[From Huffington Post Healthy Living, November 4th, 2014]
“Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through those eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded.” -Goethe
On the occasion of my 44th trip around the sun, I was prepping to teach in Berlin in a 2nd floor dance studio. Surrounded by lush, old, green trees, I gazed for a few moments at Nature and my lesson plan went right out the window. Situated in the depths of those tall trees, the words “find the frequency of home” landed in my mind, and that was what we explored.
The frequency of home is what we feel when we are deeply at home within ourselves. When we find ourselves in good alignment and we feel our consciousness right in the center of ourselves, that’s home. I find that when I’m getting bodywork, or Reiki, or just sitting quietly (especially on an airplane), I arrive in that place within where all is serene, and my mind is clear. Home.
We often feel this sensation when we’re in Nature – she puts us into an attentive state of ease. In that “home” state, even in the presence of confusion or distress, we can intuit the traces of a path forward. We can relax into a vision that opens us, guides us, invites us to our highest potential. Often when in Nature, my eyes close at the sheer immensity of it, and everything goes quiet. Gentler. Author John O’Donohue calls spirituality “the art of homecoming.”
To feel at home in your body at any age, finding your home frequency is top priority, day-to-day. We must be home in order to receive guidance, vision, wisdom from our highest selves. Because when we aren’t feeling at home within ourselves, we fall into old patterns of reactivity, instead of responding thoughtfully to challenge or chaos. When we’re at home, we have the capacity to see the value of new ideas, and move away from our unconscious tendencies to see differently, and with more clarity.
Practically speaking, we can tune into our home frequency when we engage with a few simple practices.
*Practice yoga. A good yoga practice keeps the body steady, fluids flowing and vision rising. Good practice keeps bones flushed and organs functioning optimally, and helps us feel “bouncy” from the inside out. There’s s definite sensation of being more in the center of any circumstance, and less extreme in any direction, which has a quieting effect. Thoughtful practice makes us feel younger, and it brings us home as soon as we begin.
*Connect with old and new friends. This is more important than we realize. We need quality reflection and feedback, which sets up the conditions for awareness and kindness. Cultivating friendship also helps us feel as though we are giving and receiving, and both require practice. Try one act of giving, and one act of receiving per day; this helps us feel connected to our highest possibilities.
*Meditate. 5 minutes. 20 minutes. Any length of time is fine to begin; that time grants your body the freedom to release stored stress, soften your stance, enhance your patience, and remember your inherent interconnectedness. Practicing surrendering to a (sometimes restless) state of pausing and listening puts us into a healing space within ourselves. Consistent meditation helps us feel at home in ourselves more of the time, and helps us respond to any question or moment with more presence.
*Apologize. I write about this a lot, because I always feel better when I apologize. Whether it’s a client or my son, it’s deeply clarifying and healing to own my part. A good apology brings us back home to our hearts, and makes us available for love and listening again.
*Take risks. Explore different contexts, classes, teachers, environments – you never know what you might discover. The most unlikely contexts bring us closer to trust and connection within ourselves.
*Cook your food. Even for those of us who are super busy, cook one or two meals per week. Cooking our food is one of the simplest and most healing acts. Even if you weren’t raised in a cooking household, you can grab a recipe online for something you fancy, and play. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so have fun and be easy on yourself. When we put love in our food, we feel nourished and connected to ourselves and to our surroundings.
*Read a good book. Penney Peirce’s book Frequency offers us explanations and experiential practices for raising our resonance. Oneness a book received and transcribed by Rasha, reminds us of our role and place in this very connected reality we share. Study and practice choosing expansiveness and dimensionality over smallness and isolation.
*Do small things for yourself. Treat yourself to a bath, a diffuser and your favorite healing essential oil, a walk during sunrise or sunset. Take yourself to see a movie, or art. Slow the day down. Doing small things for ourselves reminds us of our worth and connectedness.
The frequency of home is mostly about simple listening, love and respect, and it’s a repeated choice. Practice landing and situating yourself in that frequency; your body will thank you.
