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Potty Training

Potty Training - while you're there, why not flush the blocked energy from your system?

The other day as I smacked my shoulder into the corner of a wall, it occurred to me that I hadn't done my morning energy routine in nearly a week. Bumping into things and being foggy brained are two sure indicators that my energy is not flowing correctly. An erratic schedule is to blame, and as it won't be letting up any time soon, I wondered how I could possibly get my routine back on track?  The answer came to me while I was in the you-know-where.  In the loo!  And the answer that came to me is: Potty Training.    

Held Captive

Women go the bathroom at least six times a day, so says a national poll. Another poll declared that we spend 15 minutes in total on the potty each day - which is 1.75 hours a week. That means we are held captive for nearly two hours in a relatively comfortable position with not much to keep us occupied (unless you are someone who thinks it's sanitary to bring your mobile into the toilet with you).

So why not make the most of that time? Potty Train yourself with these loo-friendly energy exercises and see if you don't feel refreshed in more ways than just the one or two.

Grounding

If you've been practicing any kind of spiritual / energy wellness, you'll know that grounding is essential for our ability to maintain our power and keep our energy flowing. There are more grounding techniques than one person could probably ever do (especially on the loo), but here are two to try:

1. Mula bandha - our pelvic floor - is one of three locks that allow us to harness and use energy. Some people have a difficult time engaging their mula bandha or neglect it completely, but there's no better time or place to learn and practice than during Potty Training. To engage mula bandha, contract the pelvic muscles until your urine stops. Hold it for a couple of seconds, then release so the urine starts flowing again. Repeat contracting and relaxing until you've run out of pee.

2. With your feet planted on the floor and your eyes closed, take a slow, deep breath into your belly. (Depending, of course, on what you're doing on the potty, a deep breath might not be a good idea). Hold it for three counts, then slowly exhale. On the next inhalation, imagine pulling the breath down through your crown chakra from overhead, holding it for three counts in your belly, then exhaling it out through your feet. Repeat this until someone wonders why you've been in the bathroom for so long. Then on your next visit, reverse the process and inhale from the ground, hold in the belly and exhale out the crown chakra.

Cross Crawl

This exercise, taken from Donna Eden's Daily Routine, strengthens the cross pattern flow of energy that occurs naturally in our system where the left hemisphere of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice-versa. Sometimes the energy can become stagnant or can even begin to flow in a parallel pattern, resulting in clumsiness (like tripping or banging into walls), feeling irritable or blue, or struggling with a cold or illness. This exercise can be done as many times during the day as you choose.

Here are the steps for the Cross Crawl. Normally a demonstration video would be included, but...

1. Raise your left knee slightly while at the same time, swing your right arm across the front of your body and touch your wrist to your knee. Return to a neutral position.

2. Raise your right knee and swing your left arm across, touching your wrist to the knee. Return to a neutral position.

3. Repeat this left-leg / right-arm, right-leg / left-arm pattern for 12 times on each side. Be sure to return to a neutral position each time, as it is the cross-over motion that creates the energy flow.

The Hook Up

This easy and powerful exercise works for energy like Imodium works for diarrhea. It connects your Central meridian to your Governing meridian, tying them together and locking in the energy balance and flow so that it stays put. The Hook Up is great to use:

- When feeling disconnected from yourself or others
- When you feel like you’re “losing it”
- When you need to feel a sense of calm
- When you feel dizzy, faint or nauseous
- When there is a sudden shock or change to your system

The steps are: Put the middle finger of one hand in your belly button.  
Put the middle finger of your other hand on your  third eye (just between your eyebrows).  
Gently push in and pull up.
Hold this position until you 'catch your breath' or sigh out.   It will feel different than a regular breath.  Sometimes it may happen right away. Other times it may take 20 seconds or more.

When your friends ask why you look so vibrant, I dare you to tell them you were "hooking up" in the bathroom.

Do you have a Potty Training exercise you'd like to share? Post it on our new EMPATH POWER Facebook Group!

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Author:
Jeannette Folan
Jeannette is the author of the novel "Diary of a Teenage Empath" and two HSP/Empath workbooks for children & teens. She is an Integrative Health Coach who, with her mentor Dr. Wendy Nickerson, launched the first-ever accredited HSP training program for mental health professionals. She leads an HSP community group in Halifax.
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