Calm

Lie down on your back--allow your feet to rest on the floor, or prop a blanket or pillow underneath your legs.  Be comfortable.  You could even be lying in bed.
Begin to breath into your belly--start to let your thoughts drift in and out of your mind.  Feel your heart rate start to slow down and a sense of relaxation come over your spirit.

Undertow.  Imagine standing on the shore of a vast ocean.  Listen to the whirl of the waves and connect that circular, swishing motion to your breath.  Your feet sink into the wet, grainy sand.  Water washes over and around you, giving you goosebumps and an immediate feeling of cool, calm.  As the surface of the water rushes past you towards shore, the water underneath pulls back to the sea, drawing you in and out at the same time.   Something pulls at your spirit gently, drawing you toward a deeper, more serene place---a place that you know well, but often ignore or suppress due to the stimuli that surround you.   Maybe this could be called your subconscious.  Your undertow.  Without worry, without judgement, what does it tell you that you already know?  Breath into this space and let it guide you toward something more mysterious, something deeper, something more connected to who you are at your core.

This sense of ebb and flow, of in and out, of coming and going is reminiscent of the transitory nature of our lives and it also can be helpful when we move.  Just as ocean water washes ashore and simultaneously pulls out to sea, your body does the same.  Imagine walking or standing up.  Feel your energy move up and out as your feet connect deeply to the floor.  You are always moving in multiple directions. Or, in moving through a Pilates bridge, imagine your feet like sponges, absorbing the floor.   Feel your tailbone lighten as if a helium balloon is drawing it up between your knees toward the sky.  Feel your shoulder girdle and crown of the head release and lengthen into the floor and toward the wall behind you.  Feel connected to the floor and open to your outer world all at once.

These ideas may help your neck feel more easy, your spine be more supple, your pelvic floor more expansive and toned and even your feet and ankles be more mobile and strong.  They may also hold a deeper significance--perhaps this underlying feeling of something guiding you to a new place can lead to greater peace of mind as well.  In other words, maybe we don't need to try as hard, but rather, experiment and withhold judgement.  This is not easy for anyone.  When you feel that inkling of anxiety creeping into your mind and body, bring your self back to standing on the shore of an ocean--feel the waves rush in and out as thoughts move in and out of your mind.  Let the undertow calm your spirit and renew your sense of self.