Series VI of VII
Release Old and Deep Rooted Trauma
The next set of exercises help to release old and deep-rooted trauma so that you can free up your mind to become more present and enjoy life more fully. Try not to re-traumatize yourself when you think of some of your old memories – be gentle with yourself and seek professional help if some of these memories are too difficult to deal with on your own.
Timeline Release Healing Diary
Sometimes getting an overall perspective of our experiences in life helps to heal a lot of our beliefs and feelings. In this exercise, I’d like you to draw a timeline chart of your life, beginning from birth till your present life. You can use the chart I’ve drawn for you.
Physical Events Birth Emotional Events
Present Day
On the left side, according to time, list all the physical experiences that had a significant impact on you. On the right side, list all the emotional experiences you have had in your life that either made you feel ashamed, traumatized, stressed, guilty, fearful, or unwanted, or created any other feeling that was uncomfortable. Even if you feel these experiences are irrelevant for you today, write them down still, because when they occurred, they did have an impact on you, however small.
Now, starting with the most recent emotional experience, write continuously about anything that comes to mind surrounding your experience. Write for fifteen minutes without taking your pen off the paper. Continue writing even if what you’re writing doesn’t make sense. This exercise helps you to release trapped emotions connected to your experiences and helps you to see your life more clearly and calmly. Do this for a maximum of 2 past experiences per day, not more, since you will not fully resolve the experiences if you crowd your mind with a lot of emotional processing.
You might need to repeat this exercise for certain events that take longer to resolve. Take your time with this healing journey. Be patient with yourself. Do not judge what you write on paper. Just continue writing over the next few weeks or months and notice how much better you feel as you get a renewed and more empowered perspective over your life.
Relaxed Breath in Past Memories
This is an exercise I created and find that it works really well. If you have any memory that is stressful or negative, I invite you to reconnect with that memory in your mind. As you imagine yourself in that situation, notice how you are breathing. Begin calming your breath down, breathing in a relaxed way as you still focus on the memory. Allow your mind and emotions to shift as you continue to calm your breath down. Trust in the process and accept whatever changes are happening. Use this exercise with every experience you have written down in your timeline healing diary and notice how differently you feel. Even though this seems like a very simple exercise, I find it very useful in helping our brain reorganize some of the disturbing memories that we carry.
If you would like to read more about this topic, please, check out Dr. Aggarwal’s book: Heal Your Body, Cure Your Mind
READ THE SERIES:
I of VII, II of VII, III of VII, IV of VII, V of VII
Dr. Ameet Aggarwal ND is a naturopathic doctor and psychotherapist (Gestalt, Family Constellations, EMDR) with years of experience treating physical issues, anxiety, stress, depression, abuse, relationship issues and also working with UNICEF, UN Staff and other large organizations. His online course on using the 5 pillars of health, (free videos on health.drameet.com), lecturing around the world and being voted top 5 speaker on 2 world summits has earned him the recognition of top 43 naturopaths to follow.