Practice self-compassion

Do you even remember that 2020 started with a US drone killing an Iranian general followed by some scary days of not knowing what type of fallout might come from that? Soon after, the impeachment hearing began. At the end of January, Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter accident. And all this time Australia was burning.

Coronavirus talk began in late January and early February but it wasn’t until March that things really hit home here. That’s when the safer at home edict was issued in Tennessee and it felt like the world shut down around us. Things have not been the same since. We started re-opening and there has been a lot of controversy around that. Masks have been mandated in parts of the country and there is more controversy around that. Shortly have quarantine began, my hometown faced a natural disaster. In the midst of all this came the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd followed by protests, demonstrations and civil unrest. And weren’t there murder hornets? Can we get an update on the murder hornets??

Listen: you’re anxious. I’m not diagnosing you, but it’s true. You are. Because these broad scale events are impacting all of us! But then you add on your specific challenges and circumstances and things really spike. Maybe you’re trying to figure out what you’ll do with your kids if schools don’t open in the fall. Maybe your work hours have been cut or maybe they’ve increased. Maybe you’re trying to keep your business afloat. Maybe you miss going to Target! Everyone’s anxiety level is riding higher than usual.

Why am I telling you this? The less aware we are of our anxiety, the more likely that we are coping in ways that are problematic. Is your fuse short and you find yourself yelling at your family more? Are you drinking more than you used to? Are you over or under eating and dealing with the health issues/shame that come as a result? Are you being domineering and trying to control all the people in your life? Are you struggling to find motivation or energy to do much of anything at all? All of these are signs of anxiety.

Look, I’m not trying to shame you. As a matter of fact, I’d point you toward the opposite. I think what you need is a good dose of self-compassion. Because your anxiety tells me that you feel overwhelmed and unsafe in the world. How would you respond if a friend or your child came to you and told you they were feeling overwhelmed and unsafe? On a good, healthy day, you’d respond with compassion. Can you offer that to yourself?

To talk about the practicalities of this, I’m going to tell you about my favorite part of a yoga class. Nearly every class I’ve ever taken has had a point in which the instructor says something along these lines: “Ok, I want you to take a minute and check in with your body. What do you need? Do you need another flow? Maybe a child’s pose? Maybe you need to play around with some inversion practice? Whatever it is, I want you to take a few minutes and offer that to yourself.”

Friends, there is so much compassion and self-care in that! What do I need? Now, I’m going to offer that to myself. The reality is that sometimes we need a big ass kale salad and sometimes a chocolate milkshake (endorphins!). Sometimes we need a run and others we need a nap. Some days we need a punching and some days a hug.

I bet you’re being hard on yourself these days. I know I am. I feel guilty because my son is in front of a screen more than I prefer. And that can sometimes trickle down to my people. I’m shorter with him than I would normally be. And then I’m beating myself up about that. You can see how this can spiral. So, what if, instead of being hard on myself, I offered compassion instead. What do I need? Can I offer that to myself today/this week? That might start to trickle down, too.

So, can we try this? When we notice those signs that tell us that we’re anxious, overwhelmed, feel unsafe, can we acknowledge what’s really happening and ask ourselves what we might need to feel a little better? You’ll find that acknowledging what is underneath it all provides some relief all on it’s own. But then take the extra step and figure out what you need and how you might offer that to yourself. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

The Pull of a Trigger and Push of a Button

Things have gotten pretty messy out there. Emotions are running high and there are a lot of LOUD VOICES in my social media feeds telling me that I just can’t keep everyone happy. And why exactly are things so messy? Because of a trigger and a button.

First, let’s understand a little bit about trauma. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) defines trauma for the purpose of diagnosis. Brainline.org summarizes it this way: The person was exposed to: death, threatened death, actual or threatened serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violence, in the following way(s):

• Direct exposure

• Witnessing the trauma

• Learning that a relative or close friend was exposed to a trauma

• Indirect exposure to aversive details of the trauma, usually in the course of professional duties (e.g., first responders, medics)

It is a requirement that this criteria, as well as a list of others, be met in order to diagnose someone with PTSD. However, many of us have symptoms of PTSD while not necessarily meeting all the criteria for diagnosis. So if we think about the above definition as (T)rauma with a capital T, most of us have experienced trauma on some level. A way to think about trauma, apart from a DSM-5 diagnosis, is a general sense of feeling unsafe in your world. This might come from one specific acute event or it may come from repeated patterns of experience that leave you feeling unsafe (often labeled complex trauma).

