Post #11: Moving: An Opportunity to Practice My Own Mind-Body Techniques

< 3-minute read

First full day in our new home, Valentine’s Day!

Moving across the country, back to California, and buying a home for the first time, has been an opportunity to practice the Mind-Body techniques that I share on an ongoing basis with my patients and health coaching clients. Moving is a top stressor in life, and of the 17 moves in my four decades of life, this one takes the lead. My previous moves have included crossing state lines as a kid twice (fortunately, only one of which I was old enough to remember), between dorm rooms in college, to educational programs in three regions of the U.S., and others.

But more significantly, in 2022, a spiraling of almost a decade of neuroplastic symptoms, plus a family emergency, led me to tuck tail from California, where I thought I had settled my adulthood, to my parents’ home in Little Rock, Arkansas. Yet, three years away from the life I built in California spurred my mind-body-spirit recovery and professional growth, from mangled cog in the healthcare machine to independent Mind-Body practitioner. After the latest moves between camper and basement at my in-laws’ home in Iowa, my husband and I have returned to California. We miss our friends in Aptos, California, but I’m happy to say that we have settled a few hours south, in Port Hueneme.

My husband and I have become the new stereotype of first time homebuyers in our late 40s, and stress is inherent in making such a big decision with such a large price tag. While many of my mind-body techniques were in maintenance mode for the last couple of years, I put them back into action during the month-long home-buying process.

After a couple of clients raved at how my guided Mindfulness Meditation audio recording was so relaxing that it would regularly put them to sleep, I thought I would listen to it myself at bedtime. Despite my own guidance to keep awake and alert during the meditation, I didn’t! Mantra meditation continues to be my go-to once or twice daily for nervous system calm.

I also got back into journaling away my emotions for five minutes every evening: the fear of making the wrong decision, the overwhelm of all of the steps in the homebuying process, and the anger at my husband for not always being on the same page with me. I allowed my inner child to come out: “It’s not fair!“ or “I don’t want to! Why?!” At the end, I would rip up my written tirade and toss it symbolically in the trash.

Similarly, I used my Embracing Emotions meditation, that I adapted from Dr. Howard Schubiner, to express and release difficult emotions, despite having to yell in a whisper in a hotel bathroom!

Whenever any previously learned symptoms of heart palpitations or difficulty swallowing threatened to linger, I used outcome independence to relinquish fear and frustration that might propagate my symptoms further.

Maintaining boundaries helped me further keep my cool. I kept tech-free intervals amidst up-to-the-minute text messages and emails regarding the home buying process. I limited my reviews of DocuSigns and inspection reports each day. (Thank you for your realty and escrow guidance Carlos and Jen!)

Stressful life experiences don’t just go away after recovery, but since I began practicing these mind-body techniques over the last several years, I’m definitely more resilient. And moving, like recovery from neuroplastic symptoms, doesn’t just end at some specified time. It’s a process. I still need to furnish my home, make duplicate keys, meet the neighbors, whittle down the minor repair list, and so on. But I’m pacing myself with self-compassion!

One of my newest and most beloved nervous system calming practices: the flow, lightness, and ease of rollerblading on the strand.