So many of us have been taught to leave ourselves behind. To disconnect from our feelings. To push through discomfort. To ignore what our body is telling us because the world around us often tells us that we need to keep going, no matter how we feel.
We are taught to perform. To stay busy. To take care of others. To be strong, to figure things out. To not break down, not show vulnerability, and certainly not to slow down.
But what happens when we follow this path? When we don’t listen to ourselves, to our body and its needs, feelings, and boundaries? We become disconnected. We feel overwhelmed, exhausted, and often, completely alone. We lose touch with the very parts of ourselves that hold the wisdom we need to heal.
This is not something we choose on purpose. It is a pattern. A survival mechanism we learned early on, when our emotions weren’t met with understanding or compassion. When our body’s signals were ignored or dismissed. Over time, we learned to disconnect. We learned to leave ourselves.
I know this all too well. I lived this way for many years. I abandoned myself all the time because it was all I knew. And I still come up against it, constantly. It is impossible not to, with the systems we are living within. But I also know that it is possible to unlearn this pattern. To learn how to stay with ourselves. To reconnect, gently, with our bodies and emotions. To stay present.
That is where deep healing begins. And that is what my somatic healing work is rooted in: Helping others practise *staying with*, one small moment at a time.
A soft invitation:
If it feels aligned for you, I invite you to take a moment today to simply place your hand on your heart or belly. Not to change anything—just to notice, to observe. To feel your presence.
This is a small practice of staying with.