Nervous about something? Use your toes!

It may be a big speech you need to deliver, fretting about the first day at a new job, the next exam coming up, or a worry that just won't get out of your head; we have all had moments where we are so nervous and distracted it is difficult to quiet down and take a calm look at what the situation requires.

There seems to be so much activity around our head, we just go on overload: We may not be able to see very clearly, or process things that are spoken; we may not feel something or someone touching us, or simple things like basic math cease to make sense. The whirlwind of activity in and around our head threatens to sweep us away into some unknown, frightening universe.

How to get out of this dilemma?

One of many ways is to..... wiggle your toes! Really? Yes. To get your attention as far away from your buzzing head as possible is a good start. In some instances that may be all you need. Works great for me at the dentist! (I prefer to get dental work done without numbing up, and whenever he gets close to the sensitive spots, I focus all my attention on my toes.)

Most likely you'll need a bit more than toe wiggling though to calm things down. So try this:
Push your right big toe gently into the ground.
Then the left big toe. Easy? Good!
On to the second right toe, second left toe.
Next, the right 3rd toe, and the left. Are you still there? Keep going!
The 4th right toe, and the left.
And finally, the right baby toe, and the left baby toe.
Go through all 10 toes in this way, gently pushing each one down individually.
At the end, take all toes and gently touch them to the ground together.

What do you feel? Notice the thoughts (if any) that come up at the end of this little exercise. And are there different feelings than before?

Chances are, you were so busy trying to move toes you may have never moved by themselves, you forgot all about your other worries for the time being!

Whether you are physically able to actually move each toe individually is not important at the moment. The important thing is to take the overabundance of activity away from your head and move it down. Perhaps there is a reason why the phrase is 'calm DOWN'.

Then, when the head is quiet, it can return to what it does best: Thinking.
Too much whirling activity there, and forming thoughts becomes difficult or even impossible. Making use of our miniature limbs know as toes, conveniently located furthest from the head, can defray nervousness and restore clear thought.

The Spacial Dynamics® principle of 'activity WHERE it is healthy' at work!

Try it out, and let me know your experience with this little exercise!

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Cordula Feuerstack, Ability Coach and founder of MoveAbility, works with people who have a burning desire to take their unique abilities, or dis-abilities, to the next horizon by learning to access the movement behind the visible movement. Together we distill out the underlying activity it actually takes to accomplish what you set out to do (which may be different from what you think...), by utilizing Spacial Dynamics® and skilled bodywork. You'll be surprised how many applications for these new spaces you'll discover! www.move-ability.net

Cordula Feuerstack