03/01/2024
I wrote this nearly 4 years ago now, but it's still so relevant 😍
I hope you make it to the end, it's a long one, but worth it x
A couple of years ago, I ran a workshop called 'Hear 2 Heal.' It struck me that a lot of the techniques I taught may be helpful to people now, so I thought I'd share some of them below.
A lot of people right now are 'trying' to be positive, but the issue with that, is that if you're ignoring and shutting down how you really feel, then where do those emotions go? Nowhere... exactly, which basically means that they stay inside you, and holistically speaking, that's really not what we need right now.
For instance, anger, frustration, irritation all affect your liver, so keeping these emotions in will stop you from detoxing and keeping your body healthy. Worry, fear and anxiety tend to affect kidneys, so this too will stop you detoxing but also flushing away anything that you no longer need, and may lead to water infections or lower back pain. Stress seriously impacts the immune system, (which is obviously so important to keep strong at the moment) and it can also represent your 'inner strength' so if you're feeling overwhelmed or like it's 'all on you', then that's going to have a negative effect too.
So how do you keep all these channels clear then?
Well the easiest way is to simply 'hear' how you are feeling. Acknowledge it... outloud if you want to and ideally as soon as you notice that you're not quite feeling 'yourself'.
You don't even need to know exactly how it is that you're feeling either. Just simply 'outing it' can do the trick and lets your body know that you're listening. Using the wheel of emotions below can also help your brain identify and understand it better, which can help it to feel calmer and more in control and it's also great for teaching children about different feelings and emotions that they may not be familiar with. Especially when you use the phrase 'I feel...'
From my perspective, working with clients who have throat issues, thyroid problems and neck issues, quite often what's trapped in there is a whole load of things that haven't been said or expressed. Emotions are often thought of as energy in motion (e-motion), and so when these energies are trapped, they're going to try and get your attention however they can... and generally that means with physical symptoms.
So whether you have a sore throat or not, and if you know that you've not been 'getting things off your chest' (lung issues) especially when you may be stuck in a house with people that you're not used to spending so much time with, what else can you do to help yourself?
Well the good news is, all you need to do is be heard and nobody else needs to hear you...apart from you! 😘 and that's great, as it means that you can fix it and heal it and go back to feeling fantastic again. How fabulous is that!
So to get you started, I've written some techniques below that you might find useful and some other ideas as to how to work through things if you get stuck. I hope you find time to put them into practice and please feel free to share 🥰
- Record into your phone. This is my favourite. Imagine you are having a complete rant/offload about something or someone, either to them or to your best friend and you really don't care what they think. Find a space where no one can hear you, it might need to be in the car at the moment or send everyone out for a walk, and set your phone to record. Imagine they are there in front of you- just go for it- you can swear, yell, shout at them, cry, scream, whatever it is that you need to do to get it off your chest and out of your head. Hopefully it will bring up some emotions as we want those to come out too. No tissues, as you're just wiping them away and let them flow until there are no more. And it doesn't need to be to a person, it could be to the media, the world, CoVid-19, anything, anyone or any situation that you feel you have something that needs expressing to. Get it all out, as much as you can and then breathe!
You may feel lighter afterwards, wiped out or like you need to sleep for a week, but believe me you will feel a whole lot better very quickly afterwards.
Ideally, you need to listen back to it. This is really important for a few reasons, but mainly so that you can acknowledge for yourself how bad it had gotten and how much there was to 'get off your chest.' Sometimes listening back can bring up emotions too, which is great. Just imagine giving yourself a big hug throughout it as though you were your best friend. When you can listen to it all the way through without any reaction, then you can delete it and give yourself a pat on the back. 😘
- Best friend analogy. I wanted to put this near the top, as at the moment, a lot of us are missing our connections with our best friends and family. However you are feeling, imagine what your best friend would say to you? S/he wouldn't say 'shut up', 'stop it', 'get on with it' or 'stop being so pathetic' (or whatever it is that you might be saying to yourself right now...) they'd be kind to you and listen to you and let you know that you're loved and cared for. So do your best to be that person for yourself when you can. It's not always an easy one, but if you can think to yourself first 'what would my best friend say?' then that's a great start 😘
- Mind-map. Another one of my favourites! This is like a brain dump of how you are feeling and everything that's going round and round in your mind, onto a piece if paper. It can be scribbles, exclamation marks, drawings, words or names. I tend to do it a bit like a spider diagram, connecting thoughts and feelings up, but there are no rules with any of this, just whatever you do, get it out of you and onto a piece of paper.
Again, it's good to make space to do this, just 5 minutes is all you'll need, but you're worth it! plus it will make you feel a whole load better, and let's face it, time is not something we're short of at the moment... As with the recording above, it's important to acknowledge what's been 'released' so to speak. I like to hold the mind-map, close my eyes and then open them to see where my eyes go first. This is often the real issue and with a gentle bit of digging, you can often get to the bottom of the real cause of it all and let it go once and for all. Regardless though, when you feel ready to, it's a good idea to rip these up when you feel they're complete and even burn them (safely of course) to really let them go.
