Infinity Health & Wellness Magazine October / November 2016 | Page 4

ASpiritual
sk Sage Woman:
Advice

for the Real World
with Sage Woman

Dear Sage Woman,
I suffer from depression and anxiety. I am seeking a
more holistic and spiritual way to deal with it. If you
can offer any tools to go alongside the professional/
medical care I am receiving, I would so appreciate
it.
Thank you,
Celia D.
_____________
Dear Celia,
I am happy to share some of the tools I have used
during my own experiences of depression and
anxiety in life. What I am offering today should not
replace any professional and/or medical care you
are currently under. Please discuss these suggestions
with your doctor before incorporating them into
your daily routine.
Many of us experience periods when we have
feelings of anxiety and depression. At times we can
trace these feelings to a particular life experience,
trauma or loss. Other times we just feel the way we
do and have no idea why. If the symptoms continue
for an extended period of time, it is important to
seek medical advice.
Alongside, however, there are many ways you can
begin rebalancing yourself and reconnecting body,
mind and spirit. As you begin your healing journey,
know that the real you isn’t truly depressed and
never has been. Your essential nature is pure love,
pure spirit and pure potentiality.

4

The first thing I do when I feel anxiety, is breathe.
I use a simple breathing exercise that takes very
little time, but packs a big punch. If possible, stop
all movement, close your eyes, and take seven
slow deep breaths. Send each breathe to the seven
chakras. Inhale and send your breath to your
root chakra and exhale and do the same to the
remaining six: sacral, solar plexus, heart chakra,
throat, third eye and crown. Connecting with your
sacred breath will connect you with Source and
will instantly bring an inner calm. I still do this at
least once or twice a week. It works!
Numerous scientific studies have found meditation
to be effective for treating anxiety. All mental
activity requires a physical correlation to the brain,
and this connection is often studied in relation to
anxiety. Regular meditation allows your brain to
develop new pathways, replacing the old patterns
of worry. If meditation is difficult for you, simplify
it. Choose a mantra such as: “I am centered,” and
repeat it over and over as you sit comfortably in
3-5 minutes of silence. Do this every day and it will
become a habit. A habit in which you are giving
your mind, body and spirit permission to detach
from the outside world in order to reboot.
When I was experiencing my own “dark night of
the soul,” I incorporated walking into my morning
ritual. I was filled with much grief, anxiety and
sadness, and it sometimes took a miracle just to
get me out the door. Once I began to experience
the magic of walking in nature, however, I began
to organically decompress. Walking is proven
to be a simple and effective way to elevate your
mood. Unused energy in the body appears to cause
anxiety in the mind. The mind/body connection
really does exist, and since a lack of activity causes

Oct / Nov 2016