Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Soothing Back to School Jitters

You know that nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach before the first day of school? Does that anxiety ever go away? Not according to the students, teachers, and parents I know. What about the anxious dreams about showing up unprepared- and being trapped to endure our out-of-control fate? There's something about back-to-school that's exciting, nerve-racking, and new- every time.

What if we approached each day with the same nervousness? Whew! It'd be nerve-racking. Thankfully, there seems to be a time limit on how long we can experience full-fledged anxiety. When we feel highly overwhelmed and helpless, we go into fight, flight, or freeze mode. Our survival kicks in. Energy is diverted from our "unnecessary" systems, such as digestion, as we prepare to move quickly!

The same is true when we relax. Our body's feedback loop moves both ways. Try this. Take a deep intentional breath in, breathing in for three to five counts, fully expanding your chest and belly, pausing naturally at the top of the in-breath, and exhaling, slowly and fully. Feel your body and the world of sensation occurring there in this very moment. Gently and easily scan your body from head to toe.

Simply shifting gears by taking deep breathes and turning our attention towards our bodies, where we can begin to notice and release any tension stored there, sends a message to our mind that all is well. We're safe, now. Everything's fine and our energy is free to flow naturally. We don't know what the next moment will bring but our lives unfold moment by moment so feeling safe now is everything.

Trying to relax is a hard thing to do! We can't force it but we can relax naturally when we practice taking deep breaths and giving compassionate attention to ourselves- releasing our innate healing abilities. So, go ahead, take a deep breath- whether or not you've got your homework done! It can only free up energy, making you better able to respond to whatever comes up next...

Happy back to school! May we make all A's in the school of life!

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