How's Monday treating you?
A funny thing happened when I (Natalie) sat down to write this letter...
The close of our enrollment for NeuroEmotional Coach Training was on my mind, and I had recently seen an email with a cool countdown timer. I love a little creative challenge, so I thought: "Hey, I wonder if I could make one of those?"
It turns out I can! It was right at the top of this very letter, looking beautiful.
Then I noticed something:
I was starting to semi panic.
The seconds ticking down in that timer started to work on my neurochemistry. My heart was speeding up, my fingers were rushing and making clumsy mistakes. It sucked!
Pretty quickly I realized the cosmic joke that was happening. The people most interested in supporting others to have less stress, less anxiety, less overwhelm, were about to send a letter to our beloveds that did the absolute opposite!
Most businesses capitalize on our stress hormones. If they can induce some adrenaline and cortisol with headlines like "Last Chance!", "Hurry!" and "Don't miss out!" they can get us to make a rushed decision and buy something whether or not it's right for us.
Realizing I was just about to head down the same track, I brought my computer to Nathan. We took a moment to ooh and awe over the beautiful timer I had made, and then we laughed about how absurd it would be to use induced stress to enroll people in a program meant to teach us how to reduce stress (and discomfort of all types).
We never want anyone to stress out about enrolling in something to reduce stress! Haha!
In fact life does a really good job of inserting stress into our experience. We don't need to add more. Instead we need the tools to manage our feelings and reactions to the stress already available.
Let's check in with ourselves real quick...
There's a chance that even reading words like "Hurry!" kicks off a stress response. Are you experiencing that? If so, let's do a little regulating together. And really, even if you're feeling fine, increased regulation helps us to feel mighty fine.
Ready?
Take a moment to tune into yourself.
Are you breathing?
Enjoy the sound for a second. Feel the air go in. Then feel the air go out.Now let's turn our attention to the surface of the body.
Is there anything your body is touching?
Notice the points of contact you can feel with your clothes, your seat, your fingers on whatever device you're using to read this.Gently, let's now turn toward auditory sensations.
Are there any sounds entering your awareness?
How many can you identify?
How far away are they?
Do you like them?Coming full circle, let's check back in with the breath.
Still remembering to do that fully?
What's it like now?
Following your own lead, we invite you to continue listening to your body. What is it asking for now? What does it need?
.
.
.
.
.
When you're ready, if you're interested in our work, you may want to read about NeuroEmotional Coach Training. We encourage you to listen carefully for your interest in this offering. We urge you to make room for any feelings that come up around your interest. Give them all the room they need – give them a voice, lend them an ear.
If you come into alignment, you have plenty of time to take action. We'll save you a spot in in this year's cohort, or next year's, or the one after that... We're not going anywhere.
If you've landed fully in your body, you've made room for all the feelings, and you're ready to enroll now, we're gathering on Wednesday. And we can easily support you to get what you need to be there too.
And if nothing else...
Let's all remember that rushing: whether it's literal fast movement or urgent language, inspires some Survival reactivity. So let's normalize soothing ourselves in these moments. We deserve it.
Much love,
Natalie (and Nathan)