Something happened at the end of June, and I know I’m not the only one that noticed the shift. It felt like a gentle tap on the shoulder, but as we approached July it turned into a startling push from behind. At the same time, the world woke up, stretched her legs, and invited you to dinner and dancing (aka pick up the pace darling, we have places to be). Meanwhile, I’m over here trying to find my balance from the shove back into life (don’t worry, I’m fully planted again ;)).
All of the fun, delicious activities and social gatherings we all have been so patiently waiting to participate in slid into our calendars with full force! And, because we’ve been so patient, these events are showing no plans of stopping. An ever-so-familiar feeling crept back into my life with this change, and it had me push the pause button to regain my footing (hence why I wasn’t in your inbox last month). I set my expectations down so I could look at what just happened, clear out what was no longer needed, then proceed forward with a new perspective.
What I’ve noticed was, as much as I want to get out there and live again, my body’s capacity to be in life looks different. Having an experience like the pandemic, where most of us (not all) had a huge decrease in stimulation, means we feel the impact when we try to pick up and go from 4 to 10. I don’t know about you, but I can’t go back to the same tempo as before. I need more breaks (bigger breaks), intentional transition time, more time to move my body, quiet time to eat a meal with no interruptions, naps…and I want these things, too. No one is going to take those away from me–not even myself.
I no longer want to pack my days with clients, go from social event to social event, or watch my never ending to-do list grow again. Returning to that pace causes me to spend most of my weekend recovering from the increasing load. In July, I noticed my body protested with fatigue, flutters of anxiety, and a burning undertone of resentment and frustration. I was making sure everything got done, but had little room in the day for myself.
You would think after all the growth and inner work I’ve done, that I would know better… nope! When you’re in it, you’re in it, and sometimes it feels hard to pull yourself out. I don’t care how skilled of a person someone is, when we break it down, we are all human, and are bound to have our “human moments”. When I hit this place in life, it’s like my mind forgets all the tools and skills I’ve cultivated for myself. My body is taken over like I’m a robot and the world has the remote control. The only way I can pull myself out is to sit and feel it all, peel back the layers of stimulation, and be patient until I uncover my truth again. (This often involves lots of tears, internal dialogue, and reaching out to my support system.) Processing will look different for everyone, as will how best to support it. (This is also why I appreciate the work we do together so much–it’s an honor to support many of you in times of need.)
As our inner world develops and we grow closer to ourselves, it becomes more challenging to fall into old external patterns the world’s set up with. When our brain isn’t connected to our line of communication (our inner dialog), it doesn’t matter how loudly our nervous system tries to tell us something’s off, or how much more challenging our visceral experience of the day-to-day feels. We ignore our body until she’s screaming (which for me, looked like a big illness), and as we re-learn how to listen, we realize we never want our body to resort to that volume again.
So how do we allow the space to hear those subtle cues if our tempo runs so fast it’s drowning them out? I wish I had a simple answer! Staying connected to ourselves is a practice, and it takes time to learn the new language of all the communication lines our body has to share. Because unless your parents knew how to teach you, you probably didn’t learn how to interpret for yourself. Even if you were taught, it changes and looks different as we evolve as human beings. I’m still learning to tune into my messages, even as I help others start figuring out their language.
If you’re feeling that increasing pace and noticing resistance to or confusion around it, I invite you to ask yourself:
- How do you stay connected to your body’s communication?
- When you hear that communication, are you clear if it’s coming from you or your outside environment?
- What is your process for course correcting when things feel like they are falling apart?
- Do you know what it feels like when you are in communication with your mind body connection?
These are very individual discoveries, and the key permission I want to give you is that it’s okay to take time to figure them out. If you don’t know where to start and want my support, we can schedule an in-person or remote session to look together, brainstorm, and discover what will serve your needs best. And of course, if you want the physical support and nourishment as you reflect on your own, my service list is below and I’d be so happy to love on you. Click here to schedule an appointment.
