Shock and awe…

Years ago we heard the term Shock and Awe, let me reframe this one for you.

Last week on holiday I had the pleasure to help a young man self-regulate his nervous system to come out of shock and the awe I felt as his system regained balance.

My husband and I were out walking in the desert around Rio Rancho New Mexico.  We were visiting my daughter and her husband.  We do a daily walk for about an hour or so down dirt roads and into the arroyos to be in nature and at peace.

They have built on the desert, a natural course for the motor bikes to ride.  It is beautiful to see all the sand placed in a way that there are jumps , swerves, and banks for the young people to enjoy and practice their skills.I love watching them out there!  One young man was airborne and landed with such ease and grace.  He had a number on his cycle so my guess was that he competed in this sport.  I smiled and felt my heart sing at his skill.

Then, one young boy as we watched him hit a curve and try to maneuver lost control of the handlebar!  We watched him hit his face and the dirt.  My heart beat hard.  His friends came over to see if he was okay.  Perhaps 3 minutes passed and he was not getting up.  I looked at Tim and said I am going over there to see if I can be of service.

Young men love to be Okay!  His friends all of them about the age of 14-17 were standing there.  I asked if I could help.  One said he is fine he did this last week.  So I knew to tred softly, did not want to hurt that male ego;-). I noticed compassion for the ouch and the need to be strong and okay!

I crouched down to see Tyler face.  It was bleeding from nose and mouth.  I placed my hand on his body and felt the trembling.  He was so filled with adrenaline.  I asked him what he felt.  Could he feel this trembling?  He said yes.  I explained the nervous system to him and that it was out of sync and balance, would he like to shift that?  He agreed.  What I did is what I teach and empower others to do when we are out of balance.

I placed my hands on his chest, front and back, and invited him to imagine he could breathe between my hands, focusing on the area around the heart.  We did this together.  As I felt his body calm, I asked him what he noticed.  So, that took care of nervous system in the moment.  Then we shifted the hormonal system to stop the dumping of cortisol.  I had him recall something that felt good.  As we did that together, I could feel the shift to calm deepen.  I asked him how he was doing now.  He said really calm…I invited him to stay with that as long as he could.

Yes, I worked with his neck a little also.  For me, I truly was in awe of the power and willingness he had in that moment to come into his heart and make the shift!

Shock….and awe reframed for sure!