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Hands up if you are a person who is so balanced that you have NEVER had a Blah Day in your Life.
If your hand went up, then please share your Secret Sauce with me!
I still remember that day in March 2014 when I had an epic Blah Day – the seeds of which had been sown a week before. If you are a long time reader of my blog or know me in person, then you know that I’m usually on top of my game armed with my daily ritual which includes Chakra balancing, meditation and walking Coco. But guess what? Blah days happen to everyone, and I’m no exception.
On the Friday preceding Blah Day, I got pushed very badly by a fellow resident while out walking Coco. In my attempt to protect Coco, I took the fall that set off spasms of pain in my lower back. Things got bad enough to rush to the Emergency OPD by Sunday morning.
I was still alright, I guess but my tolerance levels were slipping thanks to the painkillers. I systematically did all the Maintenance Tasks that I could do and selected the Productive Tasks based on immediate priority for the periods when I could sit up.
Then the Blah Day happened
My mobile service provider had outsourced a new verification drive to a Third Party that was supposed to collect some documents. They did not keep their appointments. I called the service provider and they told me that there was no drive and I should not hand over my documents to anyone.
The next morning, I got a text message to immediately deliver the documents for verification with the ultimatum that non-compliance meant discontinuing my service. This was just as I was preparing to go to the hospital for a check-up.
I called, I emailed and suddenly it appeared that I had to submit the documents. No explanation of having told me earlier that I did not have to. Fortunately, the franchisee of the service provider in my locality with whom I’ve been doing business for more than a decade reassured me that if I got the documents delivered in the afternoon, he would do the needful.
Then we got to the hospital and when I came out to drive home, someone without a car plate had blocked my car! It took us 45 minutes to locate the owner who did not bother to apologize.
I got home; started receiving calls from the service provider who had not read my complaint letter properly and packed them off to read it. Just as I thought I needed to lie down, my customer service officer at my primary bank called.
It was not to inquire about my health but to tell me that he wanted to teach a customer how to use online banking for placing fixed deposits and could I go online and place a deposit for testing?
He persisted with his request and I finally growled a firm no and shot him an email telling him that this was a breach of client relationship. I got an immediate apology and good wishes for a speedy recovery.
I concluded that the world had gone crazy and I was transforming into the Red Queen ready to shout “Off with His Head”.
It was time to take a breather and work out what was happening.
These things happen and given a back problem, I knew my resilience was low.
I realized that the area of injury corresponded to my 2 lower Chakras – the Root (which was caused by my health concerns and pain) and Sacral (caused by the heavy painkillers) Chakras. With these 2 Chakras out of balance, my energy was blocked and to compensate, my Manipura or Solar Plexus Chakra was going into overdrive and manifesting as anger, helplessness and irritation. I was out of balance, even if temporarily.
It was time to put the Karmic Ally Coaching 4 Step Action Plan to work
Within 30 minutes, I was back to normal. Here’s my 4 Step Action Plan that got me back in balance. You can use it too even if you don’t have a back problem.
Step 1 – Contemplate
Make an honest evaluation of the situation and note how you are feeling and if you are feeling any kind of heaviness in the body. This will give you an indication of which Chakra’s energy may be blocked or out of balance.
Step 2 – Prepare to heal thyself
Still your mind with breathing and grounding exercises. My post titled Breathe and meditate to manage stress shows you how to do it.
Step 3 – Action
Now you are in a place to take course corrective action.
Awareness – Identify the specific feelings that you are experiencing and
Acceptance – However painful, accept yourself and your feelings. You are human and you have permission to feel. You also have permission to be kind to yourself.
Chakra Exercises – Meditate on each Chakra where you have identified the sense of blockage. For this, with eyes closed, visualize a white ball of light descending from your crown or top of the head and flowing down your spinal cord to the location of the concerned Chakra. See it turn into the color of the Chakra and visualize the Chakra rotating at the right speed.
Alternatively, visualize the light descending to that Chakra as you inhale and releasing any negative energy on exhalation. Do this for a couple of minutes.
You can enhance your actions by keeping a crystal related to the Chakra in your palms while you meditate or a Clear Crystal Quartz – the all-rounder crystal. Affirmations that resonate with you and lighting incense also help with the breathing. Learn more about using crystals in my post The Magic of Crystals -especially for the Solar Plexus Chakra.
If you want a complete set of Chakra Balancing Exercises that are good for overall balancing, my ebook Stress Management with Chakra Balancing Exercises is a good resource.
Step 4 – Check
Having done step 3, assess how you are feeling and if the sense of heaviness has gone. The final part is to forgive the person or situation that brought on the imbalance and show gratitude for all that you have.
That’s what I did too. I was grateful for the franchisee who got things sorted out and for the faith that my customer service officer had in me that I would help. I forgave the document collector who was only doing his job as well as the banker because he later realized that he couldn’t force a customer to place a fixed deposit to teach another customer.
I was grateful for the emergency help I got at the Hospital OPD that kept me going until my personal Orthopaedic Surgeon was back in town from his lecture tour in the USA and could help me with my new back problem.
I often find that even if the actions have not been done correctly, the simple acts of gratitude and forgiveness help to release these temporary energy blockages and prevent long-term illnesses.
I haven’t experienced such a nightmarish day since or felt like the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland (or even the Grumpy Kitty) but I know better and take five if my health is not up to par and my resilience is at a low. That’s a better way to manage life.
Have you ever had my kind of blah day or any kind of blah day that was nightmarish? How did you cope with it? I’d love to read your personal coping tips!
PS. This post originally appeared way back in 2014 in my original blog Vatsala’s Tips for a Stress Free Life and the links for the 3 Chakra’s discussed are to posts at that blog.
