By Becca Powers, Executive Women’s Coach and Kundalini Teacher
When we feel stuck in life, feelings of being overwhelmed, overstressed, and overextended can emerge. Once we get in a state of what I like to call the “overs” it is often meant with equal amount of the “unders”. Feelings of being underappreciated, undervalued, and underestimated begin to surface.
We then become frustrated, fatigued, and we begin to lose clarity. With a desperation to feel good again, we struggle with the how. We ask ourselves, “how did I get here” and “how do I get out of this space?”
I am going to answer this question and share how I first learned it. I spent years of my career as a Fortune 500 Sales Executive, prioritizing my job over everything in my life. I learned from working myself into multiple diagnosis’s including autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue, chronic inflammation, 2 anxiety disorders, and adult ADHD just to name a few, that continuing to push through and ignore these signs would not only keep me stuck but would put me in the hospital if I didn’t find another way.
Desperate to heal, get unstuck, and thrive again I leaned heavily into my Kundalini Yoga and mindfulness practices. I found a formula that creates positive changes, gets you unstuck, and your life back on track. I now use this formula with my clients and the results are phenomenal. This is the work I get to do all day; every day and I am so excited to share it with you!
When these 7 Secrets are followed in this specific order positive change will occur. For this you will need a piece of paper and a few quiet moments to connect with yourself. Here are the 7 Secrets to Create Change When You Feel Stuck:
- Connect to Your Breath – Our breath is our gateway to change. It is our gateway to expansion. The breath technique I would like to share with you is called Square Breathing or 4-Part Breathing. It is popular in Kundalini Yoga; however, it is also taught to war veterans with PTSD. A sign that this is a powerful tool to bring you back to calmness and clarity when used. It 4 equals parts of 4 seconds and goes like this: inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, hold 4 for seconds, repeat. I recommend 10 breath cycles of Square Breathing with a minimum of 3.
- Feel Your Body – Our bodies contain so much wisdom as to what’s really going on with us. We often bypass the bodies quiet whispers, and only recognize that change is needed when it’s screaming in discomfort. What if we listened instead? and benefited from all its whispers – the whispers of discomfort and the whispers of joy? That’s exactly what we are doing here. Now that you are connected with your breath, close your eyes and scan your body as if you are tracing it with a pen. Notice anything you feel like tension, aches, pains, excitement, butterflies, love, etc. No need to judge it, just witness it, and write down anything that comes up. If you notice any sensations in a specific area of your body, make note of that also.
- Awaken Possibility – When we get stuck, we limit possibility. We go into a survival mode and only see things from a limited perspective. There is a great big Universe that is ready to serve you if you open up to possibility. On a piece of paper, write down the following statement: I admit that things are stuck and that I don’t have all the answers. I am open to explore possibilities I have not yet considered. The simple act of writing it down, will begin to invite in new possibilities. Your job is to notice new thoughts, connections, and opportunities.
- Create a New Vision – For change to occur, a vision is needed. I have often noticed with my clients that creating a new vision is sometimes hard when you are feeling stuck. Although, they initially feel like this will be a fun and creative part of the process – they often are blocked from really tapping into a new vision. So, if you are feeling the same, know that you are not alone! I often call this exercise The “Don’ts and Do’s”. It’s often easier for clients to know what they don’t want. So, we start there. Write 3 things that you don’t want to experience or don’t want in your life anymore. Follow this by writing down 3 things you do want – sometimes the Do’s end up being the opposites for the Don’ts. This is enough to get the vision started.
- Take Small Action Steps – Now that we have some items written down for your vision, reference your Do List. For each item listed on your Do List, write down one thing you can eliminate or remove from your life that does not support this vision. This can be a feeling, a behavior, an action, or a thing. Then write down one thing you can integrate or bring into your life that does support this vision. Again, this can be a feeling, a behavior, an action, or a thing.
- Feel Your Body Again – With your new vision and supportive action steps in hand, we are going to connect with your body again. Start with Square Breathing for a minimum of the 3 cycles and do another scan of your body once you are done with the breathing. From there you can take each vision and supportive action steps and ask your body if these are in alignment for you? Write down what you feel as a response. Trusting what your body is telling you, strengthens your intuition. This practice becomes vital in creating a life that thrives.
- Move Your Body – This last part in essential. Our bodies contain the magic elixir or the keys to the kingdom so to speak. We integrate lasting change by incorporating what we have unlocked and discovered by consciously connecting it to the body. We can do this through yoga or even a conscious walk. Any movement where you are connecting breath to the body and you are intentional with it will work just fine!
These 7 secrets can be repeated over and over again. You can use these secrets to get unstuck and you can also use them to take your life from good to great!