DO YOU FIND IT HARD TO SPEAK UP?

In this post, I'm sharing a great exercise that can help you regain balance in life.

Have you ever thought about how amazing birds are? They are always ready for whatever may happen and do what needs to be done in the moment.

For most of us, it's not that easy. Why is it that we always think of what we should have said after the moment has passed? What is it that stops us from being brave and saying what we really think in the moment?

Most of us struggle with the same fear, consciously or unconsciously. The fear of not being accepted. The fear of being left out. It's an old fear from the time when we roamed the savannah and gathered food to survive. Without the flock, without the group membership, the chances of survival decreased. Being left alone and abandoned meant certain death.

In our time, there are other factors that trigger the same fear. Now it's more about the ability to survive emotionally. Can I handle being alone in my thoughts or feelings in a way that doesn't align with my friends' or colleagues'? Can I handle the silence when I speak my mind? Can I handle the anxiety when no one backs me up in what I've said?

There are some good tricks you can use to dare to be more authentic to yourself.

One trick comes from the psychotherapeutic treatment method Psychodynamic Body Therapy.

EXERCISE

This exercise has a strong stabilizing effect both physically and mentally, provided that you are completely focused on what you are doing. More advice and exercises can be found in my book “Regaining Balance, the Swedish Healthcare Method to Reduce Stress, Anxiety and Pain" available on amazon.com

Stand barefoot on the floor (the exercise can also be done in socks or, in emergencies, with shoes on, but the effect is best barefoot). Feel how your feet are in contact with the surface. Are you resting more on one foot than the other? Which part of your feet do you feel most clearly? Heels, toes, arches?

Now stand with your feet hip-width apart.

Place one hand on each hip bone - as if you are showing that you are very determined and serious. Then press down with both hands straight down on your hips towards the floor. Keep the same static pressure while slowly counting to ten. Then gradually release the pressure. Repeat three times.

How does the contact of your feet with the ground feel now? Which parts of your feet do you feel most clearly?

This exercise is excellent for helping you practice speaking up. It increases your stability and is therefore also good to do if you suffer from dizziness or feel that your life is wobbling.

Your static pressure on the hips sends a signal all the way down to the knee and ankle joints, stimulating a so-called postural reflex.

This means that the muscles closest to the skeleton and with a predominance of slow fibers (see the section on fast and slow muscle fibers in my book Regaining Balance, the Swedish Healthcare Method to Reduce Stress, Anxiety and Pain")  are activated so that you have a clearer feeling of the skeleton, i.e., your most stable structure in the body.

It helps you regain a sense of stability and security both physically and mentally.

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