Out of Overwhelm

By now, I hope you have found adding Somatic therapy to your health routine is not only simple but effective.

We have discussed some of the ways that applying somatic may help you to move out of a flight or freeze state. Today I want to tell you what movement can be added in to help your body deal with overwhelm.

The good news is, this movement can be done wherever you are and can without looking odd, not that we care about that, let people talk, life is more entertaining that way anyway.

When you start to notice yourself feeling overwhelmed, whether by too much stimulation in the room or too many things happening all at once, simply start to shift weight to the top of your toes and drop your heels 8-10 times while taking intentional breaths. You will need to be standing for this so if you are at a desk, stand up and take a moment. It is very similar to calf raises but with the emphasis on dropping back onto your heels.

This movement allows your body to release the tension of the moment. In overwhelm, what you are feeling is a bottling up. While you may not be able to complete all the tasks that are coming at you from every direction, this movement of your body indicates that you are still, in fact, in control. The intentional breathing will lower your heart rate and bring order to what FEELS like chaos. Once you have completed the movement, gently remind yourself, all is well.

Prayer: Forgive us Father for when we have neglected to embrace the gift of your Spirit, the ever-present gift of peace and counsel. Holy Spirit, we welcome you into every second of our day. We take this moment to connect to you and ask that you make yourself tangible to us. We ask that this feeling of you in us and with us, be hard wired in our brain, easily accessed in times of overwhelm and tension. Help us to know that we do not have to wait on you to arrive, but we simply need to access your constant presence when we have let our minds wander. Father, we love that you have created us in a way that we can utilize our bodies to establish balance in this fallen world, but we declare and confirm that it is not these movements we run to as our helper. It is YOU and your healing power that we are connecting to as we take a breath, as we take physical steps to move our bodies out of the world and into the unseen realm where your perfect peace is tangible. Movement, herbs, food, they are tools but none are God. You and ONLY you are the God we worship, Yahweh. Renew our minds as we move to claim the peace you already paid for, King Jesus. We pray this in your precious name, Jesus. Amen