Your Body is Magical (Zine Issue 01)

Updated: Jan 28

ABOUT MOON ROSE d

Moon Rose is a therapeutic bodywork and massage studio, as well as an herbal apothecary, created and carried out by yours truly: Heather Tides. Moon Rose is a space to arrive and be as you are, and all layers and dimensions of you are welcome. Each session together is a unique co-creation between us. I specialize in fascial work, myofascial release therapy (MFT), and structural integration bodywork/ therapeutic massage. I work with the body as a whole, including the mind, emotions and energies that are all part of the structure of our bodies. I also offer sound baths, guided meditations and energy work. I am grateful for this work and am endlessly fascinated by what I learn and witness. My intention behind this zine is to share some of the wonder and knowledge I have learned from these wise and magical bodies of ours. Please enjoy Issue 01: The Root!

THE ROOT

What I mean when I talk about the root here is our minds’ connection with our bodies (as a part of the earth body), as well as our physiological lower half of the body: our structure’s foundation.

Many of us exist in our awareness in our heads or mental realms most of the time. The brain loves to think, problem solve, and try, and we love our brain for that. However, it is a valuable and beautiful option to inhabit experience through other parts of our bodies as well (embodiment). The body is extremely wise and has the inherent capacity to open us to deep joy, pleasure and healing.

There are reasons to exist in the headspace, and part of the work of exploring embodiment is facing, feeling, and letting go or working with those things. These can be the very things that kept us safely out of our bodies during times of trauma, habitual or cultural learnings, or anything else – the reasons we leave our bodies are vast. There is no rush or end-goal with this work; let it be a curious exploration, a gentle remembrance.

EXPLORING THE ROOT

✧ PHYSICALLY: feet, space just below feet, ankles, legs, knees, thighs, hips, glutes, pelvic bowl, sacrum, genitals, sciatic nerves

✧ ENERGETICALLY: grounding cord to Earth and Nature, connection to our bodies as the earth body, root chakra, home, safety, instincts, nourishment

✧ COMMON EMOTIONS: safety/fear, security and confidence/insecurity, calm/restlessness, feeling grounded/dissociated, generous/greedy, trust/anxiety

✧ COLOR: deep, dark red (your bare feet sink into the soft, muddy red earth clay after a night of rainfall)

✧ AFFIRMATIONS: In this moment I am safe. I am a part of nature and connected to all of nature. I belong. I heal. I am here for myself. I am fully supported. I am capable. I am both strong and soft. I already have everything I need. I am at home in my body. I am at home on this earth. I love this world. I love my life. I love my body. I am powerful. It is safe to feel my feelings. It is safe to be in my body. I am grateful.

✧ POSTURES:

✶ Legs up the wall

✶ Savasana/Lying flat on your back

(option to add a pillow under

your knees and/or head)

✶ Belly down upon the ground

✶ Child’s Pose

✶ Figure 4 Pose

✶ Pigeon Pose

✶ Supta Baddha Konasana/Back flat on ground, feet together, knees out (support knees with blocks or pillows if that feels more comfortable)

✧ EXERCISE:

The feet and hips are directly connected! Often, the tension and cotorsion that is taking place in the hips/pelvis translates to foot pain. The following simple exercise (Plantar Fascia Tennis Ball Release) helps to open the deep line between the soles of the feet to the joints of the pelvis, and the muscles and fascia along the way. It is beneficial for anyone experiencing foot, hip or low back pain, or when feeling ungrounded and wanting to come back into the present moment, or to feel your physical root.

PLANTAR FASCIA TENNIS BALL RELEASE

Stand up with your feet about hip width apart, or a little wider, so that you feel stable. Place a tennis ball under one foot, rolling it around lightly until you find a more sensational or tender spot. Then, begin to pour your weight evenly into this foot, allowing the ball to sink into the sole of your foot. Keep even pressure here for 1-2 minutes.

As you allow the sensation and pressure to build, tune inward and feel if you can notice the connectivity between your foot, up your leg and thigh and into your hip. You can imagine that the sole of your foot is sinking deeper into the tennis ball with each exhale, and that your spine is elongating with each inhale.

You can do this for several different spots on each foot, holding each spot for 1-2 minutes.

Repeat for both feet.

