Core Energetics literally changed my life. Before I discovered it, I was anxious 90% of the time. It’d take me over a week to write and send one short email because I’d be editing and re-editing, worried about getting something wrong.
And I had social anxiety to the point that it’d take me years to sign up for a dance class I was interested in.
I have some PTSD and my nervous system was activated in fight/flight or freeze most of the time.
Because of some past experiences, I knew very little about healthy boundaries and was overworking at my job and overgiving in all my relationships. The only way I knew how to make money was by people pleasing and abandoning what was good or right for me.
I was terrified of conflict to the point of rarely asking for what I wanted or needed.
Because of this I’d get exhausted and burn out or get sick. Then I’d finally rest and replenish and then repeat the cycle all over again.
Any of this sounding familiar?
I burned out completely for the first time when I was 21, only one year into my first full time job, and moved to an ashram to study yoga and meditation for two years before I was able to return to the workforce.
But through yoga, meditation and Core Energetics I was able to begin to heal deeply and now am happier, healthier and stronger for it.
I’ve learned how to regulate my nervous system much better. I still get anxious sometimes but I know how to return to a grounded state. I have my own business and have learned how to make money and sustain myself in a way that makes me feel grounded and alive.
My relationships with family and friends significantly shifted significantly and I feel much healthier and more boundaried. I’m no longer living as a people pleaser but surrounded by friends who give with open hearts and who I’m able to give back to. And I recently started dating someone who’s incredibly sweet and I’m really excited about.
My life is completely different than it was 5 years ago and I know that I wouldn’t have been able to make all these significant changes without Core Energetics.
On top of that, I’ve seen so many incredible transformations in my classmates at school and in my clients that I’m a total believer the Core Energetics can completely transform your life!
So what the heck is Core Energetics anyway??
It’s similar to traditional psychotherapy in the sense that you’ll explore your habits and coping mechanisms from childhood and how those are impacting your relationships today.
But it differs in the sense that you’ll learn how to relieve suppressed feelings that are stored in your body. For example, you imagine a child that’s angry but knows they can’t temper tantrum because in the past they’ve been hurt or made fun of, the way the child holds the impulse to punch and kick in is by holding their breath slightly and tenses to hold their arms at their sides. Years of doing this leads to chronic tension in the shoulders, neck and jaw, so in Core Energetics you’ll learn where you are holding the most chronic tension and learn exercises to begin to heal.
Here are some common areas of tension:
- Unexpressed grief is often held in the chest and lungs.
- Suppressed anger is held in the shoulders, neck and jaw.
- Not fully expressing your true feelings and who you are often leads to a throat block.
- Carrying the weight of the world is often held in the shoulders.
- If you were taught that your sexuality is wrong or dirty you might have chronic tension or numbness in your pelvis.
These are just a few common examples of where your childhood experiences can impact your physical body.
In your Core Energetics journey, if you decide to embark on one, you’ll be taken through the 4 stages.
The 4 Stages of Core Energetics
Stage One: Seeing Your Mask
The mask is our fake or pretend self. It’s developed in childhood when your parents or caregivers didn’t like what you were doing. When you’re a child, you have to choose attachment to your caregivers over authenticity so you develop your mask to stay connected.
An adult example of the mask is, say you’re crossing the border and the border guard is being a real jerk to you, but you smile and answer all their questions politely. That’s your mask.
This is, in my opinion, a very healthy use of your mask. When you’re crossing the border it’s a good time to be polite even if it’s fake so that you can get across the border as easily as possible.
The challenge comes when you wear your mask all the time. If you keep it on in your close friendships and romantic relationships, it can be hard for people to get to know the real you.
Our goal in Core Energetics is never to get rid of the mask completely but to HAVE CHOICE. You want to choose when you put this fake, more polite mask on and when you take it off so you can create deep and meaningful relationships with the people you’re closest too.
If you’re wearing your mask in your close relationships, remember, this is not your fault. You learned to put on your mask during childhood, when attachment was the most important thing. Core Energetics will help you start to shift these old patterns so you can create deeper relationships with those around you.
You probably have a few different masks. In this work you’ll get to know them better and learn how to take them off and put them back on.
Stage Two: Getting to Know Your Animal Self
You have an animal self. A part of you that’s greedy, lustful, hungry and that hates. It’s part of being human, we have the lizard brain that makes us behave like animals. Because that’s what we are: animals!!
You’ve been taught for the most part to hide your animal self. To suppress it. To put it away. To pretend that you don’t have it.
And in Core Energetics you’re invited to bring your animal self back out! You’ll learn to notice what it wants. And, in the safe space of a session, to express this part of you.
It takes a tremendous amount of energy to suppress your animal self at all times. When you suppress it, you’ll end up drained and exhausted.
Our goal here is not to let the animal self take over and rule your life, but to allow you to feel it and acknowledge. Where you’ll learn to move the energy of the animal through you, so the energy isn’t suppressed but it isn’t taking over and making all your decisions either!
And you might have shame around having a lustful, greedy, part that hates. But we all have it. Every goddamn one of us.
And if you suppress, sometimes it’ll come out sideways as passive aggressiveness or harsh comments. Whereas if you bring out your animal self in the safety of session. If you allow yourself for a moment to hate or feel lustful or selfish and you’ll get to know that part of you and move the energy.
And once you’ve moved the energy, it’s a cathartic release, you won’t be suppressing anymore and you’ll often have more access to your higher self or intuition.
Stage Three: Connecting to Your Higher Self
In order to heal and to deeply connect to your higher self, you need to acknowledge your darkness and your animal self.
But after that has been acknowledged and any energy around that has been moved, you’ll often have easy access to your Higher Self, the wise part of you that knows what you need and knows what is right.
Often in my sessions with clients, they’ll come in with some sort of problem with a boss or a friend or a lover and we’ll talk about that. Then we’ll go into the feelings about it, and I’ll encourage my client to feel their real feelings about it even if the feelings are messy or ugly. Sometimes, depending on what’s coming up, we’ll connect the feelings to some issue or experience from their childhood
Finally, I’ll invite my clients to connect to their intuition or higher self about that initial issue they came in with about their boss or friend or lover. And I’m often amazed by what deep wisdom emerges.
Sometimes the message is that everything is fine exactly the way it is, and other times they’ll get the message to set a bigger boundary with the person or to do some sort of self care.
Your Higher Self and intuition knows what you need. And in Core Energetics one of the main goals is to connect you deeply with your intuition to lead the way.
If you decide to try working with me, I am not going to know what you need. My job is to help you heal the old and painful experiences so you can connect fully and deeply with your intuition which knows exactly what you need.
Stage Four: The Life Plan
You have a purpose. Maybe you’re meant to be a parent. Maybe you’re meant to be an actor or a painter or a healer.
As we heal the old childhood experiences that created the masks you wear and as you get to know your animal self and your higher self better, your life plan will emerge. You’ll start to see more clearer what you’re meant to do on this earth and what small steps you can take to get there.
You’ll take baby steps to build the life of your dreams, to touch the hearts you’re meant to impact, to build the relationships you’re meant to build and to bring your gifts more fully into the world.
You have a special set of gifts that you’re meant to bring in your own unique way. In our sessions you’ll learn how to bring them fully to the world.
So sign up for a FREE 60 minute consultation today! In the consultation we’ll look at where you are now and where you’re meant to go and see what steps you need to take to get there.
You’re meant to be happier and to bring more joy to others, so let’s start now.
Take care,
Bryn
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