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I’m so sorry you had to go through all this. So good that you have this 4-step action plan. I never thought about clearing the chakras like this. I especially like adding forgiveness and gratitude at the end.
Forgiveness and gratitude are important when it comes to reaffirming our positive beliefs and attitude, Sandra, but before that, we need to create that space to be able to receive the energy of gratitude. It is so much better to stay cool than have our temper burning under the collar. 🙂
I appreciate this type of information and find it so helpful. I am always practicing ways to improve myself and to help others. Really loving the chakra meditation and taking it away with me. Thanks so much.
My pleasure, Teresa. So glad you found the post useful. I love the Chakra meditation too. It makes a world of difference.
Yes, I had a fully blown nightmare of a day just earlier this week! Normally I am able to recover quickly but this one drained my energy to the point that it took two full days before I felt even close to my “normal” self. I am not a spiritual person by nature, but I never want to go through that again so your advice is perfectly timed for me. Thanks!
I love it when a blog post provides timely guidance and tips to a reader, Marquita. You’ve made my day.
I’ve never had that blah a day that drained my energy for 2 full days but based on my experience, I can well imagine how painful the experience would have been for you. May your days become even better!
It is funny how one thing can set off the day and it can snow ball! I love your approach working through it and also allowing you to have bad days…if it were not for rain…we would not appreciate the sun.
Great post!
That is such a lovely way to describe gratitude for all the times when things are peaceful and one doesn’t feel like the Red Queen, Lisa. I love it!
I had the same reaction as Reba. I wish I was calm enough to refer to a “stuff hitting the fan” day simply as “blah.” I also appreciate your step-by-step approach to getting right with yourself. Thanks for sharing.
Blah is a word is I use to take the sting out of a situation that frustrates me, Andrea. That day, I was feeling more like Groucho from Sesame Street. 🙂 The way I see it, we can’t control the actions of others or the way the day works out but we can help ourselves cope better by staying grounded. I’m glad you liked my 4 step action plan. It helps provide relief.
This is not blah – this all heck breaking loose! We all have them. I think when one thing is unattended to or needs more attention, then the gaps start to show up in every corner of our lives. Your remedies are so helpful. We do need to contemplate the source of the trouble and take inspired action – even if that action is no action. xo, Reba
That day was memorable, Reba, even if for all the wrong reasons. 🙂 You are right, when the 1 thing that needs attention gets sidetracked due to other demands on our time and attention, then things do go haywire. Sometimes not taking action and waiting for the tide to ebb is a sensible choice or as you point out, contemplate the source and take inspired action.
When one is going through “trauma” the solar plexus loves to remind one to stay in your power. The ancestral essence and the cells that have been placed may erase this from oneself. Super glad that you have created a manner to be helpful. xoxo
I’m glad you liked the post, Natasha. I remember the Peanuts cartoon where Charlie Brown would say his stomach hurt. In hindsight, that was actually an indication that he was giving his personal power away to Lucy and others.
I love that even with all the “heavy” happenings in your world, you have a way to check in with yourself and see where you are blocked. I find when things settle in my body, it is very challenging for me to release them. Often for me it is my solar plexus, which is not surprising, as it is the area of my body that has had the most trauma and where my health issues manifested when I was younger. I know from somatic experiencing that often these traumas settle in at a cellular level and we “react” without even knowing sometimes why we reacted. I think if I would practice being kinder to myself, that would be a wonderful place to begin. I’ll also have a quartz crystal close by to focus on and help release the blocked energies. Thanks for the wonderful tips, Vatsala! I could feel how this day might have impacted you just from reading it.
It was a blah day, Beverley, in every sense of the word. I appreciate your raising the point about traumas settling in at a cellular level and how we react to situations. I’ve been recently reading about ancestral patterns being passed on to generations through the genetic code and this makes a lot of sense at a deeper level. Whenever I feel the knot in my solar plexus area, in addition to the tips that I shared in the post, I request Archangel Michael to help me cut the cords to anyone to whom I’ve inadvertently given my power to. I often advise my clients to try it and they find it makes them calmer.
I don’t have any ‘blah’ days but do have days where things out of my control go wrong. Today we were rear ended during a heavy rain and I was eager to get home to do my work. Fortunately, we were ok, but lost many hours and were shook up. I did what I always do when stress happens. I stopped, took some deep breaths and asked myself what could I do in the situation. In this situation, I had to stop shaking & call 911. We were on a major highway with traffic going 70 miles an hour & I told my hubby to stay in the car. Help would come. We were fairly sure our car was drivable & the next thing was to say, “It could have been worse”. Expressed gratitude & became calm.
I also knew my work would not disappear & would be waiting for me. Wrote a few emails, my own accident report, went straight to our auto insurance company & felt good that all was handled in an efficient way. Being in control of what you can being control of is a good step.
What a frightening experience, Roslyn. That would unnerve the best of us. I love the way you handled it and came out trumps. Being in control of what we can control and letting go of the stress for things and tasks that we know we can do later is a good way to handle the situation. Thanks for sharing your practice.
Love this post Vatsala and your steps to recovery from a blah day make so much sense. Too often we get caught up in the bad and a snowball effect ensues. I love that you said;”You have permission to be kind to yourself” – so often forgotten – and that forgiveness and gratitude are key ingredients to open the blockages and get back on top of your day.
The snowball effect can be a horror movie type situation sometimes, Tamuria, and getting through the day becomes a challenge worthy of a gold medal at the end. 🙂 Forgiving others, gratitude and being kind to ourselves take the sting out of the situation and help put things in perspective.