22 Mar 2015

Grounded

Holding Space

People have told me that I'm grounded and that they benefit from the safe and courageous healing space I create and hold for them during massage therapy treatments. When I hear this I'm so pleased, not only because it's beautiful to know that they feel supported in my clinic space but also because I've had to work at it. I understand the vulnerability that is required to enter a healing mindset and I consider it a sacred act to offer an environment where people can enter this state. I don't consider myself a magical mystical healer, but I do see myself as a person who has the ability to help people access their own innate healing abilities with tools that I have learned. In order to provide this for people it is incredibly important for me to operate from a deeply rooted and grounded place.

But How Do I Do That? 

Forget skinny, I train to be bad-ass.
For me - one who has the tendency to be a bit flighty - grounding myself involves operating from a solid routine. It involves practicing my values daily to ensure that I am living from the heart and fulfilling my callings. I practice yoga,  I eat nutritious food, I connect and engage with other passionate people, I observe, indulge, and celebrate in the beauty of the world around me, I play in nature, I find stillness, and I lift heavy things. Yup, I pump iron. 

I gain strength and empowerment by pushing away from the pull of gravity. And sometimes I pretend to be a superhero while I'm at it, taking down the bad guys for the benefit of all mankind. This often leads to interesting sound effects and dramatic displays of strength and agility. Good thing my trainer has a sense of humour.
Could it be more blatant how gravity affects me - grounds me - than with 25 pounds of iron in each hand doing inclined presses? That's a pretty serious connection to the Earth I'd say.

Weight training reinforces the trust I have in myself to sustain and thrive beneath life's pressures. I know - and can feel it in my body - that that under the weight and responsibility of a load, I gain strength and resilience. And what a powerful metaphor to overlay onto my life. Who woulda thunk that weight training would be a spiritual experience? But that's just it. When you are attuned to the greater forces, using intention to sculpt how you see the world, everything can be spiritual. It's just a matter of looking for it.

No Gravity = Weak Bones

And aside from my spiritual musings, there are immense physical benefits to lifting weights. As a woman in her thirties, I need to consider my bone density. Our bodies typically reach their peak bone density in the beginning of the third decade, and without effort to maintain it, this bone strength will steadily decrease with age.

Are you familiar with Wolf's Law? This theory asserts that bones - which let me remind you, are a living tissue - will respond to the demands placed upon them by increasing osteoblast activity - build more bone - where lines of pressure exist. Depending on your activity, your skeletal system will increase bone density in regions where more force has been repeatedly applied. For example, the density of the bones in a runner's lower extremity would be greater than those of the bones swimmer, cyclist, or astronaut. Simply walking on this planet against the pull of gravity helps to maintain lower body bone density, so moving heavy things will only increase the effects of this force upon our bodies. Surely you've heard of osteoporosis by now. No gravity means weak bones, and that hardly seems like a good thing. 

The simplistic act of a weight training regime, pushing and pulling in response to gravity's pull, keeps me in touch with the greater forces of life. In this act of mindfulness, as I strengthen my body's muscles, bones, nervous and circulatory systems, I also reinforce that I am a strong woman. Believing that I am strong permeates how I conduct myself in the world, allowing me to act with bravery, trust, and confidence. Leading from those places makes me a bad-ass, which helps me embody some of my values, making certain that I am able to stay grounded for my patients.

See you in the clinic,
Dana