Knock Knock! Who's there? Me, are you listening?
So my right ankle had been bothering me for a couple of days. It feels stiff, swollen, soar and the funny thing is that I hadn't done anything different to it directly. I had not tripped, fallen, bumped into anything. I have no past injuries on it either. All had been well until then.
While doing my daily meditation a few nights ago I had an 'ahah' as of I often do during this time. Usually just letting each thought come and go, this one came and I decided to listen. It stayed with me until I wrote this out.
The right side of the body is ruled by the left side of the brain you see. This left brain side dominates logic, mathematics, facts, analysis. In essence it's our analytical and "protective" side. It's what also keeps the body safe. "Don't jump off this 100 storey building" it would say.
Let's go into more detail from a yogic perspective. Kundalini yoga, being my background style, as well any yoga will teach us about mind/body balance. Most of us seem to feel that we know how to take care of our bodies quite well, and this holds true in so many instances. Yet, in my recent experience with my ankle, what would I have done if I wasn't really listening? (hint** which came from quieting the mind and listening to what the mind had to say and I let myself feel it in my core). I might have decided to take an Advil, add some ice & heat, which I did for the first night, and then keep trecking as I had been. I chose a different and new approach.
In this mind/body balance there is positive/negative, female/male, sympathetic/parasympathetic aspects, among others. The left side of the brain is associated with the negative aspect. Did I mention that the left side of the brain rules the RIGHT side of the body (just to keep us on our toes).
When we do breathing exercises, which is recommended in almost any wellness practice or regime, one breathes out of both nostrils. Breathing out of both nostrils is how the body allows us and attempts to keep our body and mind in balance, sending vital breath and oxygen to the entire body as well as to both analytical and creative sides of the brain (oh ya, the right side of the brain is the creative stuff, also associated with the positive side which can sometimes get us in trouble if we dream too big i.e. I can fly right off this 100 storey building).
Alright, we know that keeping the body and mind in balance is crucial for a healthy happy person. What happens or what does it mean when we are out of balance or sync? like when something is off in your body, example, a dud ankle?
The best thing now is what I chose to do to help the situation. As mentioned, the left side of the brain dominates "protection and analysis". Isn't it a beautiful design that the body gives you hints to help you improve your life experience?
Something on the right side of my body, located right at my feet (ankles) is so soar that it is telling me I'm going to fast or at least that I might be adding a bit too much to my schedule everyday.
Also, oddly enough (not really!), your feet/ankles are what support you and ground you into the earth. In yoga, grounding is a key element to balancing the body with the mind and also what allows us to move and "balance" in so many different postures. Without going into every detail about this, simply know that how stable or balanced we are in our physical body is a pretty good show of our mental health too. This grounding of the foot is what got me thinking about all of this. The pain from my right ankle was certainly impeding some of my postures done prior to my meditation. If standing still was difficult, it was a sign to me that I needed to work on that exact thing, standing still. In other words, slowing down and taking the time to take care of me.
It took only a short three days of babying that ankle (propping it up during my practice, trying to walk less) to give me almost full relief. Not bad really.
More importantly though was the attention and care and compassion that I gave myself over this short period of time that healed me, made me feel stronger and back to my self again.
While doing my daily meditation a few nights ago I had an 'ahah' as of I often do during this time. Usually just letting each thought come and go, this one came and I decided to listen. It stayed with me until I wrote this out.
The right side of the body is ruled by the left side of the brain you see. This left brain side dominates logic, mathematics, facts, analysis. In essence it's our analytical and "protective" side. It's what also keeps the body safe. "Don't jump off this 100 storey building" it would say.
Let's go into more detail from a yogic perspective. Kundalini yoga, being my background style, as well any yoga will teach us about mind/body balance. Most of us seem to feel that we know how to take care of our bodies quite well, and this holds true in so many instances. Yet, in my recent experience with my ankle, what would I have done if I wasn't really listening? (hint** which came from quieting the mind and listening to what the mind had to say and I let myself feel it in my core). I might have decided to take an Advil, add some ice & heat, which I did for the first night, and then keep trecking as I had been. I chose a different and new approach.
In this mind/body balance there is positive/negative, female/male, sympathetic/parasympathetic aspects, among others. The left side of the brain is associated with the negative aspect. Did I mention that the left side of the brain rules the RIGHT side of the body (just to keep us on our toes).
When we do breathing exercises, which is recommended in almost any wellness practice or regime, one breathes out of both nostrils. Breathing out of both nostrils is how the body allows us and attempts to keep our body and mind in balance, sending vital breath and oxygen to the entire body as well as to both analytical and creative sides of the brain (oh ya, the right side of the brain is the creative stuff, also associated with the positive side which can sometimes get us in trouble if we dream too big i.e. I can fly right off this 100 storey building).
Alright, we know that keeping the body and mind in balance is crucial for a healthy happy person. What happens or what does it mean when we are out of balance or sync? like when something is off in your body, example, a dud ankle?
The best thing now is what I chose to do to help the situation. As mentioned, the left side of the brain dominates "protection and analysis". Isn't it a beautiful design that the body gives you hints to help you improve your life experience?
Something on the right side of my body, located right at my feet (ankles) is so soar that it is telling me I'm going to fast or at least that I might be adding a bit too much to my schedule everyday.
Also, oddly enough (not really!), your feet/ankles are what support you and ground you into the earth. In yoga, grounding is a key element to balancing the body with the mind and also what allows us to move and "balance" in so many different postures. Without going into every detail about this, simply know that how stable or balanced we are in our physical body is a pretty good show of our mental health too. This grounding of the foot is what got me thinking about all of this. The pain from my right ankle was certainly impeding some of my postures done prior to my meditation. If standing still was difficult, it was a sign to me that I needed to work on that exact thing, standing still. In other words, slowing down and taking the time to take care of me.
It took only a short three days of babying that ankle (propping it up during my practice, trying to walk less) to give me almost full relief. Not bad really.
More importantly though was the attention and care and compassion that I gave myself over this short period of time that healed me, made me feel stronger and back to my self again.
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