One step forward, two steps back - can you relate?

Sometimes in life I feel like I'm taking one step forward and two steps back.

And honestly? For a long time, I thought that meant I was doing something wrong or I didn’t do enough.

But here's what I now understand - and what I want to offer you this week:

That feeling isn't failure. It's actually a sign that your nervous system is doing exactly what it's supposed to do.

When we begin to heal, the body starts releasing stored patterns. Old emotions surface. Old fears get louder. The very things you thought you'd moved past come back up but not to punish you, but to be seen and felt. To finally move through.

I've had so many moments where tears came out of nowhere, or an old memory resurfaced - a wound I thought I'd already healed. And yet, there it was again.This doesn't mean something is wrong or that you are doing it wrong. This means that your body finally is feeling safe enough to let these emotions surface.

Neuroscience calls this integration. The window of tolerance expands, and suddenly you can feel things you previously had to suppress just to function.

It can feel like regression. But it's actually an expansion.

So if you've been in that "one step forward, two steps back" energy lately; here's a somatic tool to work with when it gets heavy:

The next time you feel like you're falling backwards, pause. Place both hands on your heart. Take three slow breaths. Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth. And say to yourself, out loud if you can: "This is not collapse. This is completion."

Let your body hear it. Not just your mind.

The healing isn't happening despite the chaos. It's happening through it.

Share in the comments if you can relate to this.

Much love, Neda

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One step forward, two steps back - can you relate?