Rock star. As always
Beautifully said, Elena.
Feels so right … But so challenging in a world where speed and performance are presented as values … Good to have such simple and easy things to do to find this sweet restoring place . MERCI !
TY Elena,
When R U NYC bound?
Lxxoo, Laurie
Lovely thank you
Just reading this made me feel “home”! Thanks Elena, love you.
Thank you for this one Elena…needed to hear this today…much love to all of you and all you do…thank you <3
Exactly what I needed to read before bedtime. Since I started to apologize, my everyday life is slowly but impressively changing. Beautiful pieces of advice that belong to a beautiful soul. Precious you.
Thank you.
thank you
You always say the right things…true wisdom…love you momma!!!
I love this, Elena. Thank you for this beautiful reminder. <3
Elena, I took your coaching course in the spring and it cracked me open to the pure potentiality of looking at my shit! I separated from my spouse nearly a year ago and your video’s on youtube transformed my existence within myself and my relationship to him. Thank you. Seriously, I share those videos with everyone (even his new girlfriend who is living with him and my girl) I talk Bodega’s at work.
Thank you for your truth about your anger with and its impacts on your son. I know you love him. I love my daughter. I suffered so deeply in postpartum depression and I felt like I was drowning and that they were going to take my child away if I told anyone.
Here I am, coaching other people to love their lives, writing a book, making music, singing my songs and launching a new group program WORTHY. It’s liberating and terrifying as I launch this and stand in my divinity while not feeling terrified that no one will join because I have no idea how to market it.
Again, thanks for being you! I leave you with this poem I wrote to my ex when I realized “we” were over.
“From the other side” By Meaghan Folk-Freund
We should of had a funeral
To mourn the death of us
That day in November when I told you we were dead, really I was dying.
I’ve been slowly dying this past year.
Watching the person I knew, crumble and deteriorate, to surrender was all I could do. I’ve lost you. Lost all I thought I knew about who I was and what I was supposed to do.
Sometimes fear builds a wall around love.
You can love here but cannot cross there
In my death I build a bridge
In our death we build a bridge
From this world to the next
We have a way to remember our death
While still living in today
Death does not mean an end to the love I have for you
Death means a start of something if we surrender and do not resist
Death means my love will persist for your lifetime and continue to renew.
Remember,
I am always with you, I am always with you
In each moment of our death we are reminded of our life
All the plans we had and the stories that we told about how things were and how things would go
And I am reminded of this
I love you from my cells I love you down to my genes I love you more than you could ever dream
This love is not shallow it does not rest on the surface
This love stems from a deeper sense of purpose
In death we can be reborn but first, I believe, we must remember to mourn. Mourn that which is no more so we can fully welcome that which will be.
Mourn that which we thought we knew so we can fulfill our destiny.
I love this post Elena, Thank you for your thoughtful and intelligent words. The simplicity of this idea is what resonates so deeply with me. Tuning into the frequency of home via very practical and simple acts is powerful. I am a mother of two young children and have realised that I don’t have long stretches of time to recalibrate and centre. I now have a list of easy ways to tune into the frequency of home so that I can then serve myself and my family with a greater capacity for love and kindness.
Kindest Regards,
Kate
My intention for classes this month has been – today I promise to honor and cherish my body, my mind and my spirit. This talk on the frequency of home is a perfect fit. thank you
Elena, beautiful sentiments in line with what I have been thinking exactly. xo
Well said on the The Frequency of Home.
The transformational experience by doing yoga and thus contemplating on Paramatma is by itself is a natural home coming for the small soul in oneself.
These words feel like drops of nectar for the soul.
Hi Elena,
I really enjoyed this article on the frequency of home. What a beautiful idea, and to sound a little cheesy – it rather resonated with me. I love it too when the things we surround ourselves with also resonate with us and our ideals. Do you find its better to take time for yourself, to reconnect, in the morning or at night? or a little of both?
Thank you Elena. It is amazing to read something from someone you dont know for the first time and find a message that will now be part of my forever.