“While we see anger & violence in the streets of our country, the real battlefield is inside our bodies. If we are to survive as a country, it is inside our bodies where this conflict needs to be resolved.” 

~ Clinical therapist and trauma specialist Resmaa Menakem

It can be uncomfortable to cross your comfort zones. I talk a lot in class about “going up to your edge”. What do I mean by “the edge”? Muscularly, I’m suggesting that you recognize where a movement starts to cause discomfort. Go up to the discomfort, say “hello”, and then back away. Resist the urge to push past or force through that pain or discomfort. The nervous system likes to feel safe, to be in balance (homeostasis), so when we force muscles to move past a comfort zone, we actually end up losing ground to move forward. It may seem counter-intuitive, but if we can gently become aware of that edge – the edges of our comfort zones – the nervous system gains trust that we won’t push through, possibly causing injury, and that trust leads us to expansion and length in the muscle. We can think of this in relation to emotions and habitual programming of all sorts. Sidle up to your comfort zone, say “hello”, own it, then the next time you come up to that comfort zone, you may find you get a little bit farther.

This Thursday, we’ll explore the “edge” of breath, and how that can start to open up not only muscles in the center of the body, but also open perception to the external world around us. Click here for information on my weekly class, and feel free to email me with any questions.