by Jennifer L. Sherwood | Oct 30, 2020
Do you feel anxious, worried, or fearful in the midst of changes that are happening in and around you?
I get it. I have experienced all of these and more!
These exceptional times are giving all of us the opportunity to see, feel and transform (if we choose) the way we live our lives and manage change and what is happening around and for us.
The global pandemic, inequality and racial injustice issues, the climate crisis, our relationships to our health, each other, our work, and much more. There isn’t much that isn’t changing.
If you’re not managing this ongoing stress, it shows up as heart racing, tightness in your chest, worry and over-thinking, and have difficulty sleeping or feeling unrested upon waking.
You feel disconnected from yourself and others that shows up as problems with your health, relationships, or projecting what you feel onto others, near and far.
You feel confused about what to focus on, overwhelmed, and distracted by the news and what is happening for others. You either push through, burn out, and get stopped or avoid, hide, and pretend everything is fine.
Here’s what I’ve learned is helpful:
- First, notice and be aware of yourself.
Pay attention to your body. And, when you notice you are anxious or fearful, stop. Pause. Check-in with what you are feeling and sensing in your body. Where do you feel it? What is the quality of the feeling or sensation?
This will help you clarify what is yours and what you might be feeling from others or outside of you.
I know sometimes I feel agitated and when I check in, I realize that I’ve taken on someone else’s energy. That helps me know what I need to do with that energy rather than just carrying it with me and assuming it is mine.
2. Next, feel and work with what you are noticing.
Connect with your physical sensations. Allow yourself to be with them and to feel them.
Sometimes, this will be enough. Other times, you may want to inquire what the feeling is about, and ask for support or guidance to see what the deeper message is.
This will help create space to allow stress to move through you, whether it is something old that’s being triggered by the current events or situations or a new stress. You will be able to notice patterns and can inquire into them more.
3, Finally, use your awareness to take a next step.
Ask for guidance about what the next step is. The next step may be doing something nurturing for yourself or changing the way you do something.
For me, sometimes this looks like connecting less with the news or making requests of others about our conversations or choosing a next step that will help me take action based on the anger, sadness, or guilt, for example, that I am experiencing.
Taking this next step based on the sensations and emotions you are feeling helps bring you back to you and what you are meant to be healing and transforming through this time. And, this has you playing YOUR part in the collective healing.
In this way, you will feel more grounded and connected. You will make choices based on what you need, rather than on only what is happening “out there”. You will be able to stay connected to the real world by processing your own feelings and sensations. Everything will make more sense – what this means for you and how you are part of the greater work we are all doing to help humanity continue to evolve for the better.
I’ve seen this for myself and my clients and I know it is possible for you, too.
Warmly,
Jennifer
P.S. If you or anyone you know needs support with staying grounded in the midst of all the changes that are happening, please email me at jenniferlsherwood@gmail.com or contact me on my website for a Complimentary Clarity Call. That way I can hear more about what’s happening for you and see if the work I do makes sense for you.
by Jennifer L. Sherwood | Sep 04, 2020
Are you experiencing a lot of fear, confusion, or worry about the changes that are happening for you or others in these exceptional times?
You’re not alone.
Although change is always happening, it feels more heightened and urgent in our current times.
You may be making decisions about possible changes to school, work, and living situations, or related to different relationships, lifestyles, and schedules. You may be dealing with loss in different ways.
What I’ve come to know through doing my own work and supporting clients is that change itself is a natural and normal part of life and growth. AND how we move through change determines how it
You may be noticing your mind and body trying to shift and adapt and create opportunities from the changes, even if you aren’t always aware of what is happening or what might be next.
I experienced and was reminded of this personally when my partner returned to his yoga and fitness studio as part of the reopening process here in Ontario after 4 months of teaching online classes in the room next door in our small living space.
Even though we had talked about how each of our days were going to look and the change in our schedules and daily routines, I hadn’t really thought about or known how it was going to impact me.
It took a couple of days and then it hit me…
First, I noticed what was happening in my body and mind. Things felt “off” for me. I was a bit “discombobulated” or disoriented, was distracted and having difficulty focusing, and the time seemed to drag on. Even though I had a plan for my workday and all this space and time to myself, I wasn’t sure what to work on.
Thankfully, because of the work I’ve done personally and supporting my clients, I was able to stop and check-in with myself and what was happening for me and support myself with the changes needed with greater ease and more quickly than I would have in the past.
