Mind-Body Awareness, Self-Compassion, and Community for Healing
In early 2024, I’ve encountered both rewards and challenges, especially as I deepen my mind-body awareness and somatic practices. In this post, I’ll explore the themes of mind-body connection, self-compassion, and the importance of community—along with practical exercises for each.
Benefits of Mind-Body Awareness
Maybe you’ve heard the terms embodiment or somatic awareness or mind-body awareness and don’t really know what any of those terms mean.
I get it! I was there about 2 years ago.
Most of my life has been spent living in my head - and it’s been successful! I made it through high school, my undergraduate and graduate degrees, over 18 years in a relationship (yes, my husband and I were SO young when we started dating, haha!), over 14 years as a physical therapist and I did pretty much all of it from about the neck up.
My brain has been a huge gift to me.
That said, I was totally disconnected from the wisdom of my body.
About 2 years ago I started working with a wonderful somatic counselor in Bend and this process has changed me, the way I understand and interact with myself, and the way I understand and interact with the world. I’m much more connected to the whispers of my body, how my emotions show up in my body, and I've developed a lot more self-trust.
Over the course of the last month or so since the initial onset of this GI flare-up, I’ve had to check in with my body so much. Somewhat surprisingly to me, I’ve processed through this recovery with more curiosity, openness, and gentleness for myself than I probably ever have before. What feels different for me with this health and healing journey is that I’m asking myself questions that are all rooted in how I’m feeling - the physical sensations I’m experiencing, my energetic capacity, and my emotional state - and use what comes up to inform how I progress through my day. It has allowed me to honor what my body needs, which has often meant choosing to do less than I’m used to or would like to be doing. It’s meant resting more, changing my movement practices, putting off household tasks, etc. and I've accepted all of that.
Now, in the spirit of transparency and sharing from my very human experience, last week I was feeling like I had more energy and I started pushing my body a bit harder and I began to notice an increase in my symptoms along with restless sleep. My body was telling me that she was not ready for the higher activities levels and I needed to scale back.
When I checked in with myself and with how I was feeling what came up was frustration, fatigue, and physical discomfort. Pausing to acknowledge that these difficult emotions were present helped them feel less overwhelming and they processed through.
That said, without deepening my mind-body awareness over the last few years I might have missed that my body wasn’t loving my new-found energy, I might not have changed how hard I was pushing myself, and I might have ended up with an even bigger set-back to recover from.
If you find yourself living from the neck up like I was, disconnected from your body, checking in on everyone else’s needs but not your own, know that you are not alone.
Mind-Body Awareness Practice
I invite you to find a comfortable position for your body.
Take 3 breaths, as deep as feels comfortable noticing how your belly, ribs, and chest expand as you breathe in and how they fall as you breathe out.
Now, check in with yourself, with your body and name 3 things that are present for you. These might be a sensation, a feeling, or an emotion.
Can you find each one in your body? Where do they live?
Send them a message of acknowledgement, recognizing them for being there with you.
When you're ready, carry on with your day.
If you’re looking to connect more deeply with your body’s wisdom, schedule a Connection Call to explore how I can help you develop a mind-body awareness practice that fits your unique needs.
How to Practice Self-Compassion
In addition to checking in with how my body is feeling from the physical sensations to my energetic capacity to my emotional state, I’ve been practicing granting myself compassion.
So often we are our harshest critics, judging...
Our bodies for not recovering as quickly as we think they should.
Ourselves for not being as productive as much as we thought we would be.
Our progress. Comparing where we are in life to folks around us.
Ourselves for not having what is advertised as a “successful” life.
Ourselves for not having the energy to do and be everything life asks of us.
On my health and healing journey, I’ve noticed both judgment and fear surface.
I've judged myself for not being able to commit to and move through tasks at the same pace I’m accustomed to.
I’ve been fearful that I’ll get so far “behind” that it feels like I’m on a hamster wheel of efforting and not making it anywhere near where I want to be.
