The Hybrid Car and Mind Over Body
The Hybrid Car and Mind Over Body
Mindbody Wellness Clarity Tip:
Dear Awesome Woman,
These past few weeks I was out of town, visiting a relative. For over 30+ years, I’ve driven stick shifts and automatics with no difficulty. So, what was my problem when I borrowed this relative’s car? She had a hybrid. I didn’t quite know what that meant when I got behind the wheel since I’m not technically inclined and unlike my sons and even daughter, don’t really care what kind of car I drive. As long as it runs, I’m good to go.
What I found out rather uncomfortably is that a hybrid car sounds like it’s stalling whenever you stop at a light or intersection. And that totally freaked me out. At each intersection, the hybrid’s engine would shut off and memories flooded my mind of those few times in the past when the car I was driving would stall at the most inopportune times. That lull of the engine had always meant that something was broken, that I would need to get towed and that plans for the day were shot.
It wasn’t just my mind that reacted to the hybrid car’s engine shutting down, it was my body too. My stomach turned, my heart raced and I’d feel anxious, stressed and bewildered. But unlike the past where I would need to call towing, this hybrid car would start right back up when my foot pressed on the gas. There I would go onto the next intersection, where the same cycle would repeat itself again.
When I shared with my husband my discomfort with driving this hybrid, he explained to me that with these cars, there is a start-stop technology to save fuel. That is the sound of the idling which my brain interpreted as “stalling.”
I realized what a great opportunity to do some mindbody processing. I didn’t have time while I was visiting, but when I returned home, I took a few moments to dive inward (like Miss Frizzle would do in her videos) into the experience.
You can follow along and use this process where you see fit in your life experiences:
Step 1: I got really big with my energy.
In the privacy of my office, I brought the situation back to mind and let my body freak out with big energy. It’s basically an adult sized temper tantrum. I’ve explained this in my ROAR Process eguide as a great release for trauma and stuck emotional energy. There’s no dignity here, just processing which is why I do this is privacy 🙂
Step 2: I noticed my thoughts.
What are my thoughts telling me?
In this case, my thoughts were telling me: “The car is broken; I’m stuck; I have to get the car towed and fixed; cancel all plans for the day and deal with the car issue.” Not emergencies, but just big annoyances. However with this hybrid car, all these thoughts were totally untrue.
Step 3: I chose opposite and more truthful thoughts to calm my body.
“The car is not broken; nothing needs to be fixed; the car will take me where I need to go; it is just resting and saving energy.”
Step 4: I would probably have to run this by my body in actuality.
I would need to do this by driving the hybrid a few times, noticing my body’s reaction and using the replacement thoughts in real time to get more comfortable with this kind of car.
That was my processing.
In the future, I may choose that even though I can handle it, I may not want to. Allowing ourselves preferences and paying attention to what lights us up and brings us joy is part of listening to our spirit in full. Functionally, when I visit this relative, I can borrow the car to get where I need to go or I can choose using an uber or rent a car. I fully respect my choices of self-care.
Do you have anywhere in your life that this kind of mindbody process would come in handy? We never dismiss our bodies’ reactions to things and yet we don’t need to allow our emotions or nervous systems to hijack us. Toggling between the mind and heart, body and soul by processing our everyday experiences is an active choice to fully live a more joyful life.
Need a helping hand? I invite you to schedule your Free Clarity call today. As a Somatic Healer, Clarity Coach and Relationship Expert, I help empower women to trust themselves through the wisdom of their bodies and intuition. Stress, pain and insomnia relief, career clarity, marriage magic for singles and couples, narcissistic relationship detoxing, and trauma processing can all be accomplished through Mindbody sessions over the phone. Download your free gift eguide: “3 Secrets to Solve Burnout and Get Energized the Mindbody Wellness Way.”
