Connecting to your Feet
“Be strong then, and enter into your own body; then you have a solid place for your feet, Think about it carefully! Don’t go off somewhere else!” - Kabir
What does it mean to have my feet firmly on the ground? As a young girl I was happy to have my feet off the ground and at the first opportunity I would be on top of a pony or horse; the idea of being on my feet and on the ground was boring. I have since discovered that the more I enter into my body, the more I have a solid place for my feet and I like it. In fact, I find that without them on the ground I do not have the energy to fully participate in life, especially now that I am menopausal.
There is a lightness of touch that I feel when I am embodied and with this comes a playfulness. I enjoy the freedom that this gives me. As I walk on the earth and feel its power and grace beneath me, I am energised by her presence and notice the restorative power that she gives me.
“The challenges that I meet today are met with a curiosity and hope and this allows me to breathe into my body and feet, rather than cut off from them.”
Rachel Podger
I am under no illusion that I will have the energy that I once had, and would use it to push myself to the edge and often out of my body, but I realise I can still feel free and joyful within the limitations of an ageing body and I definitely feel connected to a spring in my step from time to time! Who would not feel energised if you “walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet” (Thich Nhat Hanh).
The challenges that I meet today are met with a curiosity and hope and this allows me to breathe into my body and feet, rather than cut off from them. I am aware that this transforms my tiredness and aches and pains. My feet are a transformer of energy which are connected down into the earth and up into my body and take me into my heart and soul and remind me of the importance of adjusting to a different pace and relationship with my body as a whole.
The more I experience how I feel to walk on this earth the more enriched I am. Where would I be without my feet on the ground…