Annette Bray
Free Your Body
Live & Love Empowered
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If the way we carry our body reflects how we feel, then any part of our anatomy can be a contributor to a posture that expresses this. The pain we feel can originate in our self perceptions. And the genesis of this are experiences turned inward. It's really a bummer that, all too often, these are negative experiences we turn into an internal image which causes us to be hard on ourselves. We can do the same with the positive. Yet, we tend to get trained to focus on what we did wrong (or what someone else interprets as our error). And of course, the hyper focus on what's wrong can be a survival tactic to ward it off again. But, we hold this energy within us for an impending event that may never come. And there it lies, causing a body and mind out of alignment and robbing us of the function we were designed to move with. Pain in your shoulders can be one manifestation of an emotional contraction. How could this be? When your open heart and feelings of being safe are challenged without awareness that there is an alternative, your spine changes. Mobility decreases in the vertebrae and the muscles and fascia of the spine, scapula and shoulder joint. If this is you, your shoulders turn into a contracted heart and prevent the lift of the ribcage to open the life affirming diaphragmatic breath. There are so many anatomical parts that contribute to how your body limits expansion. But, when you are mindful of being present with the source emotion and then add the precision physical tools to release, the painful information held within can be liberated. If I can help you do just that, I would love to do so. Consider if I can support you moving through your pain. Schedule a free 30-minute session with me to discover if this work can support your journey. And join me on Friday for my Live to explore the holding of the shoulders. As always, wishing you well :)
I thought I'd write a different email to you this week...as it hasn't been the norm in our family. On Sunday, my husband and I said goodbye to our adorable Rottweiler of 10 years, Fran. There's a deep ache in letting go of these amazing critters that are a part of our families. If we pay attention, they're teaching us something...our little soulmates offering us to learn more about ourselves. And of course, teaching us the ultimate lesson of unconditional love. They're joyful, authentically themselves and so in the moment. What a gift they are for us to share in life together. Which of course, makes saying goodbye so hard. I've felt it in by body since Sunday, that incredible fatigue from feeling sad. It makes the truth so clear about our bodies and are emotions being inextricably intertwined. I've relaxed in the tough feelings and it makes it better. And my feeling that she's free and yet connected to us energetically is bittersweet. I just wanted to take this week and honor the soul of Fran who brought us so much pure joy and endless love. And wishing that you all have these kinds of souls to love, learn and journey with. Wishing you well 💙
In the realm of somatic awareness, a resource is any mechanism of finding safety/well-being within your body. In my experience, sadly, I find that so few people know that this state is even within their power to create. We tend to habitually relinquish our experience of well-being to forces outside of us. We can be so vigilant in relation to our environment, that any pain in the physical or emotional body predominates our perception of how we feel. When truthfully, if we scan our entire internal environment, there is health and good function alongside the dis-ease that's getting our attention. So the ability to learn how to resource yourself in your body and mind is a precious tool in accessing health even when we don't feel good. And it's not just a distraction, the habit of resourcing can lead to physiologic changes that dampen gene expression that cause ill-health, and stimulate gene expression that heals the body. There are potentially hundreds, if not thousands of ways to resource your body/mind. The practice of mindfully paying attention to your surroundings without judgement is an access point to your internal well-being. Tracking the movement of breath in your body is another. Noticing how your body is supported by the foundation of your seat, or even mother earth beneath you are resources. I know they sound very simple, but when you come to know safety within, through these resources, your world can change dramatically. Do you want to practice this me? You can start by joining be early this Friday, Live on FB to do just this. Or schedule a free 30 minute consultation and I can point you in the right direction. I wish you a beautiful week and looking forward to engaging with you in the near futrue :)