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By Jared Power, Stillpoint Graduate
Jared delivering goggles to doctors. Learn more at www.gogglesfordocs.com
One month ago I closed my two offices temporarily: one in Jackson Hole, WY, and the other in Driggs, ID, where I live with my beautiful wife, Josie. Josie normally splits her time for work between New York City and home. She cancelled her trip in mid-March as everything was shut down. Our house runs on East Coast time and is a direct link into the experiences of our New Yorker friends and her colleagues. I’m British, so we also gain a lot of information through the BBC and friends and family back home. I’m grateful for being able to attend my beloved Uncle George’s funeral last year when travel was still possible. We feel very connected to the world in all of its raw suffering.
I am noticing with hindsight my reactions over these weeks were directly related to my response to my nervous system. For a couple of days, I shut down a little, sleeping more, absorbing the magnitude of the crisis, and getting outside in the clean, precious mountain air.
I regrouped and did some distant healing sessions, at first with some colleagues and then with some clients, which was very rewarding. It was something I could do to make a difference. I appreciate the guidelines from the BCTNA about clearly communicating with clients that online sessions are not the same as hands-on craniosacral therapy. However, I have found that our active listening skills combined with body-mind centering and breathwork still can be of great benefit. Being able to check-in with another human being who has the time and presence to listen is key to help the effects of isolation. Being seen and heard.
Now motivated to do more, I realised my fight/flight response was being channelled into a positive reaction and helped me to break out of the feeling of overwhelm. As the national and global crisis escalated, especially regarding the lack of basic PPE supplies, I was inspired to join in an idea born overnight to collect new and used ski goggles and distribute to healthcare workers: www.gogglesfordocs.com. It turns out these are good PPE because they don’t fog and the tinting eases eye strain. I volunteered to be a regional coordinator to help collect goggles locally. This idea quickly grew: in just two weeks over 35,000 goggles were requested, donated and distributed! Crisis sparks innovation.
Running concurrently, like the Cranial Rhythmic Impulse on overload, was managing the fast moving amount of information about federal relief packages. Am I eligible? How much can I claim? When will I receive any monies?? Being self-employed, I am not used to seeking outside assistance.
This has been an exhausting period and really calls for self care, recognizing our own reactions and being kind to ourselves. Being able to observe my reactions such as anger and frustration and then hopefully transmuting that energy and moving on has helped me to cope.
We are definitely in the long tide of human history, being given a glimpse of the timeline of the earth’s life, how interconnected we all are as human beings, and how quickly nature can rebound when there is less pollution. Health is always present , it is up to us to nourish our own unique sacred beings, to cultivate an inner peace to share with each other, resting in stillness.
Jared Power is a Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist and a Board Certified Structural Integration Practitioner who has been helping facilitate clients’ paths to health for 20 years with a strong emphasis on self-empowerment. jaredpower.com