Catch it to calm it

Not long ago I was sitting watching T.V. with my husband at the end of the night. I didn’t have any thoughts or feelings coming up that I was aware of. I wasn’t stressed or cranky. Everything was fine and it was just a normal night hanging out. I don’t even know what brought it to my attention, but suddenly I observed that my body was super tense. I noticed that my eyes were a bit squinted, and my forehead was furrowed. My shoulders were tight and a bit hunched forward as if I was ready to jump out of my seat at any minute. My hands were clenched as was my jaw. I wondered to myself what the heck was going on.

That was the first time I took notice how often my body was in that state of constriction and I had no idea why or how to fix it. Night after night I started to monitor these sensations as I sat “relaxing”. My mind began to race with questions:

“Am I mad at my husband?” I glanced over at him sitting quietly while we watched our show. He didn’t do anything wrong, and I hadn’t made up some story in my head that he had done something so that wasn’t it.

“Am I worried about something?”

“Is work stressing me out?”

“Should I be cleaning the house instead of watching T.V.?”

“Did I forget to do something that I needed to get done?”

“Am I wasting my life by watching T.V. instead of doing something else?”

“What the hell is wrong with me?!”

My mind whirled out of control and the tension in my body got tighter… and tighter… and tighter.

Whew, writing about that brought back body memories and I had to use my learned techniques to bring myself back to the current moment. You see, I’ve learned since that time of confusion and mind chaos that it’s quite common for childhood trauma survivors to live in a constant state of hyperarousal and feelings of being on edge. It was actually the “normal” state that body was in and I had just never noticed it before. Now… I do!

 Some things I’ve learned over the last year or so:

Learning to do a quick Body Scan is all about our willingness to Practice the Pause and become aware of the moment we’re in. Just like with any muscle, the more we exercise it, the easier it becomes.

 Separating a bit from our thoughts and emotions can be helpful to remind us that we are not our thoughts nor our emotions, it’s just part of who we are and we get to choose to experience them and then allow them to flow out of us so we don’t hang on and get stuck.

Taking a moment to take a breath can make the difference between popping your top or staying calm and in control.

 I’m the one in charge of my body and my choice of emotional state, not the other way around.

I can choose, and if I need to… I can choose again!

 Last week while walking quickly through the airport on one of the busiest travel days of the year, I was darting and dodging people while trying to make my way back to our gate. I suddenly caught myself feeling agitated. In a split second, that’s all it took. Taking notice that I was annoyed made me remember to take a deep breath, to relax my shoulders and my grumpy face, and get to a place of calm. I was so proud of myself that I was practically giddy when I got back to my family.

I'm going to continue to Practice the Pause every chance I get. Now, breathe!

 Agape Love and Anahata Light, Angala Marae Passon Cramer

Blog Post Title One

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Two

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Three

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Four

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.