In a nutshell, the healing edge is that place in you where, if you push past it, you risk injury, and if you don't quite reach it, you stay in the status quo. Your healing edge is that place of balanced effort and surrender where you find equanimity. I've found that it seems to be somewhere between 50 and 70% exerted effort. You go too far and you're struggling, flailing, hurting yourself (or even others); not far enough and you feel like you're lazing your way through, not trying at all. You feel bored, stuck in the same ol' place, or wonder "what's the point of this? it's too easy." The healing edge is that luscious place in between, it's that moving thread of just-right balance where insight is alive and possibility is transformed into something that really IS.
This healing edge is particularly helpful for those of us who are in a state of perpetual growth, always learning and striving to be better. I've been using it a bunch lately to work past difficult patches and the effect has been nothing short of transformative! It has helped me to tap into my internal wisdom, using it as my guide, to grow stronger, more courageous and easy-going. As a highly sensitive person, I'm prone to overwhelm at certain times and I've gotten pretty good at managing those times that are environmental or emotional in nature, but things get a bit tricky when the question of the purpose of my existence comes into play.
Perhaps this concept is totally new to you, so let me break it down. The idea of the healing edge has to do with the fact that the physical growth of living things happens at the edges. Two examples come to mind...
Imagine a sprouting seed, for one example. Under the right conditions, a dry, hard seed placed into soil will eventually sprout and transform into something grander, more substantial, more effective, more whole -- its ultimate plant form. It is at its healing edge where both new growth springs forth and old tissues die away.
Picture taken from http://www.steve.gb.com/science/plant_growth.html |
Now, let's bring this into the human realm.
My favorite pose in yoga for finding my healing edge at this stage in my personal growth and yoga practice is Parsvottanasana because of its rich offerings of strengthening and flexibility in nearly every part of the body all at once. This pose creates an experience for me to feel wholly into those places of growth within my body and offers the fringe benefit of calming the mind. When I hold the pose long enough, exerting just the right amount of effort to maintain my alignment while deepening the stretch, breathing into it deeply to create space and relax into a place of feeling physically supported and held, I can begin to feel into those places of growth within my psyche and my soul. A simpler pose I'd like to offer is Upavistha Konasana (seated wide angle) as a another example of finding your healing edge so that you, too, can begin to bring it into your life. Check out Jess Ryan's video as she demonstrates. Notice how she speaks of "finding your own edge" about 2:40 minutes into the recording. As you practice this pose, you might even notice how you can find your own edge not only in how far you lean forward, but in the width of the angle of your legs, or even in the subtle nuances you can feel as you release into the pose. This is a great place to begin developing your awareness of this concept of the healing edge in your body so you can then begin bringing this awareness with you as you go about living your whole and beautiful life.
What other examples can you draw on from your own vast knowledge base to help you to find and explore your healing edge? Can you find it? How can you use it to nourish and germinate the seed of your intention -- the purpose behind your very existence? It just takes practice. Let it work its magic in you ... one breath at a time.