BONUS EPI: Shadow Work And Somatic Release For The Numb Season after Sexual Trauma

We slow grief down and give it a body, a breath, and a ritual so the numb season can finally feel safe to move. I guide you through shadow work, heart-centered visualization, and gentle somatic release so you can honor double grief without trying to fix it. 

• honoring grief as a ritual rather than a challenge 
• grounding with breath and safety statements for the body 
• shadow work for high achievers and people pleasers who hide pain 
• three questions to uncover “unacceptable” grief and fear of feeling 
• affirmations for feeling safe, held, and not broken 

Work With Me Individually 

I offer trauma-informed therapy for high-achieving women navigating:

• Complex trauma
• Late-diagnosed ADHD or autism
• Nervous system dysregulation
• Relational pattern healing

If you’d prefer one-on-one support, book a free 15-minute consultation here:
http://linktr.ee/EmpoweringWellnessHub

Good Music for Healing

🎵 **Divine Woman Playlist (Apple Music):** https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/divine-woman/pl.u-leyl096uMoD885j

Episodes Mentioned in this Episode

Honoring the Losses & Heaviness after Sexual Trauma

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2467345/episodes/19093408-honoring-the-losses-heaviness-after-sexual-trauma

You’re not alone. 

We’re healing together.

Transcript

Honoring Grief With A Ritual

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the bonus episode of the Awaken Heart, a podcast for healing women. Today we are not just talking about grief. We are honoring it. We are giving it a body. We are giving it a ritual. Last week, or this week, this week we've talked about double grief. The grief of what was lost, the grief of who you had to become. And I talked about the quiet ache, that constant heavy feeling, the numbness that never seems to go away. Today we're going to do some shadow work. We're going to do some mindfulness. To honor the double grief, to honor the grief. But this is not a workout. This is not a challenge. This is no correct way to do this. There is no goal to reach. The only goal here, if there is a goal, is to be with the ache, to let your body know it is safe to feel this. So meet yourself where you're at, lie down, get a comfortable seat. Do what you need to do. Whether you're seated or lying down, I invite you to close your eyes or find a steady gaze. If you're driving, then keep focusing. Wherever you're at, let's take three deep breaths together. Inhale deeply.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

And exhale. Inhale. And exhale. One more time. Inhale. And exhale.

