(Quick note: There is an accompany audio. Scroll to the bottom and click on link to play)
What do I do?
Have you ever been scared? Worried, anxious or concerned? Have you been faced with circumstances that left you feeling lost with what to do or where to turn next? What happens inside of you when you feel this way? How does your body respond? How do you respond to others when you feel this way?
One thing we can count on in life is unexpected things are going to happen. As much as we try to avoid change or undo stress it seems to happen anyway. It comes out of no where just when things seem to be going well. Sometimes we know what to do right away and other times we are left with varying swirling thoughts but no real answers. What do we do then? What would you like to receive in these moments?
How about a little reassurance?
Some acknowledgment that everything is going to be ok. Many times we respond to stressful situations with how to change them? What can we do to fix the problem? We skip over the feelings we have in our body, the emotions that rise up and go right to confronting the situation head on. This works sometimes but not always. Some situations may feel bigger than our ability to make a difference. What happens in your body when you experience the feelings that come with unexpected circumstances.
Our bodies respond in different ways. We may feel shaky, cold, tight, or tense. We might want to shut down, lash out or run away. These and other responses are very common to feel in our body when we are faced with stressful circumstances. Do you know how you feel inside? It is amazing that we develop such automatic response to things that we are unaware of what is happening in our body.
Let’s explore what happens inside to be able to support ourselves through whatever we are feeling.
Take a moment to check in and notice how you are feeling right now.
Do you feel relaxed in your body?
Are you aware of any tension?
Do your shoulders feel relaxed or do they feel like they are reaching for your ears?
Close your eyes and tune into your body and feel what is going on inside of you.
The act of going within is an important part of discovering more about you. It is a way of being present with yourself. Even if you don’t notice or feel anything the first few times you do this, you are beginning to develop more of a relationship with yourself.
Now, let’s ask ourselves, What do you need right now?
How would you like to be comforted, supported, Reassured?
What would help you to relax just a little in this moment?
See what comes to you.
Do you like to hear kind words of reassurance, feel a gentle touch or receive a hug? What feels good to you when you are uncomfortable? Knowing what we really want to receive enables us to begin giving this to ourselves. What if we became really good at reassuring ourselves so that the feeling of stress in our body didn’t take us over? That would feel pretty amazing to most of us.
Reassurance can take many forms.
A long slow deep breath, gently stroking our forearm down toward our hand, placing a hand on our heart, taking a walk in nature, saying out loud to ourselves the words we want to hear can all provide the reassurance we need. Reassuring ourselves grounds our nervous system and allows our bodies to relax. When we are more relaxed our minds are calmer and we can connect to our inner wisdom, our intuition with greater clarity. Try different ways of reassuring yourself and discover what feels the best to you. As you practice reassuring yourself throughout the day no matter what is going on, you are developing a relationship of trust with yourself. A feeling that someone is always with you and that everything really will be ok even if you are not sure how.
Let yourself be reassured by the one who is with you all the time – YOU!
Let your reassurance help you feel the love that lives inside of you, The love that you are is here for you. Let yourself receive more of your own love and discover more of who you really are!