Living fully may be a catch all phase.
It means something different to each of us. For some it feels completely out of reach.
I have been reexamining my thoughts on resilience and determination.
Talking to clients with anxiety and depression, they feel shame as others suggest that they need to get in touch with gratitude. They feel unable to discuss their problems because they are not “big” enough especially when others are suffering during this most challenging year.
Recognizing that living fully means something different to each of us. Many people are held back by the deregulation of the nervous system - Trauma.
Looking at trauma not as a terrible incident that occurs to a person but rather as a deregulation of the nervous system removes the judgement. There is no determination of whether this incident is significant enough to cause long standing problems.
Yoga and meditation help regulate the nervous system and can be used as one tool to deepen a person’s awareness of connections that may have been disrupted. Yoga and meditation can be resources for the ability to safely explore a past experience that has compressed the ability to live open and with less fear.
Personally, I have made adjustments to my teaching and practice to enhance the exploration and to help build a bridge for students to the life on the mat and off the mat. Slowing down and adding more restorative postures at the conclusion of classes. Inviting student to have their experiences as they are, not how it feels in my body. In meditation developing the witness awareness can be a transformative tool for the tracking of the nervous system and regulating the nervous system with transformative possibilities.
As a student and a teacher this has been so helpful and I am happy to talk and make suggestions for a practice that can be a step toward living more fully . Feel free to email or call your ideas thoughts and comments.