Heart Work
Social and emotional learning is what I like to call heart work. It’s staying connected to who we are at our core, being accepting of all that shows up, and learning how to stay connected to ourselves with love and acceptance. When we can do these things, we automatically bring that same connection and acceptance to those around us.
Heart Work
There is great power when we physically connect with our hearts. Our hearts are strong. Our hearts feel and process our emotions. What if we learn to stop trying so hard to process our emotions in the "right way" and simply feel our hearts beating in our chest, trusting that they know how to take care of us.
We know how important touch is to overall health and well-being, this has been researched and documented. The Greater Goods Science Center published a recent article that explains how touch signals a sense of security and is soothing in the brain and activates the vagus nerve, which is connected with our ability to have a compassionate response.
When I work with children, we practice touching our hearts at least 2 times during every class, relishing in the amazing beat of our hearts in our bodies. The benefits of this simple practice are profound, especially as we think about resilience.
Benefits of heart connection:
- This physical connection cultivates compassion, for ourselves and others
- We relish in the emotion of awe, which builds resilience from the inside out
- We feel gratitude for something we all share
- W connect in a moment of mindfulness, which soothes the nervous system
- We are reminded of our common humanity in that we all have hearts and in this way, we are all the same.
This week is super simple, find times throughout your day to bring your hands to your heart and feel it beating.
