a creative break

take a deep breath and try out this somatic expressive arts practice with me :)

11.05.24

haisai sea turtles :)

appologies for the slow start to november, we actually had the new moon on nov. 1 this month but halloween kicked my butt despite using my wheelchair and sticking close to our neighborhood. i think the shift in temperature has been getting my joints all creaky, too. hEDS tends to be part of that group that’s affected by the october slide, so i’m no stranger to having more flare-ups in the autumn. it just means that i need to be more mindful of where i expend my energy and be kinder to myself when i have to change some of my self-imposed due dates.

emotions have also just been flying wild with so many things happening in the world right now. i wanted to share this simple practice with you all that hopefully will help you calm some of that anxiety, worry, and overwhelm… especially with what news we’ll be seeing in the US today/this week. i tested out this somatic expressive arts practice to ease my anxiety before a doctor visit and it definitely helped me settle my nerves!

it’s called fingerprint waves because the final product ends up looking a lot like a fingerprint, and throughout the process, you’re making waves of the original squiggle that you make across the page. it’s also a reminder that any emotional experience, no matter how intense, can eventually calm and settle down. this practice certainly helped settle my nerves multiple times now. i believe it works because it acknowledges and validates your individual experience (like the uniqueness of your fingerprint) while also acknowledging that you’re not alone, that you’ve got a community of people ready to embrace and support you though it all, the same way the waves of the fingerprint you created hug together to make up the final image. take these reminders with you through today and any day you need it! here are the step by step instructions below:

be sure to check in with your breath throughout the whole process. there’s no need to control your breath, just let it move however it needs to in that moment, but try your best to notice if you’re holding it in. if that’s the case, see what happens if you let it go, see how it moves when you refrain from holding it back. hopefully, by the end of your practice you have a little more of an even, steady breath, that may have helped you to find that sense of calm. if not, no worries! your body might just need more time to process. allow yourself to sit with the discomfort, but again, if it is too much then try the fingerprint waves practice once again. take your time!

be kind to yourself. treat yourself with something that would make younger, little kiddo you smile and squeal with excitement. you deserve to experience joy. you deserve peace. you deserve ease. you’re also allowed to experience multiple feelings at once without them invalidating the others. so to all my activist friends out there, remember to rest. it’s essential in allowing yourself to sustainably continue to fight for what’s right.

sending you all lots of love,

ksachi

PS- i know i mentioned potential paid posts coming in october, but my flare ups started well before halloween and made me reconsider the whole thing. i’m not sure i’ve ever been able to maintain the consistency necessary for paid content, so i might just keep it to free content for everyone which aligns more with my desire to make things more accessible anyway. i’ll still accept any donations for those who’d like to support my work via ko-fi for now (tip jar and shop open!) much appreciated :)