Sitting with Discomfort

The Idea of the Week

We often try to avoid discomfort. It can be hard to let it sit and stay in your body, and it feels better to shake it off. However, discomfort can also be a catalyst for personal growth: where you learn resilience, adaptability, and stretching beyond your limits.

When we talk about building your threshold for sitting with uncomfortable feelings, this means expanding your experiences. So what was hard to hold onto yesterday is easier to hold today (or, depending on the situation, in a couple of weeks, months, and sometimes even years).

The Practice of the Week

So, How Do We Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable? This 8-minute article from Verywell Mind offers activities for expanding your limits and growing comfortable with being uncomfortable:

1. Explore new experiences
2. Try new things like a new food or new activity
3. Take risks and challenge yourself
4. Cold showers can be uncomfortable, so you could try a short cold shower (not freezing cold, though!) or a contrast shower. Check out the article for more about the health implications of cold showers.
5. Practice a physical challenge. This does not have to be an entire and intense workout. This could be:
   1. learning a new yoga pose (holding a stretching pose can certainly feel uncomfortable!),
   2. add an extra minute to your walk or run, 
   3. running or working out in a new place.
6. Sing! Play with your voice and the sounds you can make while you sing. Shout out and belt. You do not need to sound good to have fun with making sounds. Check out this vocal exercise from Cheryl Porter Vocal Coach as well as her other fun vocal exercises!
7. Try role-playing or engage in a debate where you must defend a position you would not normally take.

Two other practices that can be helpful are to ask for feedback and reflect on the process. Asking for feedback in itself can feel uncomfortable, so you get the experience of being uncomfortable while also having feedback for you to grow. Reflection processes are important for you to look inward and make connections. Reflect on what you have learned from the experiences. You could journal, meditate, or talk out loud. 

When doing uncomfortable things, we can feel vulnerable. It is natural to want to close up and leave the situation when we are vulnerable as a way to protect ourselves. The article from Verywell Mind also shares tips for how to feel less vulnerable when you are outside of your comfort zone. 

Finally, we found a guided meditation for you to practice sitting with your emotions. The meditation follows the 4 steps: 

1. Turn towards your emotions with acceptance
2. Identify and label the emotion
3. Acknowledge and accept your emotions
4. Realize the impermanence of your emotions

News of the Week

Another KAP Retreat!
Unlocking Your Mind:
A Journey to Self-Discovery

Dive deep into experiential therapy incorporating meditation, writing, art making, yoga, and other body-centered modalities. Step away from the stressors of daily life and fully immerse yourself in the therapeutic process. We will use Ketamine and experiential therapy to break through the stuck places to find more freedom, pace, and motivation!
Zoom Preparation Session: Wednesday, April 17th from 6-8 pm.
In-person retreat Thursday, April 25th through Sunday, April 28th with accommodations for 3 nights.
Zoom Integration Session: Wednesday, May 1 from 6-8 pm.

Register here

Are you looking to expand your perspective and deepen your practice? We have several opportunities for you to explore!
On Saturday, May 19, Breathing Space and MindSound present a daylong opera time opportunity for 2 workshops! Both are located at the Breathing Space Studio in Erieville, NY.

First workshop: Centering Resilience and Joy: Mindfulness, Yoga, and Sound from 9am to noon.
This three hour workshop will focus on three modalities. We will start with grounding mindfulness practices, go into yoga/movement designed to center and free the body, mind and spirit, and end with a deeply relaxing sound bath. This sound bath will include crystal bowls, gongs, Himalayan bowls, chimes, tanpura, mantra, and more.

Second workshop: Entering a world of Nada Yoga: Pranayama, Yoga, Sacred Mantra from 1pm to 4pm
This workshop will open us to the world of Nāda Yoga, the Yoga of sound. Nada Yoga is a deep and transformational practice that is present in almost all yogic practices: pranayama, asana, yoga nidra, and beyond. Nada Yoga is also seminal in understanding the Asthanga Yoga—the 8 limbs of yoga. This workshop will offer an experiential way to enter Nāda Yoga. We will begin with pranayama, meditation, and movement/asana. The bulk of our time will be spent chanting, no experience necessary. Megan, the facilitator, will guide you at each step, starting gently with humming and moving into sacred chants from different traditions. We will end with a mini sound bath to integrate what has been experienced. 

Yoga Nidra Level 1 Training

This is a workshop training on Yoga Nidra for 6 weeks starting April 30. It is virtual and there will be live and recorded content. For more info visit www.mindsound.co

Yoga Nidra Course

Explore the different elements of Yoga Nidra, deep dive into creating Sankalpa, the historical and cultural context, and integrating Yoga Nidra into your lived life. Understand the science behind NSDR and study the connections between Yoga Nidra, sound bath/sound healing, and yoga in this course! For more info, visit www.mindsound.co

Conscious Connected Breathwork Classes

Join Melissa Jacobs of Harvesting Sage for Conscious Connected Breathwork. This is a tool for anyone who has suffered from or experienced overwhelm, fatigue, burnout, anxiety, irritability, or grief.

This potent practice can elevate spirits, liberate pent-up emotions, enhance sleep and relaxation, bolster physical well-being, and offer a multitude of other benefits.

Offered weekly starting Thursday, March 28 at 8:30am to 9:45 am. 
$30 | Part of a plan

Unlock the power of your breath to heal and transform!

Register here

Flowing with Grief
Engage with your grief through physical movement and breathwork. Let your movement and breath be the emotional release of the grief stored in the body. Use yoga practices, not aimed at strength or flexibility, but rather at nurturing the emotional self and the physical manifestation of grief. 

This is a weekly 60-minute session, starting on April 8th at 5:30pm.
$25 | Part of a plan

The yoga practice is accessible to all and you do not need prior yoga experience. It can be performed seated or on a yoga mat.

Register here

The Thought of the Week

Wishing you a peaceful week!