There is a lot of heaviness in the world right now and it’s perfectly normal to be feeling all the feelings. The constant information and misinformation on the news, media and social outlets is overwhelming and overstimulating for the nervous system.

There are two types of tiredness, one is the need for sleep, and the other is the dire need for peace.

Compassion hurts. When you feel connected to everything, you feel responsible for everything. Our destiny is bound with the destiny of others and it is time for us all to see ourselves as part of the world, an interdependent and interconnected systemic whole with no masters or rulers but working together.

Grief, frustration and anger don’t come and go in an orderly, confined timeframe. Just when we think the pangs of suffering have stolen their last breath, another wave and another sweeps in and we are forced to revisit the stories of power, greed, hurt, pain and the unknown.

Sometimes we try to resist the demands of feeling and hold our breath afraid of being overwhelmed, of feeling hopeless, of becoming lost in the whirlpool of emotion

We desperately need change and it won’t happen overnight, but by giving yourself permission to feel the rage and grief and creating space in our hearts to find a path to change the old paradigm of dominance and power, I pray we can shine a new light.

It’s times like these that I like to remind myself to move. One of my favourite ways to do this is to practise the Five Tibetan Rites each morning, I’ve included an adaptation of this practice in my book Let It Go.

The Five Rites consist of five movement exercises and are reported to have been created by Tibetan monks over 2,500 years ago. I have adapted these movements with particular focus on breathwork, drawing inspiration from the booklet Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth by Peter Kelder, who introduced this concept to Western culture.

According to the booklet, the lamas of India describe seven spinning ‘psychic vortexes’ within the body: two in the brain, one at the base of the throat, one on the right side of the body near the liver, one in the reproductive anatomy, and one in each knee. As we grow older, the spin rate of the vortexes diminishes, resulting in ‘ill-health’. However, the spin rate of these vortexes can be restored by performing the Five Rites daily, resulting in improved health. This sequence will stretch and strengthen your body and so it is said, keep you youthful!

Another thing I like to do when things are feeling heavy is regular morning walks outdoors to improve sleep rhythms. It helps to kick start your body and sends a message to the brain to produce the hormone melatonin earlier in the evening.

When you exercise, your body produces hormones such as adrenaline and endorphins, which wake you up, lifts your mood and makes you ready to face the day. Adrenaline increases during stressful situations, raising our pulse and blood pressure but in short bursts, it has a positive effect and allows you to perform better.

For extra benefits switch off your phone and focus on the rhythm and rate of your breath, breathing low into the lungs and through the nose. This gives the lungs an extra good workout whilst sending warm air down into the lungs that have been filtered through the nasal pathway and produces nitric oxide, a natural defence for our immune system. Over time see if you can walk more briskly or build up to a run and by breathing through the nose you will increase stamina and reduce muscle fatigue.

Working with the cycles of day and night and your own body cycles brings balance and rhythm in the day.