Face into the Flow and Expand

     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.

---