Falling Forward
As summer is winding down and fall is rounding the bend I’m curious what practices are rejuvenating for your soul as the seasons shift. The days are getting shorter, nights becoming longer so it’s important to pause and reflect towards being intentional as we gently ease into sweater weather. The rhythms you integrate in the colder months can invite one to slow down and recalibrate, in this day and age it is harder to come by but ever important.
I’m still learning the art of how to offer care and acceptance to my ever changing body. I don’t know about you but I’ve found diet culture to be insidious year round. Positive and negative body image days change as fast as the weather seems to fluctuate. But it’s important to root oneself in practices that are nourishing and grounding in the midst of life’s stressors that might bombard a person’s wellbeing.
Recently I was having a conversation with a client about triggers and we came to the awareness that one of the trigger points for their eating disorder was to be satiated. Experiencing a sense of satisfaction in their body triggered the urge to complete the binge purge cycle. As we circled around this topic we uncovered that being satisfied offers care and even kindness which allows for connection and presence, to make room for one to have a deepened experience of their internal world. When there’s been trauma or emotional neglect of some kind, it’s more common than not for one to question their worth and value. Sometimes those questions assault ones relationship to food and body, or addiction creeps in through a variety of forms.
When we are fed and satisfied it offers care, rest, even a sense of home and nurture. Integrating a practice of care instead of internalizing stories of harm helps fight against old narratives that haunt. Reclaiming a sense of safety bodily is a way towards healing. Healing happens one step at a time, through making a series of choices that help you interact differently with yourself in contrast to what your traumatized brain might predisposed to a particular default setting. It’s almost second nature to complete an abuse cycle, but breaking free from that loop invites one to recognize the multiplicity of emotion that might be hidden. Part of the work of therapy is to welcome the orphaned parts of yourself back into conversation, integrating those ostracized or banished parts of the self is the beginning stages of befriending the shadow parts of yourself. When you are fed and well cared for it invites you to recognize and better face the moments when that hasn’t always been available. It helps you identify the messages of harm and scarcity that have been internalized in the psyche. If there is a war with desire there is usually more story work to be done and room for healing and growth to clear a path for deeper abundance to flourish.
Some of my favorite ways to enter into fall are…
Doing a restorative yin yoga practice, while wearing comfy sweats and using supportive bolsters helps me better drop into my heart and body.
Lighting a candle and practicing mindfulness or breath work.
Taking a nature walk, helps me reflect and re-center. A break away from the hustle is an important reset.
Making seasonal meals that nourish the senses. Here’s some roasted acorn squash deliciousness to try https://www.cravingsofalunatic.com/stuffed-acorn-squash/
Gatherings with loved ones that offer an experience of belonging make life meaningful. Maybe that’s shared with your friends, chosen family or relatives. Being intentional with your encounters with others allows for embodied living to flourish.