There was a time my brain felt like it was packed with cotton wool.
Heavy.
Dense.
Slow.
Thinking felt like wading through fog.
Words would disappear mid sentence.
Or two words of a sentence would be spoken the wrong way round.
Indicating the prodrome phase of a migraine attack.
I’d completely forget what I was talking about.
Clarity was scarce to come by.
This time last year, I was prioritising my brain health.
Reading the book, Sweet Spot for Brain Health by Dr Sui Wong.
Supplementing with creatine.
Investing in red light therapy.
All after initially starting out with using meditation to help create new neural pathways in my brain as a main source of support years earlier.
From Cognitive Loss to Slow Return
Experiencing deep healing through meditation to such an extent over the first UK lockdown in 2020, that I received energetic healing to my brain multiple times.
Whilst it took two years1 for this to manifest physically, I still experience physical healing to my brain in the form of tingling on either side some 4 years later.
And I still remember the BBC news in the late 90’s telling us that damage to the brain caused by drugs (and presumably head trauma/brain injury) was irreversible.
Well, I’ve experienced both. Multiple times. From the age of 3.5 months old.
During the entire collapse of my health in 2018, I lost my capacity to remember names. Names of people. Names of places. Names of anything. People’s faces. I couldn’t sit in the sun either.
It took me meeting a person many times to be able to remember their name.
Though I believed it was possible, I had also accepted this may be one of those things that never comes back on line. As 6 years on, I could sit in the sun once more. Even 7 years on, I couldn’t remember the names of new people I met.
But this time last year, I continued to do what I have been doing year on year and brought in some new changes. Prioritising my brain health and the few mentioned above.
During a hypnotherapy session 18 months earlier, I received the download for a new meditation that I had completely forgotten about.
And I happened to stumble on a notebook reminding me of it.
I’ve been doing it (on and off) as a daily practice2 ever since.
My head no longer feels like its full of cotton wool. Sometimes my ears do but that’s a theme for another day!
What once felt like thick, heavy, dense, fog… slowly lifted.
Evaporated.
Was there some days and weeks then not so much others.
Eventually, the foggy cotton wool became more like whisps of cloud in the bright blue sky.
I still experience some mild cognitive issues, such as forgetting words or names, losing my trail of thought. But my ability to remember names at say a networking event is improving. And losing my trail of thought doesn’t derail me or manifest into additional symptoms like it used to.
Dear Rooted Woman,
I’ve been wanting to share this practice with you for so long. But I’ve had difficulty in finding the words to express the little journey this takes you on.
Recording this audio for you is my first attempt. And as such, there are some minor imperfections on what will be a very powerful guided practice.
I am here to help you reclaim your power so I’ve had to move away from perfecting every step I take and learn to show up as I am.
Alongside prioritising your brain health, a gentle consistency with this practice connects you to the inner landscape of your experience and has the potential to ease, shift and transform (over time).
Each experience will be unique and individual to you.
Adopt and adapt it in any way you like.
Save this article to return to any time.
And as you become more familiar with it as a practice, feel free to implement your own version in your day to day.
A Little View From My World Right Now🐸
So it’s been a hot minute since I last recorded a meditation for you.
Taking an extended break made space for a two month (mild) health relapse, further big break throughs in my book, Migraine, and in the past month you might have seen I’ve become a lot more visible!
I’ve launched my new Substack live series Let’s Talk About… and collaboration opportunities are coming out of my ears.
This week, a new book around our menstrual health is forming.
So I appreciate your patience whilst I find my new rhythm and flow.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart💙
I want to bring back the return of last year’s podcast, Your Migraine Story Matters so that will return soon (all being well in the next month or so).
Alongside sharing embodiment practices and your new ability to see exactly what I’ve created here and what is on offer for you.
In a way that you can identify where you’re at and which offering serves which purpose.
Delve into the layout of pathways you might find yourself on here:
Then come back and leave a comment and let me know what you find out about yourself.
Alongside all of the above, we welcomed in the return of The Wellness Maidens and (after over a year in the making), I finally got Free To Be Me established.
Donation based offering, Free To Be Me (for the Warrior Woman) returns next Friday with The Temple of Inner Rhythm as the theme.
Bring your nervous system.
Bring your breath.
That is all that is asked of you.
Two articles on this to follow in the coming week (including The Blind Bandit and the Fool and why control is no longer your edge) but if you want a sneaky peak at the invitation, take a look:
10am BST / 11am CET / 3:30pm IST
I went on to experience my first massive health relapse in this time and a second severe relapse before the physical healing began to come through.
When I say daily, I mean however that pans out in practice. Sometimes it’s more like every other day with longer periods missed. There’s always some level of gentle consistency with it nevertheless. Presence over perfection.
