A harmonious state of being in which your body, mind and spirit flawlessly function together.
I thought it would be easy, this business of getting into alignment. I assumed following my intuition and becoming who I am meant to be would be smothered with ease. Like riding an inflatable pool lounger down a lazy river, once I decided to allow what is natural to guide me.
But I have come to understand that getting into alignment is anything but easy.
Om Tuesday during a deep tissue massage, my friend and massage therapist found some tightly wound muscles in my shoulders. Pinch points that felt like rocks. Painful areas that needed attention in order to be healed. Now, I could have asked her to go light and easy, but I knew the stress those muscles carried wanted to be released. So together we worked on the deep layers. Me breathing deeply and pushing into where it hurt. Her kind hands holding steady as the stress finally gave way. Evaporating into the air along with the soft scent of pine-infused oil.
I said to her "Getting into alignment is painful." As I had already been to the chiropractor that morning for a not-so-fun adjustment. Along with muscular and spinal health, I am one month into my second round of orthodontic treatment. My teeth and jaws have shifted over the years and adult braces had become another critical component of realignment. Each tooth feels loose and my head has ached almost every day since I got them. Painful AND necessary. (P.S. I am totally thrilled to have braces. Delighted for their assistance. And a fun side note is that my 13-year old sense of humor has taken ahold of me once again. 38 going on 13! It's a good time.)
Our bodies are reflections of our minds. Our minds are reflections of our bodies.
Energy flows throughout our body but can lodge in different places if our physical, mental or spiritual structure is out of alignment. Zooming out, I see my personal journey as a microcosm of the bigger picture. The world at large is also so desperately seeking a balanced and harmonious existence.
Alignment goes in all directions.
It is becoming clear to me that alignment is actually something one might need to fight for. It is a birthright by and by, however, it is not handed to us. Challenges, obstacles, and giant swings of imbalance have colored life up until this point. And now an opportunity of opposite directions is being presented: The old familiar way which is comfortable, predictable, and slightly claustrophobic. Or the new way of finding balance. This one is intriguing, strengthening and insurmountably hard. A true test of endurance.
Turns out I am stronger than I knew and so are you. This is good to understand.
The goal of alignment is the most challenging pursuit I have endured. Maybe it is for you, too? But it is absolutely worth every step and quite literally forging me into the person I am at the core. And handing out beautiful nuggets of insight and wisdom along the way. After all, it isn’t about making it to the end and getting the prize.
It’s about the entire journey of becoming.
The light at the end of the tunnel is ours.
It is us. Learning to peel back the darkness to reveal our full shine is the work of this lifetime.
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