- Avoidance. I'm really good at this one, but I'm getting better at spotting it now 😉 For me, this is the 'looking in the cupboard for something to eat when I'm not hungry'... the scrolling through facebook when I'm not really that interested... the finding something to do, rather than just sitting still... these are the uncomfortable ones, that ironically don't need to be. By simply stopping, being still, breathing, taking a moment to check in with yourself, askiing yourself 'how am I feeling?' 'what am I avoiding or resisting right now?' you can get back on track in a minute and by using the techniques above and below, you can also feel a whole lot better for it too!
- Stay in your POWER. With the world as it is at the moment, it's easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing, how they're behaving, what the media say, what facebook says 'you need to take this opportunity to learn a new skill!!' etc etc (and btw that's total b*llocks.) All you need to do at the moment is to focus on you, hear how you feel and be kind to yourself and stop giving your power away.
There are 86,400 seconds in a day... just think of that as money for a moment- £86,400... what wonderful things could you do with that, heh? But if you spend most of that day worrying about what 'could' happen to your friends, your family or yourself, or several hours a day watching negative news or facebook posts, and goodness knows how many hours getting annoyed or irritated with those who are going out too much, breaking the rules, buying non-essential items or too much toilet roll, then you've already used up a massive chunk of your 'money' for the day and you've got nothing left for you.
I'm not saying don't do those things, I'm saying hear those things as they're how you feel and they're important, but once you've heard them- CALL BACK YOUR POWER! Write it down if you want to, proportion it how you see/feel fit. Imagine taking your power back from CoVid-19 with a smile on your face, saying 'you're not going to control me anymore!' how good would that feel? And then shift your focus. Spend 'money'- your time, your energy- on things that do make you feel good. Make a list of those things, so that if you get stuck, you can release what you need to with a mind-map or a recording and then get back to your joy 🥰 Simple.
- Un-sent letter. This can be a bit more time consuming, but for bigger issues, it really does the trick. It's the same as the recordng, but you're writing it instead. Write a letter to the person, situation, issue in question and be honest, say exactly how you feel, no holds barred and sign it when you're done. Come back to it when you're ready to, ideally within a few days and re-read it. If anything triggers you still, then it's not ready to go yet. Feel free to cross out parts that no longer resonate as this helps your brain to see how you're working through it and when it's all crossed out- rip it up and burn it.
I had a client once who took 2 years to start one of these, but when she finally wrote it she felt AMAZING!! And you can even do these with people that have passed away or are no longer in your life, as again, it's only you that really needs to hear how you feel, even though we're often taught that it's others that need to. How great is that? 🥰
-Bubble up. This is a great one if you're stuck at home with people that can irritate or annoy you or you're working with people that are talking negatively and you can't get away from them.
Imagine pulling a big bubble down around you from above your head, or if it works better for you, putting on an all-in-one suit. This still allows you to hear what others say and to acknowledge and interact with them, but any of their negativity bounces off you. It's important to remember that this isn't out of fear that you're using this, but more like you'd use an umbrella in the rain, because you'd rather not get wet 😉 It's a good idea to link this to something you do every day, like brushing your teeth or making breakfast and that way it's in place for the whole day.
- Keep topped up. Make a list of things that make you happy and remember to make sure you do at least one of those things each day, even if it's as simple as a cup of tea in the sun. Lots of people like to keep a gratitude journal or at night before bed recall 3 things that have gone well that day. I prefer to identify my 3 'gratitudes' first thing in the morning (when I remember!) as that way, you've already set yourself up with a grateful outlook, regardless of how the day goes.
- The Mirror. (Last one!) If you're willing to, then a great way of dealing with anything that 'triggers' you, is to look at it as if it was a mirror. Ideally we want to notice or observe other people's behaviour, so that we don't get pulled into it, but if it does start to trigger you, then this can be a great lesson in itself, as it means that there's a gift here for you that you can learn and grow from. For instance, my husband came home one day with a black cloud over his head and it really started to annoy me. I asked him what was wrong and he said 'nothing'. His mood continued to get worse, but still 'nothing' was wrong. I got so cross with it, that I wanted to scream 'Why are you so oblivious to what is going on with your mood!!!??' and at which point I realised it was a reflection of an old issue of mine... I spent a whole year with post natal depression- completely oblivious to it- trying to ignore it and carry on as though 'nothing' was wrong. It was as if he was holding up a mirror to something that I had not fully resolved, simply to enable me to see it for myself. And funnily enough, he popped right out of that mood the second I'd heard it and healed it. Love it! 🥰
So I realise that this is a crazy long post and if you've made it to the end, well done! 🤩 I hope some or all of it helps you and feel free to share this with anyone who you feel might benefit.
In the meantime, if you need any extra help with any of this, I also offer remote healing sessions using Kinesiology and natural energy healing techniques, so if you feel you would like one of those, then please do get in touch.
With lots and lots of love in healing and hearing yourself.
Best wishes,
Claire x