Here’s why I’m bringing this up. Our friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. who are people of color have likely experienced trauma, Trauma and more TRAUMA. Now, I get that they are not alone in this, skin color does not protect us from trauma and I am not trying to dismiss or minimize your experiences. I’m highlighting this in communities of color because trauma is pervasive there. Most, maybe even all, have had experiences of being discriminated against, treated suspiciously, harassed, threatened, etc. because of the color of their skin. Not only that, but they have been exposed to countless stories of trauma from people they care about.

Our brains and bodies are amazing. They are wired to keep us safe. One of the ways they do that is by storing up all kinds of information when we are traumatized (time of year, tone of voice, smells, sights, sounds, colors, etc.) in order to warn us if we re-experience any of those things in the future. This is called a “trigger” and it sends our bodies into fight or flight (if there’s a history of Trauma, this can sometimes mean that both fight and flight feel so unsafe that they freeze instead.)

Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd were all triggers for many people in the black community. Those stories were horrifying all on their own, but also brought with them a tide of memories of all their own experiences of hate, pain and discrimination. So we have a community of people who are triggered and grieving. Grieving these senseless deaths and remembering, and possibly re-experiencing their own traumatic experiences. It makes sense that emotions are running high. Not only are they grieving the losses of these people, but also the fact that they have to be scared when their children leave the house, when their kids leave the house. Parents have to have conversations with their young children, particularly boys, about how to respond if they are confronted. And while, yes, we will teach Noah to be kind and courteous, especially when confronted by authority, his life is not dependent on his ability to do so.

But that’s just one side of the coin here.

Come close, white friends. We need to talk.

Now stop for a second. What was your internal response to that? Did you get a little angry? Do you feel a little defensive? Pay attention to that.

As I’ve been having conversations with loved ones who are people of color, I’ve heard some repeated things. One big one is that, when they share with white friends and family about their experiences, it tends to not be received well. “I’m sure that’s not what they meant?” “Do you think maybe you have a chip on your shoulder?” “Is it possible you misunderstood or are jumping to conclusions?” “Is that really how it happened?”

It gets even messier when they try to share with someone that something that was said or done was hurtful or offensive. “I don’t have a racist bone in my body!” “I didn’t mean anything by it!” “Boy, you’re super sensitive!” These are the tame responses.

Here’s what I think is happening. Our shame button is getting pushed. And shame tends to lead to defensiveness. One way to recognize shame is when our brain makes big leaps in our conclusions. Someone tries to share with us that we said something that hurt them and in our mind we jump to them thinking we are kneeling on a black man’s neck. And we just can’t let them think we are in the same category, so we push back.

Now, all of this happens so fast that we aren’t really aware of it. It’s not that we are making conscious decisions to do this. But the way to know that it’s happening is to recognize that our first inclination is to disagree with something being said. This is a sign of defensiveness and defensiveness points to shame.

I think that the vast majority of us are good people. Maybe that’s naive of me, but it helps me survive in the world to believe that. I think that most of us good people work hard not to hurt people. I also think that 100% of us do actually hurt people along the way and, most often, that hurt is unintentional. Because it was unintentional, we are often unaware of the pain we cause unless the person we hurt has the courage to come to us and let us know. The hurt party may or may not understand that the hurt was unintentional. Because hurt, as a primary emotion, is a vulnerable thing to express, often when hurt we move into our secondary (stronger, more active) emotions to feel a little more safe and strong. Protected hurt often looks like anger. Do you see how this could get messy fast? If the hurt is unintentional, and someone comes to confront us and they are angry, we are very likely to quickly move toward shame (because they seem to be assuming the worst about us) and get defensive. Our defensiveness means that their very real hurt has now come into question and that is never ever helpful.

