey mind” to well, spin you out!
- Be aware of the excuses. It is important to recognize that you are the one who is in control of your life. If you want change it is ultimately up to you. So, rather than making excuses, do something about it. The other side to this is, if you aren’t ready to do something about it then I would encourage you to sit with the reason why; the REAL reason why. There might be a lot more to your resistance than you realize. And, often times when we are able to reach this place of awareness, it leads us to figure out ways to move forward.
- Play with the resistance, get out of your comfort zone. If something feels uncomfortable then challenge yourself to push pass that.
- Commit and take action. What can you commit to and what is sustainable? For example, if you are wanting more connection and to meet people, can you commit to finding or joining some type of social activity or group once a week? Once a month? Figure out what works for you and then hold yourself accountable. Remember, we are the creators of our universe and in order to make things happen, we must take action!
- Come work with me! I can help support you to make the change you need in your life. Sometimes all we need is that little bit of extra guidance, motivation, and clearing of energy! Move the gunk. Bring in clarity, feel aligned, calm your system, and play in the magic. It is truly amazing the possibilities of what can be!
How far are you willing to go?
Appreciating where we are in this moment and what we have in our present life can be a challenging concept. As a society, we seem to be caught up in the idea that our happiness lies in our future self; our happiness lies in a distant, far-off place.
Have you ever thought or said the words, “Once I get to this place, ‘fill in the blank’, I will be good?” “I will be happy when…?”, I will be satisfied as soon as…?”
What if rather than existing in a place that has not even happened yet, we chose to exist and cherish where we are now?
I know, it sounds strange. We are over achievers, we compare ourselves to others, we are always striving for more, we thrive in our distractions. We get caught up in our busyness and our stories but, what happens when we come towards the end of our lives and we look back? Do we want to remember the hours we stressed and worked ourselves into a tizzy? Do we want to remember the distractions of screens and social media and things that aren’t real?
Or, do we want to remember our connections with the people we love, the laughter shared? Do we want to remember our real-life experiences that bring us joy; the things we had a passion for; the knowledge we gained, the moments and adventures we lived?
As a culture, I believe that many of us are not connected to ourselves. We don’t know what it means or feels like to be embodied. We are often times in such a state of stress, a constant state of busyness and distractedness, we don’t know where to even begin to find that inner peace or what if feels like to be fulfilled within ourselves; to be comfortable in our own skin.
True happiness comes from within and is something that is achievable and when we are present, we can learn to appreciate everything around us, that much more. Yes, it requires work, yes it requires conscious action and conscious choices. But, please hear me when I say, it is worth every bit of the time and dedication to get there.
I encourage you to take a few deep breaths and think about the questions below and then take the time to sit with your answers.
What attributes do you appreciate about yourself right now?
What do you love in your life right now?
What puts a smile on your face in this present moment?
What are your distractions? Do they leave you feeling fulfilled or are they simply a means of escape?
Are you currently happy? If not, what is preventing you from feeling this way? What changes can you make to get there?
These questions are simply an indicator of where you are currently and to notice what comes up for you. Does your mind rush to answer these questions or are you able to take some deep breaths and really feel into your answers? Presence within ourselves is so very important and it takes practice.
When we can take a moment to set aside the distractions, slow down the mind and feel into something through our bodies, we are allowing our intuition to guide us; we are trusting answers to come from a deeper place.
Believe me, I am one of the first people to encourage setting goals for yourself, for dreaming big and creating a life beyond your dreams!
If you allow yourself to think in terms of, the both and… it is a bit of a paradox. Things in our life aren’t always either or, there are multiple ways to be and at times that can feel like a contradiction but we are complex beings and the way we live our lives is not black and white…
If you aren’t present and able to find contentment within yourself; once that dream is achieved, will you truly appreciate it or will it always be about what is next and about attempting to find happiness through something outside of yourself? Finding a way to appreciate where you are in this moment while also allowing yourself to create what you want in your life is a beautiful place to be.
I don’t know if you all have been feeling the energy lately but astrologically, things have been a bit shaken up. Depending on where you are in your process and what it is that you have been working through, the full moon eclipse and the gradual ending of eclipse season has seemed to bring with it, a bit of a hammer. It has had this way of shaking things loose and forcing us to look at exactly what it is we need to let go to step into our next phase.
When energies are unsettled, it can trigger all sorts of things that we need to either look at, sit with, work through, or release. Often times, especially lately, these triggers can have an anxious or fearful energy. The fearful or anxious energy can be the basis for many of the emotions, the reactions, the explosions that can happen when we are feeling unsettled and not grounded in our body.
What is fear? According to Google, it is “ an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.”
Fear can be a good thing when it comes from a place of survival or instinct. If we are aware and pay attention it can be something that keeps us alive and allows us to react accordingly depending on the threat being presented to us. It is when we immerse ourselves in the fear and it becomes a part of our being, our mind, our reactions, our lives that it is incredibly detrimental .
