Change

There are two things I know from years of teaching, coaching and experimenting with change:

1. Change is desperately needed and
2. Change is terrifying

Our body and mind are built to self-correct. Very often, we know deep down what we need to do, but it's exactly that thing which scares us the most. So change isn't just about issuing prescriptions - it's about finding the right unit of change that's both meaningful and tolerable for you. I call it a "wedge" because it provides the leverage we need to get some headroom and make steady, gradual transformation over time.

For some people, breathing is that wedge. Much has been written about the profound power of breathing - but precisely because it's so powerful, for some people it's too much.

When I first started, I was one of those people. Breathing moves energy and information so effectively, and my system was so locked up that I just could not shift my breathing in any substantial way. I had to find a different wedge.

For me, that was earthing. I couldn't change my breathing, but I could take my shoes off and go barefoot in the wet grass. So I did. Every day without fail, even if it was just a tiny patch of earth sandwiched between concrete outside some hotel in the middle of a work trip. And then I started going on long barefoot nature walks. And then barefoot runs. Through forests and deserts, up mountains, over snow, along rocky ridge lines.

Going barefoot helped me drain locked up survival energy out of my system. It helped me find space in myself. And then gradually I used that space to make another shift, and another, and another - until my system had enough flexibility to dive into deep breathing, elevation training and cold exposure.

If you find yourself chronically avoiding self-care strategies that you know "should" be good for you like deep breathing, mindfulness or exercise, maybe these things aren't the right wedge for you right now. That's ok! Let's get curious about what your wedge might be.

In resilience,
Caitlin