Self Questions on the South  

• Can you remember  your first hopes and dreams ?

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• How were you hopes and dreams supported as a child?

• What were you going to be when you grew up?

• Was there an important person or persons who you felt truly understood you?

• Did you feel connected to the Earth, nature at its support?

• Did you have a special place of your own?

• Do you have a healthy relationship to money?

• Do you have balance and a firm foundation?

• Do you give more than you have?

• Do you have issues with sharing?

• Do you have consistent issues with your feet, legs, lower back or abdominal area?

• Do you feel grounded and connected to yourself and others?

• Is it ok to care for your self before you care for others?

• Do you frequently skip meals or forget to eat?

• Do you find yourself overeating or eating foods that do not make you feel good in order to gain more energy or quick comfort?

YOUR WORDS 

Time:  25 minute minimum

Materials:  Your journal and pen.

Exercise

 Take time now to write your memories, thoughts, and feelings, about these times.  If your answers are not affirmative, take this time to start anew and imagine the person(s) you would have liked to have in this role.  How could they have helped and supported and guided your journey?   If this is very difficult, try to use your non-dominant hand to answer the questions.  This exercise was developed by Lucia Cappachionne, PhD in The Power of Your Other Hand and Healing the Child Within.  Write the questions with your dominant, preferred writing hand, and then answer with your non-dominant hand.  You will notice that the writing becomes very childlike.  You will also notice that as you stay out of the role of critic or actual parent some very powerful materials may emerge.  The theory is that using the non-dominant hand allows you access to memories and thoughts that are not readily available to your conscious mind.

When you are complete with this writing write yourself the following promise I, _____________________,  promise my innermost self to honor my beginnings, my magic and wonder with each thought I have and action I take from this time forward.

YOUR MOVEMENT

Dancing to the oldies

TIME: 15-30 minutes

Materials: Songs from your childhood without commercial interruption.

EXERCISE 1  Dance like a child, free and unconcerned about the people around you. Dance to the joy of life.  There are many singers with CDs of Classic Children’s songs.  Your local library is a resource for most of the music suggested throughout this book.   If you loved jumping rope, playing hopscotch, skipping, swinging, making snow angels or building sand castles, give yourself time and permission to once again try these activities.  The difference body movements can make in our body mind and spirit is amazing.  If you have physical limitations, please follow your caregiver’s advice in relation to these activities.  If you can only imagine these activities, relax your body and imagine the freedoms of these movements.

When you are finished, ask your child body what would make it most happy.  If you can, provide this treat for your inner child within the next two days.

        Exercise 2  YOGA Mountain Pose Tadasana

 description excerpted from www.yoga.com a great resource for more information on these asanas( postures) and the practice of yoga.

 Tadasana, mountain pose creates an internal focus and an awareness of alignment which extends to other more complicated poses.  Tadasana looks deceptively simple, yet has many subtle points to notice and work on.

Technique

Stand naturally. You stand on your feet and they are the foundation of the pose.  Place your feet together allowing the big toes of the left foot to be in contact with the big toes of the right foot and having both feet’s inner heels in contact with each other.  The feet are kept together in this pose in order to make Tadasana a bit of a balancing pose.  When working the pose you should always keep your weight evenly distributed between the left and the right legs as well as centered on each foot.  Because of one’s natural tendency to shift, this requires a constant awareness of your weight distribution at all times.  This constant inwardly focused awareness is an essential component of the spiritual path of yoga.Keep each foot’s inner arch raised. Extend the toes outward and away from each other.  The longer and more spread you have your toes the broader and better support your feet will provide your body.  Be aware of your inner arches in each foot.  If they are not sufficiently raised or if you have “flat feet” you should work on raising your arches.  Do this by rolling the metatarsal bones towards the outside and the outer ankle bones towards the floor while keeping weight on the pad at the root of each big toe.  It helps to also attempt to move the big toes towards each other.If the configuration of your feet does not allow you to stand with the inner balls of the big toes and inner heels in contact then make any necessary small adjustments so that they are parallel and as close to each other as your body allows.  In Tadasana you should always be aware of your skeletal alignment.  In a well aligned pose your outer ears should be aligned over your outer shoulders, your outer shoulders over your outer hips, your outer hips over your outer knees and your outer knees over your outer ankles.   This alignment contributes to having your weight supported by your skeletal system. 

Now start to work on the legs.  However even as you shift your attention from your feet to your legs and subsequently to other parts of your body it is important to stay aware of previous areas.  So, throughout the pose keep your alignment, weight distribution and feet work as described above.Attempt to align your kneecaps so that they are each in the medial plane of your legs and face forward.  Next, tighten your upper front thigh’s quadriceps muscles so they are firm and pull up your kneecaps.  The upper thighs also turn slightly inward. In this rotation inward, the sit bones widen so that your tailbone has room to be tucked forward between the sit bones.

