I just spent 4 magical days at Wanderlust in Stratton, Vermont nestled at the bottom of a ski mountain doing downward dogs, dancing, singing, shaking. Another round of reclaiming my wild, my body, my heart…living it out loud in the world with other folks doing the same.
IT ROCKED.
I FELT ALIVE. I FELT SEEN. I FELT AT HOME.
In my body, my heart…every part of me was in alignment. Being in and near nature, delicious whole foods, hiking, so much time in body, good sleep, new people, juicy conversations, the feeling of joy, of possibility.
I took classes called Sing Hallelujah, Spiritually Fly, Awakening Shakti, How to Start a Global Movement, Healing Trauma with Energry Medicine Yoga, Embodied Heart, Dance with Your Funky and Divine (which I totally did).
I listened to the inspiring words of Seane Corn, Suzanne Sterling, Elena Brower and many others. I was moved to ecstasy and tears by the dance of Toni Bergins. I handed out love caper cards. I napped in the sun. I felt inspired and alive.
And as I met people and shared that I’m writing a book about reclaiming our wild hearts and bodies they start telling me their stories. For years this has happened and I didn’t realize how important it is to be seen in our journeys. To be listened to and loved. And everyone has a story of being broken hearted. And now we are honoring and learning how that creates broken bodies, dis-ease. For years I couldn't sit cross legged, lean down and touch my forehead to my knee because my body was so constricted from trauma. Last year at the age of 40 I was finally able to do so. And yes there were tears and joy! It was such a moment of tangible change in my system, of feeling and seeing the trauma move its way out of my body so my body is in flow and more relaxed.
At Wanderlust a woman shared that in class she burst into tears and then cried for hours. Something moving, shifting, releasing within her. She was apologetic about it and I cheered her on. "That's amazing! Now remember when you're crying to move your body, make sounds and put your hand on your lower back to move all that energy out. Let it go!"
Our bodies hold on to so much for us, they take so much on and one of the kindest things we can do for them is to nourish them kind words, deeds, food, gentle movement, temper tantrums, dance breaks, shaking, tapping...getting all they hold on to - out of our sweet selves.
We've held on to it long enough.
And I really got that we all experience trauma in some form or another- usually everyday. Stress of commute, work, family, life, violent words towards ourselves, from others, systems, rules, ugg. Our hearts and bodies can be broken in little and big ways everyday. And we need to admit that, honor it and learn the tools to move through it rather than pretend it's not happening.
I took an incredible energy medicine class with Lauren Walker who offers practical everyday tools for dealing with trauma and stress. One I'll share here - our eyes hold 80% of the stress in our bodies (who knew!) - so by placing your palms over your eyes, fingers on your forehead and your thumbs on your ears, closing your eyes and taking some deep breathes (in nose/out the mouth) you are releasing stress. You are taking care of yourself. You are changing your energy system, you are calming yourself down, bringing your systems back into balance and harmony. And that is such gorgeous, powerful, transformative self love. This changes the world, your body, your heart. By calming yourself down, you calm down the world.
So take some time today (and everyday) to release stress and trauma from your body- in a way that is healthy and safe for you and those around you. Dance, shake, put your hands over your eyes, stretch your hips, hang over your toes...move it out, let it go.
We've held on to it long enough.
Here are more tips from the wise and lovely Lauren http://lkwalker.com/EMyoga.html