Be aware, save lives. The pandemic from a somatic perspective.
The other day I was stopped at a red light. There were two cars were in front of me. The first car turned right on red. Totally legal, no big deal. The second car continued into the intersection, turning left, while the light was still red. Luckily for her, traffic on that typically busy state highway was light, thanks to people following the stay home/save lives message.
Awareness is your safety net.
I mention this because awareness is your safety net. After a month or so of staying home, many people want life to "get back to normal" whatever that is. Many think they are "smart," they're healthy, and by damn, they should be allowed do whatever they want.
As a Somatic Educator, part of my training included stepping into a client's shoes, so to speak. Part empathy, part sensing what they might be feeling in their bodies. Seeing the world through another person's lens.
Another part of our training is helping people identify their sensory motor amnesia (SMA). SMA means you have lost conscious, neural control of parts of your body. You are unaware of what you are actually doing. It happens because habits are learned, and once learned, they downshift to the "autopilot," subconscious sections of your brain.
When I work with a client we initially address SMA that is holding the body in contracted patterns that cause pain.
As a Somatic Educator, part of my training included stepping into a client's shoes, so to speak. Part empathy, part sensing what they might be feeling in their bodies. Seeing the world through another person's lens.
Another part of our training is helping people identify their sensory motor amnesia (SMA). SMA means you have lost conscious, neural control of parts of your body. You are unaware of what you are actually doing. It happens because habits are learned, and once learned, they downshift to the "autopilot," subconscious sections of your brain.
When I work with a client we initially address SMA that is holding the body in contracted patterns that cause pain.
SMA also shows up in how one lives one's life. Like how you drive home from work the same route every day, to the point that you can arrive home and not remember actually driving home. You are unaware. You are on autopilot. Unless something really different appeared along the route home, like a dinosaur on the side of the road, or the flashing red lights of a fire truck, not much would register in your conscious brain.
Sensory Motor Amnesia = Unawareness.
This time in our lives is a huge sociology experiment. It might be a life changing experience, an opportunity to assess what and why we do what we do.
Personally I've been mulling over how humans weigh the importance of life, money, freedom, and kindness. But I'm keeping this short for now...
Be aware, save lives.
So, while you might be itching to get your life back, I encourage us all to be willing to doing things differently, be patient, be empathetic and be compassionate. For yourself, your elderly grandmother, your immune compromised neighbor, for the medical workers, for the clerks and cashiers, for all humankind. All of which require being aware.
Peace,
Kristin
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