Here’s what I’ve learned is helpful:
- First, be aware of how you are feeling in your body and what is happening for you.
Staying connected to your body and checking in will help you noticed what is being triggered for you by the changes and outside events that are happening around you.
Accepting and creating space for these feelings and body sensations allows you to process them more easily. And see them as a signal that’s there to help you to see what is wanting to be shifted or done differently.
2. Next, use your awareness of your feelings and body sensations to help you see what you need.
Checking in with your feelings and using them to help you know what you need allows you to take responsibility for your feelings and meeting your needs and supporting others to do the same.
In my case, connecting with the distracted and ungrounded feelings helped me see that I had an ongoing need for stability and connection.
3. Finally, create a next step to support you. And take that one next step…and then the next.
Taking next steps will help you to make the changes that are being asked to be made in your life personally, in your community, and on a global level. And, taking one step at a time will help you move through any resistance, confusion, or fear.
The next step I saw was to review and update my schedule for myself and with my partner, being sure to create time each day and at the end of the week to reflect on how it was working for me and for us and to make any changes needed.
When you use this process to support you I know you, as I’ve seen for myself and the clients I support, will experience more ease with making decisions and with change and be able to “ride the wave” of your feelings and body sensations and befriend and use them to help you rather than be afraid of or avoid or push through them.
At the same time, you will experience letting go of old patterns and habits and creating space for new ones.
Change will become something you create and work with, rather than something to be feared and resisted.
And,ultimately you will be contributing towards making the decisions and changes that are needed for all of us individually, in our families, communities and the world.
Warmly,
Jennifer
P.S. If you or anyone you know needs support with moving through change with more ease, please email me at jenniferlsherwood@gmail.com or contact me on my website for a Complimentary Clarity Call. That way I can hear more about what’s happening for you and see if the work I do makes sense for you.
by Jennifer L. Sherwood | Apr 24, 2020
Are you having difficulty staying focused on you and what you need with the changes happening around you?
I get it. This can happen any time. And, this is an especially unique time.
The global situation and the changes it is bringing to our lives is fast-moving. And, at the same time, it is forcing us to slow down and be present to what is happening within and around us.
And, it can feel like a lot is happening right now.
You feel what’s happening for others and around you whether that be in your family, your community, or the world.
You feel a bit lost, scattered, an underlying sense of worry and confusion, or find yourself finding ways of distracting yourself with food, information, focusing on others, or keeping busy.
Your physical and emotional energy feels drained and you are having difficulty managing yourself, certain parts of the day-to-day, or interactions with others.
Fortunately, there is another way.
- First, connect in with yourself.
Allow yourself to notice and feel what’s going on for you on a daily basis. Check in with what’s happening in your body. What are the feelings and thoughts you’re experiencing?
Recently, one of my clients noticed, for example that sadness and fear about the impact on her own family was triggered by the loss of another.
Naming the feelings, thoughts, and body sensations makes it much easier to work with them, rather than having them showing up as dis-ease in your mind or body or in conflicts with others.
2. Next, notice any familiar patterns and inquire more deeply.
Ask yourself, What am I experiencing here? What is this about for me? What am I meant to know about and receive from this? Ask for support from your Source.
This same client noticed that the fear brought up by loss was a familiar pattern for her and used her awareness to inquire deeper with curiosity and compassion.
Recognizing the patterns helps you to use your experiences as an opportunity to continue your own healing and growth.
3. Finally, bring new perspectives back into your life and practice using them.
Use the message you have received to consciously choose the perspective you want to bring to this situation and to similar situations.
You may want to write it down as an affirmation, mantra, or prayer to read aloud or repeat to yourself. Or another practical action that helps you to create the change.
Instead of being affected by the outside, this allows you to use what you’re noticing about what’s happening and how it impacts you to create change in your beliefs, feelings, thoughts and actions. This is the part you can control.
As a result of making these changes in yourself, you’ll experience more of what you desire and need on the outside. You feel more connected to your heart, more loving to yourself and others, more accepting of and able to work with change, and even welcome and create change by being willing to be in the process of continuous improvement.
I’ve seen this for myself and for the clients I support, too. And, I know this is possible for you, too!
Warmly,
Jennifer
P.S. If you or anyone you know needs support to stay on track despite the changes that are happening around you, please email me at jenniferlsherwood@gmail.com or contact me on my website for a Complimentary Clarity Call. That way I can hear more about what’s happening for you and see if the work I do makes sense for you.
