Earth Connection and Our Health
We have just completed a 30km kayak trip on the Wimmera River as it meanders its way through the little desert. Our family has camped in this area for many years, however, travelling by kayak brought us an entirely new perspective. Travelling down a river to connect with the land gives you a deeper appreciation of well - everything. We observed birds and wildlife unobtrusively, which gave us a chance to see, hear and observe unusual birds in their natural state. We watched gradually changing ecologies of the river and billabong systems merge and change, and this enticed our curiosity, questioning and reflection. But most of all, the crawling slow pace of the river enabled us to drink in the landscape and we felt part of it – there were no roads, fences or external structures imposed and the river had its own power and direction which dictated our direction.
I only realized the depth of connection when we collected our car and drove to one of our favourite spots of the trip on the final night. Driving in just seemed so ordinary. The level of connection coming in on the kayak was so much deeper. It is as if, by moving at that slow pace, and observing and participating in the environment, we were more deeply a part of it. We experienced the deep connection as soon as we stepped on to the land – as part of, not separate to, the environment. Throughout the trip, I found it easy to sense deep roots from my body reaching in and connecting me with the earth.
I realized that deep connection relates to the earth element in our body-mind - the spleen and digestive system in oriental medicine. A calm presence in our environment and a deep connection with it helps us feel more grounded, present and alive within it. The kayak trip was part of my care for this earth element in my life. Spending time in nature and connecting meaningfully with it supports and nurtures me.
A few days later, I had to drive to Melbourne – driving is often a source of anxiety for me these days and, sure enough, a moment on a strange freeway with giant trucks racing either side of me, I felt that familiar panic well up. I thought of a giant tree I met. She would have been 700 years old before she fell in the forest, her trunk was a metre over my head. I imagined roots going deep into the earth in that river red gum forest, and slowly the panic subsided and I became calm.
We can do much to support the earth element in our lives in how we eat. Making and eating nourishing food – from processing and cooking the summer harvest, to warm long cooked food in the winter months -nurtures and supports us on every level. Any form of connection, time in nature (nature-bathing), meditation with quiet still mind (even better out in nature), walking and yoga that bring us into presence in our body and give awareness of the simple joys of life – all of these can support our earth element. The earth element loves the simplicity of life and appreciates small things, the changing light, the gift of a flower, a bird or animal moving in the bush.
There are simple practices like imagining roots going down from kidney 1 (beneath the pads of the toes in the middle of the foot) to the ground, as part of a meditation. Alternatively, as a walking practice; where you walk slowly and deliberately, pressing Kidney 1 into the ground and feeling the earth supporting you with every step. Thich Naht Hahn suggests this practice: imagining earth as your mother, loving and supporting you. You can also place two fingers, one hand width below your navel, and two fingers on your sternum (between the nipples) and hold these two points to reconnect with your body and release anxiety from your heart and mind.
Whatever you do, try to find ways to support your earth element. This will strengthen your whole-body system as the months change from the cold to the heat of summer and back again in the new year.