It recently occurred to me that in addition to processing the multiplicity of overlapping crises that erupted in our personal lives, interpersonal lives, vocational lives, political lives and social lives during 2020, many of us will also be responding to and feeling the weight of the impact of the decisions we made in response to the crises.
To remain conscious of this reality will be vitally important or we run the risk of being unaware of how our bodies our responding to events that happened last year. We run the risk of pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps so that we can muddle through the impact of things unseen—triggers. We cannot address what we are unwilling to see.
And, trauma begets trauma.
2020 is still here with us whether we choose to see it or not, and it ain’t going anywhere anytime soon.
2020 is in our bodies. And our bodies wants to release triggers from events that happened in 2020.
I can feel 2020 rising up in my chest reaching to overwhelm and restrict my breath. In that moment, I am choosing to engage in a practice to release the trigger. I’m choosing to stop and pay attention to what’s happening in my body:
Observing where the trigger resides.
Exploring what my body is responding to that is not plainly seen.
Inquiring of myself what I need to support my body through this event.
Giving myself what I need.
Receiving what I need with gratitude.
Moving out of my body whatever seeks to restrict my breath by letting it go.
Remaining in tune and present with my body.
I don’t know about you, but I need my resiliency toolkit like I need breath in my lungs.
This practice for releasing triggers was inspired by Lama Rod Owens book Love and Rage The Path of Liberation Through Anger and somatic therapy sessions with my therapist.
(First posted on Facebook on 1.3.2021)
writer. mystic. healer. creative. advocate. 
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