Remembering Our Practices - Practicing to Resource - Resourcing to Resiliency

I am writing this because of the need for support that I am hearing/sensing from all quarters given the events in our nation's Capitol yesterday.

The events of yesterday 1/6/2021 and the reactions I’ve heard and seen in my world have really affirmed for me the importance of the things I share with individual clients and the participants to my various workshop. To say that I see a need for more capacity for safe embodiment is, at the least, an understatement. It is times like these when our very structure seems unstable that we most often recognize the importance of a regular practice of our resources. A regular practice that includes things like constructive thinking, The Check-in and active self-care during the settled times is the foundational work that helps us expand our capacity to be more resilient in times of great unknown and transition.

I invite you to remember, as we all move together through these turbulent, transitional times, that you have support., if you choose to access it.

At the most basic, you have the support of your breath, of the Earth under your feet, and of your sensory body to orient you into the present moment.

You have the support of your personal practice.

If you choose to, you have the support of a therapeutic relationship.

You have support.

I invite you to remember, you have the capacity to shift how you feel inside.

When the danger that is causing dysregulation is not actually near us and is a creation of our mind, we CAN choose to practice nourishing our nervous system instead of accumulating more pain/stress.

We practice nourishing our nervous systems so that they are able to perform as they are designed, to allow us to rest, digest, recuperate and to be actively responsible for our self-care. We practice nourishing our nervous systems SO THAT they can more readily react in cases where our body is actually in danger, when we truly need the chemicals of adrenalin, cortisol and epinephrine to help us survive and get to safety.

I invite you to remember, that you have support.

We can choose to practice deepening our relationship with the actions of breath, centering, grounding and orienting. These are the resources of our eternal selves. They were gifts given to us at birth to help our nervous systems regulate.

We can choose to practice self-regulation. We can choose to be the thermostat of our life, rather than the thermometer.

I invite you to remember you have the capacity to think constructively, instead of destructively.

"I am free to choose."

"I am free to notice ease."

"I am free to choose where I put my focus."

I invite you to remember, you are free to choose.

By actively doing the practice of recognizing and choosing where you put your focus throughout your day AND by observing HOW your whole Self is affected by what you choose to focus on (intentionally or unintentionally.), you can continually deepen your ability to make choices about your focus and your actions that further help you to co-regulate and self-regulate.

I invite you to remember, you have the capacity to learn and repattern.

We learn to self-regulate not simply to reclaim our place in our Comfort Zone.

We learn to self-regulate in order to ALSO be able to more safely go into the places in our lives that bring up challenging sensations, emotions, actions, beliefs and stories.

We learn to self-regulate in order to help us be able to grow and learn with less overwhelm or panic.

You can choose to self-regulate so that you can have more energy to change the things you can have some effect upon.

You can choose to self-regulate to increase your capacity to let go of what does not serve you and what you can not change.

You can learn to self-regulate so that you can better access attunement and reason within your Self, regardless of what is happening in the world outside of your skin container.

We each practice self-regulating so that we can give care to ourselves, our loved ones, each other and our community. We practice self-regulation to give space for ease and compassion to ourselves and to others.

I invite you to remember, you have support. We are all in this together.
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If you do not feel like you have the capacity to feel and/or access the support available to you or to explore these practices on your own, please contact me or another somatic therapist to help you deepen your practice of embodiment with professional support.

The Importance of Embodiment (in Times of Great Unknown)

In times of unknown, it is can be tempting to fall into old patterns. The comfort of the dysfunctional pattern can feel more familiar than slowing down, checking in, reminding ourselves that it is our choice as to where we put our focus, that it is our choice when and how to move in a new direction, it is our choice to move in that new direction at a speed that our slowest parts feel safe to go.

In times of unknown, it can be tempting to shut down, go into shallow breathing, stop moving, crawl under the covers, try to be as small as possible or even try to make ourselves invisible from every danger of some future possible timeline that our minds can create.

In times of unknown, it can be tempting to blow up, lash out, drink, hit someone or something, say "f*(k it" and lose any sense of our grounded support and our breath, to prepare to fight every possible future danger our mind can create.

All of this could be true. We each have a choice. Do it. Don’t do it. Do it for a little while and then decide to do something different. Your choice.

Your choice

There are other options. In times of unknown, it is possible to slow down, to check-in to the movement of our breath filling and emptying our torsos, to check-in to where and how we are accepting the support of our bones standing strong with the unconditional loving support of the Earth.

We are free to check-in with the movement of our breath and to pay attention to the ways we are literally being supported, right now, right in this very space and moment.

We are free to allow ourselves to gently, easily move our bodies around in the space we are in while looking at, touching, smelling, listening, actively experiencing and being present with the things around us that nourish us.

We are free to notice the impulses and sensations within these bodies we are in, these bodies that are trying to process and be present with our mind’s ideas about the great unknowns. These impulses we feel are important information that we may be tempted to stifle or ignore or shame because we don’t know how to attend to them safely. Ask yourself:

Does my body want to run? Can I run in place right where I am?

Does it want to jump up and down, to scream, moan or yawn? Am I somewhere I can do this safely?

Does it want to stretch slowly or shake, shimmy, wiggle, wriggle or rock? Will I allow myself to do this?

In times of dysregulation and unknown, it is important to remember that we can choose to find a safe space to move our bodies in the ways that it wants and then to Do it.

Remember: the nervous system is designed for movement and movement that feeds the nervous system does not need to be large.

The movement that nourishes and supports the nervous system can be subtle. It can be the movement of conscious breath changing the shape of your torso. It could be the movement of pressing and releasing into whatever surface is currently supporting you.. It can be the movement of growing and shrinking some body part with curiosity or it could be whatever the movement is of letting go of what no longer serves and giving yourself what you desire more of.

While thinking about and talking about your fear, anger, sadness might seem productive to your cognitive self, it is not the best way to calm the nervous system. In fact, unless we are choosing to think or talk with a very conscious constructive intent, our thinking and talking often contributes to more active firing of the sympathetic part of the nervous system which leads us into spiraling patterns of Flight/Flight that we sometimes call anxiety and depression.

Actively moving your body is the best way to support yourself in letting go of the chemicals created by your nervous system in response to the dangers your mind has been and is creating. Letting go of those chemicals while actively making space for more ease and serenity makes way for your body’s natural healing capacities of resting and digesting. Nourishing, healing, and supporting ourselves in this moment, right now, is the way we prepare ourselves to respond reasonably and with resilience when we are called upon to act in relationship to whatever unknowns exist in our actual future timeline.

In times of great unknown, in times of discomfort, it is so important to lovingly and compassionately move yourself, even if for just one minute now and one minute later. Even if it is simply remembering to focus for the next sixty seconds on the movement created within your skin container as you breathe.

Tending to your embodied experience is so very important, in times of ease, and in times of great unknown. Take care, dear ones.

The Importance of Embodiment in the Time of Covid19

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.