7 Ways to Find Peace and Security During Uncertainty

Take it one point at a time, and notice the changes in yourself and others.

Joanne Varni

Articles\Mindful

boundaries, mind, mindful, mindfulness, peace, security, self love, uncertainty

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What do we do when we find ourselves moving through a period of uncertainty? Situations sometimes present themselves that cause our current lives to make a dramatic shift. It is very understandable to feel ungrounded, unsafe, chaotic, and “in our heads.”

Here are some suggestions for reconnecting with our bodies and to what’s most important:

Continue to live, but also, listen to your body. Allow yourself to feel the earth or ground beneath you with your feet, bringing the energy down into the lower part of the body, which helps calm the nervous system.
Set appropriate boundaries. In doing so, we can begin to feel more in control of our lives and, therefore, safer. If others aren’t adhering to your boundaries, it’s time to put that relationship on hold.
Take back your power. Creating some structure to your day (including getting up and going to bed at around the same time every day) can eliminate some of the chaos you might be feeling. Incorporating a regular fitness or self-care routine can help one feel more resilient.
Fill your heart with love, and have every action you do come from a place of love. When we move from a place of love, compassion will naturally follow. This will allow us to feel good about how we are internally interacting with our thoughts and emotions, as well as how we relate externally for those people we are able to interact with.
Use your voice to allow words to come from the heart. When we are stressed, it is natural to lash out at people. Instead, allow interactions to be soft around the edges so we can begin to regulate.
Notice your own patterns, especially those that don’t serve you. See what your internal programs are, and, if you don’t like them, change the channel and do something different. Awareness allows us to tap into those old samskaras or patterns, so we can begin to initiate change.
When all else fails, let it go. Consider releasing anything that is no longer serving you. It’s that simple.

Take it one point at a time, and notice the effects of those changes in your life, as well as shifts in how you engage with others.

Joanne Varni

Joanne's philosophy as a yoga teacher is to help people who seek personal empowerment feel connected to their bodies, quiet their mind, stimulate a healthy nervous system, and release tension in the body caused by stress, anxiety, or trauma. Her teaching technique uses a combination of breath work, meditation, gentle asanas, somatic yoga, and neurogenic tremoring. Additionally, Joanne specializes in helping those with trauma (including PTSD) and has attended and completed her Level II certification in TRE (Trauma/tension release exercises) with Dr. David Bercelli. She is also certified as TSY teacher (Trauma Sensitive Yoga) under the renowned guidance of trauma researcher and pioneer Dr. Bessel van der Kolk (The Trauma Center at JRI). Joanne teaches classes, workshops, teacher trainings, as well as running retreats locally and internationally. She also teaches Yoga for Trauma Recovery at the VA Hospital in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and San Jose, California and has voluntarily taught yoga to women incarcerated at the Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas and the Center for Survivors of Torture in San Jose. Joanne is an ERYT500 and earned her 200 hour and 500 hour YA certification through Jennifer Prugh’s YA certified “JOY of Yoga” teacher training. She completed her Therapeutic Yoga teacher training with Cheri Clampett and Arturo Peal and her Yin Yoga Teacher training under Paul and Suzy Grilley. A twenty-year resident of Los Gatos, she enjoys spending time with her husband John, and children, Anthony, Steven, and Nicole.

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