White friends, I realize that most of you would never ever consider gunning down a man who was out for a jog. Because of shame, when our bias or insensitivity is pointed out, we often jump to thinking that we are being placed in the same category as someone who would gun down an innocent man: a racist. And we can’t be that! So, we unintentionally invalidate the feelings and experiences of others because we don’t want to accept that racism still exists, especially in us. But what if racism is a spectrum? What if 100% (of all skin colors and ethnicities) of us are bias, which is a sign of racism, but that doesn’t have to put us in the category with white supremacists? Could your tolerance for hearing that you blew it increase a little?

I want to be very clear that I’m not making excuses for anyone here. That’s not what this is. What I want you to understand is that people of color are triggered and grieving. And right now, that might look like anger and fight. And it can be hard to move toward someone who comes out swinging, but try to do it anyway. You’ll find that, when someone is triggered, and someone close to them is able to stay calm and grounded, that helps deescalate things. I also want you to be aware of when your shame button gets pushed. Is your initial response to tell someone they are wrong about what happened? Your shame button was pushed. Even if they are telling you about something that happened to them that has nothing to do with you. We do not want to believe that racism exists because we don’t want to believe that we are capable of it. That’s not helpful. But if you can be aware of your shame, you can keep it from running the conversation.

As you can see, with the pull of a trigger and the push of a button, all hell breaks loose.

Helping Kids Process Quarantine

“I miss JuJu and Poppaw.”

I could see his big blue eyes brimming with tears and my heart just broke for him. It’s Tuesday. He knows it’s the day that he stays with my in-laws while his dad and I are both working. He’s feeling what we’re all experiencing on some level right now: grief.

Big or small, we have all experienced numerous losses with this quarantine. We’ve lost people, jobs, social interaction, freedom, options, routine, security, and a thousand other things that we’re discovering along the way. Our kids are feeling those losses, too. But they really don’t have the language or the self-awareness to bring it up to us. So, this is how I brought it up for him.

“Oh, buddy, this quarantine has taken a lot away from all of us. What has it taken away from you?” He spent some time naming grandparents and restaurants, playgrounds and friends. My little extrovert is missing his people! As he named those losses, the tears began to flow. Then I asked how he was feeling about those losses. “Sad!”

And we sat with that sadness for a few minutes. He cried and I snuggled him close. I let him cry as much as he needed to because his sadness is right. Just like your sadness is right. This is hard.

Once he stopped crying I said, “You know, this quarantine has given us some things, too! More time together. Daddy’s home more. What about you? What has quarantine given you?” He talked about playing outside more and throwing frisbee with Daddy. He has gotten to play his Yoshi game more. More time for snuggles.

“And how does that feel?”

“That feels happy!”

We talked about how weird it is that the same thing can make us happy and make us sad. Then we talked about all the other feelings we are feeling right now because of quarantine (frustration, anger, disappointment, etc.)

Listen, his mom is a therapist. So he has had lots and lots of practice talking about his feelings, but you don’t have to be a therapist to help your kid process all of this.

Practice on yourself! What are some of the losses you’ve experienced in this crazy season? Can you give yourself a minute to sit with that. Don’t try to fix it or talk yourself out of it. Just feel it. It’s painful. But it will not consume you. What are some of the gains? Can you give yourself a minute to feel that, too? Because most of us have experienced both! And it’s complicated, because often we allow one to overshadow the other, or use one to dismiss the other. A hard season makes it harder to acknowledge the good. A good season makes us feel like we shouldn’t feel bad. But usually, there’s both happening at the same time.

The other complicating factor is comparison. Other people have it so much worse, what do I have to be sad about? Noah isn’t having to figure out how to work from home, pay bills or get groceries. But his four year old heart is missing his people, his routine. And that is valid! Do some people have it harder than him? Yes, but he has the gift of not knowing that. He gets to just feel about what he’s experiencing. What if we allowed ourselves the opportunity to do that too? Regardless of what someone else is experiencing, you are experiencing your hard right now. You’re allowed to feel it.

After you’ve given yourself some space to explore this for yourself, have that conversation with your kids in a way that fits your own voice. Here are the things to keep in mind.

1) Acknowledge the losses. Help them name some of the emotions related to those losses. Talk about what’s challenging. Give them a little space to feel it. If tears come, give them room for tears. If frustration comes, give room for it. Give them a minute to yell if they need to and not get in trouble for it. This does not give them license to be unkind to anyone, but a verbal outlet for their feelings.

