Happiest Spring Equinox...EveeER!

I bow my head and kiss the ground---it's spring!

My spring equinox morning started with a blessing, a little blip that entered my mind after smiling at the picture on the left:

"I bow my head and kiss the ground---it's spring!"

This is my mantra as I go about this Spring Equinox day with so much gratitude. I love this time of year. Best of all, I love seeing the earth's little seedlings come alive again. I was reminded today of the importance of ground- actual physical earth-in nourishing and sustaining me. Spring time is a wonderful time of year to recognize and generate the earth's stability. Such nourishment is available for us to resource all year long, but it seems especially to draw our attention in the spring. I got to thinking about my own grounding practices and how I might be able to "step it up," as one of my IC clients put it. Here are grounding practices I do to give me solidity:

• 10 minutes of Stillness Practice every morning - this is my self-care as soon as I wake, focusing simply on breathing evenly and giving my body what it needs (ie meridian tapping, etc.) The simple act of breathing evenly balances the nervous system and brings blood flow to my entire body, my root system so to speak :)
• morning gratitude prayers - I give thanks for all the conditions of my happiness right now: my breath, my family, health, the beauty of the rising sun, the birds waking up, my natural world...the list goes on
• journal and write - after my cerebral prayers I nurture the goodness by giving it form (see my Poetry section of the blog)
• exercise/outside time - I'm a freak, I must get out each day, sweat and feel the elements. It keeps me grounded and flowing.
• drink Ginger Tea (made from the fresh root (ie grounding food), peeled and cut up with a cinnamon stick and simmered in pot of water for about 40 minutes. Lemon juice and honey are added to taste.) I drink this most mornings. Other root grounding foods are potatoes, beets, turnips, carrots and other rhizomes or tuber vegetables.
• 1 hour of afternoon chores - taking care of my nest gives me a solid place to come home to and land. Also, having daily routine is grounding. 
• afternoon stillness or walking meditation - feet on the ground, my only intention is to feel the earth. When my mind wonders, I slip in my little created blips like the above, "I bow my head and kiss the ground--it's spring!"
• evening gratitude prayers - what about this day am I thankful for? How have I arrived at my North Star today? It's a beautiful review of my day and its blessings.

You might look at the above and wonder, "How does she get anything done?" It's like magic, actually. When I Chart my Course from solid ground I'm able to push off shore, keep my North Star in sight and Arrive where I wish to go. From a solid and balanced place, I can manage the storms and clouds that arise, as they are prone to do when it's spring time and the showers come. What's your grounding practice? How can you step it up? 

I'm stepping it up by going to a week long Mindfulness Retreat at the end of March.You all might remember last year's retreat. If not, check out: Become a Chinese Finger Trap for a mind-bending read. Love to you all, and I'll report in after the retreat. Happiest Spring Equinox...EveeER! 

TTFN (Ta Ta For Now)