Summer Solstice. 🌞

 

Sunflowers (Third Edition.)

by Vincent Van Gogh

Today marks the Summer Solstice.  The longest day of the year. Summer can be an intense season.  There is much going on.  There is much to do. This makes sense.  The days are longer, it is warmer, people are more social, there is a great deal of growth, beauty and abundance everywhere.  It can be an uplifting and exciting time. Yet, at the same time, it can feel a bit frenetic.  Almost overwhelming. The other day I was taking a walk in my favorite park.  I came to a patch of sun and walked in it for an extended period of time.  After a bit, I began to feel a bit agitated and irritated.  The heat of the sun was beginning to feel a bit too much, a bit overwhelming.  At some point my body was asking me, "It's time to find some shade." I headed back the way I came and the trail was gently covered in shade.  The moment my body entered this space, my body and mind felt cooler under the dappled light.  I felt more relaxed at ease.  It felt soothing.   I felt safe.  Safety not only applies to your physical well being, but to your emotional self as well. Feeling safe is a full physio-emotional response. We are hard wired to ascertain if we are safe, or in danger, at any given moment in our lives.  It is a deeply subconscious phenomenon.  This unconscious process is called neuroception.  This can be an on and off again response, as it should be, or become chronic vigilance depending on our respective histories and traumas. What is often forgotten and overlooked, however, is that we are also hard wired to feel safe. When we feel safe we can more easily relate with others.  We feel more grounded and calm.  There is a deeper sense of agency, of purpose.   Our bodies relax, we sleep better, digestion improves, and our breathing is fuller.  A cascade of hormones such as dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and oxytocin can ripple through our bodies. When we feel safe, I would argue, we also feel more alive.  When we are in a constant state of fight, flight or freeze the deeper pleasures of feeling alive seem distant, almost lost. It is very helpful to seek, find or create safety as often as you can in your day to day lives. At first it may seem elusive, but over time, you can hone in on what it feels like to be safe with greater and greater ease. Find and or create environments that feel nurturing and safe.  Surround yourself with beauty, minimize distractions and make sure your surroundings are familiar and known to you. We also need to feel safe within our own bodies.  Seek out practices or body work (hint hint. :)) that help soothe your nervous system.  This might be meditation, yoga, martial arts or simply going for a nice long walk.   Co-regulate with others.  This is absolutely essential.  When we are with others who we love and are loved in return, without fear of ridicule or shame, we can feel an even deeper sense of safety.  Again, we are hard wired for this as much as we are for seeking out danger.   It is your birthright. Be creative.  Find that safety which is profoundly and uniquely yours.   For me, it was finding shade after too much intense sun.  For you, it could be finding sun after being far too cold in the shade. I wish you a wonderful Summer Solstice, and deep safety.

Coherence in Chaos.

 

"When a complex system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire system to a higher order."  - Iya Prigogine, Nobel prize-winning chemist.   Hello there. I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to write and acknowledge the challenges many of you are facing during these chaotic and uncertain times. To not reach out and acknowledge this ongoing phenomena was beginning to feel a little like negligence, which is in direct conflict with my ethics as a Rolfer®️. Some of you are fearful of losing your job, and some of you have already lost your job due to federal spending cuts. Others are fearful of even traveling the country due to your gender identity. Many of you simply feel less safe during this time of uncertainty and increased vitriol. I want you to know that with the work I do, I am ever committed to providing you with a safe and compassionate space to do this most valuable and essential work. The time and space that we share for an hour plus is sacred.  In many ways it is a temporary autonomous zone to experience and relish a way of being that is antithetical to what is happening on multiple fronts in our political discourse. Empathy. Compassion. Humor. Kindness. And maybe most importantly . . . Embodiment. From the moment I see you to the moment you leave, I want us to share these qualities of being. In doing so, we are able to create a space that is a small island of coherence in a sea of chaos. This co created space is essential, but so is getting body work. In doing so, there may be less chaos in your soma and psyche. Instead you may find a better sense of ease, balance and peace.  Less anxiety. Certainly less pain. We need this more than ever. When we find this coherence and balance within our bodies, we are better able to navigate the uncertainties of this world.  There is also more capacity to bring this sense of peace to others as well, which most everyone wants on a primal level. I continuously and consistently tend to myself with deep care as well.  I try and meet your body through touch in as much of an embodied place as possible.   I do not want to meet you with anxiety and fear, but with competence and care. I want my intentional coherence to reverberate with your soma and psyche.  I can only hope that this will limbically resonate with you, allowing your body to find a more peaceful and balanced place as well. Another island of coherence born. In the end, know that I am here.   Right here. Never hesitate to reach out if you are wanting to come in for essential body work, for essential care.

