Treat yourself with gratitude, respect and love - Guest Blog by Anna Robertshaw

Anna is a Senior Yoga Teacher and Teacher Trainer, as well as working across NADA Ear Acupuncture, Reiki, Anatomy and MELT Hand & Foot Training. Anna's passion for yoga runs far deeper than any training and her life is rooted in the physical practice, the attention to breathing, awareness, movement and the focus on 'being' and existing. She believes that we need to trust our bodies more, listen to ourselves and ultimately to love ourselves.

To coincide with the launch of Helen Moore Wellbeing, Anna has written her thoughts on how we might learn lessons from lockdown to help ourselves as the world opens up again.

 

2020 saw a huge shift…we have all shared in an experience the world has never before seen, unprecedented & uncertain, at times downright scary.

As we start to emerge from our state of enforced hibernation, perhaps desperate for a sense of the old ‘normal’, I ask you to take a moment, take a breath and contemplate the elements of this last year that you would like to bring with you into the new.  The elements you have enjoyed, perhaps the slower pace, the lack of ‘busy’ness, filling the diary with here, there & everywhere – can make us feel scattered, out of breath and worn out.  When we are running on empty we have nothing to give.  Quite often your body will kick into ‘dis’ ease so we have to lay low.

Over the years I have used yoga as a tool to keep me grounded & embodied in my whole being, rather than residing in my head.  When I experience sensations like anxiety & fear, which have been prevalent over these last 12 months, I will often get on my mat to move & breathe.

The essence of yoga is a practice of energy.  Creating space inside the body for ‘prana’ (life force, energy, essentially breath) to move.

It requires a delicate interplay of balance both physically and energetically.

 

Physically a yoga practice can bring stability and mobility, contraction and relaxation.  It can move us into a flowing, dynamic state where we can honour the ebb & flow in the great tide of life as we know it.

It can promote somatic awareness, inner coherency and a self-regulating feedback loop.

The more we listen to the messages our body sends us, developing our internal integrity, the more we access integrity, the more powerful our expression becomes.

I ask you not to ‘control’ yourself but to discover what disrupts the ability to self-organize and be coherent in space & time.  I invite you on a journey of unfolding and awakening an internal strength by accessing this integrity.

 

I invite you to use this opportunity of transition from one state of being into the next to create a new ‘normal’, a new way of being with ourselves.  Set your intentions and breathe into this space.

 

Here are 5 tributes; simple, inexpensive gifts to bestow upon yourself to shower you with gratitude, respect, love that you deserve & guide you into bringing some of the wisdom we gained from this last year, into the new.

‘You yourself as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love & affection.’

1.

Set your alarm half hour before you need to ‘get going’. Drink some water, sit up in bed, place one hand on your belly, one hand on your heart & say ‘thank you’ & ‘I love you’ to yourself. Breathe deep, in & out through your nose.  Feel your belly & chest rise into your hands as you inhale and feel them release as you exhale.

2.

At the same time set an intention for your day. One word or a few – your Sankalpa ‘heartfelt intention.’

3.

Buy yourself a beautiful notebook, you may already have one & start to develop a journal. Date each entry, start with a few words, including your intention for the day, any themes coming up for you, where you’re at in your cycle, how you’re feeling, the sensations that may be arising because of those thoughts, dreams you may remember.

4.

As you rise to get up, before you take the weight of your body into your feet take a moment to place your feet on the floor & notice the contact of the ground under the soles of your feet. Wriggle your toes.  Take a couple of breaths.

5.

When lying in bed at night, before you drift off to sleep ‘check in’ with your body. Scan from your feet, up through your legs, into your hips, pelvis, lower back & belly. Your torso, heart, mid / upper back, shoulders, arms, hands, back into the base of your neck, your neck, the base of your skull, the top of your head, your face, your jaw, your lips, your tongue & ask your whole body & beyond for a peaceful sleep as your focus on your breathing.

If you are interested in finding more tools to assist you in your path of healing, your calling then visit the space I have created for you www.annarobertshaw.com where you can find FREE Yoga & Meditation Resource and join the ‘Inner Temple’.