Maria Connolly, LPC
When we have a ritual, which NLP and Somatic Coaching can teach you, you can reconnect with your own inner experience embracing whatever arises within, with peaceful awareness and clear intention. Then you can fully experience and process each emotion – joy, grief, anger, amusement, pain, energy, etc. And often, you’ll discover the strength of developing and cultivating an attitude of patient, loving presence that allows the emotions to flow according to your own natural rhythm.
Is it possible to stop holding on to emotional baggage? Yes! There is actually a tried-and-true process for leaving something behind resourcefully.
Have you noticed how easy it is to hold on to negative life events? A “failed” relationship. A “stupid” decision. A judgmental comment. The list is endless. We’ve got them neatly packed away in our brains, so they can resurface and haunt us all over again.
“You’re so emotional!” That’s what my client, Janine, heard throughout her early years. And you know it wasn’t said as a compliment, but rather as a reprimand. From this and other negative judgments, Janine learned that it’s not good to allow yourself to feel your emotions. Her caregivers taught her that some emotions were “unacceptable”.
To gain approval and protect herself from being hurt, she started bottling up her feelings. Not only did she become good at hiding her emotions from others, she began to hide them from herself… to the point where she didn’t know what she liked or even who she was anymore!
Have you ever experienced anything like Janine? When you were sad were you told, “Oh, don’t be such a baby!” or when you were angry, did they say, “That’s so ugly. No one is going to like you, if you keep that up little Missy.”
We react strongly to emotions we judge as negative. Emotions like grief, sadness, anger, shame, and fear make us uncomfortable and afraid. When we see them in others, it’s unpleasant, so we try to make them go away.
When people think of the steps to recovery, they often associate it with drug or alcohol abuse or trauma. As a result, the word “recovery” has an element of judgment or negativity attached to it… “Oh, you’re in recovery, well we won’t talk about that!” Added to that, the common attitude toward being successful in business and the sports world is that we must “Hustle and push through it, Rest is for wimps!” Thankfully, despite this negativity, people are finally recognizing how vital recovery is to our ability to perform at our very best.
In the following example, you’ll see why recovery is so essential…
If the words “grateful” and “thankful” were colors, in the shade of red, which would be the darker, richer red? Many of us use those words interchangeably. They are closely related. But there are fundamental differences between the two. Understanding the difference between thankful and grateful will deepen and enrich your mindfulness practices.
“What is Somatic therapy? It’s mindfully becoming attuned to your mind-body connection. Your body tells you what is needed for emotional healing and further personal growth. Somatic therapy teaches you to listen to your body’s wisdom. It doesn’t mean you need to be “fixed”. It means you want to become the best version of YOU possible.” ~ Maria Connolly
How would you feel if all the clothing stores sold only one size? You walk in and every item is size 2, or maybe it’s size 20. That would be appalling, wouldn’t it? You deserve clothes that fit you. The same is true of your health care. We don’t want a one-size-fits-all approach. We want practitioners who see our unique needs and use the best therapeutic approach that gives us emotional healing and personal growth.