Category: Coping Strategies

Working with Big Feelings

January 5, 2021

Over the past few days, I noticed my emotions come up like a slow moving current that was building in speed and intensity. Needless to say I was pulled in, tumbling around with the intense feelings moving through me.

I asked for help but that didn’t work out the way I thought it would so I got swept into the current again. Reaching out was important but it was as if holding on to the emotions was more comforting. I wasn’t ready to let that go of that familiarity just yet.

Speaking of letting go, Yung Pueblo describes it as “the moment when you are no longer reacting to things that used to make you feel tense…when you can release the energy attached to the thoughts.” After reading that, I noticed a spark of curiosity and hope. That was enough for me to take the smallest step back and notice all that was going on.

The same feelings will show up over and over again in different ways. Next time, I can remember to take some time and space to ground myself in the moment. With intention and practice, I can let go a bit more than the time before.

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The Invitation of this Moment

December 17, 2020

I keep declining the invitation to slow down and practice stillness. I can hear the thoughts come easy like a cool breeze through an open window, “not now”, “maybe later”, “after I do this thing”, etc. It makes me sad to think about because the invitation is actually to be with myself. I hear another thought “But I’m with me all the time!” It reminds me of putting my kiddo to bed last night. I’m reading through a work email and she fusses at me to put down my phone to give her my full attention. I know that she’s right and I get irritated because I still want to be right.

Eventually, I surrender to the moment and accept the invitation. I step away from the never ending to-do list and I start to slow down. First, I get water and I realize I haven’t had any all day. Next, I journal. If I’m going to show up, I’m not bringing this freight train of thoughts with me. With each step I get closer to myself and further away from everything else. My senses get a little more alert. I can now notice my breathing and gently guide it to be slower and steadier than before. Sometimes things happen when I get still, sometimes nothing happens. Either way, I’m happy to have shown up.

Give yourself permission to ease into stillness over time and with practice. Accept the invitation as often as you can. When you accept, you build a relationship with yourself that is rooted in trust and patience.

 

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Sitting With Mindful Awareness

March 2, 2020

When we feel stress or overwhelmed in our bodies, sometimes we want to do anything but sit with it. But here we are, with this invitation to be with what arises in our bodies, not ignoring it or avoiding it any longer. I feel the stress and overwhelming feelings stronger on certain days when my mind is especially active. Today, I decided to sit with it. Here’s what I noticed:

The Active Mind

As I sat, my mind kept saying “I need to do…”, “Don’t forget…”, “What if…”. To me, these thoughts sound like fear, worry, and unease. As much as I want to explore all that, I gently reminded myself that the thoughts are just “thinking” and brought my attention back to my breathing, back to my body.

Steady Breathing

When I brought my attention back to my breathing, I noticed that my breath was short, that I was holding in my abdomen, and my chest muscles were tense. My breathing definitely reflected what was going on in my body. So I slowed down my breathing, steadied the inhales and exhales, and breathed deeper into my lungs. As I slowed down, I breathed into the spaces that felt tight and tense.

Let Go of the Outcome

After sitting with it, I felt more relaxed and calm in my body. My breathing was steadier and my thoughts didn’t feel as urgent. I sat with what was coming up and I was okay! Sometimes after a meditation, the outcome isn’t always so positive and that’s okay as well. I’ve had times where I left a meditation with tears in my eyes and maybe even more frustrated and tense than before.

This invitation to be with whatever arises is a brave choice. It’s brave because you are choosing to do something that you may tend to ignore or avoid. You are choosing to turn towards it without being attached to the outcome, to be open with what comes up, and to do your best- whatever that looks like for you that day.

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On your marks, get set, meditate!

February 16, 2020

It’s been a while since I’ve connected. To catch you up, 2020 has been the start of an intentional journey of self-discovery via meditation. If the image that comes to mind is of me sitting quietly, that’s a good start, but that’s a fraction of what this experience has been thus far. At this point, I’m relearning how to 1) slow down 2) breathe 3) connect with my body 4) and greet everything (and I mean everything) with no attachment to a certain outcome. As things come to the surface of my awareness, I slow down and repeat the steps. I may have to keep repeating this process over and over, slowing down even more than before. It’s a humbling practice.

I’m incredibly grateful to my support system and my teachers for their generosity towards me on this journey. Their wisdom, guidance, and tenderness helps me when I’m feeling lost, uncertain and at this point, frustrated.  I notice that I move through life pretty fast (ouch) and I have some high expectations (oops).

To the student and teacher in us all- may we move slowly through this journey, slow like honey.

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Nature and Mood

October 16, 2017

When I started creative writing outdoors, the first line in the journal was “I feel my energy come back to me.” The next few lines were tuning into the different sensations I experienced around me – the sound of the breeze moving through the trees, the smell of my skin as the sun shined on it, the reflection of the water on a nearby fountain, the chatter of people walking by. I would occasionally pause and look around before I would write the next thing I noticed. My surroundings became more engrossing than the content of what I was writing. Tuning in to the relaxation and peacefulness that surrounded me was very cool.

“My heart found its home long ago in the beauty, mystery, order and disorder of the flowering earth.”

-Lady Bird Johnson in a letter in Native Plants magazine, Fall 2002.

I noticed recently that I’ve been wanting to be outside more. I began to reflect on the stressors in my life about relationships, home, work, the current state of the nation, etc., and how being out in nature does a lot for my mood, my mental health and managing my stress.

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