Fear and Feeling Cold: Mindfulness & Self Compassion Late April 2020
Fear and Feeling Cold…Mindfulness and Mindbody Connections Written April 27 2020
A cool grey day today....the events of last weekend are still reverberating with me... I think it’s natural for fear to be surfacing at this time, which I have definitely been noticing a lot more since last weekend. I noticed I was feeling cold this morning and realized I was holding a lot of tension in my body. Having some time mid day I was lucky to find it not raining and I went for a walk with a warm jacket and my boots on and visited the brook where I had an opportunity to wash away some of the tension and heaviness. When I felt warmed up from walking I took off my boots and socks and did some barefoot jogging and walking up and down the lawn.
It took quite a long time before I noticed any cold in my feet. I stopped when my feet did start to get cool and did some yoga postures to warm them by staying in one place. Already so much of the tension, sense of fear and cold had disappeared. While finishing with the plough and shoulder stand a memory surfaced from many years ago when I first began doing yoga with healing intent. My teacher at the time was Jenny Keirstead who has just lost her sister from the tragedy of April 19/20, 2020 weekend. Having grown up in Truro, many connected to this tragedy are known to me, though I do not know any of the victims directly. My heart goes out to all those so closely connected to this tragedy. I remembered Jenny saying as we were doing the shoulder stand one day that she thought of this posture as an opportunity to practice self acceptance ....as you can really see yourself there above you... I was giving myself opportunity to accept my fearful feelings and take care of myself. Cold in the body can occur when we feel anxious and are separated from what brings us a sense of health and well- being.
The practice of mindfulness brings us into the present so we can be aware of what is actually happening in the now. We can then identify fear that’s occurring in response to thought, perhaps of the possibility of something unpleasant or unwanted happening in the future (my most present thought pattern right now generating fear). Perhaps the memory of a frightening event from the past is playing over in our minds and as we remember it we are also feeling it in our bodies. We might feel fear of judgement arising from speaking in front of other people, or sharing something about ourselves on social media…it’s normal to fear pain, and emotional pain causes very real physiological responses. In any case the practice of mindfulness brings us into what is happening now. Today I was able to come back to realizing that in this moment and at this time I am safe and nourished. This is a practice that requires repetition. Though it will likely help, we don’t have to know any yoga, or go barefoot in nature to experience this. This experience is accessible to us at any time. And, again, we have to continue to re-visit the practice over and over. Same for me.
When emotions feel overwhelming please seek help. Human experience is complex and in our culture we all have a lot of learning to do when it comes to processing experiences, expressing feelings, and supporting each other. With the events of late April 2020 in Nova Scotia you may find yourself more stressed or anxious especially if you have experienced domestic violence or have been in an abusive relationship in the past.
You can check out https://self-compassion.org/category/exercises/#exercises for meditations and exercises on dealing with difficult emotions in the body. I will also post exercises on mindfulness and guided meditation as I can.
In addition, I will bring you short videos and tips on reducing anxiety with food and lifestyle ideas. Check out my online community, Barefood with Dr Erin, accessible under Community via www.facebook.com/drmackenzieND.
I wish you some time to tend any worries you have, move you body and root into the present.