Siouxland Magazine - May 2019

eathe
clarity
nutrition
flexibility
strength
on. The process of healing, then too, needs space and the open
presence of the sun to grow.
Every year, we move through this cyclical process of winter and spring.
Why then, when it comes to our own bodies, our own minds, our own
pain do we think we would just arrive once and not expect to have to do
the work again or even at all? Why do we shame ourselves for having
“muck” to work through and perhaps, not trusting that underneath
that is something incredible? Don’t we all have the varied seasons of
dark and light that just naturally produce compost and nourishment?
It’s natural. So where is the motivation and perhaps even excitement
to get in there and work with it?
When we notice a sense of dis-ease or pain in our bodies, our minds,
our relationships - instead of bypassing it as something unacceptable
or wrong; let’s enter into it with some level of anticipation. There is
an opportunity that is waiting to be tended and then further growth
within ourselves and our relationships with others to be experienced.
Our lives are just another form of the nature around us. It’s not always
easy to face what winter has left over within our bodies, minds and
hearts. To get down into the depths of it only in hopes that something
meaningful will arise often feels like a risk we are not willing to take
when it comes to our own well being. So perhaps, we enlist help;
someone who can guide us in the inner realms of our hearts. A
“master gardener” so to say, perhaps a teacher or a therapist, who will
undoubtedly hold us in their unconditional positive regard even when
we do not always trust the process or even ourselves.
We enter into this work and although uncomfortable and a little
overwhelming - the time, effort and patience you put into the nature
of your own being, will undoubtedly bear the most nourishing fruit
in the end. I can assure you that each time I have, both personally
and professionally, been willing to face what seems heavy and painful
with patience and space, I have always come out of it feeling more
embodied, empowered and alive.
“
We just “keep going” amongst
the daily business of our lives,
hoping we will forget that there is
something deep inside us yearning
to be heard, felt and seen.
– Jackie
”
I invite you to notice where you have been avoiding “the work” of
your own internal spring. Perhaps even being willing to ask for some
support in finding a way to the fresh life underneath going at it alone
can feel daunting. We were meant to hold each other on our journeys
and cultivate a collective opportunity to feel more life through it. I
am curious what might be waiting to spring up in your own life if you
were to see the power in embracing the pain and mulching it into the
beauty that it always has been? And maybe you are curious too.
Jackie Paulson is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and owner of {be}
studio; a yoga studio dedicated to deepening the students’ experience
with their own lives. Jackie offers individual and group therapy services
alongside regular workshops, trainings and classes related to holistic
healing and yoga. You can reach her by visiting jackiepaulson.com.
Photo credit Sarah Ann Photography.