One of the most helpful questions for me during this time has been asking myself, "Bre, what’s the most kind thing you can do for yourself right now?" Sometimes the answer is as simple as "drink some water."
That extension of kindness to self is the foundation of self-compassion.
Kristen Neff, a researcher on self-compassion, identifies 3 steps that help us extend self-compassion in tough moments.
Self-Kindness (rather than self-judgement): We practice extending the kindness and care we would to others toward ourselves.
Common Humanity: We recognize we are human and works in progress and that what we’re going through is a common experience. We can ask ourselves, is it possible other's have gone through something similar and felt or thought this way?
Mindfulness: We practice being present with the reality of the moment, accepting and allowing the feelings, thoughts, and sensations. Can we acknowledge the pain of the situation without resisting or avoiding our feelings and without getting caught up in the story of what we’re feeling?
This self-compassion practice can feel hard in the beginning and there's might be some resistance to it along the way. What often resonates the most with the clients I work with is this practice…
Self-Compassion Practice
Envision your best friend or child dealing with the same struggles you are and then ask yourself…
What would I say to them?
How would I be with them?
How do I usually respond to myself?
What would I like to hear from a friend during my time of struggle?
The next time you find yourself in a self-judgement spiral remember that you deserve the same tenderness, gentleness, grace, kindness, and compassion you extend to your loved ones. You might even ask yourself…
What's the most kind thing I can do for myself right now?
If you’re curious to explore how somatic practices and self-compassion can help you connect to your intuition, confidence, and authentic self, schedule a Connection Call with me. We’ll chat about what it could look like to create your unique path to your most fulfilled and connected life.
The Role of Community in Healing
Finally, one of the most healing things for me during this health and healing journey for me has been leaning into my community.
Community has been a desire of mine for most of my adult life.
A few years after graduating from school for physical therapy I realized that I was really struggling to make the friendships in the new phase of life I found myself in.
I was working full-time as a staff physical therapist and while I had the connection of my co-workers, I didn’t feel much of a sense of community.
To be honest, I was always a little jealous of my husband and the community he had through his work and his volunteer activities.
I looked into different volunteer groups and organizations and realized that I didn’t have the capacity to prioritize volunteer time on top of work and life, so those work-day connections would have to be enough for the time being.
Fast forward to to the end of 2020 and opening my business, one in which I’m a solo-practioner with no support staff and no work-place colleagues. Talk about feeling alone!
In that phase, I realized I needed to double down on building connections with other business owners in the community to fill the connection void I was noticing and I’m so grateful to have met some really lovely individuals during that period.
And yet I still didn’t feel that sense of community I was longing for.
In retrospect, I’m not sure I knew what it was exactly I was looking to feel to signify I had landed in community.
That is until I took the leap to sign up for the Wholehearted Coaching Certification.
Immediately I felt a sense of home, of openness, of landing in a space where I was welcomed as my authentic self…imperfect, tender-hearted, human.
It was then that I started to see connections in my local community that felt the same. Women whom I had met through networking that I wanted to be connected to on a deeper friendship level.
Building these relationships has taken time, effort, and a bit of courage. It’s required me to step outside of my comfort zone and share aspects of myself that feel vulnerable.
As Brené Brown says “Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren't always comfortable, but they're never weakness.”
Many folks I know are also longing for community and connection, to feel seen in their imperfection and authenticity.
If this is you, know that you’re not alone and the community you seek is on the other side of courage.
Courage to show up in a new space.
Courage to start a conversation with someone you don’t know but deep down you WANT to know them.
Courage, when it feels safe enough, to share some of those vulnerable parts of yourself with someone else.
If you’d like to dive a little deeper, here are a few questions for reflection…
Community means…
Community feels like / sounds like / looks like…
Building community is important to me because…
What will be different when I have the community I desire?
What stands out to you as you reflect on your answers?
With kindness, compassion, and courage,
Bre
PS - Be sure to schedule your Connection Call so we can explore how I can support you in developing more self-kindness, compassion, and courage.
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