long-article
Managing Fear
Transform anxiety through body awareness: Learn yogic techniques to ground fear instead of letting it control you.
The Body First Approach
Ken Robinson said that for him, the body was a vehicle for transporting his mind from one place to another, one meeting to another. This was in his famous Ted talk, 'School kills Creativity', where he discusses the absence of the human body in our education system.
In the yogic tradition the body not the mind comes first. It is the first energy centre, 'Manipura' in Sanskrit, meaning root support. With this perspective, the body is our connection to the Earth, our foundation. And food is the fuel for our bodies that the Earth produces for us. We are what we eat, so you could say, our bodies are Earth bodies.
It is fostering this connection between our individual body and the body of the Earth that brings us a sense of stability, safety and belonging.
Fear As A Signal
When we become untethered from this root connection, the Yogic tradition recognises that we become more fearful in our lives. I know this to be true in my experience, I wonder if you do too?
The fear can come in many forms - financial insecurity, fear of loss, failure, fear of being alone, fear of death. In the yogic tradition, fear is an indicator to come back to the body and back to the Earth - we literally ground the fear so we can be present and clarify what is needed in the here and now.
When we are not aware of our bodies, fear rises up into the other energy channels, becoming emotion, influencing our actions, affecting our relationships, how we communicate and how we perceive ourselves and others.
Consequences of Being Untethered
When we forget that fear is a signal to ground ourselves in the body, with the Earth, we can easily let the mind dominate, hoping like hell we'll figure a way out of our fear. Take financial insecurity - that's going to get you busy if you don't remember to ground and come back to the here and now.
When you don't recognise fear as a reminder to come back to the body and back to the Earth, they will drive you away from your body. My fear of being worthless drove me into the world, desperate to prove my worth through work. My body paid the price.
If your fears remain unchecked, they can divert you from your path of health and wellbeing. Take some time to reflect on how this has shown up for you in your life. Look at how it may be running today, and how it might show up in the future.
Grounding Practices
What is a practice you can take on to ground you in the body and the Earth when you're fearful (think stressed, anxious, worried, alarmed, panicked)?
If something doesn't pop up, here are some suggestions:
- Stopping, standing, softening the knees, holding the hands on the lower abdomen, breathing, focusing on the body, feeling your feet on the ground.
- Barefoot walking is a great way to ground the energy of fear.
- Gardening.
- Cooking with delicious veg from the Earth.
- A walk in a park or in nature.
When you're feeling fear, know that the first step is to pause, and prioritise coming back to the body, back to the breath and grounding down into the Earth. Release the energy of fear down, let it connect you, not disconnect you from your foundation.
When you're feeling fear, know that the first step is to pause, and prioritise coming back to the body, back to the breath and grounding down into the Earth. Release the energy of fear down, let it connect you, not disconnect you from your foundation.
