Outside my window the wild Cornish wind is doing its best to blow all the leaves from the multi-coloured trees, there seems to be letting go and resistance in equal proportion. The wind will eventually win, it always does.
I spend a lot of time, in my work with clients, asking them to “let go”. For the most part I’m talking about muscular tension, what lies beneath is always emotional. The body’s response to mental and emotional stress is physical tension. It can be stored anywhere; we’ve all got our favourite spots.
Autumn has the energy of letting go; it’s the end of the growing year. The life force starts to recede back in towards the earth and the staccato energy of summer has well and truly gone. As the leaves change their colours to yellow, orange and red, it’s a magnificent reminder that all things come to an end, that change is constant and can be beautiful.
What am I holding on to? What changes would benefit me? These are the questions I let meander around my mind as I walk my dogs in the woods. I use this time to let go of my shoulders, reminding them to rest on my supportive back. As I climb the hills I allow the muscles in my calves to lengthen, which gives a springy feeling in my step. I give myself time to reconnect with my body, safely letting go of excess muscular tension. Sometimes I let go so much that I stand still and cry, sometimes there’s words and images to match, sometimes not.
As I start the short walk from the woods back to my house, the wind is blowing the last remnants of old energy away. I can almost see it whirling away from me and there’s a lightness in my whole body. A mental clarity and willingness for life, that comes from giving up the resistance to letting go. Nature is far more powerful than me, any resistance is an illusion. Resistance is futile!