Shadow Work For Hidden Grief

Winter Season And Heart Chakra

Green Light Visualization For Healing

Shake It Out Somatic Release

Affirmations For Achievers And Pleasers

Closing Blessing And Listener Share

SPEAKER_01 1:49

Place a hand on your heart, your belly, your neck, whatever, wherever you want to feel the warmth. And just say to yourself, I am here. I am safe. I am allowed to feel. I am here. I am safe. I am allowed to feel. So let's talk about shadow work, right? Because for many of us, especially the high achievers, the people pleasers, grief is something we try to hide. We try to be strong or healed or just appear okay, right? But the shadow is where we keep the parts of ourselves we think are unacceptable. The parts that are too much, the parts that are weak, the parts that are broken. So I'm going to ask you three questions and feel free to answer them aloud, free for the journal them. Just let them land in your body and notice what comes up. Question number one. Right? That you shouldn't have had to gone through to grieve this. Like, not that it should, not that you shouldn't be grieving it. It's that it should never have happened in the first place for the grief to be here. So what are you grieving that you feel shouldn't be grieved? Maybe it's a toxic relationship that you're sad to lose. Maybe it's a dream that never happened. Maybe it's a version of yourself that you liked less, but you missed the simplicity of. So tell yourself, it's okay. I can miss that. I can grieve that. Question two. If I stop trying to be strong or healed for 10 minutes, what would my body do? Would it shake? Would it curl up, scream, sleep? Often we hold our bodies rigid because we are afraid of what would happen if we let it go. But your body knows how to release, it knows how to tremble, it knows how to cry. So imagine for a moment what would happen if you let your body do exactly what it wants to do right now? And question number three What am I afraid will happen if I fully let myself feel this grief? Are you afraid you'll drown? Are you afraid you'll never stop crying, that you'll lose control? I want to say something. I'm gonna answer that for you. You won't. You are safe, you are held. The grief is not going to destroy you, it's going to transform you, but it needs space first to move. If you feel resistance to these questions, that's okay. Just say to that resistance, I see you. You are trying to protect me, but I am safe now. I see you. You are trying to protect me, but I am safe now. Being in the numb season or the grief season means you are in the winter season, and that is okay. You don't have to force the spring, you don't have to force flowers to bloom before the snow has melted. The chakra connection here is the heart chakra. This is the center of love, of connection, of grief. When we are numb, the heart chakra is closed, tight. It's closed tight like a fortress. When we grieve, it opens, but the pain can feel like a crushing weight. And today we're not trying to blast the fortress open. We are simply softening the gate. We are inviting the green light of healing from the heart chakra. So the heart chakra, the color associated with the heart chakra is green. So to honor that, you can wear green, eat green foods, light a green candle in honor of your grief, put a green themed lock screen and background on your devices, paint your nails green. But right now, let's do a little visualization. Let's use this color. Close your eyes, soften the gaze wherever you're at, and imagine a soft green light in the center of your chest. It is warm, it is gentle. See this light expanding with every breath. Expanding through your chest, expanding through your shoulders, your arms, your legs, your abdomen, your bum. It is the light of love, it is the light of wisdom. It is the light that says, I am here, I am holding you. Feel that light wrapping around your heart. It is just holding it. Let it hold the pain for you. Let that green light just radiate. It's like a warm blanket. And please, if you're able to whisper to yourself, I honor my numbness. I honor my grief. I am safe to feel. Have you got that love color all through you, that green light? If you're able to, if you want to, I invite you to imagine a little bit of pink color swirling in there for compassion. Compassion for your grief, your numbness, for you, your experience. So you've got green and pink flowing in around your body, around your heart, through your gut, through your legs, through your arms, all in your head, and your busy, busy brain. Color it green, color it pink. I honor my numbness. I honor my grief. I am safe to fill. And a little bit of somatic work here. Let's shake it off. Come to a seated, come to a stand, find yourself firm on the ground. Come back to your center and just shake your hands. Shake your hands. Shake your legs. One at a time, at the same time. Shake your whole body. Start wiggling the hips, wiggling the belly, wiggling the shoulders, wiggling all over. Just shake it out. Let the energy that was stuck in your muscles move out. Shake it out. Let it go. You don't have to hold it anymore. I'm shaking with you. I'm shaking. I'm shaking my legs. I'm shaking my body. We are shaking together. Let's shake it out. Shake, shake, shake. Oh, whoa. Shake it out. Alright, so let's just stand tall. Place your hand on your heart, hand on your neck, whatever feels more accessible to feel the warmth. Feel the warmth. Feel the beating of your heart. You have done the work. You have honored the ache. You have let the body speak. Let's inhale deeply. Open that mouth and exhale slowly. Because we're not here to fix the grief. We're not here to solve the ache. We're just here to honor it. To be with it. For my high achievers, you don't need to measure how much you released. You don't need to track your progress. You just need to know that you showed up and that is enough. And for my people pleasers, you don't need to be good at grieving. You don't need to be polite with your pain. Your pain is valid. Your grief is valid. And you are allowed to take up space with that grief. All right, final affirmation time. Hand on heart, hand on belly, hand on neck, hand on arms, wherever it feels good. Say to yourself, I am not broken. I am not broken. I am not too much. I am not too much. I am not too late. I am not too late. I am allowed to grieve at my own pace. I'm allowed to grieve at my own pace. I'm allowed to rest. I am allowed to rest. You are allowed to rest. It is a goal. It is counterculture, but it is like number one goals. And last one, I am held. I am held. All right, my dears. A short and sweet bonus episode for this week. I just want you to honor your numbness. I want you to honor the grief. I want you to honor the numb season by resting, by holding space, by acknowledging the pain, by sitting with the pain, by talking to the pain, by sending compassion and love to yourself despite the pain. I thank you so much for joining me today. If this is something you like, if this is something that's good for you, please leave me an emoji, a heart emoji of your favorite color. I would definitely love it. If not, please share this with someone that may need it to help me get the word out to other women that we can heal together and really heal. If you want to learn more about me and my offerings, the links are in the show notes. I will have Wednesday's show linked in the show notes. That is, this is a companion to win companion to Wednesdays episode. So I will have Wednesday's episode for you to listen to to get more depth about the double grief that we're talking about. All right, my dears. Until next time, I want you to hold this truth close. You are not broken. You are never too much, and you are never too late, and you don't have to figure it out all alone. I am here right with you every Monday, every Wednesday, and Friday. May you be gentle with yourself. Excuse me. May you be gentle with yourself. May your healing ripple outward, not as a demand, but as a quiet blessing to the world. Take care of your awakened heart, and I'll see you soon.