The Heart and The Body
Heartbreak and heartache are physical experiences. You may be saying DUH, of course they are....My point in talking about this is to share with you that they can have significant impact on your well-being and on your health.
I have admittedly been grieving the loss of a relationship, a tumultuous one that needed to end, yet the imprint remains in my heart. As I land at the one-year marker of our last encounter, my body remembers. Our bodies remember all of our life experiences. Somatic memory is powerful and remembers it all...the good, the bad, the ugly, the pain, the joy, the celebratory...all of it.
This is why it is SO crucial to work through the body when healing. Why just talking about our life experiences will keep the perpetual cycle of pain in motion. Why we need to circulate and integrate all of what we are feeling. All of which needs healing. We have to keep the energy moving, the emotions flowing, and the channels to ourselves open.
AND, there are times when the body revolts...when the body speaks so loudly that you have to listen.
I humbly share that I have been experiencing chest pains for about the past 9 months. They have been slow and gradual and interestingly increased in magnification in the past week while I have actually had the space to relax and unwind. As I have prepared for my upcoming retreat, I have been spending more time restoring, opening, unwinding, softening, and connecting.
My heart heed the call and spoke to me loud and clear. As I lay in the ER on Saturday night, accompanied by a dear friend, with tubes and wires monitoring my heart, I recognized that the emotion that I have been releasing has shown up for me physically. No, there is nothing scary wrong with my weary heart except heartbreak, heart ache, and an opportunity to heal on an even deeper level.
I share this with you as a reminder. Our bodies never lie. Trust the messages that you are receiving. AND just because you may be a practitioner does not mean that these signs can be ignored. I am grateful for the entire experience of being cracked open, soothed, nurtured, and taking one step closer to my own healing.
Since this event….since I honored and listened to my body and gave it the attention it needed….I feel a deep sense of peace and calm from within. As if another layer of my healing has awoken and my heart has indeed received the balm that it has been asking for.
We must FEEL IT TO HEAL IT. Not easy, but essential.
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬?
There are so many ways of holding our hearts with reverence, care, and love. Do you know what that would look and feel like for you?
𝕊𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕞𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖:
-
Staying in cozy clothes all day and moving in and out of rest and activity....including gentle yoga, stretching, napping, mindful walking and other movement.
-
Naps! Wrap up in a cozy blanket and let your weary heart and body rest.
-
Eat yummy and nourishing foods: Whatever foods soothe your soul and feel good to your body.
-
Treats: Yes, sometimes a delicious chocolate chip cookie can feel so nourishing and healing to my heart!
-
Connection: Connecting with those you can be real, vulnerable, and authentic with whatever is going on for you.
-
Permission: What we resist persists, right? So, by allowing oneself to feel the pain and pangs, there is the opportunity to move through them to the other side. I promise you, if you allow these feelings to move and circulate they will shift!
-
Write: I write A LOT....both for myself and (obviously) for my work. If I feel stuck in emotion, I will let it rip on the pages and always feel shifted!
-
Dance! I often turn on the tunes and dance my emotions through my being....deeply healing.
-
Nature: medicine, healer, landing pad
So, wherever this wild time of life finds you, I invite you to tune in, lean in….listen, hear, open, and truly honor what is alive for you in your heart. Take good care of YOU. And, as always, if you are struggling reach out for support.