3 Practices We Need Now
My teacher has a saying that goes something like: “We practice in the good times so that we have a practice in the hard times.”
Her saying is why I meditated in a blue hospital chair by my daughter’s bed every morning when she was in the Children’s Hospital. It’s why I sit on my green meditation cushion before sunrise each day; even when I don’t feel like I “need it.” And it’s why I’m dialing up my yoga, mantra, and friendship practices right now.
The word ‘practice’ can feel vague, conjuring images of blissful monks in orange robes in mountaintop sanctuaries. That image seems very far from the world we’re experiencing today. Now it feels like things are totally upside down but we’re supposed to keep going to the grocery store and paying our taxes.
I’m not envisioning a monastic practice for us today. I don’t think we need to be striving for detached enlightenment right now. Instead, I’m envisioning practices that meet us where we are and that support us in three important realms: our bodies, our minds, and our communities.
Practices for your Body
You need something that gets you out of your head and down into your body. Your body is vital and alive. The overwhelm of the world can make you feel numb. Then it’s really hard to pick yourself up and continue. Practices that put you in touch with your vitality give you energy to meet the circumstances in your life.
The other thing that getting into your body does is help move your feelings. Emotions are often described as energy-in-motion: e-motions. Energy wants to move. It can’t stay still for long. Body-based practices help metabolize your emotions. That way they move through you and don’t bog you down.
The main criteria when choosing a body-based practice (or two) is that you feel more connected to yourself when you’re finished. You might run, dance, practice yoga, or study martial arts. You could play pickle ball or strength train. The main point is that you feel your body and it’s aliveness when you’re finished.
Also, please remember that RESTis a very important body-based practice too. It may be best paired with something active so that you feel your vitality first, then settle into it.
Practices for your Mind
Anyone else on the downward spiral of doom? I’ve said for a long while that we live in anxiety soup, (and that was before the events of recent weeks.) Your mind can be your greatest ally or your absolute worst enemy. We all need ways to work with our minds.
Some mind-based practices can teach you how to unplug from the mental turmoil. When you do that you connect with a more spacious mind; one that can witness the ups and downs without being swept up into them.
Some mind-based practices teach you how to discern where you’re caught in a story that holds you back. Stepping out of your stories gives you a fresh vantage point on life. It frees you from anxiety and gives you the inner support to take the actions you want to take.
And some mind-based practices reconnect you with your creativity, your joy, your lust for life even though times are hard —- I’d say especially because times are so hard.
Mind-based practices sometimes work subtly over time - sometimes offer relief in the moment. Either way they’re great because you’ve always got your mind and you don’t need any extra space or time.
Try things like: meditation, mantra recitation, keeping a gratitude journal, journalling and free writing. And of course, anytime you get creative, you quiet your anxious mind. Show up for your creativity and see how much better you’ll feel.
Practices for Community
Maybe you don’t think of community as something to practice. But as we become evermore isolated and distant from each other, now is the time to make a firm commitment to reconnection.
Community means showing up to connect in a real way. Showing up in places where you are seen and heard - and where you see and hear others. Community requires your participation. It requires it even when participating is hard, uncomfortable, or inconvenient.
When you practice community you participate in giving and receiving love, help, compassion, and support. On your roughest days, community can be what sees you through. On your best days community is where you pour your overflow. In this way you weave a tight web of connection rather than disconnect.
Community-practice can be very individual. You could commit to calling family members once a week. You could regularly show up to a yoga class and practice staying afterwards to have meaningful conversations. You can host a creativity gathering, or start a potluck or book group. You could join an activism group. It doesn’t matter what you do, your participation is what’s important.
Get into the Groove
These seem like the most potent practices we can call forward right now. Setting our intentions and showing up again and again creates a groove in body, mind, and heart. That groove is a stabilizer in an unstable world.
If you’re newer to practice I recommend you start small. Set an alarm on your phone and simply pause and take three breaths at the end of your day. This will slow your mind and drop you into your body. Make a plan to call a friend. Commit to a regular yoga class once a week and you’ll be in community while supporting your mind and body.
If you’re not so new to practice I recommend tightening up. Not so much that you’ve buried your head in the sand. But all of us have slack times. Now is not a slack time - especially if you’re feeling ungrounded. If you don’t meditate - today’s a great day to start (5 minutes is enough). If you have a few friends you connect with regularly, maybe send a text to someone who’s a little further out in your circle. If you’ve been sluggish this winter, come back to your yoga practice more often.
Count on your Practices
In tumultuous times, when we can’t count on the world, we can count on our practices. They may not be easeful. They may not deliver world peace, but they’re here and they’re something we can show up for over and over again. When everything feels uncertain, the certainty of showing up for practice is like dropping anchor in a restless sea.
The point isn’t so much what you do, but that you DO. The point is that you show up intentionally. That you do it over and over, even when it feels like nothing’s happening.
Something’s happening. Every time you practice you get into your body where you sense your vitality, you witness your mind without being swept away, you weave yourself into meaningful relationships. You give yourself a touchstone of center. You reignite your heart. You remember your love for this world - and your unique place in it. All of it helps you get up and meet another day.
We need you. I’m glad you’re here.
Let’s practice and we’ll make our way through together.
Is there another practice that’s really important to you? Great! I’d love for you to add it to the list by leaving a comment. XO