The wellness industry often conceptualizes healing as a philosophy rather than a natural process of life.
This can give the impression that healing can only be attained through a complex array of prescribed actions or rituals. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Healing is the nature of nature when it is not impeded. And that includes the nature of the body, mind and soul. By simply removing that which hinders your natural healing processes, you can begin to experience the healing that once felt elusive.
Easy Practices for Healing
UNDERSTANDING WHAT HEALING IS
Healing is not the process of eradicating wounds or imperfections. Rather, it is an embracing of the same. It requires an ongoing process of negotiating dynamics to foster a higher state of well-being and wholeness.
And whole includes imperfections and wounds. Dr. Rachel Remen says it best: “Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you—all of the expectations, all of the beliefs—and becoming who you are.”
Below, are a few easy practices that will catalyze healing of your body, mind and soul.
BREATHE
There is nothing more essential to life than breath. In many traditions, health is measured by the quality of one’s qi or life force, which lives in the breath. Unfortunately, the pace of modern living takes your breath away quite frequently, depriving you of the fullness of energy the body and mind need to be well.
Breath energizes and detoxifies the body. It connects you to your soul. It quiets the mind and reorganizes the nervous system. Dedicating even five to ten minutes a day to breathing deeply can catalyze your healing journey tremendously.
WITNESS
It is all too easy to look outwards or to demand that others’ attention. However, when you commit to witness yourself first, much begins to change. Self- witnessing takes mindfulness to the next level by placing you in the position of the person to whom you would normally vent.
In challenging moments, express your frustration to yourself via a voice note or email. Scream at the top of your lungs in your car. You can even video record yourself talking aloud, crying or processing. Afterwards, listen to yourself.
Feel yourself. Notice yourself. See yourself. What stands out? Before you bring your gravity to anyone else, hold space for yourself. Just seeing yourself as you are in the most tender, raw moments can expedite healing that could have taken years.
Sometimes, just seeing and being with it is enough.
REST
Rest is one of the most vital yet overlooked elements of healing. It is the time when your mind, body and soul restore after expending energy. And restoration is an instrument of healing.
To rest, you must be clear on what rest is. It is any activity that deeply refreshes you. Therefore, if you sleep and awaken exhausted, you have not rested. If you veg out on shows only to feel duller, you have not rested.
The hallmark of rest is refreshment and energy.
To cultivate rest, exhaust the body physically. Allow yourself to be bored. Choose a real-time (off screen) activity that you enjoy or are interested in, such as knitting, puzzles or playing a board game with loved ones.
MOVE
Movement is one of the most powerful catalysts of holistic healing. It activates and transmutes the body’s cellular memory bank by releasing deeply-repressed memories that otherwise could remain inaccessible.
When you move, recalibrate and attune the body to the rhythm of life. Nothing that is living ceases to move. Incorporate gentle and joyful movement as often as you can. From cleaning your house to having an impromptu dance party with the kids–move your body!
Move through your life! Healing happens in joyful motion.
NOURISH WITH NATURE
Going out in nature and communing with nature are very different. When you commune, you become one with the elements rather than simply observing them. Because all the elements around us are also within us, we are intrinsically connected.
This makes the primary four elements powerful allies in the healing process. Communing with water, air, earth and fire regularly will nourish your body, mind and soul on a level that puts overpriced yoga classes and supplements to shame.
Water
Water is a conduit of emotion. It has been proven to hold memory in the research of Dr. Emoto and teaches the art of surrender and flow. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, drink water. Remain hydrated.
Take baths or be mindful when you shower. Stand in the rain or dip your toes in a stream. You will find that by refreshing your internal waters, you dilute and flush out the memories of the old stagnant waters hampering your healing journey.
Air
Air is a cleanser of the mind, and conduit for inspiration. Inspiration is vital to healing because it is the knowing that arrives outside of our conditioned patterns.
When you feel overwhelmed try standing outside or opening a window to gift a new perspective. This is the reason the ancients always “aired out” everything from homes to linens.
It doesn’t just keep things smelling fresh, but rather it refreshes them energetically. Breath is another way to commune with air. It ushers out stuck thought patterns and renews the mind.
Earth
Earth is often linked to the body. It is a steady, nurturing and ever-present grounding force. To commune with it, walk on fresh ground barefoot and undistracted. The beach or forest is a wonderful place to start.
The energy between your body and earth will transfer ions to establish harmony within your body. You can also take naps outside, camp or hike to commune with the earth. The electrical frequency exchange between you and it will bring stability in all areas.
Check out To Be Healed by the Earth by Warren Grossman.
Fire
Fire is often connected to the spirit in most traditions. It is a transmutative element that re-configures matter from one manifestation to another. Fire refines and fortifies.
The sun is the easiest way to commune with the element of fire. Just laying or walking in the sun and sweating or sun gazing during sunrise can not only purge the body but also awaken the soul. Let the sun illuminate within what you have always sought without.
Read More: The Best Buddha Quotes About Self Love
Najwa Immanuel is a freelance writer and modern-day medicine woman based on the East Coast, USA. Her moments are spent studying the energetics of wellness, tending her Substack newsletter, Extraordinary Moments, Everyday Miracles and midwifing persons birthing everything from babies to businesses.
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