Spiraling Our Connection to Earth

I had the pleasure of teaching a class in Ojai, CA a couple of weeks ago. After awakening our bodies from head to toe with sound, contact and movement, we made resonant “o” sounds as we lay on the floor. With our intention we spiraled the “o’s” from our navels down into the earth. It felt deeply grounding to me. In Polarity Therapy, the spiraling energy from our navel is called the Fire Spiral. It was particularly poignant to me to connect this energy from the umbilicus–the source of life force in the womb–to the earth, our home and planetary mother.

I have a lot of fears and concerns on how we are treating our planet. I suspect if we don’t physically feel part of the planet and its process, it is then easier for us to treat the earth like an object or commodity. Unsustainable environmental practices by humans is unfortunately not a modern phenomenon (see the failed agriculture of Mesopotamians,  the nearly complete deforestation of Easter Island by Polynesians)  Nonetheless, I think the more our sensory attention is increasingly drawn away from our relationship to the natural world, the easier it is to dissociate from that relationship–to our and our planet’s detriment.

So I would like to offer you a way help connect with the earth, and the earth connect to you: walking by spiraling. Instead of walking as a linear, going from a-to-b, locomotion, let your hips slightly swivel or spiral. Let each stride spiral and plant into the earth. You can think of the earth as moving underneath your feet as you spiral downwards continuously. In this perceptual shift, you’re not walking to your destination, your destination is coming to you, and all the while you are grounding. You can say hello to the earth with every step as it is says hello to you. Your footfalls can be like drumbeats: I am here, you are here, I am here, you are here. Try it in a stroll, hike or walk to the store. Notice what you feel in your body. Perhaps you will feel calmer. Perhaps you will slow down. Perhaps you will become more aware of what is underneath you. I myself often feel soothed, supported and nourished. If you try it, let me know how it feels to you.

This was originally posted on May 21st, 2013.