Bunker Up

Week 5: Well Wishes (posted April 28, 2020)

Happy Wednesday to all of you tuning into Bunker Up!

I don’t know about you but there’s a lot of togetherness in our home.

The thing that is being tested mostly in the 2020 viral whirlwind is just this phenomenon – social connection.

Too much of it with the same people can leave us unsettled;-). Not enough of it can be so lonely. And when we are not able to be with our people, our tribe, we get squirmy.

So today we are going to learn a tool that helps you connect to yourself and helps you connect to others.

It’s called Well Wishes.  And it will aid you with warming your heart, softening your breath, opening your mind, and giving wellness to many people around.

And in closing, I want to thank each of you for following Bunker Up in April as today is our last episode. It’s been such a delight to be with you and hear from you!

As for moving forward, I think we’ve got a covid marathon ahead of us folks — So go gently, hold steady, reach out to your true others, hunker down,

And of course, bunker up!

 Sending you wellness, warm-heartedness, and wholeness.

Susie

Week 4: Mindful Movement (posted April 21, 2020)

Greetings Bunker Up Buddies! Today is the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day.

What a great day for each of us to step outside, move through nature, and appreciate and savor the beauty of blossoms, sunlit grasses, a whispering wind through the trees, or that fetid smell coming from under your front porch.

Moving through the natural world is one of the best stress-resilience tools in the world!

If you are indoors homeschooling, channel surfing, or stressed out and need a break, try out some mindful movement in this video. It will refresh your whole nervous system!  My dear friend and yoga teacher extraordinaire guides us through a few simple XiGong movements that will restore your energy and calm in 4 short minutes.  Thank you, Sandy!

Remember as this pandemic lives on, please go gently on yourself and stay steadfast to your healthy routines, resources, and connections.  You are building your Bunker of Wellness, your inner strength, and the knowing of what makes your day positive each day.

Until next week . . . I wish you wellness, warm-heartedness, and wholeness.
And remember to hunker down and Bunker Up! ~ Susie

Week 3: Relating to Unpleasant Feelings (posted April 13, 2020)

Welcome back to Bunker Up!

This week, we are learning a tool to regulate our emotions. Whenever you are feeling triggered, off balance emotionally, hooked, or overwhelmed with feelings and thoughts, here is OBOSS in a pdf and below in video.

Try using this tool when you’re a little frustrated with homeschooling, aggravated with a Zoom meeting or its attendees(!), anxious at the crowded grocery store, or feeling isolated and lonely. It is a way to tend and befriend difficult feelings when they pop up. It is a way for you to turn toward and offer curious attention to your visceral states and perhaps relate to your unpleasant emotions in a new and different way.

Remember to use your patience to hold your attention and your visceral felt-sense as one. And then, check out if you notice any subtle changes or movement of your physical feelings. OBOSS allows you to change your relationship a little with unpleasant feelings, one tiny step at a time.

Until next week . . . wishing you wholeness, warm-heartedness, and wellness. ~ Susie

Week 2: A Kind Inner Message (posted April 7, 2020)

Welcome back to Bunker Up!

It’s here we introduce new tools of stress resilience while we hunker down and shelter-in-place during this global pandemonium. All of us are building our Bunker of Wellness, one tiny tool at a time. You don’t need anything special except your own willingness to try it and practice it.

This week, we’re going to talk about all those voices in your head.  OK, don’t tell me you don’t have inner voices – I know you and I and everybody out there have a whole crew yammering in there.  Unfortunately during times of stress, they can get louder, more fearful, pessimistic, and critical.

Today, we are going to find your calm, connected, and compassionate inner voice and message to lift you through times of stress. You have a pure kind place within you that can helps you cope and lifts you up.

A Kind Inner Message is described in the video. For a detailed exercise to design and tailor your self compassion phrase, check out the PDF below.

Until next week . . . wishing you wellness and wholeness. ~ Susie

Week 1: Welcome to Bunker Up (posted March 30, 2020)

Whether you are a front-line angel right now, working or schooling from home, or basically hunkering down on your couch, we all are feeling a bit edgy and overwhelmed.

I had a dream nightmare the other night in which a sweet moose calf in our meadow changed into a huge brown bear and then instantly transformed into a school-bus-sized mechanical wolf running toward our house. Mutation at its finest.

This virus’ invisibility and virility is daunting. And now, that unknowing is a part of our daily lives.

To lighten our emotional labor and to build up our stress-resilience during this time, I designed BUNKER UP to share with you. Every Wednesday in April and May, I will send out a little tool to help you find more emotional balance and calm. Practice it — to see if it brings you a bit of both. And if you are not interested or it doesn’t work — I hope you enjoy a walk in the beautiful outdoors!

Until next week . . . wishing you wellness and wholeness. ~ Susie