Somatic Personal Practice
More of the Good Stuff, Please!
When we are recovering from developmental trauma, relationship wounding, and disconnection from ourselves, we want more of the good stuff and less of the bad stuff.
We want less fear, discouragement, shame, self-criticism, isolation, confusion, and pain.
We want more joy, delight, ease, celebration, satisfying embodiment (“I am in my body right now and it feels good”), hope, gentleness, and safe connection.
We often feel that we will get more of the good stuff by focusing on getting rid of the bad stuff through introspection, expression, receiving comfort, or through physical or spiritual practices. There is some validity to that idea – sometimes the patterns underlying the bad stuff do need some attention and expression.
But for most of us, most of the time, the way to get more of the good stuff is to go for the good stuff. One effective approach is to do this in really small ways.
Here is my invitation.
Make a list of some of the “good stuff” that you want – the qualities of experience, like ease, pleasure, respite, and so on.
Make a list of some of the small mundane tasks, activities and routines you do multiple times every day.
Now put together one activity and one good stuff element like this:
“Today, every time I walk up or down the stairs, I am going to ENJOY my feet feeling the wood, the strength in my body, and the satisfaction of breathing.”
Try it, see how it goes. It’s a small nudge in your system to gently bring in some fresh air and aliveness.
I suggest choosing just one of these pairs and doing your best to remember and do that very small practice. See if, over the course of a few days, that small practice can become a habit. Once you get to where you are doing that practice at least 50% of the time with that activity without having to remind yourself to do it, then pick another activity/good stuff pair and add another small practice.
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