On the way to the naturopath, I was thinking about my shadow and how she can hide, camouflaged, in my values. For example, one of my values is achievement. I love to make things happen, get things done, check things of my list, get a gold star, celebrate. Yum. And sometimes that can get twisted into overwork, overdrive and an overextended, competitive me. No doubt it's related to my big fear.There are lots of ways that I'm learning to ease up and trust, but today I was just noticing, not trying to fix anything. And here's what happened.
So, my naturopath is on maternity leave and today is the first time I meet the person filling in for her. He's a Body Talk practitioner. I still have lots of scepticism about this practice but here are the first things he said to me after tuning into my body. Remember, he doesn't know me at all.
"Would you call yourself driven?"
"Would you say you're competitive?"
What? Was he having a personal conversation with my shadow? How did he know I was just thinking about that? Well, apparently that stuff is showing up in my tummy and in my jaw. So we had a little conversation about my masseters (my jaw muscles).
Practitioner: "It seems like your masseters have simply forgotten how to relax. It's like the rest of you can have fun and relax, but they can't."
Me: "What would masseters do for fun?"
Practitioner: [confused look] Well, I didn't really mean--
Me: No, I'm really curious. What do you think masseters would do for fun?
Practitioner: Chew?
Me: Yeah, that makes sense. Oh! What about singing?
Practitioner: Singing would definitely be fun for the masseters and good for your body in lots of different ways.
So, I'm giving myself singing for homework. Who knew that my shadow gets all worked up when she doesn't get to sing?
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13 comments:
this seems a much better way to approach one's shadow than thru one's head or psyche---through the body...what an intuitive body worker! lucky you!
SO glad you found a fun way to deal with your shadow. Sing to your heart's desire.
Sing away, Jamie!
love, light and peace,
serena
"What do you think masseters would do for fun?"
Wow Jamie, you never cease to surprize! YAY for fun and happy masseters in your future! And present.
You sing while I dance!
:) .. what would masseters do for fun? that makes me giggle.
I LOVE it! I've been having terrible trouble with clenching my jaw lately, how about we do a duet?
ha! love that! i bet your masseters love to laugh too. :-) and perhaps make rasberries. hehe
I think I will sing along with you... hit it!
What a cool session - enjoy the singing!
In Tai Chi we learned to place tip of tongue behind top teeth at the gum line, which causes the jaw to drop naturally!! A friend with TMJ said her mantra was 'Lips together, teeth apart, from this habit we will not depart' . . . so I sometimes think of that.
whoo, those shadows!!
I learnt so many chewing, yawning and facial expression exercises at singing class and whenever I feel tense (like before a class or speaking in front of people) I do these exercises. You might want to check out this site:
http://thesingingvoice.com/html/warm_ups.html
It is interesting how our bodies manifest our stresses. Hope singing releases the needs your shadow self has burdened you with. For fun... sing a couple of sour notes.lol
Woohoo! Belt it out then Jamie!
And I must say that I have been to quite a few naturopaths and no one has asked me such important personal questions before. It's always been about diet and supplements, not about character and spirit. I like this idea and I think I'll sing a little with you, if you don't mind.
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