2) Don’t rush to fix how they’re feeling. It’s not broken.

3) Acknowledge the gains. What’s been good? What’s been positive? How are you feeling about those things? Give space for that. Because we tend to receive emotions related to good things better than the ones related to hard things, there may not be as much need for outward expression because it feels safe to express happy on an ongoing basis. But it’s still so important to acknowledge it and sit with it for a minute.

4) What’s it like for both to be present? Happy and sad, both together. Talk about that tension. It’s weird. That’s the word I’m hearing most often as people process this. It’s a weird season. We don’t have great ways to talk about things that are both!

5) Let this be the first of many conversations. Check in every few days. “Noticed any other losses or gains?” “How are things feeling this week? What’s the strongest thing you’re feeling? What else is there, too?”

If talking about feelings with kids is a newer experience (as it is to many, many parents), try pulling up a list of feeling words to help you and them find the language. Another great resource is this children’s book. I love it because it talks about a number of different emotions and has great descriptive language for the experience of each one.*

If you are a Christian and want faith to be part of the conversation, you might talk about bringing our grief to God and also our gratitude. We can acknowledge our grief when we’re sad and hurting and He cares for us and comforts us. He also celebrates with us over the things for which we are grateful.

I hope this his helpful. I hope this gives you ideas on how to start a conversation and make it your own to help kids acknowledge all that is happening in their internal worlds. I’d love to hear your ideas as well! Let me know in the comments, here or on social media, how you’re talking with your kids about this weird time in which we’re living.

*Note: I am not affiliated with Amazon or with the author of the linked book.

Surviving a Pandemic

“Mommy, don’t touch your face! Don’t forget, you’re not supposed to touch your face!”

We sat down with Noah on Sunday and had a talk about germs and the virus. We got the idea for how to explain it to him from a video. We talked about washing our hands and, obviously, not touching our faces. So, now he’s the germ police and I am not mad about it. I want to keep him safe.

I was never the mom who put my kid in a bubble. (There’s nothing wrong with that mom, by the way!) I am pretty laid back by nature so, I haven’t been super worried about germs. Kids get colds. Of course, I’m not having him lick anyone with the flu, but I’m not uptight about germs. So, in light of this virus, I’m finding that I am not quite myself.

As a matter of fact, I think a lot of us are feeling that. Even the most laid back of us are feeling the panic right now. What is happening in the world is unprecedented and we have not experienced it in our lifetime. So much is unknown and so much is outside of our control. And because of social media, we are on information overload right now.

I wanted to do a post to share some things that I’m trying to keep in mind in the midst of all of this, as well as some resources that might be helpful.

1) All of those unknowns in your mind that get your brain a bit spinny: they are unknowns for everyone! No one knows when this thing will end. No one. No one can tell you, currently, when it is safe to go out again. And that doesn’t feel good. It’s really hard to not know what life will look like over the coming weeks and months. It’s hard to not know how to plan for the future. Life looks really different right now and it’s a huge adjustment for all of us. And we don’t know when we get to figure out what normal looks like on the other side of this. So, we just all have to try to take it one day at a time. Deep breath, everyone.

2) We are all grieving. Every last one of us is grieving something. For some, you’re grieving that you can’t just go eat at your favorite restaurant right now. That grief is valid. For some, you’re grieving the loss of milestones and big life events like graduations, proms, weddings, etc. Some are grieving the loss of loved ones. Some are grieving the loss of structure and routine and “normal” life. Actually, all of us are likely grieving that last one. Be kind to yourself in your grief. If you can be kind to yourself, you are much more likely to be kind to others. You might feel angry, sad, frustrated, devastated, depressed, anxious, overwhelmed, or any number of other things. All of these are normal experiences of grief. Don’t beat yourself up about them. And most of you are doing that, because our default is to be hard on ourselves. Just find healthy ways to express them when you can. Have a good cry, do a workout video, angry dance in your room, punch some pillows, anything that helps you get that grief out without hurting someone else. This is how to show kindness to yourself in it.

