In a Flash

Dear Friends,

I’ve been sitting in thoughts about that flash flood I spoke about a couple of weeks ago, coupled with my weekend of hibernation last weekend.

While my mama and I were walking the 5 miles back to our cars in Zion last summer, we were reading some of the signs that talked about flash floods.  The Virgin river in Zion National Park transports about one million tons of sediment every year, but the majority of that sediment is transported during flash floods, changing the landscape, causing erosion and carving the canyon further with the rushing waters.

Several months ago on a Friday I was just in a mood.  I was feeling grumpy, sad and “off” and was, in general, not feeling myself.  All day long starting with my first early-morning class I had this feeling of grumpiness, sadness, and this feeling of being “off”, but I couldn’t pin-point why I was feeling the way I was feeling, I couldn’t figure out what was going on in me that day…I knew it was happening, I could feel it, but I couldn’t figure out the “why”.

I finished up with my work that afternoon, and decided to go to the park for a bit of a slow jog.  As I started moving my body, as my heart rate started quickening and blood started moving a bit faster, I suddenly recognized what emotions I had been holding on to that day, what had been affecting my mood and why I had been feeling grumpy all day long.  With movement I was able to pinpoint my feelings, I was able to see them and to recognize them as valid.  With movement I was able to see why I was feeling what I was feeling, and in seeing, was able to give myself permission to both feel those feelings and also take more ownership and control over those feelings.  Did the movement and the realization make that sadness go away?  No.  But did it give me both permission to feel what I was feeling and more control over those feelings?  Absolutely.

My dear friends, there are days and times when we just need to hibernate and turn inward a bit…but simultaneously I think it’s important to recognize the power of movement to help us process our feelings.  Just like the rushing water of those flash floods in Zion help change and carve the landscape of a canyon, so our movement practices help change our bodies and our minds and help us process how and what we are feeling.  Our movement practice has the power to help us feel more empowered in our own bodies and minds.

I hope you have an amazing week, my dear friends.

Love
Krista
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