❂

GROUNDING BREATH MEDITATION d

✧ Lie down on the ground, on the earth. You can use a blanket or mat. Ideally, choose a place that is outdoors, or you can do this indoors. Choose somewhere that you feel warm, safe and comfortable, and where you will not be disturbed.

✧ Take a moment after lying down to notice the sights, sounds, smells and tastes around you. Notice how you feel right now. Take your time. When you are ready to, close your eyes. Begin to notice your breath by feeling the air entering your nostrils. Follow the sensation of air traveling through your body. Without trying to change anything, notice the path of the air through your body. Feel the coolness of the air as you inhale. Notice where it travels to~ your throat, lungs, rib cage, belly or low belly. Feel the warmer air exiting your body.

✧ Feel the weight of your body on the ground. Know you are completely safe and held here.

✧ Invite your breath to begin to expand now. On the inhales, draw air in through your nostrils, filling your low belly and lungs. You can place one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly to help you feel this. Let your exhales be full, slow, and complete, breathing out through the nostrils or the mouth.

✧ With each inhale, begin to sense any tension in your muscles, joints, bones, cells, body, and mind. Breathe into the tension. With each exhale, feel the tension start to relent and unwind, to melt away. Feel your tension begin to seep down into the earth below you. Imagine that the Earth collects and takes away your tension, funneling it down and out of you; recycling and composting this old energy as you relax a bit more with each exhale. Breathe in this way for about 5-10 more full deep breath cycles.

✧ Now, you’ll take another 5-10 deep breaths, breathing in the same way, but with each inhale, start to imagine fresh, clearing, healing, unconditionally loving energy moving into your body and mind. You can imagine this energy or light to be any color if you wish. Continue to let the exhales be an act of letting go and relaxing into the earth.

✧ At the end of your deep breaths, allow your breathing to return to its natural rhythm and depth. Take a few moments connecting with the earth that you are on, by feeling your body upon the earth body. If you are inside, connect with the floor and the earth below the floor through your senses and imagination. Send love and gratitude from your heart to the earth, as you feel totally held here for a few more moments.

✧ When you are ready, gently open your eyes, and take a few moments to observe what you hear, see, smell, taste and feel here before getting up.

While focusing on the root as the lower half of the body can be helpful to land us in our bodies, it is true that our bodies are wholly connected—there is no real separation between any one part of the body from any other part. Our senses can help us connect in with this sense of rootedness or connection to the present moment – where the body is always at.

✧ Invitation: ✧

✧ Right now, what do you see around you, near and far? ✧ What do you hear right now when you really listen? (What is the closest noise you can hear, the most faint, the furthest away noise, the loudest?)

✧ Where are your feet right now? Can you feel the point of connection between your feet and the ground?

✧ How are you holding your body in space right now? Are your shoulders relaxed or tight, open or rolling forward? Make any adjustments that feel right for you.

✧ Find a comfortable seat on the ground.

Take a few cycles of breath to relax your body and mind.

Close your eyes, and feel your body grow heavier with each exhale.

Imagine that you are sending roots down into the earth from the bottoms of your feet and the palms of your hands. Feel these roots growing and stretching out and down into the earth, connecting you with all of nature.

When you are ready, open your eyes.

INVITE PLEASURE IN

I hope that you can move or exist in your body in a pleasurable way today. You know what brings you joy best, but if you want inspiration, here are some ideas:

✧ Intuitive Movement - create some space on the floor with a yoga mat or blanket, and allow your body to move however it wants to move. Hip and shoulder spirals, shaking, stomping, lying down, gentle neck rolls are some places to start.

✧ Listen to Music - really listen. Put on some headphones or turn the volume up if you have the privacy, and play a song/album that you love. Listen to the music with your whole body and mind. Close your eyes while you listen, allowing the sound waves to move through you, and perhaps move you— if your body wants to dance or move in any way, let it!

✧ Oil Yourself - Take a hot bath or shower and then spend some time loving up on yourself by applying your favorite body oil from head to toe. Warm the oil in your hands first and create heat in your hands by rubbing your palms together. Your hands are the extensions of your heart – keep this in mind as you use them to touch your body.

✧ Make Tea - and drink it slowly, savoring the flavors and feelings.

GRATITUDE d

Feel into what you are grateful for. Record it here each day for one week. (You can print this part out)

DAY 1: _____________