stressed? back into the cave!

“get out of your head!”

do you ever get annoyed when people say that? i mean, what’s wrong with your head? thinking is good, it’s what got us out of the caves (no offence to caves, but they’re clearly not the best choice for most people as a permanent dwelling.)

the problem is not being in the head per se. it’s

a) overthinking
b) being only in the head.

today i want to give you a silly little thing to do that will help you get into the rest of your body – which will probably help with the overthinking, too.

i call it the caveman thump. the idea is to get back into the cave 🙂

it’s especially helpful when you’re totally stressed out – you know that feeling: your breathing is shallow, your heart beats too fast, it feels as if your brain is on fire. too much adrenalin. it’s a stress response from way back when, one that gives the body the push to race after that wildcat that just stole your days’ hunt.

when this brew of hormones that produces that push just sits in your body without your body reacting to it, that’s when you start feeling awful. it’s a sort of hormonal constipation. the trick is not to let your thoughts and emotions take over and concoct all kinds of scenarios – usually filled with quite a bit of anger – but to let the body go at it.

it feels a little silly, i warn you!

first you stomp. lift your leg and let it fall back on the floor – heavy. thump.

thump thump stomp.

then hunch your shoulders over a bit. let your long caveman arms dangle in front of you as you keep on thumping.

hunch dangle thump hunch dangle thump hunch dangle thump stomp.

you’re turning into a gorilla. hunching and thumping, you start making gorilla noises. let the sounds come from deep in your belly and let them fall out with a deep outbreath. let your face be loose, let your mouth dangle like your arms as you growl.

hunch dangle growl thump stomp!

two, three minutes of that, and you’re good as new. put your high heels back on and walk into that boardroom!

(image by kabir)

isabella mori
moritherapy
counselling in vancouver

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