There are moments and certain hours of my work day that bring joy in some of the most surprising ways. This week while doing a body scan exercise with an individual, was one of them.

I have the privilege of supporting this individual wrestling with the chains of anxiety. Chains so embedded, it can be difficult for them to sit still and feel relaxed, even just talking about the day to day, surface kinda stuff. Their legs tense up, their hands clench, eye contact is a challenge at times. This person has a story, and their body remembers the pain and suffering they’ve endured, training the body to be hyper vigilant, training the nervous system to activate more often than not. This wears on the individual, chronic anxiety is not a good friend.

We are working together to find solutions, one of them being to help train this person’s brain to help the body relax. Today we decided to practice a grounding exercise called a body scan. An exercise where we start from head to toe, acknowledging, recognizing, and observing how each part of our body feels.

As the therapist, I felt nervous. I found my legs tighten, my shoulders slump. “Will this person like this exercises? Will I be able to facilitate this time well? How can I make this exercise most comfortable for them?” A bazillion questions running through my head.

“Kailey. You’ve done this before, many times. This person, this person will enjoy making it lighthearted. Engage with them in this exercise, share what you’re experiencing as you do this body scan with them.” I internally coach myself. I feel my head lift up, I regain confidence & hope that this exercise has potential to unlock an important skill for this individual. We go for it.

We start with our heads, and realized both our heads were hurting because we both had accidentally hit our heads on furniture objects that morning. We laugh. We discuss how our neck, shoulders, and arms feel. We move down to our stomachs, we both recognize a lighter "feeling,” both smiling and giggling again.

We move down to the legs and feet, observing and recognizing how those parts of our bodies are more relaxed than before.

We end the time laughing, smiling, and recognizing the stress we once were feeling before the body scan has now decreased. We both agree, this was a good exercise. My individual I have the privilege of seeing is baffled with how “easy” it was to relax and expresses wanting to apply this new exercise into their life.

At the same time I was deeply appreciating how enjoyable it was to see this individual gain a new tool for relaxing their body. I feel tears wallow up in my eyes. I am so happy for this individual and eager to watch them continue to grow. These kind of growing moments excite me beyond words.

Moments like these bring me joy and such satisfaction.

Thank you, wonderful individual, you are a gift, & I can’t wait to watch you heal from these chains of anxiety and flourish into your true identity, full of peace, joy, and a trained nervous system operating in a way that supports your best quality of life.