Conscious Practice

We're nearly halfway through this Fire Horse year, and I am *feeling* it (HBU?). Big energy, galloping momentum, a sense that things are moving and changing in meaningful (and sometimes unpredictable) ways.

Probably not coincidentally, I intentionally scaled back this summer, and it's been really lovely! In the past, slowing down has always been a necessary accommodation. This is the first time it's felt like a possibility I sensed and then opted to claim. Slow, full, easy summer vibes. More time with my kids, more mornings that don't start in a hurry. Like an unfurling.

The slower pace has given me room to reflect more deeply about my values, about our community, about my role and where the practice is going. I'm tending the fire rather than getting swept up in it. Like I often arrive at with clients: We can let the wild horses run.

But I'm not going anywhere! 🐴

Still here, still seeing clients, still grateful for this work. If you've been sitting with the idea of reaching out, I’d love to hear from you!

"The narrower one's conception of one's moral community, the narrower will be the scope of situations in which one's actions will be governed by considerations of justice."

--Morton Deutsch, 1985

Truth telling can be painful, but to my body it also feels like such a relief. It feels like a blessing to acknowledge and celebrate the people who have stewarded this land long before I arrived. To acknowledge and condemn the violence that made way for my life and settlement here.

And this is more than one day. It’s a commitment to curiosity and humility. It’s a long process of healing. It’s okay to not know what to do, to have complicated feelings. It really helps to do it in community with other people.

If you’re in the La Crosse area, this is a great resource I’ve been working through with my family:
https://lacrossehistory.org/online-exhibits/hinukwas-reexamination-of-our-history

If you’re elsewhere, ask your local public library to help connect you with resources.

I hope you have a happy Indigenous People's Day!

Many approaches to mental health and trauma begin and end with teaching skills to cope or manage.

Others simply neutralize the trauma response in the body.

Trauma processing here goes beyond accommodating and neutralizing the painful trauma response or “symptoms” you experience (helpful stuff, really!) but also–

✨Directly showing your nervous system its ability to toggle between dysregulation and safety
✨Relearning the experience of safety in your body
✨Rescripting core origin stories
✨Empowering yourself to discover your unique inner resources
✨Reconnecting with parts of your nervous system, your soul, and/or your widest self (call it whatever you want or don't call it anything at all -- you'll just feel it!)
✨Feeling the genuine relief of remembering your wholeness

If this feels like an approach you’re drawn to, I’d love to find time to chat.

You’re welcome to schedule a free phone call at conscious-practice.com (link's in my bio) if you have questions or want to connect!

We are learning:
Your pain is not pathological.

We are learning:
How to be firm on your needs, flexible on your strategies.

We are learning:
How to attend to our feelings, not attack them.

We are learning:
How to be responsible, not burdened.

We are learning:
How to be yourself so that the people looking for you can find you.

Crossing all my fingers and toes for more health, energy, and capacity on the other side of surgery and recovery.

Thanks for your patience as I take some time to care for myself! ❤️‍🩹