What does the phrase ‘down to earth’ mean to you?

Earth Writing Exercise

Take a moment.

Find pen and paper.

Transcribe the phrase Down to Earth. 

Place both feet on the ground.

Take three deep breaths, expanding your ribs.

Write free associations of what ‘down to earth’ means to you for 90 seconds.

Wake the spleen, an earth organ with the exercise below. 

Repeat the automatic writing exercise.

Wake the Spleen

With both feet on the ground, raise your left arm.

Wake the spleen organ by tapping on your left side, one hand width below the arm pit.

Vocalize the sound of the spleen: whooooo (like the wise owl calling)- gutteral and brethless

Repeat eight times.

Shanren kan wo xinshi?  Wo xin shi!

Do I posses the earth attributes of integrity and deep trust?  Yes I do!

The phrase down to earth can refer to an approachable person.  Someone that is practical, plain spoken, honest, realistic, trustworthy, unassuming, unpretentious.

What did your list reveal? Which of those qualities do you posses? Which qualities would you like to strengthen?

If there is a quality you would like to embody or strengthen in yourself?

Try replacing the sound of the spleen with the quality that you wish to strengthen.  For example, tap ‘trust’ into your spleen.

The digestive organs are injured by stagnation.  Desk or remote virtual jobs, long hours of studying, research and writing keep us seated.  Relaxing and decompressing may also become habituated to screen time, gaming or media binging. Fatigue sets in from lack of activity; a sedentary life is injurious. Frankly, it is killing us slowly. The combination of oversitting and overthinking is a harmful combination for the earth organs,  particularly the spleen.  The lack of healthy circulation settles dampness deep into our systems. If you are prone to oversitting, please build in healthy habits. 

Set a timer at the desk for 30 minutes to take a 5 minute movement break out of the chair.

Shake away any accumulated worries, negative postures.

Take a few stretches or yoga poses.

Walk to the water station and hydrate.

Walk a few flights of stairs.

Take a walk around the block.

Learn and practice Heaven & Earth Rotation Daily

Heaven & Earth Rotation: Qi Gong Earth Exercise

1. Open the gates of heaven (top of head ~ meeting of ten thousand things) and earth (bottom of feet ~ bubbling spring) again. 
2. Pivot from the lower back with smooth and continuous action. The left palm, facing earth, pushes downward while the right palm, faces heaven, pulls upward. 
3. At the end of the pivot, alternate hand positions. 
4. Repeat 40 times while imagining healing, golden light internally healing and balancing your spleen, stomach and pancreas.

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Cultivate wellness this Earth season by practicing exercises for healing the spleen with Qigong support. 

The earth element, is involved with digestion and transformation of food. It can get bogged down with overthinking, oversitting, worry, anxiety. This can result in weight gain or indigestion.

When the earth element is weak we may say ‘yes’ when we mean ‘no’ or ‘can I get back to you on that? In this way, we create imbalance within by giving ourselves away to be liked or approved of, to avoid conflict, to fit into social norms or to get something from the other party. The earth season holds the energy of center, return, wholeness.

Many of us were raised to value external validation of self.  We formed a weak connection to our true self, our divine nature, our core, our internal earth. We slowly and repeatedly began to see ourselves as good when our parents or bosses said so and successful when we achieved society’s standards. In this method, our shadow side was punished, discouraged or banished. Conversely, we may have developed a personality that commands attention and gains success from being uncompromising, naughty, contrary, shocking.  What would inviting the opposite feel like?

The Earth receives everything equally. What would it look like if our Earth welcomed the darker, less encouraged parts of ourselves that have been split off? What would it look like if our edgy became smooth? What would it look like if our hard became soft? What does it feel like when we start to check in with our whole self first?

To balance the earth element within, send golden light to your spleen, stomach and pancreas area and vocalize a breathless, guttural “who” now. Tap the spleen and stomach channels.

Repeat five times, sending love to your spleen, pancreas and stomach area, releasing all the air from your lungs.

Ask yourself, if your ‘yes’ serves the balance. Listen to your organs for the answer.

The healing sounds are one of the most effective medical qigong practices. They clear heat and toxins, cool the body, release unfavorable energy and emotional qi, and build the connection to the natural virtue of the shen. The healing sounds are a powerful emotional transforming qi gong.

Sound is a powerful way to heal!  

Find a routine which invites healing vibration and sound into your world.  

What would it be like to play background sound as you get ready for work in the mornings or when you are preparing dinner?  

Maybe to celebrate the weekend upon waking? Find a healing sound routine!

SOUNDS OF EARTH FROM SPACE 

Allow your inner light to shine through as we move into days of diminishing daylight. Our moods may change with less light. 

Diamonds form from elemental carbon between 237,000 – 1.3 million times atmospheric pressure deep within the earth.  Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe according to mass. This makes carbon rather ‘ordinary’.  However the brilliance of the diamond is acquired from intense pressure to ordinary carbon.  Like carbon, our extraordinary-ness is derived from our ordinary-ness plus stress.  The practice of being present moment to moment helps us appreciate the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Less direct ultra violet light during November-February inhibits our inherent vitamin D conversion.  To better understand this seasonal stress, This science article explores what qualifies as deficient in vitamin D and what effects a deficiency can have on you. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19460619/

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photo credit: Dimitris Christou