Healing from trauma means healing from the very depths of your body down to the cellular level, down to the depths of your soul to reclaim it. – Little Sage

This past week certainly has been tough. Especially in the national and world news.

I sat down on my computer to write my weekly newsletter last week, but I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t find the words to describe how I was feeling in that moment, I just wanted to stay still and observe what I was feeling in my body and allow myself that moment to reflect, feel all the emotions, and most importantly to breathe through it.

But something more was going on. In addition to coping with the news of the world, my body felt burdened. Like the whole weight of the world was on my shoulders. An uncomfortable feeling of body aches, soreness and heaviness. Not like I was coming down with a cold or flu. It was something my body remembered, even if my conscious mind was not yet remembering. When I thought about it more and talked to my husband about it, I realized why I felt that way… last week until today is the anniversary of my surviving from trauma. Even if my mind is not immediately aware of it, my body always remembers.

For survivors of trauma life after is different. The body and the brain is literally reshaped in a way that transforms every experience survivors have. Every cell in the body somehow has kept a memory of that experience.

I’ve had to be extra gentle with myself this past week, making sure that I get to practice my Qigong. Qigong has been my way to reprogram my body and soul to connect to the part of myself that is still whole. It’s how I stay connected to the still beautiful parts of human existence and the universe.

Healing from trauma means healing from the very depths of your body down to the cellular level, down to the depths of your soul to reclaim it.

If you’re going through something similar, please know that there are still beautiful parts of yourself you can reclaim. There is going to be more in life that is good if you choose to connect to your heart, to your indomitable spirit, to your Little Sage.

The most important thing is not to lose your connection to those beautiful parts of yourself. The ways to connect to that are to do things that feel good to your heart. That makes you feel a sense of connection, a sense of meaning and purpose. Giving yourself permission to prioritize and do things that are important to your heart.