There are many factors that can contribute to us living our lives in a fearful place. Obviously, we all have our story and our conditioning and many of us are carrying traumas from earlier years that trigger many unwanted emotions within us. It is almost like there needs to be a balance between sitting with and working through what it is that is coming up for us while also making sure it doesn’t take us over and consumer every aspect of our lives.
My teacher always taught me that fear is an illusion and that in order to grow and step into who I truly am, I need to get out of my head. She also stated, that if I could let go of all of my fear, I would be healed immediately. At the time, I thought I understood what she meant by this but the farther along I go on my path the more clearly I can see this illusion and how it can be completely debilitating.
In our society, fear sells. The media loves to inundate us with worse case scenarios, share only stories that focus on the dark side, that create the ideas, the thoughts, the beliefs that our world is nothing but negative, disastrous, and basically evil. And, if you’re not careful you too will experience any of the gazillion worse case scenarios that are shared.
Depending on who we surround ourselves with and what we expose ourselves to, this can be exacerbated. Are we constantly hearing about doomsday? Are we allowing ourselves to dive into the rabbit hole of darkness, death, and destruction?
I am pointing this out as when we focus on the negative and on the worst possible outcomes and allow our minds to marinate, spin out, and hone in on things from this perspective then we are allowing ourselves to live in fear. We are allowing ourselves to exist in the illusion. We are allowing ourselves to have this energy attach to us and not only become part of us but to contribute to the doomsday collective.
What is magic? It is the manipulation of energy. What are our thoughts and our intentions? They are energy. What happens when we constantly focus on the worst possible outcome? The energy of lack? The energy of the negative? We are creating fear. We are allowing negative thoughts to rule who we are and how we respond to our daily lives thus limiting ourselves from creating what we want to create.
When we live in this fear, we inhibit ourselves from doing things that may actually benefit us. We convince ourselves that we can’t do certain things, be a certain way, change our lives, make ourselves happy, be who we really are because if we do any of these things, something bad will happen.
When we live in this mindset, we are living in a frequency that can cause lack, unhappiness, anger, anxiety, depression, and complete stagnancy. It contributes to a state of chaos, a state of fight or flight, it can cause our systems to be in stress mode and can eventually lead to all types of dis-ease that can manifest in any and all levels of our being.
Take me for example. I have done a lot of work around this, a lot. I am aware when fear, when ego, when the monkey mind and that chaotic energy is creeping in. And still, there are times when I am on this journey and I feel overwhelmed.
As with many of you, I am an empath, a sensitive, and I can feel the energy of the collective. I can feel those around me, especially the ones I am close to and if I am not careful, I can take on their energy.
A news headline may pop up on my phone and I allow myself to read and engage in what the media is sharing, and then maybe I read a little more and a little more and a little more. Maybe I think about certain aspects of my life where things could get really bad; Then I listen to some friends or some family members who have strong thoughts, strong opinions, about the way of the world; then I go into the grocery store or out to a public event and there is something energetically there that feeds this pattern, and before I know it; I take it on, it has stuck.
When this happens, I can literally feel things in my life start to shift. The shifts can be different depending on what the situation and energy is and it can manifest in many different ways…
My sleep can be affected. My self-care routine can change and all of a sudden, I am not doing everything I normally do to take care of myself. I can isolate. I am quicker to anger or lose my patience. My creativity diminishes, and the lack mentality can come in. The worst piece can be when all the possible negative outcomes (which do not exist) enter.
Take it a step further, as again, our thoughts and our frequency are energy; my business can slow. I feel stressed. My relationships can be affected. My immune system gets compromised. I feel stagnant or stuck. My mood and energy is lackluster.
When I recognize that this is happening, it is time to take a deep breath and get back into my body. It is time to take a deep breath and calm my mind. It is time to take a deep breath and connect.
For me personally, getting out into nature is an extremely powerful way to not only clear the chaos but feel the connection which allows the fearfulness to slow. Breathing in the Qi, feeling my feet on the earth, listening to the sounds, being in the full immersion brings clarity. Journaling and allowing the thoughts to release as I put them on paper helps to bring a sense of calm. Seeking out energy healing or body work gets things to shift, to move and to clear. Becoming more intentional and mindful of my thoughts and what I am putting out into the world changes the direction of the energy. Diving into my meditation practice and visualizing and focusing on what I want to create rather than what I don’t is literally magic. Performing ceremony around releasing what it is I need to release and again, creating what it is I want to create takes the frequency to an entire new level. Recognizing what is mine and what is not and releasing anything that I have taken on brings my power back. Avoiding the news, social media as well as others whose energy I do not want in my field is protection.
I step back into myself and allow myself to breathe.
Ultimately, I focus on trusting and completely surrendering to the flow of the universe.
The only thing we can control is ourselves. Why waste our time, our energy on perpetuating things that are out of our control? Why create an illusion of something that does not exist? When we surrender to the natural flow and are present with what is, often times things have a way of just working themselves out. The energy shifts from a place of chaos to a place of peace, of calm, of surrender, of love, of flow. I don’t know about you but that is the place I would much rather be. Let’s release the fear.
Sending love and light to each and every one of you and as always, I am here.
