How I Restarted My Self-Nurturing Practice

Bymaiamartin

Have you ever had a time where it was just too hard to do anything self-nurturing for yourself? Do you feel that restarting your self-nurturing practice is just too difficult?

Recently, I had a serious dose of the Hepatitis C virus. I was on the bed or the couch for a few months. It was difficult to just rest and not overdo things as my body healed and fought the virus. I have had Hepatitis C virus a couple of times before. This is when I have overdone things and overworked my body and immune system. I was not surprised to find I had it again.

While going through the process of resting and healing I had no energy at all. To do my usual yoga and meditation was just not going to happen. Some of the recommendations that we all hear about for self-nurturing were not going to help. For example, getting out in nature, walking, exercising, etc. were just not practical for my energy levels. I had to adjust myself to this. I needed to find a way to restart my self-nurturing practice in a way that was beneficial rather than draining.

Because I wasn’t doing my usual practice, I had to adjust my thought process about ‘not doing what I was supposed to be doing’. The little detrimental voice in my head kept at me and I had to be on top of those thoughts continually. I had to keep reassuring myself and my ‘ego’ voice that it was okay to rest and heal. Sometimes this is exactly what we need when we are doing a physical, emotional, or spiritual cleanse. With the astrological patterns we have all been encountering lately it is no wonder that we all need some time out to cleanse and heal occasionally.

Secondly, I had to just do those things that were not too taxing to my body. I was just coping with getting dressed, feeding myself, taking my vitamins, and watering myself. Apart from that there wasn’t much else I could do so I read, slept, used my colour healing lamps, and listened to uplifting music helping my cells to heal and regenerate.

Colour and sound, or music, that you love has been shown by scientists to heal the cells within the body as the golden ratio is imbedded in all sound and light. Adding these two things helps to power the ‘electricity’ of the body and therefore heal. If you are wanting to utilise these techniques search out a qualified practitioner to help you.

When I started to feel better, I tried doing some Yoga before meditating but it just wasn’t possible as my energy levels were so low. I then reverted to restorative Yoga with sound playing while I was on the mat.

Restorative Yoga is where you lie on your mat using bolsters and pillows in comfortable poses. When doing restorative poses, they are held for a longer time, 3-5 minutes or more, so it’s important to make sure you are comfortable in the pose. Use poses such as a gentle backbend, lying on your mat with a bolster under the upper back and a small cushion under the head. Or try a gentle lying spinal twist with a cushion under the head and one under the knees if needed.

After doing some Restorative Poses I then did a lying meditation so that I wasn’t using too much energy afterwards. As we all know, lying is so much easier than sitting!

You can check out Restorative Yoga poses online for a guide to those that would be suitable for you. Once I had done a week or two of Restorative Yoga poses, I then started to do a few other Yoga poses. I quickly realized how weak I was, as they were so hard to do! But I persevered by not doing too many, and just building up my strength each day. After a week or so my body muscle memory returned, and I was back to doing a bit more. When I wasn’t exhausted after each session, I started to add my twice daily sitting meditation practice as well.

It was a slow and steady path back to health and restarting my self-nurturing practice. But this period showed me the benefits of not overdoing things when your body is in healing mode. I guess the most important lesson around this blog is in finding the things that you can do at any time to suit your body, your health, and your self-nurturing, rather than thinking you have to do something when resting and nurturing are more healing.

Maia Martin loves creating inspirational artwork and running transformational workshops or retreats. She has been creating art since high school, is a trained art therapist, and has been teaching Reiki, Yoga, Qigong, sound healing, colour healing, and energy related works, bridging the physical and spiritual worlds for over 30 years.
Maia is deeply connected to the divine within, and to nature in all its beautiful forms. Creating from these wonders while sharing her knowledge and skills with others inspires and uplifts her, providing her with the desire to acquire more self-knowledge.