3) This is a lot. Our whole lives changed in the matter of a week. That is not an exaggeration. And, I’ve got to be honest with you, we may be here for a while. The idea of slowing the spread of the virus is a really good one because it makes us less likely to overwhelm our healthcare system. However, it also draws this out over a longer period of time. It’s going to take some time to figure this whole thing out. Give yourself and your family buckets of grace. Kids’ screen time may go up for a while so you can take a breath and figure this out. Suddenly, everyone is homeschooling and most of us did not sign up for this! You might need a little more Netflix bingeing or reading as an escape. I am not encouraging you to check out of your life altogether, but give yourself some breaks.

4) You are anxious. Seriously. It feels like someone pumped the air full of anxiety and we’re all just breathing it in all the time. You may think you’re not anxious, but I assure you, you are. Some of you think it’s crazy that I thought I needed to point that out. But I know it’s true because I’m one of you “non-anxious” types. I don’t run around screaming that the sky is falling in a crisis. I handle it. But I carry it all in my body. It just holds and absorbs all the stress. I bet my laid back friends have more headaches and back pain right now. I bet you find yourself more irritable with your loved ones. Whether you’re aware of your anxiety or not, you can take good care of yourself by giving yourself breaks and moving your body. If you notice that the questions are starting to make you feel like your head will explode; if someone says any more words, of any kind, you’re going to lose your mind; if you notice that you’ve been sitting in the same spot for a while and you can’t quite remember what you were doing or thinking about, all of these are signs of anxiety. Pay attention to that. Don’t avoid it or immediately try to fix it. Ask yourself what you’re feeling scare of and name it all. As much as you can. Then move your body!

5) Single friends, come here. Close, close in. I’m worried about you. Especially if you live alone. We all feel isolated right now, even in our homes that are full. But for my friends out there who are single, I just want to move you all into my house right this minute. There’s a lot of time for you to get in your head about things. There’s limited social interaction and no physical touch. Check on your friends that live alone. Find ways to connect with people in safe ways.

6) Control the controllables and try to let go of the rest. You cannot control whether people choose to follow guidelines for social distancing. You can control whether you do. We’re all trying to figure this thing out. For some people, until someone they know gets sick, they will continue to be out. I’m sorry. There’s not a thing you can do. Sure, post videos about exponential growth and flattening the curve. But also know, you can’t control their choices, no matter how scary and concerning they are to you. You can, however, choose not to allow someone in your home or around your people if they have been choosing things that make you uncomfortable. Also, you cannot control whether people judge the choices you make. If you need to go for a run or a hike for your mental health, there will be people who struggle with that. It’s because they’re scared. And you can’t control that. And you don’t have to.

Anxiety is always future focused, we worry about what is to come, but the present moment is safe. That’s why mindfulness is helpful, it grounds you in the present. I did a whole post on trying to help you ground in the present. There are also apps out there like Calm (ios or android) or Headspace (ios or android) that can help with grounding.

We all need to move our bodies! There are so so many resources out there for this. And a lot of them are free! One of my favorite YouTube channels is Yoga with Adriene. I don’t know Adriene, but she knows her stuff when it comes to yoga. She’s got videos of all different types and lengths, so dig around until you find something that fits you and your schedule. There are all types of videos out there for a good work out. Find ways to get your heart rate up! Your kids need to move, too! My friend, Aaron Wood, who’s a PE coach at a local elementary school, started a YouTube channel for his students so they could have PE class at home. He’s fun and goofy and the perfect PE teacher. Your kids will love it!

Find creative things to do! Again, YouTube is a great resource for this! Here’s a video of science projects you can do with things that you may already have lying around your home. Ever thought about learning calligraphy? Lindsey Bugbee of “The Postman’s Knock” has a great channel with lots of fun projects and lessons. Ever heard of Skillshare? They have classes for just about anything you might want to learn to do or make. You can sign up for a free membership which gives you access to some of their content. Their higher tier membership, that’s paid, gives you access to all of it. They give you 2 weeks or a month for free, but if you find a skillshare instructor on Instagram or a blog, they have referral links that give you two months free! Try searching "#skillshare on Instagram.

We are all on social media right now and it is a scary place to be! Scrolling is a way to escape, typically, but right now, our feeds are filled with scary stories, videos, and statistics. Try following some happy accounts on Instagram to give you a little break. Upworthy is one of my favorites. They, along with Good News Movement and Good, post happy, feel good content. Crisis brings out the very best and very worst in humanity. These feeds can give you a dose of the good.

