Like I suspect so many of you are doing right now, I am thinking about what the spread of this coronavirus thing means to me and you and the world at large.
I am also thinking about my role in the world as someone whose life purpose is to help others live life more fully. When it seems like the threat of illness and chaos is everywhere and when we have done all that the authorities suggest - washing our hands and avoiding public places - what else can be done to live life fully?
I know I certainly do not have an exact answer: however, I have thoughts and I plan to share them in hopes that they will support at least one of you.
Remember: Our bodies are self-healing systems. Our cells know their jobs. They are designed to nourish and detoxify, to respond to invaders, to feed and relieve us of waste, in order that we may live as fully as possible. Our bodies are self-healing systems, as long as we don’t persist in getting in the way.
With our minds and our actions, we have the capacity to support the cells, tissues and systems in their processes. We also have the capacity to challenge them and even shut them down. When we are stressed in our minds, we affect our body’s vast abilities to breathe easily, to digest nutrients, to eliminate toxins, and to recuperate: in other words, to self-heal. When we are stressed in our thoughts and in our actions, we create stress on the systems of our bodies and then we have less capacity to fend off attacks from viruses, infections and other antigens. We have this capacity to add to the stress and to allow stress to do us harm…but all is not lost.
I know that many of you are feeling scared and unsafe. I know that the temptation is to further distance yourself from your body: please know that this a very typical American reaction. I know that you want to try to figure this out in your head, to think your way to safety. I understand if you want to hold your breath or numb out in front of the television or internet or with alcohol. I know some of you want to make yourself really small so maybe the bad things won’t find you, while others of you are rushing around trying to DO all the right things to prepare for…whatever it is you are preparing for. I know you want to do SOMETHING to get away from this thing that feels unsafe. I understand.
I am inviting you to considering doing none of the above because there are other options.
On a regular, non-pandemic day I spend my time teaching and supporting clients and workshop participants to use embodiment tools to cope with anxiety, trauma and overwhelm. The things I offer are simple, powerful actions that any person can do to support the tissues of their physical body and their whole bodymind system. These are all natural, small movements and actions that are not only a valuable part of healing but crucial to maintaining one’s health. Everything I offer is based on scientific concepts such as functional anatomy and human development. They are “tools” that, for the most part, are already available to all of us, but most adults overlook and take them granted in their daily lives. We all have the capacity to use them easily and regularly.
Interested? If so, read on. If not, I understand.
The first of the skills I’d like to share is this: Know that you are free to choose. I know this might seem obvious; however, I have discovered it is one that is most often a shock when I first introduce it to people. (Credit to Imogen Ragone of the BodyIntelligence Community for languaging this concept for me. Her community is another great resource for self-care!)
I invite you to say this to yourself, right now and notice what you notice: “I am free to choose.”
For example, we are always free to choose where we put our focus.
I invite you to consider that if you choose to put your focus, your energy, your time, and your thoughts on the things and people over which you have no control, you deplete yourself and you give up at least some of your capacity to support yourself - your bodymindspirit - in the very small, mundane, crucial ways that embodiment provides.
You are free to choose.
Choosing to focus on yourself does NOT mean to shut down or numb out; however, it invites you to care for yourself FIRST as you also choose when and how much to inform yourself about things outside yourself.
The question I am usually asked at this point is: “I think this sounds good but how do I do this?”
Over these days and weeks, as we all live through this big unknown thing together, I hope I can support you in this very process. I hope to be writing regular blog posts offering trauma-informed, resiliency-focused, embodiment insights and practices. I am also planning to offer Zoom sessions designed to move folks in ways designed to maintain our bodymindspirit health, even if we can’t be in the same room together.
I have always believed in the importance of my mission of supporting folks to live life more fully. Now, in the midst of these global events triggering our collective sympathetic systems to fire in ways that cause us to want to fight, to run, to collapse or to simply numb out, I know that what I have to offer is crucial. It is more important than ever that we ALL learn ways to soothe our natural and biological reactions to this sort of thing- if for no other reason, for the sake of our immune systems.
So here is the second “skill” I have to offer: the practice of fully embracing the first of the gifts of life and health that we were given in our earliest days of our development. It was the first gift of life and it continues to be the MOST IMPORTANT gift you can give yourself right now and at any time. This wonderful gift? Accepting your free and full BREATH.
I imagine deflation in some of you. I hear some of you think thinking really, breath? “But I AM breathing”, I have clients tell me when they want something bigger and more magical as a practice.
And while it is true that if we are alive, we do some form of breathing; however, it is usually NOT true that we are taking full advantage of this health sustaining process. ALL of us have, in some way, let the patterns of our bodymindspirit control and compromise the full support that our breath has to offer us. So, if you choose, join me in knowing that we are free to allow and to accept our Breath’s full support. (In my next post I will share a bit about HOW a full and easy breath supports the whole immune system!)
Ready?
First, I invite you to say this statement so that your mind is fully involved “I am free to allow and accept my Breath’s full support”.
Continue to say this constructive thought as you allow your next exhale to be as slow and long and easy as you can, right now. Trust that by allowing a full emptying you are not only removing toxins from your system, you are creating more space for nourishment. When your exhale is as complete as is possible for you (without stress!), allow your body to naturally and reflexively fill you with the next inhale, in through the nose if possible. Repeat as frequently as you can.
And that is it for today. I would love any comments. Check in tomorrow for more embodiment support during this time of so much unknown.
If you are curious about the image for this blog post, please visit here.