Freeing My Spirit

There is nothing I love more than when I feel truly free. I’ve always been fiercely independent ~ making my own decisions, setting goals for myself and achieving them, acknowledging when I set goals for myself and the goals shift or change in a way they no longer support where I want to be. Rock climbing, mountain biking, snowboarding, hiking, being on a shore, anything that puts me in front of an open expanse, creates the space for my heart and mind to connect, and gives me an indescribably exhilarating feeling. This to me is freedom; this connection of space and heart and mind is when I feel the most freedom of spirit. As an introvert, the idea of being around lots of people exhausts me. I will always choose small groups or solitude over situations where I know I’ll need to interact with lots of people; to me simply being around lots of people at once is too much. I feel overly exposed, my mind feels over-stimulated and I feel unable to articulate anything well. This, to me, is the opposite of feeling free. Although I’ve become skilled at breathing through anxiety and other stressful situations, those times still feel spirit-suffocating. We don’t have mountains or shoreline, in this west Houston suburb where I live, so I make conscious decisions to create the sense of freedom my spirit craves. I get out in nature, walking, running, or bike riding as often as I can, usually around a path near where I live. Watching the clouds and birds, I vicariously experience their freedom, space and exhilaration, which supports me in more ways than I can put into words. I practice saying, “No,” knowing that although my saying, “No,” may disappoint others, honoring my truth is imperative to cultivating a free spirit. Finally, I practice embodiment through yoga and breath work and mindfulness through meditation and living in the moment; I practice accepting who I am, where I am, and listening to how and what my body communicates. Learning how to listen to and use the cues from my body to facilitate a greater space/heart/mind connection nurtures and supports my free spirit. How do you free your spirit??