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Burglar Proofing Your Home: Benefits of Emotional Boundaries
by Brittiney George, BS, CRS, ICI, CEIM
“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
Most of us have learned to burglar proof our home. We lock our doors when we leave, close the windows, and we don’t invite random strangers off the street to come in and rummage through our possessions. But what about your emotional home, your personal space? How often do you feel that someone has invaded your space and hijacked your emotions?
All of us have friends, co-workers, or family members that may be invaders. They break in and take up space and create emotional havoc in our lives. People that after a conversation leave feeling better, while you’re left feeling robbed. You can’t always avoid them, and it may not be possible to cut them out of your life, but you can learn to protect your space in their presence.
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Brittiney George, BS, CRS, ICI, CEIM, is a Movement Practitioner offering Rubenfeld Synergy, and gentle, exploratory movement classes at The Resiliency Center. She also co-leads Connection, Expression and Movement (CEM), a monthly workshop series focusing on body-mind integration. Brittiney helps her clients find their ground again when they feel thrown by life by tapping the wisdom of their bodies so they can live from their heart, speak their truth, reduce stress, and create new patterns of movement and choice in their life.
For a complimentary 55 min. Rubenfeld session contact Brittiney at 610-389-7866 or lifeimitatingheart@gmail.com.
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Tools To Protect Your Space Prior To Or During Conflict
- Essential Oils: Our sense of smell can be a great grounding tool. Essential Oils and blends can help support relaxation and grounding. A practitioner favorite: “boundaries in a bottle” from Dori Midnight’s apothecary (Courtesy of Elizabeth Venart)
- Visualize Boundaries Exercise: Take a comfortable seat and deeply breathe in and out. Notice your feet on the floor, and how your body feels. Begin to imagine that your boundaries had physical qualities. Maybe it's a big bubble, or maybe a brick wall. Notice what it feels like to experience your boundaries. Now begin to imagine yourself at your most comfortable space. Notice if your boundaries shift at all. Imagine yourself at school or work. Notice if your boundaries change in that environment. Imagine that anyone else's negativity or emotions coming towards you are immediately deflected by your boundary.
Bring yourself back to the present moment, again noticing if your boundaries shift. Notice how your body feels and if any emotions have come up during this exercise. Slowly blink your eyes open and begin to notice things you see around you. Practice makes perfect with visualization of boundaries. The more that you practice this exercise, the easier it is to increase your boundaries when you need more protection. (Courtesy of Elizabeth Campbell)
- Focused Breath and Imagery: “During conflict, it is common to hold your breath or, especially if you are highly sensitive, to mirror the breathing pattern of the person with whom you are having a conflict. By returning to your own breath and deepening it, you can soothe and calm your nervous system and remind yourself you’re okay. If you feel your energetic space is being encroached upon in a conflict, take deep breaths and in the exhale, imagine your breath carrying you further away from the person to give you more space.” (Courtesy of Elizabeth Venart)
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Tools For After A Difficult Encounter
- Shake Off The Stress: Small rhythmic movement help ease muscles and the nervous system. Shake out your hands, your shoulders, your hips, your legs, and your feet. Let your whole body shake and shimmy and let out your breathe in a big sigh. Imagine the negative energy shaking right off your body and getting soaked up by the ground. (Courtesy of Brittiney George)
- Rinse Off The Stress: Water is a great energy conductor. Run water over your arms and hands. Imagine that you’re peeling an energetic glove off from your elbow to your fingertips and letting the negative energy or anxiety run right down the drain. This is a great exercise to do in the shower. Imagine that you’re washing of the anxiety or stress and letting it all run down the drain. (Courtesy of Brittiney George)
- Ton glen Meditation: Breath in how you are feeling-whatever the emotion is without judgement or analyzing. Breathe out love. Repeat for 5-20min. (Courtesy of Jen Perry)
- Releasing the Judgement Meditation: Breath in love. Breath out all of the could haves, should haves, and would haves that no longer serve you. Repeat mantra as needed. (Tama Kieves Breath Meditation—Courtesy of Brittiney George)
- Visual Laying Your Burdens Down: “To begin, sit with your eyes closed and envision an all-powerful, supremely comforting being in whatever form that takes for you, standing at the end of a road. See yourself carrying a large sack, box, or other container, imagining that all your worries are inside it. Watch as you make your way to the being of your choice, and lay your baggage down at their feet. Allow yourself to feel the lightness and relief of this action, express your gratitude, and surrender. You will be amazed by how this simple meditation can liberate you from a burden you were never meant to carry.” (Excerpt from Daily OM-Laying Our Burdens Down—Courtesy of Karen Steinbrecher)
- Play: People often underestimate the power of play and recreation. Find a way to participate in an enjoyable experience. It releases pent up energy and allows you to reconnect. (Courtesy of Tracey Smith)
- Walk Barefoot in Nature: The earth is naturally grounding. Take off your shoes and connect to the earth. As you stand or walk, imagine giving the burden or the energetic charge you are feeling from the exchange to the earth. (Courtesy of Jen Perry)
- Music: Music is a great way to shift your energy. It not only lets you get out stress and anxiety vocally, but can help to move stuck energy in the body. Sing in your car; sing in your shower, sing anywhere you’re comfortable. It doesn’t have to sound pretty or even melodic, just put on your favorite song and let yourself sing!
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Welcoming Catherine McLaughlin!
 We are pleased to announce that Catherine McLaughlin, MA, NCC, LPC, is joining the community of practitioners at The Resiliency Center this month.
Catherine specializes in working with adolescents and young adults, ages 13-25. She understands that adolescence can be quite a roller-coaster ride for parents and teens and works with teens, families, and parents to navigate the ups and downs. Catherine meets people where they are, allows them to be seen and heard, and works with her clients to uncover strengths and resiliencies they already possess. She offers individual and group therapy, as well as specialized services to educational institutions.
Catherine is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Professional School Counselor with a special interest in girl’s and women’s issues and mothering. Catherine earned a Master’s Degree in Education & Human Development - School Counseling from The George Washington University in Washington, DC, and completed a post-masters course of study at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, PA.
To learn more about her therapy work, or to schedule an initial session, contact Catherine at (267) 800-5073, see her profile on The Resiliency Center’s website or visit www.cjmcounseling.com.
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