In the 38 years I have been a bodyworker, I’ve become very good at noticing patterns in people.

I see and feel the way the body changes to hold fear, grief, stress and anxiety and how emotions find certain places in the body to reside.

Knees, for instance hold the energy of forgiveness and forward movement.
The pelvis holds the energy of survival and basic needs.
Shoulders can become heavy with worry.
The belly and throat can tighten with swallowed feelings or words.

Right now in my practice, I’m noticing the patterns of fear, worry and anxiety in my clients.

I believe we are experiencing a collective trauma like never before.

There have been 4 mass shootings in Minneapolis in the last 30 days.

There have been 362 mass shootings so far in the US this year.

On top of that, we are watching the ongoing chaos in America and around the world.

We have images bombarding our eyes and our brains, and there are just some things a person can’t unsee.

But the more we see them, the more the algorithm sends us more of the same image.

The archons are feasting.

I think it’s more important, now than ever, to make time to find peacefulness. To stand barefoot on the earth. To fully inhale and exhale breath. To seek healing for the body, mind and spirit. It’s important to take a break from the screens and the scrolling.

I admit that I’ve been doom scrolling too much. It’s my trauma response. I scroll so know where the danger is, and how close I am to it. I think living so close to the occupation these past 5 years has made me hyper aware of surroundings and sounds. I’m almost always on high alert.

But when I realize I’m dooming, I find my feet and my breath and I remind myself that in this moment I’m safe. In this moment I’m ok.

Sometimes I go from one moment to the next reminding myself that I’m in the present moment and not the future that I can’t control or the past that I can’t change.

I think I learned this from my years of recovery. To take life one moment at a time.
To find some kind of peace and acceptance in the things I have no control over. To find the fortitude to take action in the things I can influence.
And to have the knowledge to know the difference between them, which is often the hardest part.

So if you’ve made it this far, inhale slowly and deeply. Hold that breath for a moment. Long enough to feel chest expand fully. And then exhale completely.

And then do it again.