The pelvis should also be properly aligned.  Extend the long gluteus maximus muscles of your buttocks down towards the back knees without clenching the buttocks together.  Extend your tailbone down toward the floor and forward towards your pubis. Lift the pubis toward the navel. Firm the belly, drawing it in slightly.  Now, keeping the work in the pelvis, raise the front and back of the rib cage equally up from the pelvis.  This extends the space between the lumbar vertebrae in your lower spine.

With an erect extended spine, lift your sternum and expand the chest. Open the armpit/chest area without your shoulder blades going back or coming together. Do not push the lower front ribs forward as you lift the sternum. 

The neck stays extended and straight with wide collarbones. Your shoulders stay descended from the ears with shoulder blades going down your back and with arms by the sides. Extend your fingers toward the floor with palms facing your body.  Balance the crown of the head over the center of your pelvis. Keep your throat soft. Soften the eyes as well.

As you can see, there is much and continual subtle work in this pose.  Stand in Tadasana for 20 to 30 seconds and breathe normally.  Throughout constantly penetrate your awareness your alignment keeping the already achieved alignments while making successively more refined adjustments.

A crucial check with the pose is this: Make sure your shoulders and hips are even. Look in the mirror

EXERCISE 3 Foot Massage There are many nerve endings in the soles of your feet.  Take some time to soak your feet in a tub of warm water.  Dry them off and gently massage them with a chosen oil or lotion.  Thank them for getting you all the places you want to go. Try to incorporate this practice once a month and give yourself time to reflect on where you are going and where you have been.

YOUR ART

  EXERcise 1   CREATE  Sacred Space.  It is very important to have a spaces within your home and work  environments that support your healing and highest visions.  If your space is cluttered or filled with items that do not make you happy when you see them, it is time to redecorate.  Keeping items because they were a gift, but they are not something that you like, pass them on.  It is important to have spaces within any composition art or home where the eye  and spirit can rest.   If you feel overwhelmed by the clutter in your space, consider having a professional organizer get you going.  If this is not an option, there may be charity and church groups , who may send people out to help those in need.  As with any task the important thing is to get started and make a commitment to getting this done.  You may start with one small corner and one large trash bag.  Do not spend too much time considering what to keep.  Have bags for throwaway, give away and keep.  Ask yourself  simple questions

• Does the object serve my life?

• Have I used it in the last year?

• Do I like it enough to trade my energy and space for its care?

•  Does it have an ongoing usefulness?   ( We do not want to throw away our essentials). 

•  Does it create happiness when I look at it and use it?    

•   Am I holding onto it only for some unknown day in the future when I might need it?  Trust in the future.  If it is something you will really need, you will probably be able to find it again at that time.  Most people I know holding onto things for the future would have no idea where to find them , if that need were to actually arise!                                                    

It is very important to have space that supports you. This exercise can take a very long time and it does not need to be done all at once. It just needs to be a consistent commitment you make to yourself to clear your space and allow the positive things of life to flow towards you.

EXERCISE 2 An Altar to the Your History

Time: 45 minutes minimum

Materials: photos prints, materials, etc. for collage, glue and a shoebox or similar container. Vinyl tablecloth or drop cloth.

  Create an altar or diorama of your favorite colors, shapes, images and people from childhood. All of what has been and what you hoped for contribute to who you are right now.  Honor those who helped you along the way or those who you would have liked to help you. Choose photos or symbols to express which call to you .  You may want to include favorite stories, foods, songs or photos.  Many people find that starting with a background covering of tissue paper or wrapping paper over the box draws them into the project and provides a container for the experience.  If you are doing this exercise at a later date than the "Your Words" exercise, you may want to re-read what you have written.

YOUR SILENCE

Time: As long as you have.

Materials: only your time

 Exercise 1 Give yourself a moment outside in the yard, a park, or forest to examine a flower or a bug with the wonder of a child.  Take time and look closely at the miracle of life.  Imagine yourself having roots that extend from the soles of your feet and the base of your spine deep into the earth, which move with you and keep you safe grounded and secure as you move through your life.

Exercise 2 Spend some extra time in bed, just examining the pattern in the ceiling above of with no thoughts of where you need to go or what you need to  do.  Imagine the ceiling as a portal to a secret space to which only you and those you love are permitted admission. Travel and explore and then return to your home with the assurance that you can return to this special place at will.  Make a promise to honor the child and be the support person for yourself from now on.

Exercise 3 Continue your Meditative Practice 15- 30minutes each morning and evening. If you wish practice chanting the word LAM and notice how it feels from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.  If any of these practices create discomfort, please discontinue.