a not-so-rude awakening

My  parents have this super deep extra long bath tub downstairs. It was in my bathroom growing up, but I was never into baths until recently. So rather than enjoying it all those years, I, and most others, found it to be somewhat annoying and impractical because you  literally have to CLIMB in over the high wall of the tub.

 

But recently I started taking baths once or twice a week, both as a mindfulness/meditation practice and for energetic cleansing purposes. An energyworker recently strongly suggested I take Epsom salt and baking soda baths because of how open I am combined with all the time I spend working with others through massage and qigong. And wow! What a difference it makes. My first one totally brought back that sparkly fresh glow. No energy-draining weight-bearing entities attached to me! Just pure, fresh, and clean.

 

So this morning I took a bath at my parents’ house in my old  bathroom, and man was I missing out all those years! Just the other day I was thinking about how silly it is that bath tubs are so short, so what a treat it was this morning; I could almost extend my legs fully and be completely submerged in the water. Ahhhhhh…. and then BAM!  I was thrust out of my deep relaxation when the shower head fell into the tub and hit my knee. My ears were under water, and I think the sound of the impact was more jolting than the impact itself.  What a rude awakening, I thought to myself, irritated but also sort of laughing at the situation.

 

Thinking about alarm state and diaphragms, what I reviewed and practiced yesterday at day 2 of Craniosacral, I sat up and immediately cupped my right knee. Light pressure. No agenda. Present. Grounded. Neutral. And voila! My knee let me in, my heart rate and breath slowed back down, and most interestingly my left sits bones released. I heard an internal pop and felt it settle down.

 

It’s all connected. That rude awakening wasn’t so rude after all.

 

I laid back down, submerged in water and induced a still point through my lateral ribs. Being in the water allowed my body to gently and slowly twist, following the internal release. Next I tried a diaphragm release of the thoracic inlet, and holy cow! My head started tilting back into what felt like an occipital base release. Surrendering. Unwinding.

 

Wow. CranioSacral under water. I just might have to do this more often!