My go to resource is music. As as child I always hated Sunday afternoons because my parents refused to have anything other than classical music or Gregorian Monk chants piping through the house. This was supposed to help us wind down and focus for the week by completing all of our homework that we obviously didn't start until Sunday at 6pm. To this day, whenever I hear chanting or classical music I am instantly transported back to laying on my living room pale blue carpet in front of the fireplace trying to figure out my stupid algebra homework. As I'm sure I will say multiple times through this journey...son of a....they were right. It helped put my body at ease and helped me hone in on the present and what was in front of me.
To transport this concept to modern day relaxation I feel as though I have found a gold mine through Pandora. Enya ..ya know the amazingly proclaimed billionaire music genius... is my go to girl. The smooth tones and quiet meditation background provides a soothing environment for any feeling that is going on.
One of my greatest therapeutic moments so far is when a 17 year old female client told me she was watching one of her friends become angry at lunch and she said "you need some Enya in your life." I couldn't help from busting out laughing but SHE GOT IT! She will still say, "you're going to make me listen to Enya while were doing this huh?" and I will say.."Yep!"
It is like kryptonite. The moment I turn on Enya Pandora, I see their brains begin to work, or their posture begin to relax.
To tie a few concepts together, once we have realized what emotion we are feeling and recognize that we need to cope somehow to deal with that feeling, we need to resort to our toolbox to find what will work. To this day, whenever I feel my chest begin to tighten and my thoughts begin to race, I recognize I am experiencing anxiety. I go to my mental "toolbox" of coping skills, find Enya Pandora, lay flat on my back on the floor with palms facing upward, close my eyes and breath deeply. With each breath, focus on releasing the tension of one particular muscle until every part of your body is heavy to the ground. The sounds are not to be focused on but rather help remove the distraction of silence or external noise. Don't believe it will work? Give it a try and fill me in on how it went.
