Align With Love

There’s no shortage of things to stress about in the world right now. It can feel like there’s a constant stream of bad news coming in. Add to that any personal stresses you might be experiencing, and… it can be really hard to get centered and feel safe in your body.

So many of my private clients know deep down that they are ready to live in a more expanded way. And yet, it’s easy to get caught up with the small day to day triggers that take them out of inner connection.

Learning how to respond to these triggered moments in a way that brings them into connection – instead of checking out – opens them to a next level of awareness and makes life feel a whole lot easier.

I have a few questions for you:

Do you ever find yourself stressed out and:

mindlessly eating sugar…

finishing work and automatically pouring yourself a glass of wine…

playing games on your phone…

turning on the TV for hours of binging…

or scrolling social media?

And do these strategies actually help you feel better?

Do you feel better at 1:00 am with just one more episode?

When your belly is overfull from the ice cream?

Or how about that case of FOMO that inevitably comes up when you scroll for too long on social media?

Even if these things do make you feel better in the moment, what’s really happening under the surface is the true vulnerable feelings are getting pushed down and are actually growing.

So the next time that same trigger or issue happens…

All of the old feelings pop up immediately, which leads to a cycle of needing the escape behaviors to keep those unwanted feelings at bay.

There’s another way 

Here’s a recipe for getting centered and connected when life feels like too much 

When you find yourself in a hard place, instead of picking up your phone, can you simply stop and give yourself one minute to breathe into the feeling and be present with it? 

You can literally set a timer.

Just 60 seconds is usually enough to shift the energy and help you feel more centered in the moment.

Try it now.

1. Think of something that has triggered or upset you this week. 

2. Pause and feel it in your body, just notice the sensations that are being brought up. 

3. Set a timer for 1 minute and stay present with the feelings that are there. 

4. When your mind tries to distract you, just tell that voice, “It’s only 60 seconds – then you can distract me all you want”.

15 seconds “You’ve got this, breathe”

30 seconds “Halfway there…”

45 seconds “You’re almost done, stay with it”

60 seconds. Exhale. Congratulate yourself for being present with discomfort. With what’s been there under the surface. 

Now take 3 deep breaths and notice, is there a slight shift in how you feel?

Simply paying attention – even for a minute – to what’s really there can make all the difference in your ability to stay present and awake in your life.  

The more you practice this, the easier it will get.

I’ll share more tools along the way. We need to support each other right now.