Also, did you realize how often we all eat?? Three times EVERY SINGLE DAY! And the worst part for me is figuring out what to make! It’s exhausting! Supercook is a search engine that helps you find recipes based on what you have on hand in your pantry.

If you are a Christian and looking for some helpful voices, I’d love to introduce you to two of my favorites: Jenn Hand and Beth Wayland. Both have been working hard to provide content on social media to help you process what’s happening and to be a voice of hope and comfort.

A final note: my desire is to provide resources and ideas for you. I get no kickback, financial gain, or benefit from linking to any of the above parties. I am also not affiliated with any of them. So click to your hearts’ content and feel free to share your own ideas in the comments below or back on Facebook or Instagram.

Lordy, lordy...

I still remember my mom’s 40th birthday. Black balloons. Signs that said “Lordy, lordy, look who’s 40.” I celebrated my 40th birthday last week and it’s a strange feeling to be an age I can remember my mom being.

My friend, Beth, asked me what I wanted to do to celebrate. As an Enneagram 9, I had no idea how to answer that question! So, I took some time to think about it.

I’ve always wanted to run a half marathon. It’s on my bucket list. I’ve trained and completed a couple of 5k’s, and that’s amazing, but I always believed I had it in me to do a half. Years ago I was considering it, but we were also trying to get pregnant, and then I was pregnant, and then I had a little one. Once Noah got a little bigger and I figured out better balance, we were trying to get pregnant again! I knew I didn’t want to start training and work hard just to have to cancel because I was pregnant. So, I decided, that’s how I want to mark my 40th year. And it turned out to be one of the top five decisions of my life.

If you read this post, you know that I have a complicated relationship with my body. So, going into training, I decided that I wanted to train in a way that was kind and healthy for my body, not beating it into submission, but partnering with it to do this well. I had a few goals: 1) Don’t throw up. 2) Don’t get injured. 3) Run the whole thing.

In this spirit, I decided to start slow in my training. I’d done the couch to 5k plan a couple of times and found it to be really good. So, that’s what I started with and I built from there. I did some research on training plans and lots of people have lots of theories around what’s best for you. By the time I finished the couch to 5k, I was about 10 weeks out from my race and decided to start trying to add about one mile a week until it was time to taper. I also found that what worked best for me was to do a four or five mile run once or twice a week and to do a short 1-2 mile run the day before a long run.

So far I have not thrown up or been injured. I’ve also learned to listen to my body. Because of that, I have let go of my third goal. Ultimately, my more important goal is to finish the race without injury. And if that means I need to walk for a minute and stretch to get blood flow back to my calves, that’s what I want to do. Because my body, she is my partner in this whole thing, and I want to give her what she needs.

Listen, I have never loved running. I used to dread the Presidential fitness challenge and rarely finished in the time limit. Fourteen year old Casey would be so proud of me! I ran nine miles the other day! I used to say that I got a runner’s low: I felt nauseous and depressed after a run.

What I’ve found is that this process has been tremendously helpful and healing for me. As someone who sometimes experiences anxiety, I’ve found running to be the most helpful thing I’ve ever done to support my body in an anxious season. When we’re anxious, our bodies release adrenaline. This is a gift to us. The role of adrenaline is to give our body the extra resources it needs in a crisis to save our lives. But what if there’s no bear? If someone rings my doorbell and my dog loses it, my body thinks that we are in the midst of a crisis. If I have a conversation with a friend and get in my head about it later: crisis. Adrenaline is not actually helpful in either of those situations (it just makes me cranky with the missionaries at my door). I’ve found that running helps my body use up those extra, unnecessary resources. So, my overall anxiety has been lower and I’ve been sleeping better.

I’ve also grown quite fond of my body. I know that sounds weird, but it’s true. She’s worked hard and she’s shown up for me. And she can do SO much more than I ever realized. She’s strong and healthy. She’s slow, but steady and has amazing endurance. She’s resilient and I’m really proud of her.

