A lot of you asked how to start healing. Healing the mind-body connection is a great place to start.
In 2006 I started this practice of checking in with my body throughout the day. I was a case manager sitting at a desk and the work wasn’t hard but the environment was as toxic. When my alarm would go off I would notice my shoulders, Jaw, and hips were often super tight. I would take a few deep breaths and invite my body to relax and soften.
My body was just doing what it was supposed to do. “Tensing up” to get me ready for “battle” under the constant perceived threat of “danger” which in modern society isn’t a saber tooth tiger but more like a toxic work space, LA traffic, a stressful relationship, etc. Now I notice pretty quickly when I’m going into a stress response and can bring myself back to a grounded place more quickly than 15 years or even 5 years ago. It’s a practice. What’s also important is meeting those tense, tight, anxious parts of us with Compassion. I got caught in the trap of thinking I could spiritually transcend the human experience years ago and understand now that all feelings are valid, all sensations are messages, and “anxiety” is just energy that needs to be directed like the riverbed guides the water. I love you and know radical self love and self acceptance is available to us all.
With Compassion,
Cassandra Solano, LCSW
Yay for New Friends!
Hi there! I'd love to gift you a free handout on a huge key to having healthy relationships: Attachment Styles. Your attachment style is just as important as your enneagram or horoscope in helping you understand yourself!