Remember the person I wrote about who described herself as feeling ‘stuck at the bottom of a hole with a rock over her head?’ Truth was, she wasn’t quite ready to take any of the steps suggested in my previous post, Want to get UnStuck? She was too paralyzed by fear and self doubt, and needed a slightly different approach – the work of DEEP coaching.

Stress5_10 (1)If you also feel like you’re too stuck to shake up your routine, change your mindset, or do something physically pleasurable – plus you can’t stop beating yourself up for your inability to take action – please know you are not alone – and there is a way out.

You may need the support of someone who will jump into the hole with you. Someone who will meet you exactly where you are with sincere openness and understanding – and zero judgment. Someone who’s been in the hole and found a way out, and can patiently guide you as you find your own unique way out.

What might that look like? It may mean you sit quietly with them and feel into the landscape of this place you so want to escape. You may explore – how does it feel to be there, what are you sensing in the body, is there anything familiar or even comfortable about being stuck? The key is to ALLOW your experience instead of fighting it. As you know, the more you push against the rock of stuckness, the more firmly lodged it can become.

If you’re working with me, you may be guided through the practice “Say Yes.” This is an amazingly simple and effective way to meet and gently undo into the energy of stuckness, or any uncomfortable feeling. It’s all about….surrendering! When you surrender into what is, something begins to shift, sometimes almost imperceptibly at first. You may sense that you have more room to breathe, more self-acceptance, and you start to feel a little lighter. Your whole inner landscape may change – and you find you’re no longer even in the hole of stuckness.

“Say Yes”

  • Name the uncomfortable energy you’re experiencing. For instance: Anger, frustration, sadness, hopelessness, stuckness…
  • Measure its level of intensity from 0 – 10 (0 is no intensity, 10 is ‘off the charts’ intense).
  • Invite the energy to arise by saying “Yes” to it.  Continue to welcome it up by saying “Yes” over and over. Continue to say “yes” until you start to feel a shift.Note:  it works better if you say “yes” out loud!
  • Re-Measure the level of intensity and notice: is it more intense, less intense or the same?
  • Say “Yes” again over and over until the intensity has significantly lessened.
  • Measure the level of intensity one more time. You may notice you feel lighter and freer.

I invite you to try this practice. Then, if you want to go deeper, please consider the gift of Ignite Your Joy Mentoring.