Avena sativa
Shhhhhh, shhhhhh, shhhhh, Oat murmurs as you run your hands over her tops. Shhhhh, shhhhh, she says as the wind picks up, trying to ruffle Oat’s ever-present calm. If the breeze continues she’ll gently chide, Chiii, chiii, chiii, but that’s all the reaction you’ll get as she rubs shoulders with her sisters, laughing quietly and murmuring that all really is well despite what the wind, the radio waves, or the Internet has to say. When you slip into stress, Oat smiles gently and runs her fingers through your hair: Stop grappling endlessly with your thoughts, she whispers. Soften to the wind, be open to the sky, and ground yourself in earth to know the truth of this one precious moment.
Ritual 
Get to know Oat a bit more intimately with an Oat scrubby or bath! Oat softens your skin, and she’ll do the same for the rough edges of your nerves.
To make a scrubby: Take a handful of rolled oats (the kind you use for cooking) and put them in the center of a washcloth. Pull the sides of the washcloth up over the oats to make a bundle and close the top with a rubber band. Use this scrubby the next time you shower.
To make a bath: Use a blender or coffee grinder to powder 1 cup of rolled oats. If you have dried rose, lavender, or chamomile flowers, powder these as well and add them to the powdered oats. If you’d like to add essential oil, mix 3 to 5 drops of the oil into 1⁄4 cup of mineral or sea salt and add this mixture to the oat mix. If your oats and herbs are fully powdered, add them to warm bathwater. If your blender did not achieve a fine powder, put the mixture in a muslin bag or bundle up in a washcloth (as above) and float this in the tub to avoid clogging the drain. Slip into the bath and relax.
Reflection
This is Oat Medicine. In a way it’s quite like meditation — the floating in a soft space, letting your nerves relax. And it takes practice. Can you gift yourself a minute of this softness? Two? Twenty-five?
See if your mind rebels at the thought of going silent.
Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better, it’s about befriending who we are.
Pema Chödrön, The Wisdom of No Escape