Saturday, August 8, 2009
The Hand Heart Connection
In a household of two busy children, a lazy greyhound, and two busy parents, sometimes we get wound up, stressed out, and otherwise feel a bit like passing ships.
At night, though, I love to take the time to cuddle with my kids as they're falling asleep, holding them close and talking quietly about the day, and sometimes discussing things that may have been bothering them or otherwise on their minds.
But let me back up a bit...
Six years ago, we adopted a retired racing greyhound. Our new dog, Sprite, was wonderful and fit right in to our dual-income-no-kids life. When I became pregnant, she started to act a little strangely - she would not get into the car, or walk down certain streets in our neighbourhood. My gut told me she could sense that our situation was about to change, and knowing her background, situation changes always meant moving to a new home. She was stressed.
Around the same time, I heard a documentary on CBC radio featuring Maggie Carruthers, an intuitive woman who works with animals. So, on a hunch, I called her.
Maggie is an amazing woman who brings calm to every situation she is in. When she met Sprite for the first time, they bonded instantly, and Sprite splayed herself out on the couch, ready to work with her. Maggie applied therapeutic touch to Sprite's body, and taught me techniques to help her calm down, relieve stress, and help her feel connected to us and our family.
One technique she taught me is called the hand heart connection, and goes a little like this: put your hand over the recipient's heart. Visualize your hands cupping the recipient's heart, and their heart beating. Visualize yourself transmitting love and positive feelings into their heart, and visualize love and positive feelings transmitting from them into yours. Try and relax while you do this.
You may laugh picturing me kneeling next to a dog, sending imaginary love into her heart, but the first time I did it, I felt wonderful - as though I'd just been hugged. Even Sprite was calmer, her breathing slowed down, and she seemed happier.
Fast forward to the births of my children...
I still kneel down next to our dog every so often and do this technique, with such a busy household, it really does seem to help her stay connected to our family. But, I also found that with babies, it seems to help in the bonding process as well, and would help to calm my chidren when they were fussy.
Last night, while cuddling with my two children, one at a time, I found they were both having a hard time settling down. So I wrapped my arms around them, put my hand on their hearts, and started sending all the feelings of love and pride I have for each of them into their hearts. I could then picture their love of their mommy coming back to me. Both of us immediately slowed our breathing, calmed down, and could relax into a deep sleep. I like to think of it as bedtime yoga or meditation.
Maggie has come and gone from our lives in unexpected ways. She holds a special place in her heart for Sprite, and has helped me through a difficult grieving process when a close family member died very young of Cancer. One day, shortly after Spunky was born, Maggie arrived at our house unexpectantly to present me with a gift - a copy of Sacred Stewardship, a book on biodynamic farming and regaining our relationship with the food we eat. Co-authored with Charles Hubbard, a Nova Scotian biodynamic farmer, douser, and advocate for organic and sustainable farming practices, this book is full of practical information and excercises that can be transferred to yards of any size. While it took me nearly two years to finish reading the book, it was this book that inspired me to naturalize our backyard and changed the way I look at our food practices. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the relationship between food quality and health.
For anyone who is feeling overwhelmed at the end of the day, or unable to digest the general busy-ness of their lives, I encourage you to try the hand heart connection with a pet or a loved one. It is a wonderful way to slow down, even if just for a few minutes.
|
Archives
Brand Labels
Category Labels
Friends of Nurtured
|
Account
Subscribe to Posts [