Do you ever wonder why you’ll be cruising, “I got this. I’m on track. This is it!” and then boom you lose it. Your usual maintenance tools don’t work. You’re stuck. You’re in a funk and don’t see a way out. (The ‘why’ of it, I’ve heard, is about bringing forth things that are unprocessed or incoherent with our current energetic state into our awareness. Like a mental/emotional/energetic cleanse that we feel as density in our bodies.) This has been happening a lot lately. Good thing, because I have some first-hand experience to share with you now. Gratitudes, pranayama, sun and water/nature (Barton Springs) are my daily basics, so they are usually not enough for me to unfunk. Here’s what I’ve found to be helpful:
1) Get my head wet. I don’t wash my hair every day; so when in a funk, I at least wash my hair, but preferably submerge my whole head in a body of water. Natural spring water or a salt-water pool is preferable.
2) Vigorous exercise. Gentle to moderate exercise is my norm – so a really hard sweat and racing heartbeat are great to move physical and mental toxins around and out. Sauna therapy is a great substitute if you cannot exercise
3) A light fast. When I’m down and negative, I may crave heavy, tamasic food. The opposite is what I need to unfunk. My usual diet is pretty satvic (light/yogic), so taking it a step further is what works best. A fast on a veggie-heavy, mineral-rich broth balances out heavy qualities within the being, and the willpower exerted in a light fast, ignites mental Agni(clarity), clearing out the clouds and murk of a funk.
4) Journaling with my higher self. This is one of my favorites and works really well in conjunction with the others. We have all the wisdom within to delve deep into the root cause of the funk. We just need to connect and write it out. Enter into an actual Q and A dialogue with this part of you, and let your subconscious pour out onto the page. It’s really quite amazing for me each time.
5) Spiritual Reading. Funks can only exist with a microcosmic focus, me and my small world of “i”. Any work that expands your focus to the macrocosm (as both a part of creation, and Creator of your creation) is helpful.
6) Do something nice for someone else. This is surprisingly effective. Focusing on your role in serving someone else helps expand that funky microfocus.
7) Humming or toning. A meditation practice I learned last year, essentially calls for you to hum on each exhale. It’s really simple. Inhale through the nose, exhale hum. This is one of my all-star favorites. 30 minutes of this will definitely unfunk you. At least that’s the case for me. Even a few minutes of it goes a long way.
Being in the light (mental clarity, positivity, connectivity, joy) feels like home to me. So, it’s really uncomfortable when I’m not. We all have ups and downs. There’s nothing wrong with being down and relaxing into it. The discomfort arises in wanting something else, something to be different. Let’s honor wherever we are. There’s no shame. Sometimes just the allowing and acceptance of a state is all we need. It’s ok to be in a slump. It’s ok to be anxious. It’s ok to have a melt-down. And, when you’re ready, when you want something different, these are the things I do to shift my mind, body, and spirit back to home.
I hope this helps. Please share in the post ways you unfunk yourself.
Nisha
p.s. You are not your mood. You are always and eternally peace, love, and boundless joy. Our physical existence can cloud and murk our realization of this truth. So unfunking methods only serve to facilitate this remembering.