Spring. 🌱

Cherry Blossoms

Matsumura Goshun

Today marks Spring Equinox. I so love the early Spring.  When going for a walk it is delightful to see flashes and flourishes of color juxtaposed against the dark and grey hues of a Winter slowly dissipating. I try and make it out into nature at least once a day.  These changes of Spring can come and go so quickly.  Each time I take a walk, I am amazed by the changes taking place day by day.  Where just yesterday a tree was asleep under moss and frost, today it is dazzling for all the world to see with small white flowers glowing in the grey afternoon. These changes can be subdued and subtle, but vibrant none the less. When going through Rolfing®️, there are a dynamic array of changes taking place during and after each session.  Some of them obvious, others more subtle and nuanced. It is important to pay attention to all of them.  Yet, I invite you to pay attention to those changes that are quieter, barely perceived but still brilliant and powerful.  Like cherry blossoms in the early Spring. When we begin to bring our attention to the more subtle sensations in our bodies, not only are we tapping into the bodies ancient wisdom, but we are also tending to ourselves in a deeper way as well.  We are listening, trying to hear what our body is telling us with a whisper.  This is the antithesis of neglect and abandonment.  It is a compassionate intention to sense and feel all that is you.  Sometimes these quiet utterances can be deeply transformative and healing. At the end of most sessions, I may ask you a deceivingly simple question, "What are you experiencing in your body right now." Clients respond with a wide variety of responses, nothing, there is less pain, I feel further back on my heels, my hips feel more under me. If we linger, we may begin to sense and feel the more subtle. A low level tingling in your extremities, a wave of energy moving up and down your spine, feeling just a bit more heavy. Perhaps faint emotions beckon you to pay closer attention as well.  A poignant sense of relief, an ancient grief from long ago, gratitude filling your heart with warmth, a low level vibration of rage kept at bay for so long. This isn't always easy.  Words don't always do what you are experiencing justice.  Yet, if you can, try.  It doesn't have to make "sense."  If words just don't work, try expressing your new found awareness with movement or perhaps even a drawing.  Be creative.  As long as it is a truth that resonates deep within you.  When we sense the more sublime sensations, and give them meaning, they become more embodied.  You become more whole and another level of healing can take place.   In healing, we aren't looking for perfection, we are looking for wholeness.  To embrace and recover all that has been, will be and is currently you. Sometimes this can be found in the quietest corners and edges of your soma and psyche.   Like a tree deep within the forest revealing bright Spring buds to the early morning light.

Winter. ❄️

 

Black Door with Snow.

