@Amy Bambury It will be an adventure! How did you get here to skool?

I love your thought provoking questions! Hmmm I ask them to notice what they notice as they are popping up into their heads and begin to wonder what's happening below the neck. I watch for clues like breath holding, face holding tension, eye brows. People are really good at avoiding letting people know they are having feeling 😢 I insist they keep their attention on what's happening and people will often begin to be aware of how intellectualizing their feelings actually gets in the way of letting them move through. Feelings are often messy and when they are intense people get intense or embarrassed or fight/flight/freezy. Media culture drives mental stimulation. It's not about the body at all. Even the tai chi videos are fun to watch but watching will not produce the benefits that practicing regular tai chi with your actual body actually produces (not just thinking about tai chi). I tell my clients "this is not a thinking thing." Meaning thinking about anxiety will not change anxiety. It's a first good step for sure. And, being intentionally mindful during anxious feelings (or any feelings) leads to awareness to the elements (triggers, behavior, body clues) that are the expression of anxiety. Then we apply skill to those elements, something different happens. I encourage them to practice 3x daily so they can create real change. Those are my first thoughts... Looking forward to seeing what others say...🤩

Great post! Great question. I usually ask them to slow down and pay attention, to notice what they notice. I will often point out when I see they are trying to shut down the energy of emotion, or when they go into the habit of holding breath or tension and helping them stay present with whatever is coming up. I like your check-ins and check-outs. Your clients are lucky. You are very knowledgeable and articulate in describing your work.

@Lilyan Fowler Otherwise, why? I say that with a smile but still 🤷🏻‍♀️ I know part of this (shifting responsibility to client) has come from working for years with acute populations who were very vulnerable, traumatized, and struggling to get to baseline. That's the trenches. I think everyone is trying to get back to baseline but we all have to try to help ourselves, at least, and when your life is chaotic and unresourced (or you're a child for heaven sake) it's damage control all the time.

@Lilyan Fowler ikr. Accountability is so important. It makes avoidance impossible.

Oh gosh...this is the conundrum. People know they want to change. First step, right? Awareness. Then finding the path to change. The readiness level. That is the journey. I've learned over time that when I (personally) start with then body, when I'm feeling anxious instead of ignoring it or overriding it I go into it. I move with it. I breathe with it. I think with it. I teach my clients to do this also. Getting them to do it is the hard part. I love it when I can do movement (Brain Gym) with my client kiddos and the parents are in the room and help them remember to do the things at home... when you add conscious movement it goes into the motricity level of the body, and can transform the limbic brain, connect it to pre-frontal cortex, etc... voilá lasting, sustainable change. Practice between sessions. That's where the most change will happen. I stress this a lot with my clients. That's my method. Certainly easier said than done. But worth the effort. I teach my clients this by demonstration (of technique, and the results of application in my own life), and reflecting to them their changes in stress levels and their ability to feel good. The ones who make themselves do the thing reap the most benefit in the least amount of time.