Guys. I haven’t lost one pound. Truly. The scale has the same number as it did months ago. My body has changed some because I’ve gained some muscle. Maybe my clothes fit a little differently, but it’s not been drastic. Even though the amount of running has been drastic! I did not sign up for this for weight loss. It wasn’t about that. And it is a little confusing and weird that I haven’t lost weight. But I’m not angry at my body for that. As a matter of fact, I feel more comfortable in my own skin than I can remember feeling. I feel great about my body right now. Not because I’ve reached a goal weight or I’m suddenly the right size, but because she’s on my team. She’s a hard worker and is GOOD. She is healthy. She is strong. I actually love her. She carries so much for me and I ask so much of her and she keeps showing up. She is beautiful. Every curve and line of her. And I am just so grateful for her.

Did you know that we live most of our lives pretty disconnected from our bodies? Andy Stanley said we are least aware of what is most present. There are few things as present in our lives as our bodies. When was the last time you noticed your left ear? Or your right big toe? Unless something’s wrong or we’re experiencing pain, we tend to live pretty unaware of our bodies unless we are doing something very physical with them. Running has helped me reconnect with my body in some helpful and important ways and I’ve learned to listen to her and trust her.

On this idea of disconnection, Hillary McBride challenges us to use pronouns when we talk about our body. Did you even realize that you most often describe your body as it? I bet you noticed I used she and her and it felt a little weird. Honestly, it feels a little weird for me, too. But I’m trying to think of my body as less of an object and more of a person. I’d love to challenge you to try this. I just went back and read what I’d written and noticed that early on, I actually called my body “it.” So, I’m still working on this. But you see that when I start to talk about how I relate to my body, the pronouns came.

I was afraid to talk about the half marathon early on in my training because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to do it. The race is next week and this thing is happening! I’m actually really excited about it! So, next Saturday, while you’re enjoying your coffee and pancakes, pray for me (and my sweet husband, he’s running with me)! Or better yet, come on up to Raccoon Mountain and cheer us on!

The Key to Calm

As promised, today I’m going to introduce you to your vagus nerve. And I’m going to do this by walking you through a quick exercise.

First, let me just remind you of the anxiety scale found here. In that post I talked about how anxiety builds on itself and described how it feels on a scale of 1-10. If your anxiety level is higher than a 5-6, you may not notice much benefit from doing an exercise like this. At that point, I’d recommend going for a good long run and getting out some of that excess energy. Then come back here and try this out.

First, I want you to take a second and check in with your body. If you’ve never done this before, it’s a good practice to have. Notice what sensations you feel. Notice if there’s any tightness or tension. Now, find your breath. I know that sounds weird, but we tend to walk around in the world breathing all the time and never really being aware of it. When you move attention to your breath, you automatically deepen it a little bit. Now, I’d like for you to deepen it a little more.

Take a second here and close your eyes and really focus on your breathing. Focus on letting your belly rise first, then your chest and shoulders. Focus on releasing the breath as if you’d just blown up a balloon and let go of it. Let it flow out of your body unforced and uncontrolled. Just let it go.

There. Did you notice that feeling? Take a few more of those breaths. Stop here for a second and just breath. I’ll wait.

Deep breath in, and, as you breath out, let you body sink a little deeper into whatever chair or couch you might be sitting on. You might find that you were, in fact, feeling some tension before, but you didn’t notice it until it started to seep out with your breath.

Did you know that most of us breath differently when we are awake than we do when we are asleep? When we’re awake we breath in, pause, breath out. When we’re sleeping, we tend to breath in, breath out, pause. So, when we’re awake, we tend to be holding our breath a little bit all day long. That may have been the sensation you noticed when you breathed out that first time. You stopped holding your breath.

The vagus nerve is located behind your lungs and diaphragm. It’s part of your parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the fight/flight response. It has a number of jobs, but the one we’re looking at today is that, when stimulated, it sends a signal to your brain that tells your body it’s time to calm down. So, when you take good deep breaths like this, your lungs and diaphragm massage the vagus nerve and activate it.

This can be so empowering! If you can begin to practice this deep breathing and start using it in tense or stressful situations, it can help you to regulate your body. It can help keep you more calm so that you can exercise good decision making and respond, rather than react, to your situation.

This is a great tool to keep in mind when you’re asking your boss for a raise, standing up to address a group of people, taking off on a flight, etc.

What about you? When do you think you could use a little extra vagus nerve activation?