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About Me

Hi, I'm Amanda, and I've been blogging since 2006. Writing has always been a passion of mine, and I love having this space to connect with like-minded people. Here at A Spiral Dance, you'll find I write a lot about how I'm learning to live well within my limits, how I'm supporting my health and well-being whilst coping with chronic illness, and the ways in which my very varied faith merges paths such as Christianity, Paganism, and The New Age.

I was a BiBs2019 Finalist

Latest Posts

Memories

May 12, 2020

A Year of Change – April

May 1, 2020

My Daily Chanting Practice

April 9, 2020

A Year of Change – March

March 31, 2020

Tips & Resources for Isolation from a Chronically Ill Person

March 17, 2020

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aspiraldance

Spoonie Warrior on a Sacred Healing Journey 🙏🏻Balancing Self Care with Family Life 👪
Christian ✝️ New Age Hippie🧘🏻‍♀️ Blogger 👩🏻‍💻

Thomas is back from the vets. He is a very poorly

Thomas is back from the vets. He is a very poorly boy 😔 his gut motility isn’t working properly, so food isn’t passing through him as it should. Which is crucial for guinea pig health. We have 3 types of medication to give him throughout the day, and have to take him back tomorrow for another check-up (unless he suddenly perks up). At this moment in time I’m glad there’s something we can do, but also know we are far from being out of the woods 😔 He’s staying in the box carrier we made for him on the bed with me. We’re keeping him warm and as comfortable as possible. Keep your fingers crossed for us 🤞

Thomas has been refusing food, really lethargic, a

Thomas has been refusing food, really lethargic, and generally looking really poorly since last night. So he has an emergency appointment at the vets this morning. After losing Percy so suddenly last year this really makes me sad and worried 😔

O has a thing about stacking items, and his creati

O has a thing about stacking items, and his creations never fail to amaze and amuse me!

YOGA AND THE ROOT CHAKRA | We've been talking this

YOGA AND THE ROOT CHAKRA | We've been talking this week about how grounding is a great way to balance the root chakra. You want to feel as if you are sinking fully into your body and the earth, trusting them both to support you no matter what. But sometimes no matter how hard you try, you just can't get out of your head. Your mind keeps swirling with fears and anxieties, and your stomach keeps churning with raw emotion, and all you want to do is run away. Sinking into how you're feeling is the last thing you want to do. But sometimes it is the only thing you can do. Right now so much is out of your control, but one thing you can do is allow yourself to be held by the earth. Which is why the yoga poses I have chosen all focus on that feeling of grounding and strength. Sometimes the strongest, most courageous thing we can do is to let go. There are some lovely yoga sequences available on YouTube, and if you want to do a full session then do go and check them out. But if you simply want one or two poses you can fit into your day, why not try one of the following? EASY POSE - Sit on the floor with your legs crossed, arms resting on your knees or in your lap, spine straight, chin tucked ever so slightly in to your chest, and breathe deep. Imagine your roots spreading into the earth. CHILD'S POSE - Kneel on the floor, bend forwards so that your head touches the floor, and rest your arms either by your side or stretched above your head. Feel the earth support you. WARRIOR POSE - I'm going to suggest you watch a video tutorial for this one, and then feel the strength within you as you move through the positions. TRIANGLE POSE - As above, watch a video for this, and feel how stable you are. TREE POSE - Stand on one leg, rest the other foot either on your calf or thigh, hold your hands in prayer pose in front of your heart or above your head, and stand tall like a tree.
GARLAND POSE - Again, watch a video for this one to make sure you support yourself as you sink into a crouch. Feel the stretch as you sink towards the earth. CORPSE POSE - Lay flat on your back, legs slightly apart and relaxed, arms by your side. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and just relax!

I had snuggles with Thomas yesterday and it was lo

I had snuggles with Thomas yesterday and it was lovely. I don’t get him out for snuggles as much as I used to, as I find it challenging to set it up so I don’t get peed on when I’m stuck in bed. But I had the idea yesterday to use one of his cage liners and wondered why I haven’t done this before 🤷‍♀️ So now I’m wondering if I can find some smaller lap pads that would do and can be thrown in the wash after a snuggle (so I’d need a few of them). There’s nothing better than a snuggle with a piggie when you’re feeling rough! Does anyone have any recommendations of places that might sell washable lap pads for him to sit on when I’m resting in bed?

CRYSTALS AND THE ROOT CHAKRA | Okay, so yesterday

CRYSTALS AND THE ROOT CHAKRA | Okay, so yesterday one of my suggestions for working with and supporting your root chakra was to focus on the colour red. You could do this by visualising a red ball of energy at your spine, wearing red, bringing red flowers into the home, eating red fruit, or using crystals. And it's that final suggestion which I want to look at in more detail today. As you might suspect, red crystals are often connected to the root chakra. They vibrate at the same kind of frequency we are working with. But it's not just red crystals which can help with this, browns and blacks can help too. Which is why if you Google "crystals for the root chakra" you'll see suggestions like Tiger's Eye (brown), Jet (black), and even Hematite (black/silver) along with red stones like Red Jasper, Garnet, and Ruby. If you want to work with crystals in connecting with your chakras, you can do so in several ways. You could buy a necklace or bracelet made from beads of that crystals, or carry a crystal around in a pocket, pouch, or even your bra(!). If you don't want to have it with you all the time, you could simply hold your crystal whilst breathing deeply and visualising on your root chakra. Or place it somewhere in the home that you'll see regularly, as a reminder to "check in" with yourself.
Choosing a crystal can be done in two ways - either look at different crystals and see which you find most attractive, or look up the specific properties and choose the one that best reflects what you feel you need. With that in mind, here are a few key things to help you. TIGER'S EYE - helps distance us from a crisis, keeping us focused on faith that all will be well. Calms the nervous system. JASPER - helps with courage and determination to do what needs to be done, and helps us come to terms with difficuly situations. Increases energy. GARNET - assists in times of crisis, helping us to survive seemingly insurmountable challenges. Boosts our ability to work on inner healing. HEMATITE - draws attention to basic needs, and helps us strive for better conditions. Increases oxygen supply (remember, we need to breathe deep!) Which crystals do you feel drawn to?