Georgia O'Keeffee

This is always an interesting time of the year.  It can be a time of strong churning dichotomies. To begin with, Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year.   I find great comfort in this.  I love and relish the stillness and quiet that can be found on this day.  It beckons me to turn inward and listen to the deeper currents that gently ripple through my body and soul.  Dark and beautiful.   There can also be a pull to huddle and cuddle with those you love.  Finding warmth, solace and humor in the company of those you feel absolutely safe with.  I find myself gravitating towards this limbic lusciousness more this year than years past. The Holidays are upon us as well. In the darkness of Winter, there is also a well spring of activity around the Holidays.  On one hand, as the weather dictates, we may want to hibernate and snuggle.  On the other hand, there is a strong pull, whether it be organic or forced, to celebrate with friends and family. To help navigate these turbulent waters, as much as you can, pay close attention to what resonates with you moment by moment.  This may change minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day.   One of the best ways to do this is by listening to your body.  If there is an activity that you feel drawn to for whatever reason, and your body begins to subtly tighten and your breath shortens, you may want to reconsider.   If, on the other hand, such an activity makes your stomach gurgle and you sigh a bit, chances are you are on the right track. In this very moment your body may want you to make a cup of tea and commune with your favorite tree.  A few hours from now the idea of baking cookies for friends, family and neighbors for the Holidays may fill your body with excitement.  This baking fantasy then becomes a mess induced but delicious reality.   Tomorrow or the next day you might feel the genuine desire to go, with an open heart and strong appetite, to a friend's annual Christmas party. No matter the expectations, no matter the "shoulds" of it all, stay in close proximity to your deepest wants and needs.  Keep listening to your body.  That way, for this solstice and Holiday season, no matter what you do, you will find authentic joy, nourishment and love.

Fall. 🍁

www.rolfingseattle.net  

 

Hello there. I wanted to reach out and wish you a beautiful, peaceful and abundant Fall Equinox. The time when it is equal day and night.  Fall is being ushered in, yet the last vestiges of Summer linger. This is also a time to harvest.  To collect and bring home all of the fruits of our labor. For years now I have been an avid gardener.  No matter what is going on in the world or in my own life, I return to my garden for solace and renewal.   It is right about now that I begin to harvest all that I have grown.  Apples, blackberries, plums, hops and carrots to name just a few.  This year I will be canning and dehydrating quite a few of them.  It is all deeply satisfying. When we harvest, we are collecting all of the abundance that we have manifested through our hard work.  This can be applied to most any endeavor.  It truly should be celebrated.  And shared. There is a time of harvest in the Rolfing process as well. Clients usually come to see me to become pain free and find balance.  To get to this place, it takes a labor of love, for the both of us.  It takes time, patience, and a commitment to healing.  We are in this together. Over time, bit by bit, a client will begin to notice subtle and sometimes profound changes.  Each session building upon the previous one.   In our first session, the seeds for our future harvest are planted. We tend to these seedlings of change with mindfulness and compassion.  In the early stages of our work, the new and positive changes still contend with long held symptoms.  The new can be felt and seen, but the old still has a hold on our soma and psyche.  There is new growth, yet it is tender and not quite robust. In the interim, positive changes begin to take a stronger foot hold.  They find deeper roots and nourishment.  They begin to feel more solid and there is a sense of growing permanence.   In the later stages of our work together, the harvest begins.  Pain that once seemed permanent is almost completely gone and forgotten.  A client is able to do more with their life again.  They are able to engage with life's activities that were once inaccessible due to discomfort and pain.  They feel as if they have more energy and a greater sense of peace.  The log jam has broken, and resolution to their long standing symptoms has been found. It is here that we should pause and celebrate this harvest.  The harvest of peace, balance, and absence of pain.   Finding this place of somatic resolution is deeply satisfying for both my client and myself.  I find great joy in helping you get to this place of somatic gathering and growth.   On this day, I hope you enjoy the changing of the seasons . . . and your harvest.

Cancellation Policy

 

\Cancellation Policy

Jim Allbaugh - Certified Rolfer®️

www.rolfingseattle.net

All cancellations require 24 hours notice or the full session fee will be charged.

If a client is 30 minutes late to their scheduled appointment, it is considered a cancellation.

If I am unable to give you 24 hours notice prior to re-scheduling your appointment, your next appointment will be free of charge.

Out of Orbit.

 

www.rolfingseattle.net

"Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.  Be kind.  Always."  

-Brad Meltzer

Recently I had several conversations with friends and acquaintances who are all going through some very challenging times.  Gut check difficulties.  The type where the mettle of who you are is tested.

My heart goes out to all of them.

