01/19/2022
“Movement is the freedom of the body; stillness, of the mind.”💜 Movement is natural to me. When I had a desk job, I used to create fake printer jobs just so I could get up and walk around more often! Sorry trees 🙈
Stillness doesn’t come so easily to me. I struggle with anxiety, and it wasn’t until recently that I even was aware of it! My anxiety manifested as physical symptoms that I never allowed myself to sit with. I kept moving so I didn’t have to feel the discomfort.
Did you know that anxiety is very physical? As part of our body’s survival mechanism, the body will start pumping chemicals out if it perceives threat. Those chemicals cause physiological changes like increased heart rate, tense muscles, hyper vigilance, sweating, nausea, racing thoughts, shallow breathing etc. In an effort to protect you, your body can create quite the scene!!
To heal anxiety, you have to address the body AND the mind. You can’t think yourself out of a fight or flight/chemical pumping mode! Your body has to know it’s safe.
Intentional breathing, stretching, gentle movement (gentle!!! Not balls to the wall go as hard as you can and send even more chemicals through your body - I’m looking at you cardioholics!) and touch can all help move the body into a calmer state.
But you also need that stillness. To become aware. To sit with the feelings. To find out where they are in your body. To allow yourself to feel.
If you’re like me and struggle with stillness, try breathwork! Or sitting down for 5 minutes just listening to music with your eyes closed. Try an app like Headspace or Unplug Meditation. Find what works for you! Becoming aware of how I feel anxiety in my body was a game changer for me, and it allows me to be more in control when I feel anxiety creep in.
Why do I bring this all up?! Because anxiety is very physical, I see firsthand how it impacts my clients. So often the tightness they experience is caused by their nervous system being a little too on guard. That’s one of the reasons why I believe in FST, it helps to down regulate the nervous system and bring the body into a calmer state💕