Are you a breath-holder? A to-do list checker? Sometimes feel like you've been shot out of a cannon, driving toward your tasks and goals, without a moment to look right or left? Given the time pressures most of us face, even if you aren't a "Type A" personality, it is all too easy to go into hyper-focus,  juggling so many commitments.
     "I just don't have enough time." "I can't unwind and relax." "I've lost touch with my center." These are common statements that reflect our feelings as we rocket through our days, meeting deadlines, responding to the avalanche of emails, keeping up with the laundry, groceries, cooking, and still trying to take time out for reflection and restoration. 
     Hyper-focus is a response to the rush of life flowing toward us, an attempt to stay the course, concentrate, get things done. As such, it is an adaptation we sometimes have to make. But sometimes we get stuck that way. And then our energy starts to get sticky. Tasks actually get harder: we're tired, wired, and low on creative resources because we're not getting replenished.
     We can break the pattern, though. Stop, tune in to your body, soften your gaze, and breathe deeply. And take a cue from the plant world.
     Plants have adapted to their rooted existence by working with the flows of energy around them. Optimizing color and shape, they face into the flow and direct toward them what they need to thrive. The morning glory above opens wide to the sun and the bees, its form and colors pointing to the center stamen, to attract the helpful pollinator. The funnel-like leaves of the plant below can grow as big as a Chinese take-out box, and work to channel rainfall down toward the stems.

These plant adaptations can only work by remaining open.
     The same really goes for us--if we narrow our focus, we begin to lose functionality, not to mention spontaneity, creativity, and the joy of being in the moment. Eileen McKusick, who specializes in Biofield Tuning, emphasizes the value of energy shifts that "open the aperture of possibility"--enlarging our field of vision and action. Without this open aperture, we can feel stagnant, bogged down, and hopeless. The video below demonstrates one way of shifting these energies. Opening up your face, which Donna Eden regards as a whole chakra of its own, is easy and relaxing to do. It will make energy flow more like the morning glory and the big green funnel leaf. Resembling both a face, and a heart, this leaf models great face chakra energy!
     You can expand your field of vision, too, by following along with me in the video below.

      If you check out the internet right now, you'll find countless beautiful videos of humans and horses in healing relationships. People are bringing Reiki and other energy modalities to rescue horses, and horses are bringing their huge heart-energy field and herd wisdom to rescue people--vets, prisoners, children, people with trauma.
     Between the ages of 8 and 23, I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time, riding, grooming, and just hanging out with horses. Although I haven't been able to get up close and personal with them for many years, horses are still in my heart. Literally. All I need to do is visualize a horse, with their large expressive eyes and attentive ears, their whiskered chins and velvety lips, and my heart rate variability and coherence improve immediately. Just a few moments of visualization, along with slow, deep breathing can act as a calming therapy, measurable by biofeedback device. 
     In Eden Energy Medicine, this kind of activity is recognized as Radiant Circuit work--or more appropriately, play. Radiant Circuits are the highly mobile energies of joy and presence that are activated by imagination. The more you activate them, the more they circulate, heal, and create coherence.
     The creation of energetic coherence is also central to Biofield Tuning, an exciting modality I am currently studying. We use the organized energy present in the sound of tuning forks to identify and then help harmonize "noise" and discordant areas of our energy field. The tunings can be powerful, as this clearing of resistance frees up energy and puts it back into circulation. (It is not, however, indicated for those with pacemakers, serious illness, or pregnancy.) If you are interested in shifting rhythms and patterns that you suspect aren't serving you, Biofield Tuning can be an effective aid, and can spark some deep insights about your energy history.
     Starting Saturday, September 24, I will be offering a series of fundraising Sound Spas with the tuning forks. These relaxing and energizing one hour sessions focus on the meridians, accessing them through points on the face, fingers, and toes. With a suggested donation of $30, all proceeds will go to support the work of the Equine Advocates of Chatham, NY. This farm is a haven for rescued horses, ponies, mules, donkeys, draft horses and wild mustangs. Home to over 80 equines, the organzation educates about the plight of mistreated premarin mares, and abandoned work or race horses. Watch the video below to find out more!

I hope you'll contact me at [email protected] to make an appointment for a Sound Spa!