If you have lived long enough, it is almost inevitable at some point for this to happen.  To find yourself catapulted out and away from all that was and is familiar.

To find yourself knocked out of orbit.

The loss of a job.

The loss of a loved one.

The end of a relationship.

Health issues.

A pandemic.

Sometimes more than one of these at once.

The familiar becomes foreign.  Who you thought you were was and is no more.  What was once predictable becomes unpredictable.  What once felt settled and secure is now scattered.

If you live a life where such stark challenges never really meet you, you are blessed.  If you live a life where one or more crisis unfolds, you are equally blessed.  For when all things are seemingly falling apart, it is here, if you lean into it, you can find healing, transformation and a deeper sense of belonging.

One of the first steps to find healing in crisis is knowing that you are not alone.  Thinking we are isolated, especially during challenging times, is a reflection of our upbringing and the pathology of our current culture.  This can be the first glimmer of change, when we begin to realize we are not alone, and that there is a wellspring of resources just waiting to help you.

When you face these challenges your mind, body and spirit will go through intense stressors and change.

Because of this it is so important to be resourced.

Resources are people, places, things, qualities or activities that help support and nourish you.  They are fundamental and essential assets.

Social Support.

Make sure you have a strong network of social support to lean on.  In today's digital and atomized age, it is easy to forget that we are mammals, hard wired for intimacy, and that we are human, needing compassionate connection with one another.

We all want to be seen and heard.  We all ache to belong. 

Social support can come from your biological family, your chosen family, co-workers, your yoga mates, neighbors, and even the clerk at your local grocery store.

Finding social support and belonging is especially important during times of intense upheaval.  During these times you may discover how much deeper the love for you actually is.  This can be humbling, and at the same time, exquisite.

People generally want to help.  This might be a friend who is with you every step of the way.  A coworker who checks in with you from time to time.  A family member who steps up and takes over the logistics so you can focus on other matters.  Or it can be a cup of tea from a neighbor.  All of it matters.  All of it helps.  All of it is love.

Don't be afraid to reach out.  Make sure the people you love know what is going on with you, and in what ways they can help you.

When we are supported, we can find even more strength and resilience to meet whatever challenges we are facing.

Nourishment.

Prepare and eat deeply nourishing meals.

When we are under undue stress, we often forget to eat well.  It is essential to find the time to create nourishing meals.  Your body and mind are being taxed.  They need as much support as they can get.

Make sure you eat plenty of organic protein.  Proteins are made up of chemical building blocks called amino acids. Your body uses amino acids to build and repair muscles and bones, to make hormones and enzymes, and to repair cells and make new ones.

Healthy animal based proteins:

 

• Organic eggs, chicken, cottage cheese, yogurt, grass fed beef, fish, turkey breast, and shellfish.  

Vegetable based proteins:

• Organic tofu, lentils, black beans, tempeh, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, almonds, hemp seeds and peanuts. 

Avoid inflammatory and processed foods, even though they might be tasty.  Steer clear of an inflammatory diet such as foods with preservatives, deep fried foods, pastries, processed cereals, white rice, white breads and sugar.

Do seek out and relish nourishing and anti-inflammatory foods such as:  

• Foods that contain omega 3 fats (good fats are essential.)  Salmon, tuna and trout and soy based foods are all rich in omega 3 fats.  So are almonds, walnuts, pecans, flax seeds and chia seeds.
• A rainbow of colorful fruits and vegetables.
• Lentils and beans, nuts and seeds. 
• Green teas and certain spices such as ginger and turmeric.
• Complex carbohydrates, in moderation, such as whole grains, barley, buckwheat, oats, quinoa, and brown rice.
• Various vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin C, D, and E.

Finally, make sure you stay hydrated.  Drink plenty of water.  Water is life.  Water brings nutrients to cells, gets rid of wastes, protects joints and organs, and maintains body temperature.

Mental health.

Find and work with a mental health professional.

