Coming home to yourself

The home I am referring to is your inner temple. If your temple is your body where your soul resides then coming home to yourself implies you might explore going within.
All the things going on outside your temple are pretty much guided by your senses as your senses take you outward. The things that take you outside your temple are also the activities of everyday living. You might have to drive to work or school drop off, engaging with the busyness of traffic and noise, people and places, demands, and commitments.
Whilst these are all part of living life and often give our life meaning there is much richness to be had in going within and making it a practice that can balance the yang of external activity to the yin of introspection and inner harmony.

This inner journey will be as unique as your fingerprint. I worked with a woman many years ago who had a specific routine upon arriving home from work. The family knew that when Mum got home the first thing she did before greeting anyone was go to the shower and wash the day off. Fifteen minutes of peace to arrive home, wash the day off, and transition to the next role was her way of taking time out for herself.

With many more people working from home now I wonder if it has become more difficult to transition from the workspace to the home space. I find this to be the case. Working from home for me is a constant challenge of putting boundaries in place only to find myself consistently pushing them out. When I do take stock and install some self-care strategies these are what have worked. Perhaps you could consider what might work or share if you have a tried and tested practice that is nourishing you. Let’s work together to balance the yin and yang and see what difference it might make.

I have a chair in my living room that is mine, specifically chosen for me to sit in and rest. It’s a chair in which I can sit cross-legged, something I like to do, and sip on herbal tea or hot chocolate and come back to being mindful. A place to transition from doing to being. I don’t often go within much here but it is my transition place to begin to slow down.

I love my yoga mat and know that if I make the effort to roll it out and get on it I will transition from external awareness to inner awareness pretty quickly. The trick is to have the mat in sight and clear space to roll it out so that there is no excuse to draw you away in that moment of contemplation. Some of you might be thinking. well, that’s alright for you Sarah, you know what to do on the mat! Yes true but the best thing you can do is get yourself onto your mat then ask your body how it would like to move and let your unique practice take place.
A very effective way to go within is to put your legs up the wall and you can do that with or without a mat. Lie on the carpet and put your legs up on the couch letting the tiredness drain away. If you have an area of wall then put a mat down and get your legs up there and begin to notice your breathing. Five minutes here will make a huge difference to how you feel.

Then there is simply sitting, closing your eyes, and noticing your breath as you let your awareness go within, coming home to yourself breath by breath whether sitting in a chair, on a cushion on the floor, or in your car before coming inside. Take ten to come home to yourself in whatever way will work for you. I often lie down and do a guided relaxation practice to reset and restore my energy levels.

“Healthy habits are learned in the same way as unhealthy ones – through practice.” Wayne Dyer

I hope you’re inspired to do something that takes you inward, into the inner temple to bring in some yin to balance the yang of busyness in life. Five minutes is a great start if that is all you have. Make it a habit and before you know it you will be spending more time in this special place of coming home to yourself. Remember you are the sum of all your actions, your life is a reflection of what you do each day. Small changes add up and make a big difference. Come home to yourself today.

Namaste

Sarah