InSense #1 - Spring 2022

April 2022, Spring

Theme: Movement

The flow returns. The energy we’ve stored away and built up through Winter’s rest is preparing for it’s outward shift. It’s turning into budding leaves, a flush of warmth on cheeks, and bird song. The acrid aroma of Euphorbia being forgotten as their majestic stalks begin to perk and show off for your attention once again. The desire to wake up with the soft sun and squeeze more juice out of every day. The hope, the brilliance, the aliveness of Spring.

To take it all in is our lush, verdant reward for the months of cold and barren landscapes. Flowers act as fireworks to help you mark the occasion. Dew followed by sunshine followed by dew. So much is growing, changing, moving.

This season is a gift. It’s a gift to our senses, and a generous one at that. Savor it my friends. Each sight, smell, sound, taste and touch. Receive it in mindful presence. We owe this kindness to ourselves.

Below are ideas of ‘presencing’ practice, both outward and inward. Two energetic directions, equal in importance in this seasonal shift. Some are very intimate, with the intention of self love in mindful moments. Others are creative sparks for the senses. I hope they will bring something to your experience of Spring glory, and aid in increasing the awe and delight in every moment of this season.

sight

inward

Look at your forearm hair in the sunlight. Imagine your eye can zoom in further and further. Take time to appreciate the color of each hair, the texture of your upper most skin cells. Rotate your arm slowly and look at it with wonder from different angles. Now very gently run your finger over the surface of your forearm from wrist to elbow and back. Does this sensation feel any different after looking closely and paying great attention to your body?

outward

Visit the Frida Khalo & Diego Rivera exhibit at The Portland Art Museum. Feel grateful for the sight that allows you to take in all of the wild color and splendor.

Watch Move, episode 2-Featuring Ohad Naharin on Netflix.

smell

inward

Go without added fragrance for one week, or preferably, one month. Eliminate all scented candles, aromas in face, hair & body care, cleaning supplies with chemical fragrance, everything. Eliminate the outside noise of aroma. And see what happens. Are you more aware of what is you and what is other? When added aromas aren’t a constant part of your experience imagine what else you might experience.

outward

Before applying your skin care products this evening, slow the entire process down. Take your time connecting to the plants and flowers in each tiny bottle through your sense of smell before applying. If the product has Rose in it, breath in with a curious nose, identify if/when you can detect the Rose and picture that Rose. If the product has Lemon Balm, Lavender, or Chamomile in it, allow your inhale to linger while you identify them, picture them swaying in a beautiful field, and thank them for their medicine. *Your skin care should connect you to generous plants in this way. If a product has artificial or strong, added fragrance or chemical ingredients it doesn’t allow for this connection and therefore appreciation for the bottle’s contents is challenging. If you aren’t appreciating what you are applying to your skin, how do you expect it to help you heal? If you are hoping to incorporate more sense healing and nature connection through your skin care products, please email me here. I’d love to assist.

sound

inward

Use earplugs or gentle fingertips to plug your ears. Take a few deep breaths. What does that sound remind you of? What feels surprising in that sound? Search for the thump of your heartbeat. What does that sound make you feel? Continue to connect to yourself through your inner sound and rhythms for as long as you’d like to keep learning from it.

outward

Tara Brach’s podcast episode titled “Being Embodied: Gateway to Aliveness and Spirit, Part 1” If your day allows, listening to Part 2 of the episode by the same name, and then the correlating meditation episode titled “Inhabiting Our Body, Realizing Wholeness” will bring the most heart expanding benefit to your ears.

taste

inward

Spring is the season of the Liver & Gallbladder. We need a balance of freshness and nourishment to help sustain energy flowing at this time. Crisp, bitter and detoxifying tastes are important to offer ourselves. Think of the energy of green, sprouting veggies and tiny things growing with big, upward energy. When nearing mealtime, ask your Springtime palette what it’s craving, what your body is calling out for. What tastes feel most nourishing right now? And what effect do those tastes have on your mood, organs and overall wellness.

outward

This is my favorite cozy recipe of the season. I wish I could make it for all of you. The fresh dill and vinegar brighten it beautifully.

Dilly Bean Stew with Cabbage and Frizzled Onions

touch

inward

Gently warm your body by taking a walk. Pick a flower that calls out to you. Sit at home with the flower and gently touch it’s petals. Admire it’s beauty and feel. Set the flower aside for a moment and pretend your forearm is that flower. Mimic the tender touch with which you met it’s petals, on your skin. Admire your beauty and feel this time. Continue on to touch your face with this sweet caress. I encourage you to always take the time to touch yourself with this much love and intention.

outward

Do all of your senses, and your body, a favor and invest in a bottle of Wildcare’s Red Movement Anywhere Oil. Apply it’s silky healing to any limbs and areas that feel in need. This essential oil free treatment smells like the rich ingredient profile it contains. Like rooibos tea on a cool morning. The sweet and comforting plum and vanilla that combine and remind me of my favorite baked treats. The highly identifiable smell of St. John’s Wort warm from sunshine. It’s an excellent lymph mover and discomfort reliever. Red Movement also energetically supports the spirit of connection, intimacy and courage.

Full Heart Healing offers a range of touch therapy sessions that support this seasonal transition, but we recommend a Warm Oil Scalp Treatment most for tension melting, energy clearing and movement supporting care. Your hair, scalp, cranial fascia and muscles, circulation and lymphatic flow will all feel freer and tended.