“We can do hard things. ”
Hello dear ones!
I am writing you from the middle of week 3 of quarantine. We started to practice social distancing about 19 days ago when shit started getting real with the coronavirus. I stopped in person yoga classes and healing sessions. Since then I have wanted to reach my heart out to you all and be helpful in someway during these uncertain and challenging times. I am yearning to provide some sort of refuge for us all through sharing knowledge, through practice, through new perspectives and self care prompts.
I feel a bit lost knowing what way to show up and be most helpful during this time. I vacillate between calm, peaceful surrender and intense anxiety and uneasiness. The underlying tension from fear and the fruitless endeavor of continuous worry are exhausting. Most days I feel like I have to take care of another toddler inside of my mind right now who has never ending questions. (Ya know, in addition to the 20 month old at my heels or on my hip all day.) Questions like, “What is happening?” “Is this real?” “What if we get sick?” “What projects should I be getting completed with this unplanned time off?” “How will we pay the bills?” “How long until I can work again?” “How crazy is this thing going to get?” And then all the “should’s”, as if that business wasn’t tiring enough. “I should be more productive during this time.” “I should be getting in shape with all this free time.” “I should” insert anything and everything in the blank. Sometimes I spend all day in the anxiety mind, just trying to find some space of comfort inside. Other days it’s a little easier to shift my thoughts to gratitude, to the moment at hand. It’s a grand waltz at the moment. It takes resilience and practice to shift my awareness back to the present and take a big deep breath; Re-set myself to begin again.
When I can remember to, I turn to wise ones of hard times passed and wise ones of today. I read their poetry and thoughts; listen to their voices. I turn to the garden. Hands in the dirt and the sound of the birds. I turn my curiosity to simpler things: running out into the garden each day with Reya Moon to see if the plants have gotten any bigger or any new ones have peaked out. I am letting my heart spin with delight while my nose is pressed into hyacinth and daffodils. Enjoying the bitter taste of dandelion leaves, the deep green of spring nettles, and the delight of the first violets popping up in my yard. What a gift and pleasure to have the time to watch the unfurling of spring so closely and to share it with my daughter. Maybe, just maybe, something beautiful could come out of all of this. Let us pray.
I get glimmers of hope for some sort of magic unfolding beneath the surface of these times. A touch of excitement for the potential of healing that could be initiated through this collective experience. Maybe some benevolent forces in the Universe has brought this virus to help wake us up to the preciousness of life again…? Maybe the cosmos are giving us a master lesson on the true nature of reality - reminders that nothing is ever certain and change is the only constant. I hope that through this slowing down, we can remember and feel that we are children of this Earth. All connected by an unbreakable thread. It takes effort to learn how to dig into times of hardship and search for the treasure in the rough.
It seems like the most challenging part - beneath the surface of this time - is having to confront the reality of our vulnerability as human beings on Earth. Our hearts are vulnerable to loss, to hardship, to isolation. Our bodies are vulnerable to illness and death. We all know it, but in the busyness of our lives, it’s easy to forget just how precious it all is, how interconnected we all are. Here we are friends, riding the waves of this time, wondering where it will make land fall and what that landscape will look like when we arrive. All we can do is take it breath by breath and try our best to stay above water (and maybe even enjoy ourselves a little!) until we land.
One last reminder that whatever you are feeling is okay. It is okay to not feel normal. Nothing about this is normal. I am here to support you in whatever way I can right now. I am offering 2 weekly yoga classes via ZOOM as well as tarot readings and intuitive guidance sessions.
With Prayers for your Health,
Sara Rose
HERBAL RESPIRATORY STEAM
A delicious herbal healing practice that supports healthy respiration, fights bacteria and viruses, brings moisture and movement to cleanse the bronchials and lungs. Extra bonus is that it is great for the skin! Add this into your at home facial routine. (If you wear make up, sunscreen or heavy creams, wash your face before steam for best results. Continue skin care routine after steam!)
What you need ::
large heat proof glass or ceramic bowl
1/4 -1/2 C dried herbal steam blend; 1 C if fresh
Large towel or blanket
a table to sit at to steam your face over the bowl
Kettle of just boiled water (spring water or filtered is best)
Favorite herbs for steaming :: you can use fresh herbs from the garden, culinary herbs from the store, or dried herbs from your spice drawer
thyme leaves
rosemary sprigs or leaves
any type of mint, dried or fresh (it is already up in my garden, check around your house or local park)
oregano leaf
lavender flowers
mullein leaf
eucalyptus leaves
yarrow flowers
white pine or other pine needles (many of us have a pine tree near by! check for new growth AKA tips at end of branch growth)
The top 4 herbs listed can almost always be acquired at your local grocery store right now in the produce section. Organic and local is always best but many of these are hearty herbs which would require little spraying in conventional growing farms, give them a quick rinse if non-organic.
(Shout out to Radish & Rye at the Broad Street Market for continuing to offer locally grown food for online ordering and pick up right now.)
How to:
Set your space up with a large towel or blanket to cover head. Place herbs in heat proof bowl, pour just boiled water over top of herbs. Either place a plate over top of bowl to hold in steam and let cool slightly or get right to making your steam tent. Place head over bowl, wrap head with towel or blanket, tuck towel around bowl and your head and start taking them deep breaths both through the nose and through the mouth once cool enough. If it feels too hot, come out, cover with plate and wait a moment or two or simple let some steam escape and keep going back in until temp feels just right. Stay in steam tent for 10-20 minutes, feel free to take breaks as needed.
INJOY!
“Absolutely Clear
Don’t surrender your loneliness
So quickly.
Let it cut more deep.
Let it ferment and season you
As few human
Or even divine ingredients can.
Something missing in my heart tonight
Has made my eyes so soft,
My voice
So tender,
My need of God
Absolutely
Clear.”