I am a huge proponent of psychotherapy.  It takes strength and courage.  It isn't always easy, but it can be deeply transformative.

Inevitably and invariably at some point during any life crisis, if your childhood was less than stellar, unresolved hurts and traumas from our past will be reawakened.  All felt in our mind, heart and body.  All beckoning to be tended to in the most attuned and compassionate way possible.

If these tender hurts begin to vibrate and speak again within, make sure you listen.  It is a golden opportunity to care for yourself in ways you may not have been tended to as a child. 

Even though at first we may think we can navigate these waters by ourselves, it is important to seek out a mental health professional who can help you with this process.

Many therapists have a deep calling where they want to help you.

If you are ever in need of a referral for a psychotherapist, please let me know.

Your body.

Get some good body work.  Whether it be massage, acupuncture or . . . Rolfing.

This is where I come in.  :)

Body work during times of intense stress is essential.  There really is no separation between the mind and body.  Feelings are physiological.  Emotions are of the flesh.  Emotions ripple through the body whether they be grief or rage.  With Rolfing, we are able to help create a container that is more resilient, allowing it all to move through more fully and clearly.

Rolfing can also help reset the nervous system.  When we are under stress, we are coming from a vigilant place.  Our sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) is on high alert, for dangers both past and present, as well as for threats real or perceived.  Our parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) can be a little bit more difficult to manifest.  We are hard wired to react quickly and swiftly to danger.  Knowing that we can also relax and settle, takes a bit more time and needs some coaxing.

Compassionate touch is so important.  Touch can reduce heart rate and blood pressure. The amount of cortisol (a stress hormone) is also reduced.  Your body needs to be seen and heard as well.  Touch immediately transmits to our entire being that we are cared for and not alone.  This can sometimes be stronger than just words alone.

When we receive quality body work we are tending to our hurts and aches.  We are also awakening and listening to a deeper intelligence within our body that our cognitive mind can barely touch.  This subtle and nuanced wisdom, when listened to and dialogued with, can be instrumental in healing.

Excercise.

Move.  Whether it be going to the gym, yoga, tai chi, martial arts or going for a lovely walk.  

Exercise reduces levels of the body's stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. It also stimulates the production of endorphins, chemicals in the brain that are the body's natural painkillers and mood elevators

Rest.

Rest, rest and more rest.  When we are dealing with a cacophony of different stressors, we often think, "...but I need to do more, there is something I am forgetting, I need to get to it all now."

Instead, as much as you can, do absolutely nothing.  No agenda, no itinerary, no lists.  Get yourself a comfortable chair, a blanket, a nice cup of tea and simply stare out the window.  Space out.  Allow your mind to wonder and wander.  Here everything can just unfold, allowing your body and mind to integrate all the changes that are taking place.  Slowly but surely, the world begins to open up a bit more, we become more present, and we can find ourselves, even for a brief moment, relaxed . . .

Conclusion.

There are other resources.  All of us are different and may need different resources accordingly.  For some it might be nature, beauty, creating art, or gardening, 

Regardless, make sure all of your resources have a general feeling of support.  Ones that you can lean on.  That carry you.  That hold you.  That soothe you.

After the tumult of being thrown out of orbit, you eventually find a new rhythm and cadence.  With this new orbit, your ecosystem has changed, it is weathered and raw, but somehow more resilient.  This new goldilocks zone may feel even more supportive and warmer, as if your new home is in a better place than before.

Those that have weathered a traumatic event, and have learned from it, have reported feeling more appreciative of their lives in a myriad of ways.  They might have a deeper sense of compassion, empathy, direction and strength they didn't know they had before.  

Above all else, there can be a profound feeling of gratitude.  They have learned that so much in our lives can be taken for granted.  When they discover the temporal existence of it all, their appreciation for their life, and what they have, deepens.  This feeling of gratefulness, slowly but surely, can radiate and grow.

If you ever experience a crisis of any sort, make sure you are well resourced, this way there is a better chance of learning and growing from it all . . . and to heal.