I trick myself. Sometimes. I don’t even notice it at first. I think I am relaxing. I think I am at ease. I believe I am totally chill.

Except I’m not. In those moments, when I actually have a quiet moment, and I take a few minutes to genuinely check in with myself, I realize I’m not chill at all.

First I’ll notice the space between my eyebrows. It’s on edge. It’s tense. It’s pulling together in concentration except there is nothing to really concentrate on. Then I notice my breath. Totally shallow. No depth whatsoever. It’s as if I’m hiding in the jungle and trying to make sure the tiger cannot hear me. After that I notice my shoulders. They are hunched and I’m ready to pounce or run. My neck is tight and taught. At this point my awareness will usually expand to encompass my entire body and I realize everything is like a tight coil and I am definitely not relaxed. I just don’t notice the tension because it’s a kind of baseline at times.

I remember this year when I moved from outside of the city to smack in the middle of it. The apartment is lovely and made me feel totally trapped. Back in nature I could open the window to silence. Here I open the window to a beautiful balcony door and am assaulted by an onslaught of ceaseless traffic noise. I remember the stress I noticed the first months of living here. And now I am writing these very words upon said noisy balcony because the traffic and movement and business has become my new baseline. I don’t even notice it anymore. Half of the time.

It is the same with the tension in the body and mind that comes with being in this place. Now I have to work extra hard to relax and attune to nature. It is hard, to stare at the trees outside my window and surrender to their peaceful energy when I see incessant movement and moving lights at both corners of both eyes.

Summer heat is cocooning us, wrapping us in a weighted blanket of warmth and the body and mind yearns to let go and just relax. So how we do this, living in a modern world with constant pins and prickles teasing our awareness, our body, our minds?

Step 1: It begins with noticing and being honest. This takes practice! You might do this once or twice and think you are noticing everything and being completely honest, but if you do this everyday for 2 weeks you will notice more. If you do it for a few years you will shake your head and smile gently at the person who thought they noticed so much on that first try. 

Inside of us we carry an entire universe, possibly a multiverse. There is much to discover and much we can do once we’ve discovered it.

So take a moment. Close your eyes if you like, that helps a lot. Bring your awareness inside and at your own pace, starting wherever you like, scan your body and mind. To begin with you might just scan one part and leave it at that. Is it tense? Is it relaxed? Wiggle a bit to double check and make sure you are being honest with yourself.

Step 2: You’ve probably found some tension somewhere. Let’s start with that. You can always expand on this.

Feel into the tension and give it a little shake or a wiggle. If it’s in your mind you can wiggle and shake your head. Stretch the area a little bit and wiggle and stretch the areas surrounding it as well for good measure.

Step 3: Open and release with breath. And no, it’s not as simple as breathing. Are you only inhaling and exhaling through your nose? You might still be holding on to some tension. Unlock your jaw and release the muscles of your mouth. Relax your throat. Inhale and exhale through your mouth. Do it audibly. Wiggle your jaw. Shake your head and breathe even deeper until you yawn. There you go. How does it feel?

If you love a little guidance and curated reminders to relax, be present, and connect to your beautiful soul, sign up for our newsletter below. We send out the magic we all need during these times and we do it just once a week.