Thank you for sharing your powerful experience, Alexandra. Just yesterday I was sitting with great fear and there was some shaking of my body included. I was fascinated when I realized that after some time I did not care about the cause of that fear anymore - like it was closed chapter for that day and that is very unusual for me. Now I read that even more expressions of the body “are possible” and it opens my eyes. ✨
Hi Selene. It it for me too a process that keeps surprising me. The body will go through its own response when it feels safe. I believe that our need to understand everything intellectually all the time is also a protective strategy that keeps us from felt sense, that can come with pain and discomfort. I think both mind understanding and felt understanding are important, and it can be worth noticing when we tend to lean more towards intellectualisation and how that might be in the way of our system’s natural ability to heal. Thank you SO much for sharing your experience.
What a beautiful whole description of somatically experiencing emotions. Allowing the flow, allowing the body to express, allowing the emotions to complete its cycle. And this is exactly what our animal bodies are meant to do, full expression without intellectual interruption.
I read this for the first time this morning and it landed just as I'd woken up feeling very edgy (sympathetic nervous system working overtime). My reaction was 'this is wrong, I need to get rid of this feeling', so I opened my journal and started trying to figure out why I felt like this. It didn't occur to me to get out of my head and into my body. As you say, a protective mechanism and a lot of fear around these feelings for me...my first reaction is to wrestle for control and push the feelings away. So grateful to be guided to your words exactly when I need them 🙏 Karen
Oh Karen, your experience speaks to me so much, I definitely find myself in that spot sometimes. And it's not wrong! We will do what feels safe to us, what we are habitually used to. To make this experience gentle, you can oscillate between writing and sensing/feeling. So it's this back and forth between mind and body. Almost like showing our body 'we are safe here, we can feel this, one step at a time'. This work is not linear and approaching it gently and with compassion goes a long way. Thank you for your generous share, as usual ❤️ Alex
This is exactly the realisations I’m having in myself and the work I’m here to serve. Thank you for this personal share and powerful transmission A ❤️🔥
This post pulls me toward it like a magnet. It is exactly where I am in my EMDR therapy with a VERY kind, steady therapist who has led me to the absence I feel in my body (vs my past shame-based “no excuses” monster therapist who broke every rule in the book, including sleeping with his patients - I didn’t find out for years and quit when I did). Thank you. I am going to try a new approach to “so, how are you feeling today”.
Hi Bill. Wonderful to read this, and sorry you've had such an unpleasant experience in the past with therapy. Yes, there are other ways that are way more kind and inclusive - ones that work with the body's intelligence and healing capabilities. Take good care 🙏🏼
“I had this felt realization, this is what my body is for” This hit me and speaks volumes.
Thank you for sharing Brittany :)
Thank you for sharing your powerful experience, Alexandra. Just yesterday I was sitting with great fear and there was some shaking of my body included. I was fascinated when I realized that after some time I did not care about the cause of that fear anymore - like it was closed chapter for that day and that is very unusual for me. Now I read that even more expressions of the body “are possible” and it opens my eyes. ✨
Hi Selene. It it for me too a process that keeps surprising me. The body will go through its own response when it feels safe. I believe that our need to understand everything intellectually all the time is also a protective strategy that keeps us from felt sense, that can come with pain and discomfort. I think both mind understanding and felt understanding are important, and it can be worth noticing when we tend to lean more towards intellectualisation and how that might be in the way of our system’s natural ability to heal. Thank you SO much for sharing your experience.
What a beautiful whole description of somatically experiencing emotions. Allowing the flow, allowing the body to express, allowing the emotions to complete its cycle. And this is exactly what our animal bodies are meant to do, full expression without intellectual interruption.
Thank you for writing this so honestly, Alex. 💛
It's nice to read this resonated with you Janki. Thank you for your comment 💚
I read this for the first time this morning and it landed just as I'd woken up feeling very edgy (sympathetic nervous system working overtime). My reaction was 'this is wrong, I need to get rid of this feeling', so I opened my journal and started trying to figure out why I felt like this. It didn't occur to me to get out of my head and into my body. As you say, a protective mechanism and a lot of fear around these feelings for me...my first reaction is to wrestle for control and push the feelings away. So grateful to be guided to your words exactly when I need them 🙏 Karen
Oh Karen, your experience speaks to me so much, I definitely find myself in that spot sometimes. And it's not wrong! We will do what feels safe to us, what we are habitually used to. To make this experience gentle, you can oscillate between writing and sensing/feeling. So it's this back and forth between mind and body. Almost like showing our body 'we are safe here, we can feel this, one step at a time'. This work is not linear and approaching it gently and with compassion goes a long way. Thank you for your generous share, as usual ❤️ Alex
This is exactly the realisations I’m having in myself and the work I’m here to serve. Thank you for this personal share and powerful transmission A ❤️🔥
Thank you kindred soul 💜
This post pulls me toward it like a magnet. It is exactly where I am in my EMDR therapy with a VERY kind, steady therapist who has led me to the absence I feel in my body (vs my past shame-based “no excuses” monster therapist who broke every rule in the book, including sleeping with his patients - I didn’t find out for years and quit when I did). Thank you. I am going to try a new approach to “so, how are you feeling today”.
Hi Bill. Wonderful to read this, and sorry you've had such an unpleasant experience in the past with therapy. Yes, there are other ways that are way more kind and inclusive - ones that work with the body's intelligence and healing capabilities. Take good care 🙏🏼