GROUNDING | Yesterday we talked about how trauma,

GROUNDING | Yesterday we talked about how trauma, insecurity, and fear can all impact our root chakra. Today I want to share some grounding exercises with you, to help you to support yourself during challenging times. Grounding is one of the most powerful ways to help you reconnect with your root chakra, especially when it feels as if life is spiralling out of control. And I think it's fair to say that right now we all feel a little out of control! So what is grounding? Well, it's exactly what it sounds like, doing things which ground us in time and place. When our minds are throwing up a dozen thoughts per minute, we can breathe deeply to bring our awareness back into our bodies. When the to-do list feels never ending, we can take a break to put our bare feet on the earth and remind ourselves that "in this moment, I am safe". And when we're tempted to skip meals or grab an easy snack because we simply don't have the time or energy to prepare a nutritious meal, we can remind ourselves of the importance of looking after the vessel we are living in (our bodies) and at least make a compromise to drink enough water and eat a bit of fruit.
Look, I get it, life is crazy right now. Sometimes survival mode is all you can cope with, and that's okay. I'm not saying that you have to meditate for an hour each day, eat only the most nutritious home-cooked meals, and ignore the fear coursing through you. That would be unrealistic and cause you more harm than good, because it's just setting you up to fail. But what I am saying is that you can do small things each day to help support yourself through this time.
So what can you do? Here are a few suggestions: * take your shoes off and walk or stand outside with your feet touching the earth * close your eyes, breathe deeply, and imagine roots growing from the base of your spine into the earth * repeat the affirmation, "I am safe" when you feel anxiety taking over * close your eyes and imagine a red ball of light at the base of your spine. Watch as it gets bigger and brighter the more you focus on it. * wear something red, bring red flowers into the home, choose a red crystal etc I'll be back tomorrow with more info...

ROOT CHAKRA | The root chakra sits at the very bas

ROOT CHAKRA | The root chakra sits at the very base of our spines and is, as you might expect from its name, connected to our roots. By this I mean it helps to ground and support us, giving us a sense of security and belonging from which we can grow. Or at least that is what happens when our root chakra is nicely balanced. The problem is, of course, that life isn't nicely balanced, and most of us carry some form of trauma. The older we get the more challenges we face, and over time we can become "pot bound"; we outgrow the place we are in but do not seem to be able to move to somewhere bigger and more supportive of our growth. This often happens as a result of our upbringing, as we try to fit into the expectations of our family or culture, even when they no longer suit us. In fact some of the trauma we hold comes not from our own experiences but rather ancestral issues that have long plagued a family line, being passed on from generation to generation. Trauma affects us at the deepest levels, removing our sense of security and making us cling to any sense of control we may feel we have. This is exactly why familial patterns continue through the generations - when the going gets tough we fall back onto what feels familiar rather than trying something new, even when we know it hasn't exactly brought us happiness in the past. And we get stuck in fear. If you have ever seen Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (go look it up if you haven't), you'll know that in order to enjoy the freedom that comes with the higher levels, such as love and self-actualisation, we first need our basic needs to be met. We need to feel safe. We are seeing this very predominantly right now with Covid-19 - it is incredibly hard to feel productive when your basic security (like health and income etc) are under threat.
Which is why it's so important for us to focus on grounding ourselves at all times, but especially in times of crisis. Feeling ungrounded and unsafe is a natural response, but we don't want it to overwhelm us. I'll be back tomorrow with some ideas on how to do this, but for today just focus on breathing deeply and acknowledging any feelings of insecurity.

I made a couple of necklaces today. And that, in a

I made a couple of necklaces today. And that, in and of itself, tells me I’m doing better than I have been even though I feel rotten. My head feels horrid with migraine symptoms, but instead of being completely floored and unable to do anything, I was able to make these two pieces today. My bad days seem to be getting less severe, which is something I truly hope continues. I’m hoping that a combination of increasing my migraine preventative, daily meditation (to calm my nervous system), and other lifestyle changes are behind this improvement. Because that means there is light at the end of the very long tunnel. It means there is hope of getting these migraines even more under control. I’m still getting migraine symptoms at least half of the month. And when I say migraine symptoms I mean whole body stuff. The vestibular nature of my migraines makes them so overwhelming. And yet look what I managed to do today despite feeling woozy and like everything was too loud for my brain to process! The first is turquoise and tiger’s eye, with orange seed beads and silver findings. The second is two gemstones I don’t know the names of. I’m tempted to say moonstone for the pink but I don’t think it is, I think I just want it to be 😂 If anyone recognised them, please let me know. I chose the green and pink combination for the heart chakra. And the turquoise and tiger’s eye for expression (throat chakra) of trauma and repressed emotions (sacral chakra, which is of course orange and picks up on the seed beads). The third photo shows me trying them both for length, with my hair pulled back off my face as I’ve slathered it in balms for pain relief and they make my hair super oily! It’s my go-to look these days 😂

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